[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 17, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7390-7397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3366]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 60

[OAR-2003-0119; FRL-7623-6]
RIN 2060-AF91


Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission 
Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial or Industrial Solid Waste 
Incineration Units

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rule; supplemental solicitation of comments.

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SUMMARY: This document solicits public comment on definitions of 
``solid waste,'' ``commercial and industrial waste,'' and ``commercial 
and industrial solid waste incineration unit,'' for purposes of EPA's 
new source performance standards (NSPS) and emission guidelines (EG) 
for commercial and industrial solid waste incineration (CISWI) units 
under section 129 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
    On December 1, 2000, EPA promulgated final rules for CISWI units. 
After promulgation of the final CISWI rule, EPA accepted a voluntary 
remand, without vacature, in response to a petition for review 
challenging the final CISWI rule. Because the final rule was not 
vacated, the requirements of the final CISWI rule remain in effect 
during the remand. Also, subsequent to promulgation of the final CISWI 
rule, EPA granted a petition for reconsideration related to the 
definitions of ``solid waste'' and ``commercial and industrial waste'' 
in the CISWI final rule. This notice provides for additional 
proceedings related to these definitions, consistent with EPA's grant 
of the earlier petition for reconsideration.

DATES: Comments. Comments must be received on or before March 18, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Comments. By U.S. Postal Service, send comments (in 
duplicate, if possible) to: Air and Radiation Docket and Information 
Center (6102T), Attention, Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0119, U.S. EPA, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460. In person or by 
courier, deliver comments (in duplicate, if possible) to: Air and 
Radiation Docket and Information Center (6102T), Attention Docket ID 
No. OAR-2003-0119, Room B-102, U.S. EPA, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. We request a separate copy of each public comment 
be sent to the contact person listed below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).
    Docket. The EPA has established an official public docket for this 
action under Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0119 and Docket ID No. A-94-32. The 
docket is located at the U.S. EPA, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460, Room B-102, and may be inspected from 8:30 a.m. 
to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this 
notice, contact Fred Porter at (919) 541-5251, Emission Standards 
Division (C439-01), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research 
Triangle Park, NC 27711.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Docket. The EPA has established an official 
public docket for this action under Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0119 and 
Docket ID No. A-94-32. The official public docket consists of the 
documents specifically referenced in this action, any public comments 
received, and other information related to this action. All items may 
not be listed under both docket numbers, so interested parties should 
inspect both docket numbers to ensure that they have received all 
materials relevant to this action. Although a part of the official 
docket, the public docket does not include Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. The official public docket is the collection of materials 
that is available for public viewing at the U.S. EPA, 1301 Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Room B-102, Washington, DC 20460. The EPA Docket Center 
Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading 
Room is (202) 566-1744. The telephone number for the Air Docket is 
(202) 566-1742.
    Electronic Access. An electronic version of public docket is 
available through EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, 
EPA Dockets. You may use EPA dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to 
submit or review public comments, access the index of the contents of 
the official public docket, and to access those documents in the public 
docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select 
``search,'' then key in the appropriate docket identification number.
    Certain types of information will not be placed in the EPA dockets. 
Information claimed as confidential business information (CBI) and 
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute, which is 
not included in the official public docket, will not be available for 
public viewing in EPA's electronic public docket. The EPA's policy is 
that copyrighted material will not be placed in EPA's electronic public 
docket but will be available only in printed paper form in the official 
public docket. Although not all docket materials may be available 
electronically, you may still access any of the publicly available 
docket materials through the docket facility identified in this notice.
    For public commenters, it is important to note that EPA's policy is 
that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, 
will be made available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public 
docket as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment 
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment 
containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that 
material in the version of the comment that is placed in EPA's 
electronic public docket. The entire printed comment, including the 
copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.
    Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or 
delivered to the docket will be transferred to EPA's electronic public 
docket. Public comments that are mailed or delivered to the docket will 
be scanned and placed in EPA's electronic public docket. Where 
practical, physical objects will be photographed, and the photograph 
will be placed in EPA's electronic public docket along with a brief 
description written by the docket staff.
    You may submit comments electronically, by mail, by facsimile, or 
through hand delivery/courier. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, 
identify

[[Page 7391]]

the appropriate docket identification number in the subject line on the 
first page of your comment. Please ensure that your comments are 
submitted within the specified comment period. Comments submitted after 
the close of the comment period will be marked ``late.'' The EPA is not 
required to consider these late comments.
    Electronically. If you submit an electronic comment as prescribed 
below, EPA recommends that you include your name, mailing address, and 
an e-mail address or other contact information in the body of your 
comment. Also include this contact information on the outside of any 
disk or CD ROM you submit and in any cover letter accompanying the disk 
or CD ROM. This ensures that you can be identified as the submitter of 
the comment and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties or needs further information on 
the substance of your comment. The EPA's policy is that EPA will not 
edit your comment, and any identifying or contact information provided 
in the body of a comment will be included as part of the comment that 
is placed in the official public docket and made available in EPA's 
electronic public docket. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment.
    Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to submit comments to 
EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments. Go 
directly to EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket and follow the 
online instructions for submitting comments. Once in the system, select 
``search'' and then key in Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0119. The system is 
an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity, e-mail address, or other contact information unless you 
provide it in the body of your comment.
    Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) to [email protected], Attention: Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0119. In contrast to 
EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not an 
``anonymous access'' system. If you send an e-mail comment directly to 
the Docket without going through EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's 
e-mail system automatically captures your e-mail address. E-mail 
addresses that are automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are 
included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public 
docket and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
    You may submit comments on a disk or CD ROM that you mail to the 
mailing address identified in this notice. These electronic submissions 
will be accepted in WordPerfect or ASCII file format. Avoid the use of 
special characters and any form of encryption.
    By mail. Send your comments (in duplicate, if possible) to: Air and 
Radiation Docket and Information Center (6102T), Attention: Docket ID 
No. OAR-2003-0119, U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20460.
    By Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments (in duplicate, 
if possible) to: Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, 
Attention: Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0119, U.S. EPA, 1301 Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Room B-102, Washington, DC 20460. Such deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket Center's normal hours of operation as 
identified in this notice. We request that a separate copy also be sent 
to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    By Facsimile. Fax your comments to: (202) 566-1741, Attention: 
Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0119.
    CBI. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI through 
EPA's electronic public docket or by e-mail. Send or deliver 
information identified as CBI only to the following address: Roberto 
Morales, OAQPS Document Control Officer (C404-02), U.S. EPA, 109 T.W. 
Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, Attention: Docket ID 
No. OAR-2003-0119. You may claim information that you submit to EPA as 
CBI by marking any part or all of that information as CBI (if you 
submit CBI on disk or CD ROM, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM the 
specific information that is CBI). Information so marked will not be 
disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 
2.
    Outline. The information presented in this document is organized as 
follows:

