J~~~EO srqT~s 

z'~ A ~u_ UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460 

FEB - 4 2011 

OFFICE OF 

SOLID WASTE AND 

EMERGENCY RESPONSE 

The Honorable Carl Levin 

United States Senate 

Washington, D.C. 20510 

Dear Senator Levin: 

Thank you for your letter of December 15, 2010, to the U.S . Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, regarding EPA's proposed rule, "Identification of 

Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials that are Solid Waste." In your letter, you enclosed 

correspondence from Mr. David Northrop of Symbiotic Energy Inc. on tire fractionation, which 

allows the direct conversion of whole tires into gaseous fuel, and ask that we consider the 

technology and whether we will address the technology in the final rule . 

This regulation was proposed along with three Clean Air Act (CAA) rules on June 4, 

2010. The proposed rule clarified under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 

which non-hazardous secondary materials when burned in a combustion unit as a fuel or 

ingredient are or are not solid wastes, such that if a non-hazardous secondary material is not a 

"solid waste," then the unit would be subject to the applicable CAA section 112 requirements, 

whereas if the non-hazardous secondary material is considered a "solid waste," then the 

combustion unit would be subject to the CAA section 129 requirements . 

In general, the proposed rule identified non-hazardous secondary materials burned in 

combustion units as solid wastes except under the following circumstances : 1) the non-hazardous 

secondary material is used as a fuel that remains within the control of the generator and meets 

the legitimacy criteria; 2) the non-hazardous secondary material is used as an ingredient in a 

manufacturing process (whether by the generator or a third party) and meets the legitimacy 

criteria; 3) discarded non-hazardous secondary material has been sufficiently processed to 

produce a non-waste fuel or ingredient product that meets the legitimacy criteria ; and 4) when, 

through a case-by-case petition process, it has been determined that non-hazardous secondary 

material handled outside the control of the generator has not been discarded and is 

indistinguishable in all relevant aspects from a fuel product. 

I appreciate your interest in this rulemaking. The Agency will consider the comments of 

Mr. Northrop, who requests that EPA clarify that the tire fractionation process would constitute 

"sufficient processing," such that the gaseous supplemental boiler fuel that is produced would 

not be a solid waste, as well as the other comments submitted before promulgating a final rule . 

All substantive comments will receive an Agency response which will be included in the 

Response to Comments document for the final rule . That document, as well as your letter and 

Internet Address (URL) * http://www.epa .gov 

Recycled/Recyclable 9 Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer, Process Chlorine Free Recycled Paper 
the enclosed letter from Mr. Northrup also will be entered into the rulemaking docket (EPA-HQRCRA-2008-0329) for consideration. 

Again, thank you for your letter . If you have further questions, please contact me or your 

staff may call Raquel Snyder, in EPA's Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental 

Relations, at 202-564-9586. 

Sincerely, 

Mathy Starrlslaus 

Assistant Administrator 
J~~SEO STqT~S 

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460 

FEB - 4 2011 

OFFICE OF 

SOLID WASTE AND 

EMERGENCY RESPONSE 

The Honorable Sherrod Brown 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, D.C. 20515 

Dear Congressman Brown: 

Thank you for your letter of December 15, 2010, to the U.S . Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, regarding EPA's proposed rule, "Identification of 

Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials that are Solid Waste." In your letter, you enclosed 

correspondence from Mr. David Northrop of Symbiotic Energy Inc. on tire fractionation, which 

allows the direct conversion of whole tires into gaseous fuel, and ask that we consider the 

technology and whether we will address the technology in the final rule . 

This regulation was proposed along with three Clean Air Act (CAA) rules on June 4, 

2010. The proposed rule clarified under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 

which non-hazardous secondary materials when burned in a combustion unit as a fuel or 

ingredient are or are not solid wastes, such that if a non-hazardous secondary material is not a 

"solid waste," then the unit would be subject to the applicable CAA section 112 requirements, 

whereas if the non-hazardous secondary material is considered a "solid waste," then the 

combustion unit would be subject to the CAA section 129 requirements. 

