[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 44 (Friday, March 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12170-12171]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05240]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9923-91-Region 5]
Notice of Final Decision To Reissue the ArcelorMittal Burns
Harbor, LLC Land-Ban Exemption
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of final decision on a request by ArcelorMittal Burns
Harbor, LLC of Burns Harbor, Indiana to reissue its exemption from the
Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA or Agency) 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 Burns Harbor, LLC (AMBH) of Burns Harbor, Indiana, for
four Class I injection wells located in Burns Harbor, Indiana. As
required by 40 CFR part 148, AMBH 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 AMBH of a specific
restricted waste, Spent Pickle Liquor (SPL) into one Class I hazardous
waste injection well specifically identified as SPL #1; and of waste
ammonia liquor (WAL) into three Class I hazardous waste injection wells
specifically identified as WAL #1, WAL #2 and WAL #3 at the AMBH
facility. This decision constitutes a final EPA action for which there
is no administrative appeal.
DATES: This action is effective as of March 6, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Roy, Lead Petition Reviewer,
EPA, Region 5, Water Division, Underground Injection Control Branch,
WU-16J, Environmental Protection Agency, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago,
Illinois 60604-3590; telephone number: (312) 886-6556; fax number (312)
692-2951; email address: [email protected]. Copies of the petition
and all pertinent information 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: AMBH submitted a request for reissuance of
its
[[Page 12171]]
existing exemption from the land disposal restrictions of hazardous
waste to include the newly-drilled WAL #3 well in July, 2013. EPA staff
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
hydrogeological and geochemical conditions at the site and the nature
of the waste streams are such that reliable predictions can be made
that fluid movement conditions are such that injected fluids will not
migrate out of the injection zone within 10,000 years, as set forth at
40 CFR part 148. The injection zone for the AMBH facility is composed
of the lower Eau Claire Formation, the Mount Simon Sandstone and the
upper portion of the Precambrian rocks, between 2170 and 4286 feet
below the surface. The confining zone at the AMBH facility is the upper
Eau Claire Formation, which is found between 1936 and 2170 feet. The
confining zone is separated from the lowermost underground source of
drinking water (at a depth of 726 feet below ground level) by a
sequence of permeable and less permeable sedimentary rocks. This
sequence provides 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 14, 2014, pursuant to 40
CFR 124.10. The public comment period ended on December 16, 2014. EPA
received no comments but during the comment period, EPA realized that
the volume limitation identified in section I.B was inadvertently shown
as gallons per month instead of gallons per year. The same mistake was
made in Condition #8. Therefore, EPA is issuing the final exemption
with this condition corrected to be consistent with the language in the
AMBH UIC permits.
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 wells, Spent
Pickle Liquor #1, Waste Ammonia Liquor #1, Waste Ammonia Liquor #2, and
Waste Ammonia Liquor #3, located at the ArcelorMittal facility at 250
West U.S. Highway 12, Burns Harbor, Indiana;
(3) Injection is limited to that part of the Lower Mount Simon
Sandstone and the upper portion of the Precambrian rocks at depths
between 2722 and 4286 feet below ground level;
(4) Hazardous wastes denoted by the waste codes D010, D018, and
D038 may only be injected into Waste Ammonia Liquor #1, Waste Ammonia
Liquor #2, and Waste Ammonia Liquor #3. Hazardous waste denoted by
waste code K062 may only be injected into Spent Pickle Liquor #1. Other
fluids necessary for well testing, stimulation, etc. may be injected
when approved by EPA;
(5) The chemical properties of the injectate that will be monitored
are limited according to the table below:
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Concentration limitation at the
Chemical constituent or property well head (mg/L)
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Benzene............................. 220 (maximum).
pH.................................. Minimum pH is zero.
Chromium............................ 133 (maximum).
Naphthalene......................... 260 (maximum).
Nickel.............................. 50 (maximum).
Phenol.............................. 3780 (maximum).
Pyridine............................ 116 (maximum).
Selenium............................ 5 (maximum).
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(6) The annual average of the specific gravity of the injected
spent pickle liquor must be no greater than 1.31; the annual average of
the specific gravity of the waste ammonia liquor must be no less than
0.99;
(7) The chemical properties of the injectate that defined the edge
of the plume in the demonstration are benzene for waste ammonia liquor
and pH for the spent pickle liquor;
(8) The monthly average injection rate for SPL must not exceed 175
gallons per minute and the monthly average injection rate for WAL must
not exceed 300 gallons per minute, plant-wide, cumulatively covering
all WAL injection wells.
(9) This exemption is approved for the 21-year modeled injection
period, which ends on December 31, 2027. ArcelorMittal may petition EPA
for a reissuance of the exemption beyond that date, provided that a new
and complete no-migration petition is received at EPA, Region 5, by
July 1, 2027;
(10) ArcelorMittal shall submit monthly reports to EPA containing a
fluid analysis of the injected waste which shall indicate the chemical
and physical properties upon which the no-migration demonstration was
based, including the physical and chemical properties listed in
Conditions 5 and 6 of this exemption approval;
(11) ArcelorMittal shall submit an annual report containing the
results of a bottom hole pressure survey (fall-off test) performed on
Spent Pickle Liquor #1, Waste Ammonia Liquor #1, Waste Ammonia Liquor
#2, or Waste Ammonia Liquor #3 to EPA. 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 demonstration;
(12) The petitioner shall fully comply with all requirements set
forth in Underground Injection Control Permits IN-127-1W-0001, IN-127-
1W-0003, IN-127-1W-0004, and IN-127-1W-0007 issued by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency; and
(13) Whenever EPA determines that the basis for approval of a
petition may no longer be valid, EPA may terminate this exemption and
may require a new demonstration in accordance with 40 CFR 148.20.
Electronic Access. You may access this Federal Register document
electronically from the Government Publishing Office under the
``Federal Register'' listings at FDSys (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=FR).
Dated: February 18, 2015.
Timothy C. Henry,
Acting Director, Water Division.
[FR Doc. 2015-05240 Filed 3-5-15; 8:45 am]
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