I. Background
    A. Statutory Background
    B. Regulatory Background
     II. Discussion
    A. What Is the Significance of EPA's Definitions?
    B. What Is EPA's Rationale for Its Definitions?
III. Request for Comment
IV. Future Action

I. Background

A. Statutory Background

    Section 129 of the CAA, entitled ``Solid Waste Combustion,'' 
requires EPA to promulgate emissions standards and other requirements 
for ``each category of solid waste incineration unit.'' Section 
129(a)(1) identifies five categories of solid waste incineration units:
    (1) Units with a capacity of greater than 250 tons per day 
combusting municipal waste,
    (2) Units with a capacity equal to or less than 250 tons per day 
combusting municipal waste,
    (3) Units combusting hospital, medical and infectious waste,
    (4) Units combusting commercial or industrial waste, and
    (5) Unspecified ``other categories of solid waste incineration 
units.''
    For each category of incineration unit identified under Section 
129, EPA must establish numerical emission limits for at least nine 
specified pollutants (particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen 
chloride, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, lead, cadmium, mercury, 
and dioxins and dibenzofurans), and for opacity as appropriate. Section 
129 provides EPA with the discretion to establish emission limitations 
for other pollutants as well.
    Section 129 of the CAA directs EPA to set maximum achievable 
control technology (MACT) type standards for incinerators. Accordingly, 
EPA's standards under section 129 must ``reflect the maximum degree of 
reduction in emissions of [the listed] air pollutants * * * that the 
Administrator, taking into consideration the cost of achieving such 
emission reductions, and any non-air quality health and environmental 
impacts and energy requirements, determines is achievable for new or 
existing units in each category.'' (See CAA section 129(a)(2).) 
However, the standards for new units must not be less stringent than 
the emissions control that is achieved in practice by the best 
controlled similar unit, and the standards for existing sources must 
not be less stringent than the average emissions limitation achieved by 
the best performing 12 percent of units in the category.
    Additionally, the statute identifies, to some degree, which units 
EPA should and should not regulate. Section 129(g)(1) of the CAA 
defines the term ``solid waste incineration unit'' as a unit ``which 
combusts any solid waste material.'' Also, that section identifies 
several types of units that are not solid waste incineration units, 
including units required to have a permit under section 3005 of the 
Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA); materials recovery facilities; certain 
qualifying small power production facilities or qualifying cogeneration 
facilities which burn homogeneous waste; and certain air curtain 
incinerators that meet opacity limitations established by EPA. In

[[Page 7392]]

addition, section 129(g)(6) states that the term ``solid waste * * * 
shall have the meanings established by the Administrator pursuant to 
the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA).''
    Finally, Section 129(h) of the CAA states that ``no solid waste 
incineration unit subject to performance standards under this section 
and section 111 shall be subject to standards under section 112(d) of 
this Act.''

B. Regulatory Background

    One important part of EPA's rulemaking process is determining what 
universe of sources will be subject to regulation. With regard to CISWI 
units, the statutory provisions of sections 129(a), (g) and (h) of the 
CAA make it clear that EPA must determine, as a part of the regulatory 
process, where to draw the line between combustion units subject to 
regulation under section 129 and combustion units subject to regulation 
under other statutory authority (such as CAA section 112(d)). For 
example, the reference in section 129(g)(1) to a permit issued under 
section 3005 of the SWDA, refers to units burning hazardous solid 
wastes. This effectively limits the scope of EPA's authority under 
section 129 to the regulation of solid waste incineration units that 
burn nonhazardous solid waste. Similarly, the language of CAA section 
129(h) makes clear the Congressional intent for EPA to regulate 
nonhazardous combustion sources under either CAA section 129 or CAA 
section 112, but not both. Thus, for the CISWI category, EPA must 
determine which sources to regulate as commercial and industrial solid 
waste incineration units under section 129, and which to regulate as 
combustion units under section 112 (e.g., boilers and process heaters).
    The EPA proposed regulations for CISWI units on November 30, 1999 
(64 FR 67092). The proposal included emissions limitations and a 
detailed definition of ``solid waste'' that was intended to distinguish 
between nonhazardous solid wastes and other materials (e.g., hazardous 
solid waste and fuel) burned in combustion units at commercial and 
industrial facilities. The definition served to identify those units 
that would be considered commercial and industrial nonhazardous solid 
waste incineration units, and, therefore, subject to the proposed 
regulations. In addition, consistent with CAA section 129(h), these 
definitions also helped to identify those units which would not be 
subject to emission standards under section 112. In the November 1999 
proposal, to distinguish between hazardous solid wastes, nonhazardous 
solid wastes, fuels, and other materials not considered solid waste, 
EPA defined solid waste as follows:

