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MEMORANDUM

TO: Toni Jones, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

FROM: Eastern Research Group, Inc.

DATE: November 16, 2012

SUBJECT: CISWI Data Revisions since Reconsideration Proposal

1. BACKGROUND

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under section 129 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), is required to 

regulate emissions of nine pollutants from Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration (CISWI) 

units: hydrogen chloride (HCl), carbon monoxide (CO), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), 

particulate matter (PM), dioxins/furans (PCDD/PCDF), nitrogen oxides (NOX), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). 

On December 1, 2000, the EPA adopted new source performance standards (NSPS) and emission 

guidelines (EG) for CISWI units under Sections 111 and 129 of the Clean Air Act. In 2001 the EPA 

granted a petition for reconsideration regarding the definitions of "commercial and industrial waste" and 

"commercial and industrial solid waste incineration unit." In 2001, the United States Court of Appeals for 

the District of Columbia Circuit granted the EPA’s voluntary remand, without vacatur, of the 2000 rule. 

In 2005, the EPA proposed and finalized the commercial and industrial solid waste incineration definition 

rule which, among other things, revised the definitions of "commercial and industrial waste" and 

"commercial and industrial waste incineration unit." In 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the 

District of Columbia Circuit vacated and remanded the 2005 commercial and industrial solid waste 

incineration definition rule.

On March 21, 2011, the EPA promulgated revised NSPS and EG as its response to the voluntary remand 

that was granted in 2001 and the vacatur and remand of the commercial and industrial solid waste 

incineration definition rule in 2007. In addition, the standards re-development included the 5-year 

technology review of the new source performance standards and emission guidelines required under 

Section 129. Following that action, the Administrator received petition[s] for reconsideration and 

identified some issues that warranted further opportunity for public comment. In addition, data were 

received that enabled the EPA to revise the CISWI inventory of waste-burning kilns and energy recovery 

units to more accurately reflect the definition of non-hazardous secondary materials. On December 23, 

2011 the EPA published proposed amendments that incorporated these changes and allowed public 

comment on specific issues identified for reconsideration.

This memorandum summarizes the activities associated with updates to the CISWI data set since the 

December 2011 reconsideration proposal. Details regarding reviews and updates made after the March 

2011 promulgation but before the December 2011 proposal are detailed in a separate memorandum.1

 1 “CISWI Reconsideration - Data Review and Updates” Memorandum from Eastern Research Group, Inc. to Toni 

Jones, EPA. November 18, 2011.
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2. INVENTORY CHANGES

Three combustion units that were initially added to the CISWI energy recovery unit (ERU) inventory

during the reconsideration were retracted from the inventory after the comment period. Comments 

received by Covanta, parent company of Wheelabrator Shasta Energy Company (Anderson, CA), 

indicated that the previous information received regarding the three Wheelabrator units was outdated and 

that no waste material is burned in those units. One unit in the coal-burning ERU subcategory 

(TNPackagingCorpCounce Combination boiler #2) was removed from the CISWI inventory because the 

facility established that the secondary materials combusted in the unit met the legitimacy criteria for a 

fuel.

One unit from National Cement’s Ragland, AL, facility was added to the waste-burning kiln 

inventory based on information received regarding the Portland Cement NESHAP applicability to the 

unit. In a request for a stay of the Portland Cement NESHAP, the National Cement Company of Alabama 

stated that the unit burned solid waste; therefore, the unit is subject to CISWI. The letter from EPA 

Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy to Congressman Spencer Bachus, included as Appendix A, 

provides documentation and additional details for this inventory revision. Additionally, one unit from 

Lehigh Cement’s Union Bridge, MD facility, was removed from the inventory based on the company’s 

public comments to the Portland Cement NESHAP (Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0817-0482) that 

the kiln did not burn any materials that are characterized as waste. 

The small, remote incinerator inventory was also updated after the comment period, based on an 

updated list of known small remote incinerators provided by Alaska Oil and Gas Association. The list is 

included in Appendix D. One small remote unit was removed from the CISWI inventory, and 16 new 

units from 14 facilities were added to the small remote inventory. Additionally, one unit (AKEntech) was 

moved from the small remote inventory to the incinerator inventory, because it was determined that the 

unit was within 25 miles of the nearest municipal solid waste landfill. These changes resulted in a final 

count of 28 units in the small, remote incinerator subcategory and 27 units in the incinerator subcategory.

3. NEW AND REVISED EMISSIONS DATA

Additional CEMS data were provided by Eastman Chemical Company for one unit at their Tennessee 

facility, and these data were incorporated into the limits analyses for coal-burning ERUs. Data and 

associated calculations are presented in Appendix B. The original data submittal can be found in the 

docket (DCN: EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0119-2640).

Additional stack test data were received for several units in the waste-burning kilns subcategory. New 

emissions data were extracted for 5 waste-burning kilns at 3 facilities. Some test reports were for tests 

already listed in the database, and in these cases the reports were reviewed for discrepancies. Extracted 

test data that was appended or revised in the database are included in Appendix C.

For the Ragland cement kiln, test data from the facility’s ICR survey, originally excluded from the 

database, was added upon confirmation that the unit should be included in the CISWI inventory. The 

original survey response files are included in the CISWI docket (Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-

0119-0048).