[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 11 (Friday, January 16, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2129-2131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00776]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-13120-01-R5]
Notice of Final Decision To Reissue the Republic Industrial and
Energy Solutions, LLC Land-Ban Exemption
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of final decision on a request by Republic Industrial
and Energy Solutions, LLC of Romulus, Michigan 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) 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 Republic
Industrial and Energy Solutions, LLC (RIES) of Romulus, Michigan for
two Class I injection wells located in Romulus, Michigan. As required
by Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR), RIES 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 RIES of only those hazardous wastes designated by the codes in Table
1 through its two Class I hazardous waste injection wells identified as
#1-12 and #2-12. This decision constitutes a final EPA action for which
there is no administrative appeal.
DATES: This action is effective as of December 23, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kaelyn Quinlan, Lead Petition
Reviewer, EPA, Region 5, Water Division, Underground Injection Control
Section, WP-16J, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois 60604-3590;
telephone number: (312) 886-7188; email address:
[email protected]. Copies of the petition and all pertinent
information are on file and are part of the Administrative Record.
Please contact the lead reviewer if you wish to review the
Administrative Record.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: RIES submitted a request for reissuance of
its existing exemption from the land disposal restrictions of hazardous
waste on November 20, 2023, as amended on June 16, 2025, June 30, 2025,
July 21, 2025, August 25, 2025, and November 5, 2025. EPA 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
148.20(a)(1)(i). The injection zone includes the injection interval
into which fluid is directly emplaced and the overlying arrestment
interval into which it may diffuse. The injection interval for the RIES
facility is composed of the Precambrian wash sediments, Mount Simon
Sandstone, Eau Claire Formation, and Franconia-Galesville Formation
between 3,937 and 4,537 feet below ground level (bgl). The arrestment
interval for the RIES facility is composed of the Trempealeau
Formation, Prairie du Chien Group, Glenwood Shale, and lower Black
River Formation between 3,356 and 3,924 feet bgl. The confining zone at
the RIES facility is composed of the upper Black River Formation,
Trenton Limestone, and Utica Shale between 2,351 and 3,356 feet bgl.
The confining zone is separated from the lowermost underground source
of drinking water (at a depth of 342 feet bgl) 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 October 1, 2025, pursuant to 40
CFR 124.10. The public comment period ended on December 17, 2025. EPA
received six comments during the comment period. EPA has prepared a
response to the comments, which can be viewed at the following URL:
https://www.epa.gov/node/88753#public-notices. This document is part of
the Administrative Record for this decision.
Conditions
This exemption is subject to the following conditions. Non-
compliance with any of these conditions is grounds for termination of
the exemption:
(1) The exemption applies to the two existing hazardous waste
injection wells, #1-12 and #2-12, located at the RIES facility at 28470
Citrin Drive, Romulus, Michigan;
(2) The injection zone for wells #1-12 and #2-12 is at depths of
3,369 to 4,537 ft below ground level (3,937 to 4,550 ft relative to
kelly bushing; true vertical depths) and is composed of the Precambrian
wash sediments, Mount Simon Sandstone, Eau Claire Formation, Franconia-
Galesville Formation, Trempealeau Formation, Prairie du
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Chien Group, Glenwood Shale, and lower Black River Formation;
(3) Injection shall only occur into the injection interval composed
of the Precambrian wash sediments, Mount Simon Sandstone, Eau Claire
Formation, and Franconia-Galesville Formation from 3,924 to 4,537 ft
below ground level (3,937 to 4,550 ft relative to kelly bushing; true
vertical depths);
(4) The only hazardous waste that can be injected are the hazardous
wastes designated by the RCRA waste codes found in Table 1;
(5) The specific gravity of the injected waste must be within the
range of 0.9 to 1.1 measured at a temperature of 68 [deg]F;
(6) The combined total injection rate of both wells shall not
exceed a monthly average of 130 gpm and a maximum instantaneous rate of
225 gpm;
(7) The total injection volume shall not exceed 68,374,800 gallons
annually into wells #1-12 and #2-12;
(8) The injection pressure at the well head of wells #1-12 and #2-
12 shall not exceed 968 psig;
(9) Maximum concentrations of chemical contaminants which are
hazardous at less than one part in a trillion (1:1,000,000,000,000)
shall meet any limits for maximum concentration at the wellhead set in
the permits;
(10) RIES must submit copies of the reports on the annual bottom-
hole pressure surveys conducted in wells #1-12, and #2-12 to EPA. The
annual reports must include a comparison of reservoir parameters
determined from the fall-off test, such as permeability,
transmissibility, and long-term shut-in pressure, with parameters used
in the approved no migration petition;
(11) RIES must annually submit copies of a waste sample report and
the reports on the annual radioactive tracer surveys and annulus
pressure tests for wells #1-12 and #2-12 to EPA;
(12) RIES shall notify EPA in writing if any injection well loses
mechanical integrity and prior to any workover or plugging and shall
provide workover or plugging to procedures to EPA prior to commencing
the work;
(13) RIES must fully comply with all requirements set forth in
Underground Injection Control Permits MI-163-1W-C010 and MI-163-1W-C011
issued by EPA;
(14) Upon the expiration, termination, revocation and reissuance,
or modification of the permits referenced above, this exemption is
subject to review;
(15) This exemption is granted only while the underlying
assumptions presented in the no migration petition submitted by RIES
are valid;
(16) Whenever EPA determines under 40 CFR 148.23 or 148.24 that the
basis for approval of a petition may no longer be valid, EPA may
terminate this exemption. There are also other causes for terminating
an exemption at 40 CFR 148.24. Whenever EPA determines that the basis
for approval of a petition may no longer be valid, EPA will require a
new demonstration in accordance with 40 CFR 148.20 and 148.23(b);
(17) This exemption is only approved for the 20-year modeled
injection period, which ends on January 31, 2043. RIES 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 31, 2041.