    Solid waste means, for the purpose of this subpart only, any 
solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material, which is 
combusted, including but not limited to materials listed in 
paragraph (1) of this definition. Solid waste excludes fuels defined 
in paragraph (2) of this definition and materials specifically 
listed in paragraph (3) of this definition.
    (1) The following materials are solid wastes, regardless of the 
provisions in paragraph (2) of this definition:
    (i) Any material which is combusted without energy recovery 
(i.e., where the material displaces other fuels to produce useful 
heat), except as provided in paragraph (3) of this definition.
    (ii) Municipal solid waste, as defined in 40 CFR part 60, 
subpart Ea, subpart Eb, subpart AAAA and subpart BBBB.
    (iii) Hospital waste, as defined in 40 CFR part 60, subpart Ec.
    (iv) Medical/infectious waste, as defined in 40 CFR part 60, 
subpart Ec.
    (v) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act hazardous wastes, as 
defined in 40 CFR part 261.
    (2) The following materials are fuels when combusted in a device 
that incorporates energy recovery as part of its integral design 
(e.g., for the production of hot water or steam). The combustion 
chamber and the energy recovery system must be physically formed 
into one manufactured or assembled unit. A unit in which the 
combustion chamber and the energy recovery system are joined only by 
ducts or connections carrying flue gas is not integrally designed.
    (i) Biomass fuel, coal, natural gas, and oil, as defined 
elsewhere in this section;
    (ii) Materials that have a heat content of 5,000 Btu/lb or more 
as fired. This criterion applies to each individual feed stream to a 
combustion unit.
    (3) The following materials are not solid waste when combusted 
for the primary purpose of recovering chemical constituents: pulping 
liquors (i.e., black liquor) that are reclaimed in a pulping liquor 
recovery process and reused in the pulping process; spent sulfuric 
acid used to produce virgin sulfuric acid; and wood and coal 
feedstock for the production of charcoal.

    The EPA explained the reasoning behind the proposed definition of 
solid waste as follows:

    [T]he basic structure of a definition of nonhazardous solid 
waste that emerges follows this premise: Materials that are burned 
are not nonhazardous solid waste if they are hazardous solid waste, 
if they are fuels burned to recover energy, or if they are certain 
identified materials burned to recover their chemical constituents. 
All other materials, when burned, are nonhazardous solid waste.
    With a definition of hazardous waste available, a definition of 
those materials that are fuels (when burned to recover energy) is 
the next piece necessary to develop this definition of nonhazardous 
waste, for the purpose of regulations developed under section 129.
    Some materials, when burned to recover energy (e.g., for the 
production of hot water or steam), have a long history of being 
considered fuels. These materials are coal, oil, gas, and biomass 
(e.g., wood and other vegetative agricultural and silvicultural 
materials). Burning coal, oil, gas, and biomass produces the 
majority of the energy consumed in the United States. In addition to 
these materials, other materials are often burned as fuel to recover 
energy and meet the needs of consumers, as well as industrial, 
manufacturing, and commercial operations.
    As mentioned earlier, the prime indicator of whether materials 
could be used as fuel (i.e., can be burned to recover energy) is 
their heat value--the British thermal units (Btu) of energy released 
from burning a pound (lb) of these materials. With continuing 
advances in combustion technology, materials with lower and lower 
heat value can be burned to recover energy; however, those materials 
with a ``high'' heat value are the best fuels, and it is these types 
of materials that are commonly and widely viewed as fuels. Thus, for 
the purpose of regulations developed under section 129 of the CAA, 
the Administrator proposes that materials with high heat value, when 
burned to recover energy, are fuels. (When materials are burned 
without heat recovery, regardless of their heat value, they are 
considered wastes.)
    A delineator of high heat value emerges when considering the 
heat values of those materials mentioned above, which are clearly 
fuels when burned to recover energy (i.e., gas, oil, coal, and 
biomass). Heat values for gas are the highest and frequently above 
20,000 Btu/lb; those for oil can range from about 17,000-20,000 Btu/
lb; those for coal can range from about 6,000-15,000 Btu/lb; and 
those for biomass can range from about 5,000-10,000 Btu/lb. Thus, a 
heat value of 5,000 Btu/lb serves to delineate between materials 
with high heat value and materials with low heat value. The 
Administrator proposes that materials with a heat value of 5,000 
Btu/lb or more, when burned to recover energy, are fuel (subject to 
regulation under section 112) and not nonhazardous solid waste 
subject to regulation under section 129.

    Thus, the proposal would not have identified a combustion unit with 
energy recovery (i.e., heat recovery) at a commercial or industrial 
facility, which burned certain identified or listed materials with a 
heat content of 5000 British thermal units per pound (Btu/lb) or 
greater, as a CISWI unit, because such a unit would not be burning 
``solid waste.''
    After receiving public comment on this approach, EPA determined 
that this definition of ``solid waste'' was unworkable for purposes of 
identifying CISWI units. The EPA published its final CISWI rule on 
December 1, 2000 (65 FR 75338) and explained the following in the final 
rule:

    [W]e agree that several of today's combustion technologies, 
including some

[[Page 7393]]

emerging technologies, may be capable of burning materials with a 
heat value of less than 5,000 Btu/lb to recover energy. Therefore, 
we have deleted the requirement from the definition of solid waste 
in the final NSPS and EG.
    As we indicated in the preamble to the November 1999 proposal, 
the main purpose of the proposed definition of nonhazardous solid 
waste was to identify which materials when burned by CISWI units 
would be subject to regulations developed under section 129, and 
which materials when burned would be subject to regulations to be 
developed under section 112. Consideration of the above comments led 
us to conclude that the proposed definitions of ``CISWI unit'' and 
``solid waste'' created the potential for overlap with rules we are 
developing under section 112, such as the boiler MACT.
    The primary difference between incinerators and boilers is that 
incinerators burn materials for the purpose of disposal, whereas 
boilers burn materials for the purpose of recovering energy. Thus, 
we believe the concept of energy recovery is the key to 
distinguishing between CISWI units (which will be regulated under 
section 129) and boilers (which will be regulated under section 
112). Specifically, commercial and industrial units burning 
materials without energy recovery are disposing of the materials, 
that is, they are treating such materials as commercial or 
industrial waste, and they should be regulated as CISWI units under 
section 129. In contrast, commercial and industrial units burning 
materials with energy recovery, that is, treating such materials as 
fuel, should be regulated under section 112.

    Instead of adopting the proposed definition of ``solid waste,'' EPA 
adopted a general definition of ``solid waste'' that closely mirrors 
the definition of solid waste found at section 6903(27) of the SWDA and 
in several places in EPA's regulations under that statute:


    Solid waste means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste 
treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution 
control facility and other discarded material, including solid, 
liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from 
industrial, commercial, mining, agricultural operations, and from 
community activities, but does not include solid or dissolved 
material in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in 
irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point 
sources subject to permits under section 402 of the Federal Water 
Pollution Control Act, as amended (33 U.S.C. 1342), or source, 
special nuclear, or byproduct material as defined by the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2014). For purposes of 
this subpart and subpart CCCC, only, solid waste does not include 
the waste burned in the fifteen types of units described in section 
60.2555.

    The EPA also adopted more specific definitions of ``commercial and 
industrial waste'' and ``commercial and industrial solid waste 
incineration unit,'' to identify more precisely those units at 
commercial and industrial facilities that EPA considered appropriate 
for regulation under the final CISWI rule. These definitions are as 
follows:

    Commercial and industrial waste means solid waste combusted in 
an enclosed device using controlled flame combustion without energy 
recovery that is a distinct operating unit of any commercial or 
industrial facility (including field-erected, modular, and custom 
built incineration units operating with starved or excess air), or 
solid waste combusted in an air curtain incinerator without energy 
recovery that is a distinct operating unit of any commercial or 
industrial facility.
    Commercial and industrial solid waste incineration (CISWI) unit 
means any combustion device that combusts commercial and industrial 
waste, as defined in this subpart. The boundaries of a CISWI unit 
are defined as, but not limited to, the commercial or industrial 
solid waste fuel feed system, grate system, flue gas system, and 
bottom ash. The CISWI unit does not include air pollution control 
equipment or the stack. The CISWI unit boundary starts at the 
commercial and industrial solid waste hopper (if applicable) and 
extends through two areas:
    (1) The combustion unit flue gas system, which ends immediately 
after the last combustion chamber.
    (2) The combustion unit bottom ash system, which ends at the 
truck loading station or similar equipment that transfers the ash to 
final disposal. It includes all ash handling systems connected to 
the bottom ash handling system.

    Thus, under the final CISWI rule, a material burned at a commercial 
or industrial facility in a combustion unit with heat recovery is not 
considered a commercial and industrial waste, nor is the combustion 
unit considered a commercial and industrial solid waste incineration 
unit for purposes of the CISWI rule.\1\
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    \1\ In addition, EPA adopted a number of specific exemptions and 
additional definitions in the final CISWI rule, to ensure that the 
emission limitations did not apply to units that should not be 
considered commercial and industrial solid waste incineration units. 
These exemptions and definitions served to identify and exempt: (1) 
Pathological solid waste incineration units; (2) agricultural solid 
waste incineration units: (3) municipal solid waste incineration 
units; (4) hospital, medical and infectious solid waste incineration 
units; (5) qualifying small power production facilities; (6) 
qualifying cogeneration facilities; (7) hazardous solid waste 
incineration units; (8) material recovery units; (9) certain air 
curtain incinerators; (10) cyclonic barrel burners; (11) rack, part, 
and drum reclamation units; (12) cement kilns; (13) sewage sludge 
incinerators; (14) chemical recovery units; and (15) laboratory 
analysis units.
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    After promulgation of the final CISWI rule, EPA received a petition 
for reconsideration of the final rule. The petition argued that the 
final rule was procedurally defective because EPA had failed to provide 
adequate notice and an opportunity to comment on the definitions 
adopted in the final rulemaking. Additionally, an environmental 
organization filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals 
for the D.C. Circuit. Also, after promulgation of the final CISWI rule, 
the D.C. Circuit issued its decision in Cement Kiln Recycling Coalition 
v. EPA, 255 F.3d 855 (D.C. Cir. 2001). In this decision, the Court 
rejected certain common elements of EPA's MACT methodology. As a 
result, EPA requested a voluntary remand of the final CISWI rule, in 
order to address concerns related to the issues that the Court had 
raised in the Cement Kiln decision. Additionally, EPA decided to grant 
the petition for reconsideration related to the definitional issues, 
and provide further opportunity for public comment. Today's notice 
solicits comment on the definitions of solid waste, commercial and 
industrial waste, and commercial and industrial solid waste 
incineration unit, and initiates the additional proceedings on these 
issues to which EPA committed in its grant of the petition for 
reconsideration. The EPA expects to take further action on these 
definitions, and respond to any comments received, in conjunction with 
EPA's response to the voluntary remand.

