[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 31, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15324-15334]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7915]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 372
[OPPTS-400136; FRL-6051-1]
Combustion for Energy Recovery Toxic Release Inventory Reporting;
Notice of Receipt of Petition
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of receipt of petition and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This document announces the receipt of a petition from Safety
Kleen Corporation (Safety Kleen) requesting that EPA modify its current
interpretation of combustion for energy recovery under section 313 of
the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and
section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA). The petition was
submitted pursuant to sections 553(e) and 555(e) of the Administrative
Procedure Act (APA). Also, as part of this document, EPA is publishing
the main text of the petition. Finally, EPA is seeking comments from
interested or potentially affected parties concerning issues associated
with the current interpretation of combustion for energy.
DATES: Written comments in response to this request for comments must
be received on or before June 1, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by mail, electronically, or in
person. Please follow the detailed instructions for each method as
provided in Unit II. of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific information regarding
this document contact: Sara Hisel McCoy at (202) 260-7937, e-mail:
hisel-mccoy.sara@epa.gov. For further information on EPCRA section 313,
contact the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Hotline,
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 5101, 401 M St. SW.,
Washington DC 20460, Toll-free: 1-800-424-9346, in Virginia and Alaska:
703-412-9877 or Toll free TDD: 800-553-7672.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does This Document Apply To Me?
This document does not make any changes to existing regulations,
however you may be interested in this document if you combust toxic
chemicals in waste on-site or transfer these toxic chemicals off-site
for this purpose. Potentially interested categories and entities may
include, but are not limited to the following:
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Examples of Potentially
Category Interested Entities
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Industry; facilities that manufacture, Manufacturing, Metal mining,
process, or otherwise use certain Coal mining, Electric
chemicals utilities, Commercial
hazardous waste treatment,
Chemicals and allied
products-wholesale,
Petroleum bulk terminals
and plants wholesale, and
Solvent Recovery services
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Facilities with hazardous waste Facilities regulated under
incinerators Subtitle C of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery
Act
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This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be interested in this
document. Other types of entities not listed in this table may also be
interested in this document. Additional businesses that may be
interested in this document are those covered under 40 CFR part 372,
subpart B. If you have any questions regarding whether a particular
entity is covered by this section of the CFR, consult the technical
person listed in the ``FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT'' section.
B. How Can I Get Additional Information or Copies of This Document or
Other Support Documents?
1. Electronically. You may obtain electronic copies of this
document as well as the appendices to the petition from the EPA
Internet Home Page at http://www.epa.gov/. On the Home Page select
``Laws and Regulations'' and then look up the entry for this document
under the ``Federal Register - Environmental Documents.'' You can also
go directly to the ``Federal Register'' listings at http://www.epa.gov/
fedrgstr/. You may also obtain electronic copies of the complete
[[Page 15325]]
petition and appendices at http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/tri/.
2. In person or by phone. If you have any questions or need
additional information about this action, please contact the technical
person identified in the ``FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT'' section.
Copies of a complete petition including the appendices to the Safety
Kleen petition are also available by calling the EPCRA Hotline at 1-
800-424-9346, in Virginia and Alaska: 703-412-9877 or Toll free TDD:
800-553-7672. In addition, the official record for this document,
including the public version, has been established under docket control
number OPPTS-400136. This record includes not only the documents
physically contained in the docket, but all of the doucments included
as references in those documents. A public version of this record,
including printed, paper versions of any electronic comments, which
does not include any information claimed as Confidential Business
Information (CBI), is available for inspection from 12 noon to 4 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The official record is
located in the TSCA Nonconfidential Information Center, Rm. NE-B607,
401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. The TSCA Nonconfidential
Information Center telephone number is 202-260-7099.
II. How Can I Respond To This Document?
A. How and To Whom Do I Submit the Comments?
You may submit comments through the mail, in person, or
electronically. Be sure to identify the appropriate docket control
number, OPPTS-400136, in your correspondence.
1. By mail. Submit written comments to: Document Control Office
(7407), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Rm. G-099, East Tower, Washington,
DC 20460.
2. In person or by courier. Deliver written comments to: Document
Control Office in Rm. G-099, East Tower, Waterside Mall, 401 M St.,
SW., Washington, DC, Telephone: 202-260-7093.
3. Electronically. Submit your comments and/or data electronically
by e-mail to: oppt.ncic@epa.gov. Please note that you should not submit
any information electronically that you consider to be CBI. Electronic
comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special
characters and any form of encryption. Comment and data will also be
accepted on disks in WordPerfect 5.1/6.1 or ASCII file format. All
comments and data in electronic form must be identified by the docket
control number OPPTS-400136. Electronic comments on this document may
also be filed online at many Federal Depository Libraries.
B. How Should I Handle CBI Information That I Want To Submit To the
Agency?
You may claim information that you submit in response to this
document as CBI by marking any part or all of that information as CBI.
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. A copy of the comment that does
not contain CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public record.
Information not marked confidential will be included in the public
docket by EPA without prior notice. If you have any questions about CBI
or the procedures for claiming CBI, please consult with the technical
person identified in the ``FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT'' section.
III. Background
Section 313 of EPCRA requires certain facilities manufacturing,
processing, or otherwise using listed toxic chemicals in amounts above
reporting threshold levels, to report their releases of such chemicals
annually. These facilities must also report other waste management
activities for such chemicals, pursuant to section 6607 of the PPA, 42
U.S.C. 13106. Specifically, these facilities must report the quantities
of toxic chemicals in wastes that are released (including disposed),
treated for destruction, combusted for energy recovery or recycled on-
site or transferred off-site for such purposes.
In the final industry expansion rule (62 FR 23891, May 1, 1997)
(FRL-5578-3), EPA interpreted combustion for energy recovery to include
the combustion of a section 313 chemical that is (1)(a) a Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste or waste fuel, (b)
a constituent of a RCRA hazardous waste or waste fuel, or (c) a spent
or contaminated ``otherwise used'' material; and that (2) has a
significant heating value and is combusted in an energy or materials
recovery device. Also, currently EPA defines an energy recovery device
as a boiler or industrial furnace as defined in 40 CFR 372.3.
On March 18, 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency received a
petition from Safety Kleen Corporation requesting EPA to modify its
guidance regarding EPA's interpretation of the term ``combustion for
energy recovery'' under section 313 of the EPCRA and section 6607 of
the PPA. (Note: At the time of the submission of this petition, the
company that petitioned EPA was known as Laidlaw Environmental
Services. Subsequent to this submission, the company has changed its
name to Safety Kleen Corporation. Therefore the references in the text
of the petition to Laidlaw Environmental Services refer to Safety Kleen
Corporation).
