[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 3, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9241-9242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-4452]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8774-2]


Approval of a Petition for Exemption From Hazardous Waste 
Disposal Injection Restrictions to ArcelorMittal Hennepin, Inc., 
Hennepin, IL

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 ArcelorMittal Hennepin, Inc. (Hennepin Works) of Hennepin, Illinois, 
for one Class I injection well located in Hennepin, Illinois. As 
required by 40 CFR part 148, Hennepin Works 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 Hennepin Works 
of a specific restricted waste, Waste Pickle Liquor (code K062 under 40 
CFR part 261), into one Class I hazardous waste injection well 
specifically identified as Waste Pickle Liquor No. 1 (WPL-1), at the 
Hennepin facility. This decision constitutes a final EPA action for 
which there is no Administrative Appeal.

DATES: This action is effective as of March 3, 2009.

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

    Hennepin Works submitted a petition for renewal of an existing 
exemption from the land disposal restrictions of hazardous waste on 
March 6, 2007. 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 well 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 Mt. Simon 
Sandstone and the lower Eau Claire Formation, at depths between 2,902 
feet and 4,800 feet below ground level. The confining zone is the upper 
Eau Claire formation (Proviso Member) at depths between 2,705 feet and 
2,902 feet below ground level. The confining zone is separated from the 
lowermost underground source of drinking water (at a depth of 2510 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 November 24, 2008, pursuant to 40 
CFR 124.10. The public comment period expired on December 26, 2008. EPA 
received no comments on the proposed exemption granted to Hennepin 
Works. 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 148.23 and 148.24 are 
incorporated by reference;
    (2) The exemption applies to the existing injection well, WPL-1, 
located at the Hennepin Works facility at 10726 Steel Drive, Hennepin, 
Illinois;
    (3) Injection is limited to that part of the Mt. Simon Sandstone at 
depths between 3,109 and 4,800 feet;
    (4) Only wastes denoted by the RCRA waste code K062 may be 
injected;
    (5) The chemical properties of the injectate that defined the edge 
of the plume in the demonstration are limited according to the table 
below:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Chemical constituent or property       Limitation at the well head
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chromium...........................  Maximum concentration is 1200 mg/L.
pH.................................  Minimum pH is zero.
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    (6) The monthly average of the specific gravity of the injected 
waste stream must fall within the range of 1.00 to 1.27;
    (7) The volume of wastes injected in any month through the well 
must not exceed 6,705,990 gallons;
    (8) This exemption is approved for the 22-year modeled injection 
period, which ends on December 31, 2028. Hennepin Works may petition 
EPA for a reissuance of the exemption beyond that date, provided that a 
new and complete petition and no-migration demonstration is received at 
EPA, Region 5, by July 1, 2028;
    (9) Hennepin Works shall quarterly submit to EPA a report 
containing a fluid analysis of the injected waste which shall indicate 
the chemical and physical properties upon which the no-migration 
petition was based, including the physical and chemical properties

[[Page 9242]]

listed in Conditions 5 and 6 of this exemption approval;
    (10) Hennepin Works shall annually submit to EPA a report 
containing the results of a bottom hole pressure survey (fall-off test) 
performed on WPL-1. The survey shall 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 shall include a comparison of reservoir 
parameters determined from the fall-off test with parameters used in 
the approved no-migration petition;
    (11) The petitioner shall fully comply with all requirements set 
forth in Underground Injection Control Permit UIC-004-W1-JL issued by 
the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency; and
    (12) Whenever EPA determines that the basis for approval of a 
petition may no longer be valid, EPA may terminate this exemption and 
will require a new demonstration in accordance with 40 CFR 148.20.

    Dated: January 21, 2009.
Anthony C. Carrollo,
Acting Director, Water Division, Region 5.
 [FR Doc. E9-4452 Filed 3-2-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P