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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 40 (Wednesday, February 29, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12293-12295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4860]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-RCRA-2011-0847; FRL-9641-2]

PCBs Bulk Product v. Remediation Waste

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Request for Public Comment.

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SUMMARY: EPA is seeking comment on a proposed reinterpretation of its 
position regarding the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) disposal 
regulations regarding PCB bulk product and PCB remediation waste. The 
proposed reinterpretation is

[[Page 12294]]

in response to questions EPA received about the application of 
particular disposal and cleanup regulatory requirements regarding PCB-
contaminated building materials designated for disposal. Please see the 
epa.gov/pcb web page for further information and for instruction 
regarding how to submit comments.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 30, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
RCRA-2011-0847, by one of the following methods:
    www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: rcra-docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-RCRA-2011-0847.
     Fax: Comments may be faxed to 202-566-9744, Attention 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2011-0847.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; EPA Docket 
Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 
DC 20460, Attention Docket ID EPA-HQ-RCRA-2011-0847. Please include two 
copies of your submission.
     Hand Delivery: Deliver two copies of your submission to 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2011-0847, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460. Such deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-
2011-0847. EPA's policy is that all submissions received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the submission includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov 
or email. The www.regulations.gov web site is an ``anonymous access'' 
system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact 
information unless you provide it in the body of your comments. If you 
send an email directly to EPA without going through 
www.regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically captured 
and included as part of the submission that is placed in the public 
docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic 
document, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact 
information in the body of your submission and with any disk or CD-ROM 
you submit. If EPA cannot read your submission due to technical 
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be 
able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of 
special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects 
or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the RCRA Docket, EPA/DC, EPA 
West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460. The 
Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public 
Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the RCRA 
Docket is (202) 566-0270.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Molly Finn, Cleanup Programs Branch, 
Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Office of Solid Waste and 
Emergency Response, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Mail Code 5303P, Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (703) 347-8785; fax number; 703-308-0509; email address: 
ORCRPCBs@epamail.epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

    This notice is directed to the public in general, and may be of 
interest to a wide range of stakeholders, including private citizens, 
federal, tribal, state and local governments, environmental consulting 
firms, industry representatives, environmental organizations and other 
public interest groups. Since others may also be interested, the Agency 
has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may have 
interest in this notice. If you have any questions regarding the 
applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the EPA 
personnel listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    The EPA is inviting the public to provide comments on a proposed 
reinterpretation of its position regarding PCB bulk product and PCB 
remediation waste under regulations promulgated at 40 CFR part 761. The 
EPA has opened the docket for public comment for 30 days after 
publication in the Federal Register. Details on how to provide comments 
to the docket are provided under ADDRESSES.

II. Background

    EPA has received several questions from the regulated community 
regarding the disposal and cleanup requirements for PCB-contaminated 
building materials. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulations 
at 40 CFR 761 provide disposal and cleanup requirements for PCBs. The 
disposal and cleanup requirements for PCB-contaminated building 
material depend on whether the material is classified as PCB bulk 
product waste or PCB remediation waste.
    Waste derived from caulk or paint containing PCBs at >= 50 parts 
per million (ppm) is defined as PCB bulk product waste in 40 CFR 761.3. 
The definition of PCB bulk product waste includes ``non-liquid bulk 
wastes or debris from the demolition of buildings and other man-made 
structures manufactured, coated, or serviced with PCBs.'' Other PCB 
bulk product wastes may include, but are not limited to, mastics, 
sealants, or adhesives containing PCBs at >= 50 ppm.
    PCB remediation waste is defined as ``waste containing PCBs as a 
result of a spill, release, or other unauthorized disposal * * *'', and 
leaching may be considered a release of PCBs.
    The Agency proposes to reinterpret its position regarding the 
status of PCB-contaminated building materials under the definition of 
PCB bulk product waste and is seeking comment on this proposal. In 
association with this reinterpretation, EPA has identified several 
guidance documents that would be changed with this proposed 
reinterpretation if the Agency finalizes this proposal.
    EPA believes that this proposed reinterpretation would allow for 
accelerated cleanups of PCB-contaminated building material by providing 
a more straightforward path for disposal pursuant to the regulations. 
Speeding up removal and disposal of the PCB-contaminated material is 
critical for reducing exposure potential, such as in schools or other 
locations where such PCB-contaminated building materials are currently 
in place. The current interpretation of these regulations applies 
different requirements to PCB-contaminated building materials than to 
the products

[[Page 12295]]

that were originally manufactured with PCBs (e.g., paint or caulk). 
Labeling the building materials a different type of PCB waste than PCB 
bulk product waste (e.g., paint or caulk) can result in slower and more 
costly removal and disposal. This proposed reinterpretation maintains 
existing environmental and human health protections and removes 
unnecessary burdens to allow for more expedient cleanups, thus reducing 
potential exposures, for example, in schools and commercial buildings.
    In particular, protecting children's health from environmental 
risks is fundamental to EPA's mission. Caulks and paints containing 
PCBs were used in building some schools from 1950 to 1978. The proposed 
reinterpretation will help to promote healthy school environments by 
reducing exposure to PCBs in schools.

III. Summary of Proposed Reinterpretation

    Current EPA guidance states that building material contaminated by 
the migration of PCBs from PCB bulk product waste, such as caulk or 
paint, is considered a PCB remediation waste. The proposed 
reinterpretation would modify this guidance to specify that only PCB-
contaminated building material from which the PCB bulk product has been 
removed from the substrate is a PCB remediation waste. That is, the 
distinction lies in whether or not the PCB bulk product is still 
attached to the building materials.
    The reinterpretation being proposed in this notice would allow 
building material (i.e., substrate) ``coated or serviced'' with PCB 
bulk product waste (e.g., caulk, paint, mastics, sealants) at the time 
of disposal to be managed as a PCB bulk product waste, even if the PCBs 
have migrated from the overlying bulk product waste into the substrate, 
provided there is no other source of PCB contamination on or in the 
substrate. However, if the substrate is not ``coated or serviced'' 
(i.e., the PCB bulk product waste, such as caulk or paint has been 
removed from the building material) at the time of disposal and the 
substrate is contaminated with PCBs that have migrated from the bulk 
product waste (or from another unauthorized disposal), the substrate 
would be considered a PCB remediation waste. EPA is seeking comment on 
this proposed reinterpretation in its position.
    Finally, we would note that there may be instances where additional 
hazardous constituents are present and should be considered in making 
cleanup decisions. In addition, site-specific factors may influence how 
to manage these PCB wastes. Consideration of these constituents and 
site-specific factors, and coordination with appropriate regulators is 
important to ensure safe practices. Therefore, in such situations, we 
believe that the appropriate EPA regional office and regional PCB 
coordinator should be consulted as necessary for assistance with making 
these decisions. For instance, property owners have identified 
instances where PCB caulk contained high levels of other hazardous 
constituents, such as asbestos. Similarly, there are cases where PCB 
paint has been found to contain high levels of leachable metals. In 
such situations, care must be taken to determine the appropriate 
disposal option.
    Please see the epa.gov/pcb Web page for further information and for 
instruction regarding how to submit comments. EPA will accept comments 
for 30 days from the date published in the Federal Register.

    Dated: February 15, 2012.
Mathy Stanislaus,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste & Emergency Response.
[FR Doc. 2012-4860 Filed 2-28-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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