EPA is reproducing Safety Kleen's petition in its entirety (except
for the appendices and the table of contents) in Unit IV. of this
document, to solicit public comment on its content. In addition, in
Unit V. of this document, EPA is soliciting comment on specific issues
associated with the petition on combustion for energy recovery.
IV. Safety Kleen's Petition
STATEMENT OF INTEREST
Laidlaw Environmental Services Inc., and its wholly-owned
subsidiary companies, is a full service company engaged in the
blending, incineration, treatment, disposal, destruction, and
transportation of hazardous and toxic wastes. Our interests are
directly affected by the issues addressed in this petition.
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 1991, the EPA designated ``Energy Recovery'' as an acceptable
method of handling toxic organic chemicals under the Toxic Release
Inventory program. To receive credit for ``Energy Recovery'' a
generator has to transfer energetic (> 5,000 Btus/lb) toxic organic
chemicals to an ``energy or materials recovery device''. The Agency
defines an ``energy or materials recovery device'' as a Boiler or
Industrial Furnace.
Present guidance on ``Energy Recovery'' does not allow a
generator to claim credit for the energy recovered when energetic
toxic chemicals are used to destroy other toxic organics in a
hazardous waste incinerator. This two-tiered approach to the
recognition, or lack of recognition, of the process of ``Energy
Recovery'', depending on the type of unit combusting the toxic
organic chemicals has led to a situation where globally there is no
reduction in the use of fossil fuel.
TRI data for 1991-95 show that annually larger quantities of
energetic toxic organic chemicals are being transferred to EPA
designated ``energy or materials recovery devices'', while reduced
percentages of these same chemicals are being shipped to hazardous
waste incinerators. While ``energy or materials recovery devices''
may be using less fossil fuel because they may be utilizing the
energy from these toxic chemicals in their processes, incinerators
have had to substitute fossil fuels on a Btu for Btu basis for every
Btu of energetic toxic organic chemicals they have lost.
This situation has led to a game where a preferential
designation has provided ``energy or materials recovery devices''
with an advantage in procuring high energy
[[Page 15326]]
organic chemicals, and incinerators have been placed at a
comparative disadvantage in procuring these same chemicals. However,
this is a ``zero-sum game'' because both EPA designated ``energy or
materials recovery devices'' and incinerators utilize the energy
from these chemicals in their process, and the movement of waste
energy from one type of unit to the other also necessitates the
movement of fossil fuel from one type of unit to another. In
reality, there are no global net energy savings.
Laidlaw maintains that in light of the data presented in this
petition, EPA should recognize that:
- Sufficient energy input is necessary to properly destroy all
forms of toxic organic chemicals in a hazardous waste incinerator;
- Hazardous waste incinerators harness the Btus from high energy
organics to destroy less energetic toxic organic chemicals;
- Incinerators are forced to use fossil fuels to supplement the
energy input as the highest Btu energetic wastes are diverted from
incinerators; and
- Hazardous waste incinerators perform ``Energy Recovery'' in
the process of using high energy toxic organic chemicals to destroy
low energy organics.
Laidlaw requests and recommends in this petition that the EPA
modify its guidance on ``Energy Recovery'' to include the combustion
of high energy toxic organic chemicals for the purpose of destroying
low energy toxic organic chemicals in a hazardous waste incinerator.
II. THE EMERGENCY PLANNING AND COMMUNITY RIGHT TO KNOW ACT
The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act
(``EPCRA'') was signed into law in 1986. The law was designed to
prevent an occurrence in the U.S. of the type of tragedy that befell
Bhopal, India just a couple of years prior to its passage. EPCRA was
a comprehensive statute that greatly enhanced the knowledge of the
states, local governments, workers, and citizens about the chemicals
handled at facilities around the nation. This statute also put into
place the mechanisms to handle unplanned releases of chemicals from
a facility, so that threats to the local community, and workers
would be minimized.
EPCRA, for the first time, provided minimum reporting
requirements for facilities handling one or more ``extremely
hazardous substances'' (defined in 40 CFR, Part 355, Appendices A
and B) above a threshold limit. Depending on the specific section of
EPCRA, a facility had to notify its State Emergency Response
Commission (``SERC''), Local Emergency Planning Committee
(``LEPC''), Local Fire Department, and/or the EPA about the
extremely hazardous substances on-site. More Specifically, under
EPCRA\1\ a facility must report:
- EPCRA Sections 302-303: If a facility has one or more
extremely hazardous substances on-site in quantities greater than a
threshold level, it must notify its SERC and LEPC that it is subject
to the emergency planning requirements of these sections, a facility
representative must be designated to participate in the local
emergency planning process, and the facility must provide
information necessary for the development and implementation of a
local emergency plan;
- EPCRA Section 304: The facility must notify the LEPC and SERC
immediately after the release of any extremely hazardous substance,
or CERCLA hazardous substance, at or above the Reportable Quantity
(``RQ'') established for the substance, the facility must furnish a
written statement with details of the release after the initial
notification;
- EPCRA Section 311: The facility must submit to the LEPC, SERC,
and local fire department a list, or copies, of Material Data Safety
Sheets (``MSDSs'') for any Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (``OSHA'') defined hazardous chemicals or extremely
hazardous substances that are present on-site above defined
threshold limits;
- EPCRA Section 312: The facility must submit annually to the
LEPC, SERC, and the local fire department a report on the hazardous
chemicals or extremely hazardous substances on-site that includes
the type of hazard the material may pose, quantities of the material
stored on-site, and the location and type of storage for the
materials; and
- EPCRA Section 313: Facilities in certain EPA defined SIC
codes, meeting size and threshold requirements, are required to
report annually to the EPA (and some states) the amounts of
chemicals listed in EPCRA's Section 313 released or otherwise
managed.
EPCRA's Section 313 (a copy of this section is included in this
submission as Appendix 1) is more commonly known as the Toxic
Release Inventory (``TRI'') and is the subject of the information in
this petition (the issues addressed in this petition are specific to
TRI, and do not pertain to the other facets of EPCRA.)
III. THE TOXIC RELEASE INVENTORY
EPCRA established the legal framework for the Toxic Release
Inventory The TRI program was designed to provide information to the
public and regulators about the fate of designated toxic chemicals
(chemicals referenced in Section 313) at a facility, local, state,
and national level. The EPCRA statute required that this collected
TRI information be maintained in a computer database, and be readily
available to ``any person'' requesting it.