In general, the proposed rule identified non-hazardous secondary materials burned in 

combustion units as solid wastes except under the following circumstances : 1) the non-hazardous 

secondary material is used as a fuel that remains within the control of the generator and meets 

the legitimacy criteria; 2) the non-hazardous secondary material is used as an ingredient in a 

manufacturing process (whether by the generator or a third party) and meets the legitimacy 

criteria; 3) discarded non-hazardous secondary material has been sufficiently processed to 

produce a non-waste fuel or ingredient product that meets the legitimacy criteria; and 4) when, 

through a case-by-case petition process, it has been determined that non-hazardous secondary 

material handled outside the control of the generator has not been discarded and is 

indistinguishable in all relevant aspects from a fuel product. 

I appreciate your interest in this rulemaking. The Agency will consider the comments of 

Mr. Northrop, who requests that EPA clarify that the tire fractionation process would constitute 

"sufficient processing," such that the gaseous supplemental boiler fuel that is produced would 

not be a solid waste, as well as the other comments submitted before promulgating a final rule . 

All substantive comments will receive an Agency response which will be included in the 

Response to Comments document for the final rule . That document, as well as your letter and 

Internet Address (URL) 9 http://www.epa .gov 

Recycled/Recyclable e Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer, Process Chlorine Free Recycled Paper 
the enclosed letter from Mr. Northrup also will be entered into the rulemaking docket (EPA-HQRCRA-2008-0329) for consideration. 

Again, thank you for your letter . If you have further questions, please contact me or your 

staff may call Raquel Snyder, in EPA's Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental 

Relations, at 202-564-9586. 

Mathy Stanitlaus 

Assistant Administrator 
JEO STq,, 

a"' A 'u UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

o ~ Q WASHINGTON, D.C . 20460 

0 

4l44 PROS~--G~ _ 

FEd - 4 Zn1i 

OFFICE OF 

SOLID WASTE AND 

EMERGENCY RESPONSE 

The Honorable Debbie Stabenow 

United States Senate 

Washington, D.C . 20510 

Dear Senator Stabenow: 

Thank you for your letter of December 15, 2010, to the U.S . Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, regarding EPA's proposed rule, "Identification of 

Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials that are Solid Waste." In your letter, you enclosed 

correspondence from Mr. David Northrop of Symbiotic Energy Inc. on tire fractionation, which 

allows the direct conversion of whole tires into gaseous fuel, and ask that we consider the 

technology and whether we will address the technology in the final rule. 

This regulation was proposed along with three Clean Air Act (CAA) rules on June 4, 

2010 . The proposed rule clarified under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 

which non-hazardous secondary materials when burned in a combustion unit as a fuel or 

ingredient are or are not solid wastes, such that if a non-hazardous secondary material is not a 

"solid waste," then the unit would be subject to the applicable CAA section 112 requirements, 

whereas if the non-hazardous secondary material is considered a "solid waste," then the 

combustion unit would be subject to the CAA section 129 requirements . 

In general, the proposed rule identified non-hazardous secondary materials burned in 

combustion units as solid wastes except under the following circumstances: 1) the non-hazardous 

secondary material is used as a fuel that remains within the control of the generator and meets 

the legitimacy criteria ; 2) the non-hazardous secondary material is used as an ingredient in a 

manufacturing process (whether by the generator or a third party) and meets the legitimacy 

criteria; 3) discarded non-hazardous secondary material has been sufficiently processed to 

produce a non-waste fuel or ingredient product that meets the legitimacy criteria; and 4) when, 

through a case-by-case petition process, it has been determined that non-hazardous secondary 

material handled outside the control of the generator has not been discarded and is 

indistinguishable in all relevant aspects from a fuel product. 

I appreciate your interest in this rulemaking. The Agency will consider the comments of 

Mr. Northrop, who requests that EPA clarify that the tire fractionation process would constitute 

"sufficient processing," such that the gaseous supplemental boiler fuel that is produced would 

not be a solid waste, as well as the other comments submitted before promulgating a final rule . 

All substantive comments will receive an Agency response which will be included in the 

Response to Comments document for the final rule . That document, as well as your letter and 

Internet Address (URL) * http ://www .epa.gov 

Recycled/Recyclable * Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer, Process Chlorine Free Recycled Paper 
the enclosed letter from Mr. Northrup also will be entered into the rulemaking docket (EPA-HQRCRA-2008-0329) for consideration. 

Again, thank you for your letter . If you have further questions, please contact me or your 

staff may call Raquel Snyder, in EPA's Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental 

Relations, at 202-564-9586. 

Sincerely, 

Mathy StaWsfaus 

Assistant Administrator