II. Discussion

A. What Is the Significance of EPA's Definitions?

    The definitions of solid waste, commercial and industrial waste, 
and commercial and industrial solid waste incineration unit define the 
scope of applicability of the final CISWI rule. Since any unit 
regulated under CAA section 129 can not be subject to any rule 
developed under section 112 of the CAA, these definitions also help to 
clarify the scope of applicability of certain other rules that EPA has 
or will develop for other types of combustion units. In general, those 
combustion units that are not covered by rules developed under section 
129 will be covered by rules developed under section 112. In this case, 
combustion units that are not covered by the final CISWI rule may be 
subject to regulation, for example, under EPA's rule for commercial, 
industrial and institutional boilers and process heaters (boilers 
rule).\2\ That is, many of the combustion

[[Page 7394]]

units at commercial and industrial facilities (e.g., boilers or steam 
generating units, process heaters, furnaces, and incinerators) burn 
``solid'' materials. If the solid materials in question are considered 
commercial and industrial waste, the units will be regulated as CISWI 
units under CAA section 129. Conversely, if the materials are not 
considered commercial and industrial waste (e.g., they are hazardous 
solid waste, fuel, solid materials burned for chemical or material 
recovery, etc.), the units will be regulated under CAA section 112 or 
other statutory authority. Thus, collectively, in the process of 
responding to the remand of the final CISWI rule, promulgating 
emissions standards for boilers and process heaters, developing rules 
for area source boilers, promulgating requirements for electric utility 
steam generating units, and establishing rules applicable to other 
combustion sources, EPA will map the regulatory boundaries that 
identify which units are subject to which requirements.\3\
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    \2\ Alternatively, such units might be subject to regulation 
under any number of other EPA regulations, such as: regulations 
promulgated pursuant to Section 112(k) to control emissions from 
industrial, commercial and institutional boilers that are area 
sources; regulations promulgated pursuant to Section 112(n) for 
hazardous air pollutants from electric utility steam generating 
units; and various other regulations developed under Section 112 
which cover combustion units burning solid materials to recover 
their chemical or other material constituents (e.g., black liquor 
boilers or furnaces at kraft pulp mills covered under the national 
emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for Chemical 
Recovery Combustion Sources at Kraft, Soda, Sulfite, and Stand-Alone 
Semichemical Pulp Mills).
    \3\ We note that finalization of these definitions for purposes 
of the final CISWI rule is not a prerequisite for EPA to finalize 
other rules that regulate combustion sources, such as the boiler 
rule. We will reasonably consider the broader implications of our 
applicability decisions in each relevant rule.
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    The process of determining the regulatory dividing line between 
different rules is not unique to CISWI. Nor does the identification of 
the scope of one rule, necessarily define the scope of another, or 
preclude EPA from adjusting the regulatory division in a subsequent 
rule.

B. What Is EPA's Rationale for Its Definitions?

    Defining solid waste. The EPA adopted a general definition of solid 
waste in the final CISWI rule. In doing so, EPA concluded that the 
definition of solid waste located at 40 CFR 261.2, which defines solid 
waste specifically for purposes of identifying hazardous solid waste, 
could not serve as a regulatory definition for purposes of identifying 
nonhazardous solid waste under CAA section 129.\4\ Rather, EPA looked 
to the definition of solid waste in the SWDA (42 U.S.C. 6903), and to 
other definitions of solid waste that EPA has adopted under the 
authority of that statute, and that do apply to various types of 
nonhazardous solid wastes (e.g., 40 CFR 240.100, 243.1010, 246.101, 
257.2, and 258.2).
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    \4\ In fact 40 CFR 261.1(b)(1) states that this definition of 
solid waste applies only to wastes that are also hazardous for 
purposes of implementing subtitle C of RCRA.
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    The fact that the language of the individual regulatory definitions 
of solid waste vary somewhat from definition to definition in the 
provisions cited above, indicates that the Administrator has not 
adopted a single authoritative definition to identify nonhazardous 
solid waste under the SWDA. Rather, the Administrator has adopted a 
variety of slightly different definitions of nonhazardous solid waste 
depending on the particular regulatory circumstances.
    Since the Administrator has not adopted a single authoritative, and 
generalizable, definition of nonhazardous solid waste pursuant to the 
SWDA, it is reasonable for EPA to adopt an appropriate definition of 
nonhazardous solid waste, for purposes of the final CISWI rule, so long 
as this definition is not inconsistent with EPA's discretion under the 
SWDA. Thus, the Administrator may adopt (pursuant to the SWDA, as well 
as the CAA) a definition of solid waste that serves only to identify 
nonhazardous solid wastes for purposes of regulating commercial and 
industrial waste incineration units under CAA section 129. The 
definition of solid waste on which EPA solicits comment today is 
consistent with both the SWDA definition and EPA's existing regulatory 
definitions.
    Defining Commercial and Industrial Waste. It is particularly 
difficult to draw an appropriate distinction between commercial and 
industrial waste and solid materials that should not be considered 
commercial and industrial waste, as well as between CISWI units and 
non-CISWI combustion units.\5\ For example, there is general agreement 
that the coal burned in a coal-fired boiler or steam generating unit is 
not a solid waste. This is because coal is commonly thought of as a 
fuel. Coal is considered a fuel because it is customarily burned to 
recover energy (i.e., heat) for some useful purpose such as to heat 
water or generate steam. However, there is no such general agreement, 
for example, about a solid material such as bagasse when it is burned 
in a boiler at a sugar plant to produce the heat needed to refine sugar 
from sugar cane.\6\ In the context of the final CISWI rule, the 
question is whether the bagasse is a commercial and industrial waste, 
and whether the combustion unit burning the bagasse is subject to the 
emission limits of the final CISWI rule. Some consider the bagasse a 
``by-product'' or ``residual material'' left over from the production 
process, and therefore a solid waste. Others do not consider the 
bagasse a solid waste, but a ``co-product'' or ``additional material'' 
resulting from the production process.
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    \5\ In many cases, such as municipal solid waste incinerators, 
and hospital, medical and infectious solid waste incinerators, the 
identification of the relevant wastes and the relevant units is 
sufficiently clear that EPA need not address the issue at length in 
its rule. Indeed, CAA section 129 provides specific guidance for 
EPA's definitions of municipal waste and medical waste, as well as 
municipal waste incineration units. See section 129(g)(5) and (6) of 
the CAA. In addition, there is broad and general agreement between 
EPA, the regulated community, and other stakeholders regarding what 
materials are municipal waste and hospital, medical and infectious 
waste, and which combustion units belong in the respective 
regulatory categories.
    \6\ Bagasse is a product of sugar cane processing. Sugar cane is 
harvested and crushed at the plant to extract the juice present in 
the sugar cane. The crushed sugar cane is referred to as bagasse. To 
produce raw sugar from the sugar cane juice, the juice is heated to 
evaporate the water present and concentrate the sugar. This heating 
requires energy which, in turn, is supplied by burning the bagasse.
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    From EPA's point of view, the origin of a material that is burned 
in a unit at a commercial or industrial facility is less important than 
how that material is burned. In the example, bagasse is burned to 
generate the heat necessary to evaporate the water in the sugar cane 
juice. If the bagasse were not burned to generate this heat, then the 
facility would instead burn another material such as coal. Like the 
coal, the bagasse is burned for a useful purpose--to heat the sugar 
cane juice and concentrate the sugar. Therefore, EPA feels that it is 
reasonable to consider the bagasse in this second example--as the coal 
in the first example--to be a solid fuel and distinct from commercial 
and industrial waste. Thus, for purposes of distinguishing commercial 
and industrial waste from solid fuel, its status is determined by its 
use, as well as by its origin.
    On the other hand, if the bagasse were burned in a combustion unit 
without heat recovery, its combustion would serve no useful purpose 
other than to effectuate destruction or disposal of an unwanted 
material. The EPA would then consider it appropriate to identify the 
bagasse as commercial or industrial waste, and regulate the combustion 
unit under CAA section 129 as a CISWI unit. Similarly, if a material 
(that is not hazardous waste) is burned in a combustion unit at a 
commercial or industrial facility with heat recovery, for reasons that 
do not include the recovery