EPCRA outlined, at a minimum, the types of facility that had to
submit TRI reports and the information to be contained on those
reports. The statute provided discretion to the Environmental
Protection Agency as to what types of facility they can require to
report TRI information in the future, and the types of information
they can require on the TRI report in the future. EPCRA also allowed
the Agency, but to a lesser extent than in other areas, discretion
to add or subtract chemicals from the Section 313 list.
TRI reporting by facilities was initially required for the
calender year 1987, with subsequent reports required annually on a
calender year basis. While TRI reporting was initially required only
for facilities with SIC codes between 20 and 39 (these facilities
also had to meet employee size and threshold limits for the quantity
of Section 313 chemicals to qualify for reporting requirements), in
May of 1997 the EPA finalized rulemaking that expanded the types of
industries to be included in TRI reporting. At the time of this
petition the facilities\1\ meeting the following criteria are
required to report TRI information:
- The facility must be in SIC code 10 (except 1011, 1081, and
1094), or 12 (except 1241), or 20-39 (manufacturing facilities), or
4911 (limited to facilities that combust coal and/or oil for the
purpose of generating power for distribution in commerce), 4931
(limited to facilities that combust coal and/or oil for the purpose
of generating power for distribution in commerce) and 4939 (limited
to facilities that combust coal and/or oil for the purpose of
generating power for distribution in commerce), or 4953 (limited to
facilities regulated under RCRA subtitle C), or 5169, or 5171, or
7389 (limited to facilities primarily engaged in solvent recovery
services on a contract or fee basis) hereafter ``covered SIC
codes''; and,
- Facility must have 10 or more full-time employees (or the
total hours worked by all employees is greater than 20,000 hours),
and
- The facility manufactures (defined to include importation), or
processes, or otherwise uses any Section 313 chemical in quantities
greater than the established threshold in the course of a calendar
year.
In addition to the recent industry expansion, other facets of
the TRI program have changed over the years. The list of chemicals
to be tracked for TRI purposes changes almost annually, and today
this number is almost double the starting number. Also, the type of
information required to be reported has changed over the years.
Originally the EPCRA\2\ statute required, at a minimum, the
following information be included on each TRI report:
(g) Form
(1) Information required
Not later than June 1, 1987 the Administrator shall publish a
uniform toxic chemical release form for facilities covered by this
section. If the Administrator does not publish such a form, owners
and operators of facilities subject to the requirements of this
section shall provide the information required under this subsection
by letter postmarked on or before the date on which the form is due.
Such form shall -
(A) provide for the name and location of, and principal business
activities at, the facility;
(B) include an appropriate certification, signed by a senior
official with management responsibility for the person or persons
completing the report, regarding the accuracy and completeness of
the report; and
(C) provide for submission of each of the following items of
information for each listed toxic chemical known to be present at
the facility:
(I) Whether the toxic chemical at the facility is manufactured,
processed, or otherwise used, and the general category or categories
of use of the chemical.
(ii) An estimate of the maximum amounts (in ranges) of the toxic
chemical present at the facility at any time during the preceding
calendar year.
(iii) For each wastestream, the waste treatment or disposal
methods employed, and an estimate of the treatment efficiency
[[Page 15327]]
typically achieved by such methods for that wastestream.
(iv) The annual quantity of the toxic chemical entering each
environmental medium.
The data outlined in sections i-iv was the basic TRI data
mandated by EPCRA and these sections formed the basis for the
original Form R (TRI reporting form) until reporting year 1991. In
1991 the next statute to impact TRI, the Pollution Prevention act of
1990, modified some of the reporting requirements for TRI.
IV. THE POLLUTION PREVENTION ACT OF 1990
In November, 1990 the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (``PPA'')
was signed into law (a copy of this Act is included in this
submission as Appendix 2). This statute established pollution
prevention as a ``national objective'', and noted\3\:
``There are significant opportunities for industry to reduce or
prevent pollution at the source through cost-effective changes in
production, operation, and raw materials use... The opportunities
for source reduction are often not realized because existing
regulations, and the industrial resources they require for
compliance, focus upon treatment and disposal, rather than source
reduction... Source reduction is fundamentally different and more
desirable than waste management and pollution control.''
The Pollution Prevention Act established a hierarchy of methods
for dealing with real or potential pollutants. Following is an
outline of this hierarchy in order of preference:
- Wherever feasible, pollution should be prevented or reduced at
the source;
- Pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled in an
environmentally sound manner;
- Pollution that cannot be prevented or recycled should be
treated; and
- Pollution that cannot be prevented, recycled, or treated
should be disposed or released into the environment as a last
resort.
In addition to this hierarchy, the Act\4\ authorized a state
grant program to promote source reduction by businesses, established
the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, an independent office
to carry out the functions required by the PPA, and directed the EPA
to:
- Facilitate the adoption of source reduction techniques by
businesses and federal agencies;
- Establish standard methods of measurement for source
reduction;
- Review regulations to determine their effect on source
reduction;
- Investigate opportunities to use federal procurement to
encourage source reduction;
- Develop improved methods for providing public access to data
collected under federal environmental statutes;
- Develop a training program on source reduction opportunities,
model source reduction auditing procedures, a source reduction
clearinghouse, and an annual award program; and
- Report to Congress within 18 months, and biennially
afterwards, on actions needed to implement a strategy to promote
source reduction, and an assessment of the clearinghouse and grant
program.
Finally, the PPA made the first statutorily mandated changes to
the TRI reporting requirements since EPCRA established the
requirement for TRI reporting in 1986. Under the Pollution
Prevention Act, facilities already required to report TRI
information to the EPA were now required to provide information on
pollution prevention and recycling for each TRI chemical reported.
Specifically, Section 6607 of the PPA\3\ established the following
requirements for source reduction and recycling data collection:
(a)Reporting Requirements- Each owner or operator of a facility
required to file an annual toxic chemical release form under section
313 of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986
(``SARA'') for any toxic chemical shall include with each such
annual filing a toxic chemical source reduction and recycling report
for the preceding calender year. The toxic chemical source reduction
and recycling report shall cover each toxic chemical required to be
reported in the annual toxic chemical release form filed by the
owner or operator under section 313(c) of that Act. This section
shall take effect with the annual report filed under section 313 for
the first full calender year beginning after the enactment of this
subtitle.