In addition to the above conditions, this approval of a petition
for reissuance of an exemption is contingent on the validity of the
information submitted in the RIES petition reissuance request for an
exemption to the land disposal restrictions. This final reissuance
decision is subject to termination when any of the conditions occur
which are listed in 40 CFR 148.24, including noncompliance,
misrepresentation of relevant facts, or a determination that new
information shows that the basis for approval is no longer valid.
Table 1--List of RCRA Waste Codes Approved for Injection
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D002................................................. D004 D005 D006 D007 D008 D009 D010 D011 D012 D013 D014
D015................................................. D016 D017 D018 D019 D020 D021 D022 D023 D024 D025 D026
D027................................................. D028 D029 D030 D031 D032 D033 D034 D035 D036 D037 D038
D039................................................. D040 D041 D042 D043 F001 F002 F003 F004 F005 F006 F007
F008................................................. F009 F010 F011 F012 F019 F024 F025 F032 F034 F035 F037
F038................................................. F039 K001 K002 K003 K004 K005 K006 K007 K008 K009 K010
K011................................................. K013 K014 K015 K016 K017 K018 K019 K020 K021 K022 K023
K024................................................. K025 K026 K027 K028 K029 K030 K031 K032 K033 K036 K037
K038................................................. K039 K040 K041 K042 K043 K044 K045 K046 K047 K048 K049
K050................................................. K051 K052 K060 K061 K062 K069 K071 K073 K083 K084 K085
K086................................................. K087 K088 K093 K094 K095 K096 K097 K098 K099 K100 K101
K102................................................. K103 K104 K105 K106 K107 K108 K109 K110 K111 K112 K113
K114................................................. K115 K116 K117 K118 K123 K124 K125 K126 K131 K132 K136
K141................................................. K142 K143 K144 K145 K147 K148 K149 K150 K151 K156 K157
K158................................................. K159 K161 K169 K170 K171 K172 P001 P002 P003 P004 P005
P006................................................. P007 P008 P009 P010 P011 P012 P013 P014 P015 P016 P017
P018................................................. P020 P021 P022 P023 P024 P026 P027 P028 P029 P030 P031
P033................................................. P034 P036 P037 P038 P039 P040 P041 P042 P043 P044 P045
P046................................................. P047 P048 P049 P050 P051 P054 P056 P057 P058 P059 P060
P062................................................. P063 P064 P065 P066 P067 P068 P069 P070 P071 P072 P073
P074................................................. P075 P076 P077 P078 P081 P082 P084 P085 P087 P088 P089
P092................................................. P093 P094 P095 P096 P097 P098 P099 P101 P102 P103 P104
P105................................................. P106 P108 P109 P110 P111 P112 P113 P114 P115 P116 P118
P119................................................. P120 P121 P122 P123 P127 P128 P185 P188 P189 P190 P191
P192................................................. P194 P196 P197 P198 P199 P201 P202 P203 P204 P205 U001
U002................................................. U003 U004 U005 U006 U007 U008 U009 U010 U011 U012 U014
U015................................................. U016 U017 U018 U019 U020 U021 U022 U023 U024 U025 U026
U027................................................. U028 U029 U030 U031 U032 U033 U034 U035 U036 U037 U038
U039................................................. U041 U042 U043 U044 U045 U046 U047 U048 U049 U050 U051
U052................................................. U053 U055 U056 U057 U058 U059 U060 U061 U062 U063 U064
U066................................................. U067 U068 U069 U070 U071 U072 U073 U074 U075 U076 U077
U078................................................. U079 U080 U081 U082 U083 U084 U085 U086 U087 U088 U089
U090................................................. U091 U092 U093 U094 U095 U096 U097 U098 U099 U101 U102
U103................................................. U105 U106 U107 U108 U109 U110 U111 U112 U113 U114 U115
U116................................................. U117 U118 U119 U120 U121 U122 U123 U124 U125 U126 U127
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U128................................................. U129 U130 U131 U132 U133 U134 U135 U136 U137 U138 U140
U141................................................. U142 U143 U144 U145 U146 U147 U148 U149 U150 U151 U152
U153................................................. U154 U155 U156 U157 U158 U159 U160 U161 U162 U163 U164
U165................................................. U166 U167 U168 U169 U170 U171 U172 U173 U174 U176 U177
U178................................................. U179 U180 U181 U182 U183 U184 U185 U186 U187 U188 U189
U190................................................. U191 U192 U193 U194 U196 U197 U200 U201 U202 U203 U204
U205................................................. U206 U207 U208 U209 U210 U211 U213 U214 U215 U216 U217
U218................................................. U219 U220 U221 U222 U223 U225 U226 U227 U228 U234 U235
U236................................................. U237 U238 U239 U240 U243 U244 U246 U247 U248 U249 U271
U278................................................. U279 U280 U328 U353 U359 U364 U367 U372 U373 U387 U389
U394................................................. U395 U404 U409 U410 U411
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Electronic Access. You may access this Federal Register document
electronically from the Government Printing Office under the ``Federal
Register'' listings at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/FR/.
Tera Fong,
Director, Water Division.
[FR Doc. 2026-00776 Filed 1-15-26; 8:45 am]
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