[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 211 (Thursday, October 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64614-64615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-25909]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8736-6]


Approval of a Petition for Exemption From Hazardous Waste 
Disposal Injection Restrictions to AK Steel Corporation, Middletown, OH

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of final decision on petition.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given by the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) that an exemption to the land disposal 
restrictions under the 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) 
to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) has been granted 
to AK Steel Corporation (AK Steel) of Middletown, Ohio, for two Class I 
injection wells located in Middletown, Ohio. As required by 40 CFR part 
148, AK Steel has demonstrated, to a reasonable degree of certainty, 
that there will be no migration of hazardous constituents out of the 
injection zone or into an underground source of drinking water (USDW) 
for at least 10,000 years. This final decision allows the continued 
underground injection by AK Steel of a specific restricted waste, Waste 
Pickle Liquor, (code K062 under 40 CFR part 261), into two Class I 
hazardous waste injection wells specifically identified as Waste 
Disposal Wells No. 1 and No. 2, at the Middletown facility. This 
decision constitutes a final EPA action for which, except for the two 
parties who commented on the draft decision, there is no Administrative 
Appeal.

DATES: This action is effective as of October 30, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leslie Patterson, Lead Petition 
Reviewer, EPA, Region V, telephone (312) 886-4904. Copies of the 
petition and all pertinent information relating thereto are on file and 
are part of the Administrative Record. It is recommended that you 
contact the lead reviewer prior to reviewing the Administrative Record.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    AK Steel submitted a petition for renewal of an existing exemption 
from the land disposal restrictions of hazardous waste on March 6, 
2006. EPA personnel reviewed all data pertaining to the petition, 
including, but not limited to, well construction, well operations, 
regional and local geology, seismic activity, penetrations of the 
confining zone, and computational models of the injection zone. EPA has 
determined that the geologic setting at the site as well as the 
construction and operation of the wells are adequate to prevent fluid 
migration out of the injection zone within 10,000 years, as required 
under 40 CFR part 148. The injection zone at this site is the upper 
Middle Run Formation, the Mt. Simon Sandstone, and the Eau Claire 
Formation, at depths between 2,423 feet to 3,296 feet below ground 
level. The confining zone is the Knox Dolomite at depths between 1,172 
feet to 2,423 feet below ground level. The confining zone is separated 
from the lowermost underground source of drinking water (at a depth of 
522 feet below ground level) by a sequence of permeable and less 
permeable sedimentary rocks, which provide additional protection from 
fluid migration into drinking water sources.
    EPA issued a draft decision, which described the reasons for 
granting this exemption in more detail, a fact sheet, which summarized 
these reasons, and a public notice on June 21, 2008, pursuant to 40 CFR 
124.10. A public meeting was subsequently held in Middletown on July 
21, 2008. The public comment period expired on August 5, 2008. EPA 
received two comments on the proposed exemption granted to AK Steel, 
neither of which bear on the validity of the no-migration 
demonstration. Although the draft decision incorrectly referred to an 
injection rate of 90 gallons per minute, this final decision is based 
on the more conservative injection rate that was used to demonstrate 
no-migration. This value is 60 gallons per minute, combined for both 
wells. EPA has determined that its reasons for granting the exemption 
as set forth in the original draft decision remain valid. A final 
exemption is therefore granted as proposed.

Conditions

    This exemption is subject to the following conditions. Non-
compliance with any of these conditions is grounds for termination of 
the exemption:
    (1) All regulatory requirements in 40 CFR 148.24 are incorporated 
by reference;
    (2) The exemption applies to the two existing injection wells, UIC 
Well No. 1 and
    UIC Well No. 2, located at the AK Steel facility at 1801 Crawford 
Street, Middletown, Ohio;
    (3) Injection is limited to that part of the lower Eau Claire 
Formation, Mt. Simon Sandstone, and upper Middle Run Sandstone at 
depths between 2,900 and 3,296 feet below the surface (referenced from 
an eight-foot Kelly bushing);
    (4) Only wastes denoted by the RCRA waste code K062 may be 
injected;
    (5) Maximum concentrations of chemical contaminants that are 
hazardous at less than one part per million are limited according to 
the table below:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Maximum
                                                           concentration
                   Chemical constituent                     at the well
                                                            head (mg/L)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chromium.................................................         1,200
Hexavalent Chromium......................................         1,200
Lead.....................................................         1,000
Nickel...................................................           542
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (6) The specific gravity of the injected waste stream must at all 
times range from 1.00 to 1.30;
    (7) The volume of wastes injected in any month through both wells 
at the site must not exceed 2,629,800 gallons;
    (8) This exemption is approved for the 12-year modeled injection 
period, which ends on October 1, 2017. AK Steel may petition EPA for a 
reissuance of the exemption beyond that date, provided that EPA Region 
5 receives a new and complete petition and no-migration demonstration 
by April 1, 2017.
    (9) AK Steel must quarterly submit to EPA a report containing the 
fluid analyses of the injected waste which must indicate the chemical 
and physical properties upon which the no-migration petition was based, 
including the levels of those constituents listed in Condition 5 of 
this exemption approval;
    (10) AK Steel must annually submit to EPA a report containing the 
results of a bottom hole pressure survey (fall-off test) performed on 
either UIC Well No. 1 or UIC Well No. 2. The survey must be performed 
after shutting in the well for a period of time sufficient to allow the 
pressure in the injection interval to reach equilibrium, in accordance 
with 40 CFR 146.68(e)(1). The annual report must include a comparison 
of reservoir parameters determined from the fall-off test with 
parameters used in the approved no-migration petition; and
    (11) The petitioner must fully comply with all requirements set 
forth in

[[Page 64615]]

Underground Injection Control Permits UIC 05-09-001-PTO-I and UIC 05-
09-002-PTO-I issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Upon 
the expiration, cancellation, reissuance, or modification of these 
permits by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, this exemption is 
subject to review. A new demonstration may be required if information 
shows that the basis for granting the exemption is no longer valid 
under 40 CFR 148.23 and 148.24.

    Dated: October 7, 2008.
Timothy C. Henry,
Acting Director, Water Division, EPA Region 5.
[FR Doc. E8-25909 Filed 10-29-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P