(b)Items Included in the Report- The toxic chemical source
reduction and recycling report required under subsection (a) shall
set forth each of the following on a facility-by-facility basis for
each toxic chemical:
(1) The quantity of any chemical entering any waste stream (or
otherwise released into the environment) prior to recycling,
treatment, or disposal during the calender year for which the report
is filed and the percentage change from the previous year. The
quantity reported shall not include any amount reported under
paragraph (7). When actual measurements of the quantity of a toxic
chemical entering the waste streams are not readily available,
reasonable estimates should be made base on best engineering
judgment.
(2) The amount of the chemical from the facility which is
recycled (at the facility or elsewhere) during such calender year,
the percentage change from the previous year, and the process of
recycling used.
(3) The source reduction practices used with respect to that
chemical during such year at the facility. Such practices shall be
reported in accordance with the following categories unless the
Administrator finds other categories to be more appropriate:
(A) Equipment, technology, process, or procedure modifications.
(B) Reformulation or redesign of products.
(C) Substitution of raw materials.
(D) Improvement in management, training, inventory control,
materials handling, or other general operational phases of
industrial facilities.
(4) The amount expected to be reported under paragraph (1) and
(2) for the two calender years immediately following the calender
year for which the report is filed. Such amount shall be expressed
as a percentage change from the amount reported in paragraphs (1)
and (2).
(5) A ratio of production in the reporting year to production in
the previous year. The ration should be calculated to most closely
reflect all activities involving the toxic chemical. In specific
industrial classifications subject to this section, where a
feedstock or some variable other than production is the primary
influence on waste characteristics or volumes, the report may
provide an index based on that primary variable for each toxic
chemical. The Administrator is encouraged to develop production
indexes to accommodate individual industries for use on a voluntary
basis.
(6) The techniques which were used to identify source reduction
opportunities. Techniques listed should include, but are not limited
to, employee recommendations, external and internal audits,
participative team management, and material balance audits. Each
type of source reduction listed under paragraph (3) should be
associated with the techniques or multiples of techniques used to
identify the source reduction technique.
(7) The amount of any toxic chemical released into the
environment which resulted from a catastrophic event, remedial
action, or other one-time event, and is not associated with
production processes during the reporting year.
(8)The amount of the chemical from the facility which is treated
(at the facility or elsewhere) during such calender year and the
percentage change from the previous year. For the first year of
reporting under this subsection, comparison with the previous year
is required only to the extent such information is available.
(c)SARA Provisions- The provisions of sections 322, 325 (c), and
326 of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986
shall apply to the reporting requirements of this section in the
same manner as to the reports required under section 313 of that
Act. The Administrator may modify the form required for purposes of
reporting information under section 313 of that Act to the extent he
deems necessary to include the additional information required under
this section.
(d) Additional Optional Information- Any person filing a report
under this section for any year may include with the report
additional information regarding source reduction, recycling, and
other pollution control techniques in earlier years.
(e) Availability of Data- Subject to section 322 of the
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, the
Administrator shall make data collected under this section publicly
available in the same manner as the data collected under section 313
of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986.
The new requirements of the PPA mandated that EPA make changes
to the TRI reporting form and the program. EPA incorporated these
changes in to the Form R for the 1991 reporting year. Although it
was not specifically covered in the PPA, the Agency formalized the
category of Energy Recovery at this time.
V. STRUCTURE OF TRI DATA REQUIREMENTS
Data for TRI reporting is submitted to the EPA on a completed
``Form R'' (a copy of the
[[Page 15328]]
1996 Form R is included in this submission as Appendix 3). Regulated
facilities must submit a completed Form R to the EPA that summarizes
activity for the previous calender year by July 1 of the subsequent
calender year.
Form R is available both in electronic and hard copy form. The
hard copy form is accompanied by a set of instructions\5\ that
include guidance on the most common TRI issues. TRI data
requirements are listed on the Form R. The Form R is broken into two
parts, Part I: Facility Identification Information, and Part II:
Chemical Specific Information.
Part I is one page in length consisting of five sections that
identify the reporting year; any trade secret information; the
facility; the parent company; and a certification by a responsible
official of the reporting entity.
Part II is specific to each chemical a facility is reporting. It
is four pages long, and is broken into eight sections that identify
the toxic chemical; the mixture it may be in; the activities and
use(s) of the chemical at the facility; the maximum amount of the
chemical on-site during the year; the quantity of the chemical
released to each environmental media during the year; the quantity
of the chemical transferred in waste to off-site locations; on-site
treatment, energy recovery, or recycling processes for the chemical;
and source reduction and recycling activities.
This petition is concerned with the definition of the
information required in Part II of the Form R. Specifically this
petition is requesting EPA reevaluate its definition of ``Energy
Recovery'' and various types of ``Incineration'' that are used in
Section 6: Transfers to Off-Site Locations in light of the data
provided within this petition.
VI. TRI CATEGORIZATION OF OFF-SITE TRANSFERS
Data on transfers of toxic chemicals to off-site locations must
be reported in Part II, Section 6 of Form R. Section 6 is itself
composed of two primary subsections: 6.1 Discharges to Publicly
Owned Treatment Works (POTWs); and 6.2 Transfers to other Off-Site
Locations. This petition is concerned with the categorization of
some of the data in subsection 6.2, specifically 6.2C ``Type of
Waste Treatment/ Disposal/ Recycling/ Energy Recovery'' for
transfers to other off-site locations.
In the instructions\5\ for completing Form R, methods and codes
are listed that are applicable to completing subsection 6.2C (a list
of these methods and codes is included in this submission as
Appendix 4). There are eight codes listed for Disposal, six codes
listed for Waste Treatment, five codes for Recycling, and two codes
for Energy Recovery. Within the method ``Waste Treatment'' there are
two codes designated for Incineration:
- M50 Incineration/Thermal Treatment; and
- M54 Incineration/Insignificant Fuel Value
listed under the method of waste treatment. There is another
code that could include toxic chemicals eventually bound for
incineration, M95 Transfer to Waste Broker-Waste Treatment, however
this code also includes toxic chemicals that are bound for several
other types of treatment.
The method ``Energy Recovery'' contains two codes and they are
solely for Energy Recovery:
- M56 Energy Recovery; and
- M92 Transfer to Waste Broker-Energy Recovery.