[[Page 7395]]

of heat for useful purposes, that material would be commercial or 
industrial waste and the unit would be a CISWI unit.
    Thus, in general, if a solid material (which is not a hazardous 
solid waste) is burned with heat recovery at a commercial or industrial 
facility to generate heat for a useful purpose, EPA feels that it is 
appropriate to consider that material not to be commercial or 
industrial waste, and not to regulate the device as a CISWI unit under 
CAA section 129.\7\
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    \7\ As pointed out earlier, the regulatory dividing line does 
not determine whether a combustion unit is regulated or unregulated, 
but rather, whether it is regulated under section 129 or under 
section 112.
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    Statutory basis for EPA's definitions. The CAA requires regulation 
of commercial and industrial solid waste incinerators under CAA section 
129, and regulation of non-CISWI commercial and industrial combustion 
units, such as boilers and process heaters, under CAA section 112. In 
order to effectively implement the statute, EPA must decide how to 
distinguish between these source categories. While EPA is not without 
some statutory guidance in determining where to draw the regulatory 
dividing line, there is considerable ambiguity regarding how to group 
certain categories of sources.
    The CAA broadly identifies ``solid waste incineration unit'' for 
purposes of CAA section 129 as follows:

    The term ``solid waste incineration unit'' means a distinct 
operating unit of any facility which combusts any solid waste 
material from commercial or industrial establishments or the general 
public (including single and multiple residences, hotels, and 
motels). Such term does not include incinerators or other units 
required to have a permit under section 3005 of the SWDA [42 U.S.C. 
6925]. The term ``solid waste incineration unit'' does not include:
    (a) Materials recovery facilities (including primary or 
secondary smelters) which combust waste for the primary purpose of 
recovering metals,
    (b) Qualifying small power production facilities, as defined in 
section 3(17)(C) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 769(17)(C)), or 
qualifying cogeneration facilities, as defined in section 3(18)(B) 
of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796(18)(B)), which burn 
homogeneous waste (such as units which burn tires or used oil, but 
not including refuse-derived fuel) for the production of electric 
energy or in the case of qualifying cogeneration facilities which 
burn homogeneous waste for the production of electric energy and 
steam or forms of useful energy (such as heat) which are used for 
industrial, commercial, heating or cooling purposes, or
    (c) Air curtain incinerators provided that such incinerators 
only burn wood wastes, yard wastes and clean lumber and that such 
air curtain incinerators comply with opacity limitations to be 
established by the Administrator by rule.

