J~~(ED ST,yT~S>

i UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

W Q WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460 ~lq~ PRO"EG~ 

## JAN - 5 2011

OFFICE OF SOLIDWASTEAND EMERGENCYRESPONSE The HonorableJames E. Clyburn U .S. House of Representatives Washington, D

.C. 20515 Dear Congressman Clyburn: Thank you for your letter ofDecember 3, 2010, to the U .S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P . Jackson, regarding EPA's proposed rule, Identification of' Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials thatare Solid Waste. You and your constituent, Mr . Wayne Robertson, express concerns that the rule's reclassification ofoff-specification used oil as a solid wastewould eliminate the ability ofautomotive repair shops to use it as space heater fuel, and thereby eliminate the incentive ofthese shops to collect used oil fromdo-it-yourselfoil changers. I appreciate your interest in these important issues, and want to assure you that EPA does not want to reduce legitimate recycling of used oil . Used oil is one of many non-hazardous materials discussed in the proposed rule. The preamble to the proposed rule specifically discussed used oil that meets on-specification criteria under the 40 CFR Part 279management standards, as well as the management standards for offspecification used oil that does not meet those standards. Under the proposal, on-specification used oil is considered to be a traditional fuel . Traditional fuels, in the proposal, are considered those fuels that have been historically managed as valuable fuel products rather than being managed as waste materials, and are not considered to be solid wastes under the proposed rule. Thus, on-specification used oil would not be considered a solid waste when burned as a fuel under the proposed rule andwould be subject to the section 112 CleanAir Act (CAA) standards. Off-specification used oil is considered a solid waste under the proposed rule, and combustion units burning off-specification used oil would be subject to the appropriate standards under section 129 ofthe CAAfor solid waste incinerators. This proposed approach would provide an additional measure ofcontrol to address the higher level ofcontaminants that could be present in off-specification used oil . The proposed rule also indicated that off-specification used oil that is processed into on-specification used oil would not be considered a solid waste. The definition of processing includes the blending ofoff-specification used oil with virgin fuel products or on-specification used oil .

Internet Address (URL) 0 http://www .epa.gov Recycled/Recyclable e Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100%Postconsumer, Process Chlorine Free Recycled PaperThe Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the regulations that have

been promulgated in 40 CFRPart 279ensure that used oil that is recycled is done so in a manner that protects human health and the environment. The proposed rule does not require testing for generators of used oil, nor does the used oil management standards promulgated under 40 CFR Part 279 require testing. Rather, generators of used oil, including those that collect used oil for do-it-yourself oil generators, can use other information, such as existing data or process knowledge, to determine whether or not the used oil they generate would be considered on- specification or off-specification. We are continuing to evaluate all ofthe comments we received on the proposed rule. Your letter and the letter fromMr. Robertson will be entered into the rulemaking docket (EPA- HQ-RCRA-2008-0329) for consideration as the final rule is developed. Again, thank you for your letter. Ifyou have further questions, please contact me or have your staffcontact Raquel Snyder, in the Office ofCongressional and Intergovernmental Relations, at (202) 564-9586. Sincerely, '~-~, "~jA

t ~ , Mathy Stanislaus Assistant Administrator