This method of ``Energy Recovery'' and its corresponding codes
were not specifically mandated by either EPCRA or the PPA. In
subsection 6.2C of Form R the EPA decided to go beyond the statutory
mandates of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 and the Emergency
Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986 and create a method
of off-site transfer, Energy Recovery, that implies a positive
connotation in comparison to Incineration, which is considered Waste
Treatment.
Under the PPA, Waste Treatment is the third method in order of
preference for dealing with toxic chemicals, behind source reduction
and recycling. Energy Recovery is not listed in the PPA, or in
EPCRA, but due to its recognition in TRI it is marketed by service
providers and treated by generators and many states with hazardous
waste taxes as a form of Recycling.
In the recent final rule\6\ on the expansion of industries
required to report TRI information, the Agency provided its general
interpretation of what Energy Recovery is (page 23852):
``EPA believes that for the purposes of the PPA, reporting
quantities ``combusted for energy recovery'' should be restricted to
devices where energy is produced from the combustion of the toxic
chemical and harnessed.''
Several lines after this broad definition, the Agency becomes
more specific:
``Specifically, EPA interprets ``combustion for energy
recovery'' as the combustion of a toxic chemical that (1) is (I) a
RCRA hazardous waste or waste fuel, (ii) a constituent of a RCRA
hazardous waste or waste fuel, or (iii) a spent or contaminated
``otherwise used'' material; and that (2) has a heating value
greater than or equal to 5,000 Btus per pound in an ``energy or
materials recovery device.''. . . EPA considers an ``energy or
materials recovery device'' to be an industrial furnace or boiler as
defined in 40 CFR 372.3.''
However, a toxic chemical combusted in an ``energy or materials
recovery device'' can also be considered as being ``treated for
destruction'' if the chemical contained less than 5,000 Btus per
pound:
``EPA considers any toxic chemical that is burned and meets the
criteria described in part (1) of the interpretation, but which has
a heating value less than 5,000 Btus per pound, as provided in part
(2) of the definition interpretation, to be ``treated for
destruction'' rather than ``combusted for energy recovery.'' This is
regardless of the type of device in which it is combusted.''
Therefore under EPA's guidance, an ``energy or materials
recovery device'' can perform both Energy Recovery and Treatment for
Destruction depending on the energy value of the toxic chemical
being combusted.
In this same final rule EPA defines Treatment for Destruction
as:
``Treatment for destruction means the destruction of the toxic
chemical in waste such that the substance is no longer the toxic
chemical subject to reporting under EPCRA section 313. This does not
include the destruction of a toxic chemical in waste where the toxic
chemical has a heat value greater than 5,000 British thermal units
and is combusted in any device that is an industrial furnace or
boiler as defined at 40 CFR 260.10.''
Under this guidance on Treatment for Destruction and Energy
Recovery, the determinant of whether the energy from a toxic
chemical is ``recovered'' is the type of unit that performs the
combustion, not whether the energy from the combustion is actually
harnessed and used to replace fossil fuel.
VII. DESCRIPTION OF AN ``ENERGY OR MATERIALS RECOVERY DEVICE''
EPA defines an ``energy or materials recovery device'' to be an
industrial furnace or boiler as it is described in 40 CFR 372.3:
``(1) Boiler means an enclosed device using controlled flame
combustion and having the following characteristics:
(I) The unit must have physical provisions for recovering and
exporting thermal energy in the form of steam, heated fluids, or
heated gases; and
(ii) The unit's combustion chamber and primary energy recovery
sections(s) must be of integral design. To be of integral design,
the combustion chamber and the primary energy recovery section(s)
(such as waterwalls and superheaters) must be physically formed into
one manufactured or assembled unit. A unit in which the combustion
chamber and the primary energy recovery section(s) are joined only
by ducts or connections carrying flue gas is not integrally
designed; however, secondary energy recovery equipment (such as
economizers or air preheaters) need not be physically formed into
the same unit as the combustion chamber and the primary energy
recovery section. The following units are not precluded from being
boilers solely because they are not of integral design: process
heaters (units that transfer energy directly to a process stream),
and fluidized bed combustion units; and
(iii) While in operation, the unit must maintain a thermal
energy recovery efficiency of at least 60 percent, calculated in
terms of the recovered energy compared with the thermal value of the
fuel; and
(iv) The unit must export and utilize at least 75 percent of the
recovered energy, calculated on an annual basis. In this
calculation, no credit shall be given for recovered heat used
internally in the same unit. (Examples of internal use are the
preheating of fuel or combustion air, and the driving of induced or
forced draft fans or feedwater pumps); or
(2) The unit is one which the Regional Administrator has
determined, on a case-by-case basis, to be a boiler, after
considering the standards in Sec. 260.32 of this chapter.
Industrial furnace means any of the following enclosed devices
that are integral components of manufacturing processes and that use
thermal treatment to accomplish recovery of materials or energy:
[[Page 15329]]
(1) Cement kilns.
(2) Lime kilns.
(3) Aggregate kilns.
(4) Phosphate kilns.
(5) Coke ovens.
(6) Blast furnaces.
(7) Smelting, melting and refining furnaces (including
pyrometallurgical devices such as cupolas, reverberator furnaces,
sintering machine, roasters, and foundry furnaces).
(8) Titanium dioxide chloride process oxidation reactors.
(9) Methane reforming furnaces.
(10) Pulping liquor recovery furnaces.
(11) Combustion devices used in the recovery of sulfur values
from spent sulfuric acid.
(12) Halogen acid furnaces (HAFs) for the production of acid
from halogenated hazardous waste generated by chemical production
facilities where the furnace is located on the site of a chemical
production facility, the acid product has a halogen acid content of
at least 3%, the acid product is used in a manufacturing process,
and, except for hazardous waste burned as fuel, hazardous waste fed
to the furnace has a minimum halogen content of 20% as-generated.
(13) Such other devices as the Administrator may, after notice
and comment, add to this list on the basis of one or more of the
following factors:
(I) The design and use of the device primarily to accomplish
recovery of material products;
(ii) The use of the device to burn or reduce raw materials to
make a material product;
(iii) The use of the device to burn or reduce secondary
materials as effective substitutes for raw materials, in processes
using raw materials as principal feedstocks;
(iv) The use of the device to burn or reduce secondary materials
as ingredients in an industrial process to make a material product;
(v) The use of the device in common industrial practice to
produce a material product; and
(vi) Other factors, as appropriate.''
The present guidance that the EPA uses for an ``energy or
materials recovery device'' for the purposes of TRI reporting does
not include the hazardous waste incinerator.