    This language suggests that EPA has considerable discretion to 
regulate a variety of sources as solid waste incinerators. As outlined 
earlier, however, this definition also specifically identifies several 
types of combustion units that should not be treated as ``solid waste 
incineration units'' under Section 129, including combustion units 
burning hazardous solid waste, materials recovery facilities, certain 
small power production facilities, certain cogeneration facilities, and 
certain air curtain incinerators. However, as explained below, this 
definition on its own does little to identify where EPA should draw the 
regulatory dividing line between CISWI units and other combustion 
units.
    The CAA identifies the term ``solid waste'' as having the same 
meaning as established by the Administrator under the SWDA. However, as 
discussed earlier, EPA's only comprehensive definition of that term 
under the SWDA specifically identifies only hazardous solid waste, and 
is not useful for purposes of identifying nonhazardous solid waste. 
Therefore, in the final CISWI rule, EPA defined ``solid waste'' in a 
manner that is consistent with both the SWDA itself, and with general 
definitions adopted by the Administrator under various provisions of 
the SWDA. Again, this definition provides EPA with broad discretion for 
identifying units that burn solid wastes, but it is not determinative 
of the scope of applicability of EPA's final CISWI regulations.
    While the CAA specifically addresses the definitions of solid waste 
and solid waste incineration unit, CAA section 129 does not require 
regulations that apply to every device that might be considered a solid 
waste incineration unit.\8\ Rather, section 129(a) directs EPA to 
regulate solid waste incineration units that burn several particular 
categories of solid waste. These include municipal waste, hospital, 
medical and infectious waste, commercial or industrial waste, and other 
solid waste.\9\ The statute specifically defines ``municipal waste,'' 
(in section 129(g)(5)),\10\ and identifies ``medical waste'' as having 
the same meaning as established by the Administrator under the 
SWDA.\11\ However, the CAA does not define the other categories of 
solid waste for regulation, including commercial or industrial 
waste.\12\ Inherent in EPA's implementation of this section must be the 
discretion to reasonably define what constitutes each un-defined type 
of solid waste. Thus, the CAA does not specifically foreclose EPA's 
ability to reasonably define the scope of its regulations applicable to 
commercial and industrial combustion units.
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    \8\ Significantly, unlike section 112(d), section 129(a) does 
not direct EPA to establish a list for regulation of all solid waste 
combustion sources that emit hazardous air pollutants (HAP). Rather, 
the 1990 amendments identified the general categories of solid waste 
incineration units that EPA is to regulate, and set schedules for 
EPA to promulgate appropriate regulations for units within these 
categories--municipal waste combustors (MWC) with a capacity greater 
than 250 tons per day within 12 months of enactment; MWC with a 
capacity equal to or less than 250 tons per day and hospital, 
medical and infectious waste incinerators (HMIWI) within 24 months; 
and CISWI within 48 months. Section 129(a)(1) of the CAA.
    \9\ Section 129 also directs EPA to establish regulation for 
``other categories of solid waste incineration units,'' although the 
CAA neither sets a time frame for such regulations nor identifies 
which ``other categories'' EPA should regulate. ``Not later than 18 
months after the date of enactment * * * the Administrator shall 
publish a schedule for the promulgation of standards * * * 
applicable to other categories of solid waste incineration units.'' 
Section 129(a)(1)(E) of the CAA.
    \10\ This definition itself includes some limitations, in that 
``(A) the term does not include industrial process wastes or medical 
wastes that are segregated from such other wastes; and (B) an 
incineration unit shall not be considered to be combusting municipal 
waste * * * if it combusts a fuel feed stream, 30 percent or less of 
the weight of which is comprised, in aggregate, of municipal 
waste.''
    \11\ This definition of ``medical/infectious waste'' is 
contained in 40 CFR 60.51c, the hospital/medical/infectious waste 
rules established under section 129.
    \12\ Significantly, the statute does not direct EPA to regulate 
all solid waste incineration units at commercial or industrial 
facilities, but rather to regulate those ``solid waste incineration 
units combusting commercial or industrial waste.'' See CAS section 
129(a)(1).
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    Thus, EPA may define commercial or industrial waste in order to 
identify which units are commercial and industrial solid waste 
incineration units subject to regulation under section 129 (as opposed 
to units regulated under section 112 or other authority). In doing so, 
EPA must determine when to treat combustion units at commercial and 
industrial facilities like incinerators, and when to treat them like 
non-incineration combustion units. For reasons discussed in detail 
below, EPA has determined that for purposes of CISWI units, the 
critical consideration in determining whether the unit is burning 
commercial or industrial waste is the primary function of the 
combustion unit; and the primary indicator of function is whether or 
not a unit is designed and operated to recover heat for a useful 
purpose.
    That is, if the unit located at a commercial or industrial facility 
combusts material without heat

[[Page 7396]]