VIII. DESCRIPTION OF A HAZARDOUS WASTE INCINERATOR
A typical hazardous waste incinerator consists of a primary
combustion chamber, secondary combustion chamber, and an air
pollution control system.
The primary combustion chamber can be a rotary kiln, fluidized
bed, fixed hearth, or liquid injection assembly. Typically,
commercial incinerators utilize a rotary kiln as the primary
combustion chamber, and this form of primary combustion chamber will
be the one described in greater detail in this section.
Both solid and liquid wastes are introduced into the rotary
kiln, in which the temperature is typically above 1800 deg. F.
Liquid wastes generally are pumped into the kiln through nozzles
which atomize the waste into fine droplets for optimal combustion.
Solid wastes are fed into the kiln either in bulk or containers
(drums).
While the kiln is brought up to operating temperature utilizing
fossil fuels such as natural gas or fuel oil, once the permitted
temperature is reached operators try to maintain this temperature by
feeding energetic liquid and solid wastes. If the wastes do not
contain sufficient energy to maintain the permitted temperature the
operator must supplement the waste feed with fossil fuels.
The kiln is set on an incline and rotates during operation
causing the solid wastes fed into it to slowly migrate from the feed
end to the discharge end utilizing gravity. The rotation and incline
of the kiln tumbles the solid wastes inside assuring they are
exposed on all sides to the high temperature and airflow in the
kiln. A large fan draws excess air (containing oxygen) over the
rotating solids and towards the secondary combustion chamber. The
high temperature of the kiln causes the some of the organics in the
waste feed to combust and be destroyed, while others volatilize and
migrate with the combustion gas and excess air toward the secondary
combustion chamber for combustion and destruction. Inorganic
material that has not been volatilized is fed out of the discharge
end of the kiln as ash into awaiting containers.
The secondary combustion chamber, often known as an afterburner,
is brought up to permitted temperature along with the primary
combustion chamber utilizing fossil fuels. Typically temperatures in
the secondary combustion chamber are maintained at 2200 deg. F. Once
permitted temperature is achieved, the operator can begin feeding
atomized energetic liquid wastes to maintain this temperature. If
the liquid waste feed does not contain sufficient energy to maintain
the permitted temperature, the operator will supplement this waste
feed with fossil fuel.
The volatilized organics and excess air from the kiln are mixed
with air and passed through the hot flame1 of the
secondary combustion chamber. Generally all feeds into the secondary
combustion chamber are retained within it for 2.5-3 seconds. While
the organic vapors are in the secondary combustion chamber the
temperature, air turbulence, and excess oxygen work to break the
chemical bonds of the organics to form primarily carbon dioxide,
water, and acid gasses. In addition to these byproducts, some
inorganic particulate matter is also mixing with the turbulent air
of the secondary combustion chamber.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1The flame of the secondary combustion chamber is derived from
the combustion of energetic liquid wastes, fossil fuel, or a
combination of the two.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The combustion gas from the secondary combustion chamber flows
to the air pollution control system (APCS) for cooling and cleansing
prior to discharge to the atmosphere. APCSs have a variety of
configurations, but their purpose is to cool and remove the acid
gasses, particulate, and volatilized inorganics contained in the
secondary combustion chamber off gasses.
IX. ENERGY REQUIREMENTS OF A HAZARDOUS WASTE INCINERATOR
Hazardous waste incinerators thermally decompose organic
compounds. They do this by introducing the organic material into an
environment where the temperature, residence time, air turbulence,
and oxygen level are designed and controlled to achieve strict
destruction and removal efficiencies (``DRE'') for each permitted
organic.
Hazardous waste incinerators are permitted to burn toxic
chemicals after a lengthy and comprehensive permitting process. This
process is overseen by the state and/or federal environmental
agency. Towards the end of this process, a trial burn for the
permitted incineration unit is conducted. The purpose of the trial
burn is to verify that the unit meets state and federal guidelines,
and to set the operating parameters the unit must operate under
while destroying toxic chemicals. Once a trial burn is successfully
completed and a permit is issued the incineration facility is
allowed to combust hazardous waste under the terms of the permit and
operating parameters of the trial burn.
As mentioned earlier, temperature, time, turbulence, and oxygen
are four of the key conditions needed to properly destroy organic
compounds. Generally to achieve good combustion of organics,
incinerators must maintain a minimum temperature of greater than
2,000 deg. F in the secondary combustion chamber, a residence time
greater than a couple of seconds, and a minimum oxygen level of 3%
in the post combustion zone. All permitted hazardous waste burning
incinerators have operating parameters set around these numbers
(there are many other operating parameters that must be met to
combust toxic chemicals; however, for the purpose of this petition,
these other parameters do not need to be listed).
An incinerator does not combust toxic chemicals until it is
operating within the permitted parameters. To reach the temperature
required for toxic chemical combustion the incinerator will burn
fossil fuel, generally a combination of fuel oil and natural gas.
Once the minimum temperature is reached (and all other parameters
are within permitted levels), operators begin feeding toxic organic
chemicals to the incinerator for combustion.
Just like the fossil fuel they are replacing, these toxic
chemicals have energy content and provide energy to the incinerator
to maintain the permitted temperature. However, waste toxic
chemicals are significantly more variable than refined fossil fuels
in their energy content and composition. The BTU content of toxic
organic chemicals varies greatly depending on the composition of the
compounds. The BTU content also varies depending on the purity of
the organic and what impurities it is mixed with (soil, water,
etc.).
Ideally, the incinerator operator tries to blend a mixture of
relatively pure, high energy waste, with other lower energy wastes
(highly chlorinated or fluorinated wastes, contaminated media, etc.)
so that combustion of all toxic chemicals is achieved without the
addition of fossil fuel. Remember, to combust wastes a minimum
temperature must be maintained within the incinerator. The amount of
energy required to do this is dependent on the size of the
incinerator;
[[Page 15330]]
however, once the minimum temperature is achieved this energy can
come from fossil fuel or the waste organic chemicals (if the waste
has sufficient energy content).
Since the advent of the ``Energy Recovery'' designation for off-
site transfers, data indicate that incinerators are using increasing
quantities of fossil fuel to combust the less energetic organic
wastes they are receiving. The ``Energy Recovery'' designation is
not available for toxic chemicals shipped to incinerators, and
because of this a distortion has occurred that preferentially
directs high energy wastes to go to ``energy or materials recovery
devices''. Incinerators are not considered ``energy or materials
recovery devices'', and must replace these high energy wastes with
fossil fuel to be able to burn the less energetic wastes they still
receive.
X. IMPACT OF ``ENERGY RECOVERY'' DESIGNATION
The impact of providing the ``Energy Recovery'' designation for
the transfer of TRI regulated toxic organic chemicals shipped to an
``energy or materials recovery device'' was steady and predictable.
The favorable connotations of ``Energy Recovery'' has induced
manufacturers to transfer their high energy wastes to ``energy or
materials recovery devices'' from incinerators.
This shifting of waste to ``energy or materials recovery
devices'' allows the manufacturer to achieve some of the recycling
goals they have established. Also, the ``Energy Recovery''
designation has led, in some instances, to regressive state tax
structures that tax waste going to an incinerator at a higher rate
than waste going to ``Energy Recovery''
With all of these incentives to ship high energy wastes to
``energy or materials recovery devices'', and what experience
indicated was occurring in the marketplace and at incineration
facilities, it appeared that larger quantities of organic TRI
chemicals were going to ``Energy Recovery''. To test our hypothesis
we queried the TRI database for trends in the Off-Site Transfer of
organic chemicals. We queried the database for the total of all
chemicals going to each type of off-site transfer for the years
1991-95 (1991 was the first year the ``Energy Recovery'' designation
was formally available, and 1995 is the last year TRI data is now
available.) For consistency and comparability of data, we searched
for information only on the ``core chemicals'' that were listed for
all five years.
The database we searched was the TRI database available through
RTKnet. Following is the concluding data (a spreadsheet summarizing
all of the data from this search is included as Appendix 5) we
queried from this database.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP31MR99.020
Table 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL POUNDS TRANSFERRED TO
YEAR ENERGY RECOVERY
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991 400,285,225
1992 427,987,876
1993 445,839,753
1994 455,895,352
1995 486,366,712
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you can see from the above chart and table, there has been a
steady increase in the quantity of TRI toxic chemicals being
transferred off-site to energy recovery. Now lets contrast this to
the data for TRI toxic chemicals being transferred to incineration.
[[Page 15331]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP31MR99.021
Table 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL POUNDS TRANSFERRED TO
YEAR INCINERATION
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991 166,532,302
1992 135,767,217
1993 136,025,939
1994 136,423,218
1995 141,932,667
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In contrast to the data for Energy Recovery, the quantity of TRI
toxic chemicals going to incineration has dropped significantly over
the 1991-95 time frame. Most of this drop occurred in the 1991-92
time frame.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP31MR99.022
Table 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL POUNDS
TRANSFERRED TO ENERGY PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POUNDS
YEAR RECOVERY AND POUNDS TRANSFERRED TRANSFERRED FROM
INCINERATION FROM ENERGY RECOVERY INCINERATION
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991 566,817,527 70.6% 29.4%
1992 563,755,093 75.9% 24.1%
[[Page 15332]]
1993 581,865,692 76.6% 23.4%
1994 592,318,570 77.0% 23.0%
1995 628,299,379 77.4% 22.6%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, combining the data for off-site transfers to
incineration and energy recovery show that in every year but one
(1992) the quantity of TRI toxic chemicals going to some form of
combustion is increasing. While the total quantity going to
combustion is increasing, the share, and total quantity, of these
toxic chemicals going to incineration is decreasing and the share,
and total quantity, going to energy recovery is increasing.
The data indicates that the positive connotation of the ``Energy
Recovery'' designation has shifted large quantities of toxic
chemicals away from incineration and into EPA classified ``energy or
materials recovery devices''. This data then leads to a question of
whether this movement of high energy wastes from incinerators to
``energy or materials recovery devices'' actually saves energy on a
net basis, or just transfers the need for fossil fuel from ``energy
or materials recovery devices'' to incinerators.
XI. INCINERATORS NEED HIGH ENERGY WASTE FUEL TO REPLACE FOSSIL
FUEL
As stated in Section VIII of this petition, once an incinerator
is operating within its permitted levels it can begin combusting
toxic organic chemicals. Just like the fossil fuel they are
replacing, these toxic chemicals have energy content and provide
energy to the incinerator to maintain the permitted temperature.
Ideally, the incinerator operator tries to blend a mixture of
relatively pure, high energy waste, with other lower energy wastes
(highly chlorinated or fluorinated wastes, contaminated media, etc.)
so that combustion of all toxic chemicals is achieved without the
addition of fossil fuel. Unfortunately, since the EPA designation of
``Energy Recovery'' is not available to incinerators, large
quantities of high energy toxic chemicals have migrated from
incinerators to ``energy or materials recovery devices''. This
movement of energetic wastes away from incinerators forces the
incinerator operator to find other sources of energy to maintain the
unit within its permitted limits. The only other source of energy
available is fossil fuel.
The data in this area confirms that from 1991-95 fossil fuel
usage has increased at incineration sites (Laidlaw Environmental
Services, Inc. raw data is attached as Appendix 6). Laidlaw combined
supplemental energy use data from its subsidiaries that had the type
of data needed, for the years 1991-95. These subsidiaries include
Laidlaw Environmental Services (Bridgeport), Inc. located in
Bridgeport NJ, and Laidlaw Environmental Services (Deer Park), Inc.
located in Deer Park, TX. Together these facilities represent about
20% of the available commercial incineration capacity in the U.S.
for the years 1991-95. What was found is entirely predictable based
on the information already in this petition. Following is data on
the Btus of fossil fuel that had to be added to the incinerator to
fully combust a pound of toxic chemicals for the years 1991-95.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP31MR99.023
Table 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BTUs OF FOSSIL FUEL ADDED TO
YEAR COMBUST 1 POUND OF TOXIC
CHEMICALS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991 1,894
1992 1,734
1993 1,882
1994 2,432
1995 2,605
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Btus of Fossil Fuel Added to Combust 1 Pound of Toxic
Chemicals can also be converted into the total barrels of oil
(equivalents) that are needed to combust waste at these facilities.
[[Page 15333]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP31MR99.024
Table 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BARRELS OF OIL (EQUIVALENTS)
YEAR USED TO COMBUST TOXIC
CHEMICALS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991 109,925
1992 87,931
1993 98,213
1994 120,398
1995 131,962
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above graphic and table indicate that the cited incineration
facilities were utilizing 22,037 more barrels of oil (equivalent) to
combust toxic chemicals in 1995 than in 1991. Due to their
geographical location and size, the cited facilities should be
fairly representative of the commercial hazardous waste incineration
industry2. Therefore, extrapolating this data3
would mean that in 1995 the entire commercial hazardous waste
incineration industry needed a little over 110,000 more barrels of
oil to combust the toxic chemicals they were receiving than they
needed in 1991.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2To determine the Barrels of Oil Equivalents multiply the BTUs
from Table 4 times the total lbs. in Appendix 6, divide this number
by 19,000 BTUs/lb oil, divide again by 7lbs/gallon, and divide again
by 42 gallons/barrel.