recovery (functions primarily as an incineration unit), then the 
material burned in that unit is commercial or industrial waste. 
Similarly, if a material is burned in a unit at a commercial or 
industrial facility for reasons that do not include the recovery of 
heat for useful purposes, that material is commercial or industrial 
waste and the unit is a CISWI unit. However, if the unit combusts 
material with heat recovery for a useful purpose, then the material 
burned is not commercial and industrial waste, and the combustion unit 
would not be subject to the final CISWI rule.
    The EPA's decision in this regard is reflected in its definition of 
commercial and industrial waste in the final CISWI rule. By 
specifically defining CISWI units to include only units that behave 
primarily like incinerators, EPA can appropriately identify the scope 
of regulation of combustion units at commercial and industrial 
facilities under section 129 of the CAA.
    Conceptually, as outlined above, EPA believes that it is reasonable 
to define commercial or industrial waste, for purposes of identifying 
commercial and industrial solid waste incineration units subject to 
regulation under section 129 of the CAA, as follows: solid materials 
burned at commercial and industrial facilities are commercial or 
industrial waste unless they are (1) hazardous solid wastes, (2) 
subject to one of the exemptions included in section 129 of the CAA 
(e.g., material recovery facility, qualifying small power production 
facility), or (3) burned with heat recovery and for a useful purpose. 
Fundamentally, EPA believes this definition is effective, 
straightforward, and easy to implement, and that it is a reasonable 
approach for distinguishing between commercial or industrial waste and 
other solid materials, and between commercial and industrial solid 
waste incineration units and other combustion units.
    Since promulgation of the CISWI rule and proposal of the boiler 
rule, however, EPA has discovered a ``gap'' in coverage of combustion 
units between rules developed under section 129 and rules developed 
under section 112. As a result, EPA is requesting comment on 
definitions to close this gap.
    Specifically, as promulgated, the final CISWI rules cover 
combustion units at commercial and industrial sites that burn solid 
materials without heat recovery. As proposed, the boiler rule covers 
combustion units at commercial and industrial sites that burn solid 
materials and recover heat in the combustion firebox. Under this 
approach, combustion units at commercial and industrial sites that burn 
solid materials and do not recover heat in the combustion firebox, but 
do recover waste heat from the hot combustion gases following the 
combustion firebox, would not to be covered by either the final CISWI 
rule or the boiler rule. In addition, EPA believes it is not 
appropriate to regulate such units as boilers or process heaters.\13\ 
This is an oversight EPA intends to correct, as follows: if a material 
is burned in a unit at a commercial or industrial facility which is 
followed by external waste heat recovery only (i.e., no heat recovery 
in the combustion firebox), that material is commercial or industrial 
waste and the unit is a CISWI unit.
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    \13\ These units are often referred to as incinerators with 
waste heat recovery units or incinerators with waste heat boilers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Incineration units are designed to discard materials by burning 
them at high temperatures and leaving as little residue as possible. 
Incineration units do not have heat recovery in the combustion firebox, 
but they may be followed by waste heat recovery units. Unlike a boiler 
(which is specifically designed to recover the maximum amount of heat 
from a material's combustion), waste heat recovery units are designed 
to cool the exhaust gas stream, and/or to recover, indirectly, the 
useful heat remaining in the exhaust gas from a combustion unit that 
has some other primary purpose (such as an incineration unit, 
combustion turbine or internal combustion engine). The presence of a 
waste heat recovery unit on the exhaust gas does not change the fact 
that the unit combusting the material is primarily an incineration 
unit. Thus, a combustion unit with no heat recovery in the combustion 
firebox is still considered an incineration unit (i.e., used primarily 
to dispose of solid waste), whether the incineration unit is followed 
by a waste heat recovery unit or not. Such incineration units just 
happen to have an external device (the waste heat recovery unit) that 
is recovering some of the waste heat from the incineration unit's 
exhaust gas.
    To address this regulatory ``gap,'' the term ``commercial or 
industrial waste'' could be expanded to include materials that are 
combusted with only waste heat recovery (i.e., no heat recovery in the 
combustion firebox), as well as materials that are combusted with no 
heat recovery.
    This approach would expand the scope of coverage of the final CISWI 
rule by including combustion units located at commercial and industrial 
sites burning solid materials with no heat recovery in the combustion 
firebox, but with external heat recovery units (i.e., incineration 
units with waste heat recovery units).

III. Request for Comment

    We request public comment on the definitions described below, 
including ``solid waste,'' ``commercial and industrial waste,'' and 
``commercial and industrial solid waste incinerator,'' and on the 
appropriateness of these definitions for identifying units that will be 
regulated as CISWI units under CAA section 129. This request for public 
comment is consistent with EPA's commitment to engage in further 
proceedings regarding these definitions.
    Solid waste means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste 
treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control 
facility and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, 
semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, 
commercial, mining, agricultural operations, and from community 
activities, but does not include solid or dissolved material in 
domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return 
flows or industrial discharges which are point sources subject to 
permits under section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 
as amended (33 U.S.C. 1342), or source, special nuclear, or byproduct 
material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 
U.S.C. 2014).
    Commercial or industrial waste means solid waste (as defined in 
this subpart) combusted for reasons that do not include the recovery of 
heat for a useful purpose, or combusted without heat recovery or with 
only waste heat recovery (i.e., no heat recovery in the combustion 
firebox), in an enclosed unit using controlled flame combustion that is 
a distinct operating unit of any commercial or industrial facility 
(including field-erected, modular, and custom built incineration units 
operating with starved or excess air); or solid waste combusted in an 
air curtain incinerator that is a distinct operating unit of any 
commercial or industrial facility.
    Commercial and industrial solid waste incineration (CISWI) unit 
means any combustion unit that combusts commercial or industrial waste 
(as defined in this subpart), that is a distinct operating unit of any 
commercial or industrial facility (including field-erected, modular, 
and custom built incineration units operating with starved or excess 
air), and any air curtain incinerator that is a distinct operating unit 
of any commercial or industrial facility that does not comply with the 
opacity limits

[[Page 7397]]

under this subpart applicable to air curtain incinerators burning 
commercial or industrial waste. While not all CISWI units will include 
all of the following components, a CISWI unit includes, but is not 
limited to, the commercial or industrial solid waste feed system, grate 
system, flue gas system, waste heat recovery equipment, if any, and 
bottom ash system. The CISWI unit does not include air pollution 
control equipment or the stack. The CISWI unit boundary starts at the 
commercial or industrial waste hopper (if applicable) and extends 
through two areas: (1) The combustion unit flue gas system, which ends 
immediately after the last combustion chamber or after the waste heat 
recovery equipment, if any; and (2) the combustion unit bottom ash 
system, which ends at the truck loading station or similar equipment 
that transfers the ash to final disposal. The CISWI unit includes all 
ash handling systems connected to the bottom ash handling system. A 
CISWI unit does not include any of the fifteen types of units described 
in section 60.2555 of this subpart, nor does it include any combustion 
turbine or reciprocating internal combustion engine.
    Waste heat recovery means the process of recovering heat from the 
combustion flue gases by convective heat transfer only.

IV. Future Action

    Our expectation is that we will take final action on the 
definitions discussed and issues addressed in today's notice when we 
take final action in response to the voluntary remand of the final 
CISWI rule.

    Dated: February 10, 2004.
Jeffrey R. Holmstead,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Air & Radiation.
[FR Doc. 04-3366 Filed 2-13-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P