3The cited facilities represented approximately 20% of the
commercial incineration capacity, to extrapolate to the entire
capacity the cited numbers are multiplied by five.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To compare the change in fossil fuel needs for incinerators
between 1991 and 1995, a model was constructed that kept
incineration's share of the TRI toxic chemical market the same in
1991 and 1995 we find:
Table 6
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INCINERATION'S 1991 SHARE 29.4%
INCINERATION'S 1995 SHARE 22.6%
INCINERATION'S 1995 POUNDS OF TRI TOXIC 141,932,667
CHEMICALS
INCINERATION'S PROJECTED 1995 POUNDS OF 184,720,017
TRI TOXIC CHEMICALS USING 1991 SHARE
DIFFERENCE IN POUNDS 42,787,350
ENERGY VALUE OF DIFFERENCE ASSUMING 15,000 641,810,000,000 BTU's
BTU/LB
BARRELS OF OIL EQUIVALENT OF ENERGY 114,899
VALUE\4\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\Assumes oil is 19,000 Btus/lb, and has a density of 7 lbs./gal
This model is hypothetical, and only looks at the quantity of
energetic toxic chemicals incinerators would receive if they
maintained their 1991 share of the market.
However, the results are very interesting. The model's energy
from toxic chemicals, 114,899 barrels of oil (equivalents),
incinerator's lost because of the ``Energy Recovery'' designation
given to ``energy or materials recovery devices'' is almost exactly
equal to the additional amount of fossil fuel, 110,000 barrels of
oil (equivalents), that incinerators had to burn in 1995.
This information strongly indicates that the ``Energy Recovery''
designation did not actually reduce the use of fossil fuels. It only
shifted the high energy toxic chemicals from incinerators to
``energy or materials recovery devices''. The incinerators then had
to replace the lost energy with fossil fuels of similar energy
content.
XII. RECOMMENDATION TO EPA: EXPAND ENERGY RECOVERY TO INCLUDE
COMBUSTION OF HIGH BTU WASTE AT INCINERATORS
The treatment method of ``Energy Recovery'' is not mandated by
either EPCRA or the PPA. It was a designation that was created
without statutory requirement. Unfortunately, while the idea of
``Energy Recovery'' is a noble one, the unintended impact over its
first five years was to shift the high energy toxic chemicals from
incinerators to ``energy or materials recovery devices'' designated
by the EPA.
To properly destroy the remaining toxic chemicals they received,
incinerators had to backfill the unit with an amount of fossil fuel
comparable to the quantity of high energy toxic chemicals that were
lost to ``energy or materials recovery devices''. On a global basis,
there was no ``Energy Recovery'', only a shifting of demand for
fossil fuel.
The main issue is what is an ``energy or materials recovery
device''? The EPA's guidance defines it primarily as a boiler or
industrial furnace. However, this definition overlooks the fact that
an incinerator requires energy to perform its designed task- the
destruction of many of the most toxic organic chemicals known to
humanity. In destroying these toxic chemicals, the incinerator is
providing a valuable service to the environment, economy, and the
nation, every bit as important as the manufacture of cement or
steam.
To maintain, as the Agency does today, that energy from waste
toxic chemicals is ``Recovered'' if it is used to manufacture steam
or cement, but is ``Treated for Destruction'' if it is used to
destroy other
[[Page 15334]]
toxic chemicals infers that harnessing energy for the proper
destruction of organic chemicals is not recognized by the EPA as a
valuable service.
We do not believe this is the Agency's position, only one that
is implied by their present guidance on this issue. We believe it is
important, both from a philosophical and a business point, that the
EPA recognize that their present interpretation of ``Energy
Recovery'' devalues the important service hazardous waste
incinerators provide by destroying all forms of toxic organic
chemicals, and only shifts the burden for fossil fuels from one type
of thermal device to another. In light of the information provided
in this petition, we strongly urge the EPA to address this matter by
issuing guidance allowing the combustion of energetic toxic organic
chemicals in an incinerator to be considered ``Energy Recovery''
Endnotes
1. ``Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act Section
313, Guidance for RCRA Subtitle C TSD Facilities and Solvent
Recovery Facilities (Version 1.0)'', United States Environmental
Protection Agency, October, 1997
2. ``The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of
1986'', Public Law 99-499, Title III, Section 11023, Toxic Chemical
Release Forms, October 17, 1986
3. ``The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990'', Public Law 101-508,
Title VI, Sections 6601-6610, November 5, 1990
4. ``Pollution Prevention Fact Sheet, Pollution Prevention Act
of 1990'', United States Environmental Protection Agency, September,
1993
5. ``Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Reporting Form R and
Instructions, Revised 1996 Version'' United States Environmental
Protection Agency, May 1997
6. ``Addition of Facilities in Certain Industry Sectors; Revised
Interpretation of Otherwise Use; Toxic Release Inventory Reporting;
Community Right to Know; Final Rule'' Federal Register, V 62, #84,
May 1, 1997 Pages 23834-23892
V. Request for Comment
With regard to this interpretation of combustion for energy
recovery and Safety Kleen's petition, EPA is requesting comment on
several issues. These issues include:
1. Whether EPA should include incinerators as energy recovery
units.
2. Whether EPA should include other types of combustion units under
this designation.
3. Whether toxic chemicals with high British thermal units/pound
values in wastes should be considered as replacements for fossil fuels
in incinerators when the toxic chemical is in waste.
4. Whether EPA should distinguish between toxic chemicals in waste
used to start up incinerators and toxic chemicals in waste used for
maintaining combustion.
EPA is in the process of reproposing rulemaking pursuant to section
6607 of the PPA. When reviewing comments relating to a regulatory
definition of ``combustion for energy recovery,'' EPA will consider
comments submitted in response to this document.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 372
Environmental protection, Chemicals, Community right-to-know,
Hazardous substances, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, Toxic chemicals.
Dated: March 19, 1999.
Susan H. Wayland,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic
Substances.
[FR Doc. 99-7915 Filed 3-30-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F
