Regional Offices – Barre/Essex Jct./Rutland/Springfield/St. Johnsbury

AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES

January 16, 2015

Mr. H. Curtis Spalding

Regional Administrator

EPA Region 1 (Mail Code ORA01-4)

5 Post Office Square, Suite 100

Boston, MA 02109-3912

Dear Mr. Spalding:

The State of Vermont hereby submits its application for authorization of certain revisions made to 

Vermont’s hazardous waste management program under the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act of 

1976 (RCRA), as amended by the Hazardous & Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA). The 

application consists of this letter, a copy of the Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations 

(VHWMR) that became effective on March 15, 2013 (previously submitted to your staff) and an Attorney 

General’s Statement.

Through this application, Vermont is seeking authorization for the VHWMR § 7-502(o)(8) permitting 

exemption, along with the revision to the note following VHWMR § 7-502(o)(10), for on-site treatment of 

hazardous wastewaters by generators using wastewater evaporation units, and the VHWMR § 7-103

definition of “wastewater evaporation unit”. Following thorough review by this Division and the Office of 

Vermont’s Attorney General, it is our belief that these Vermont regulations are overall more stringent than 

corresponding federal RCRA regulations, that Vermont’s revised hazardous waste program meets the 

statutory criteria of RCRA § 3006, and that Vermont can therefore be granted authorization to implement 

these provisions as part of its program in lieu of the federal program.

It should be noted that the VHWMR § 7-502(o)(8) permitting exemption is conditioned upon: 1)

compliance with all applicable air emission control requirements under the Clean Air Act, the emission 

thresholds established under the Vermont Air Pollution Control Regulations and, for large quantity 

generators, the air emission control requirements in 40 CFR part 265, subparts AA, BB and CC; and 2)

compliance with all applicable requirements specified throughout the VHWMR § 7-502(o) generator 

treatment exemption including the requirement to file notice in order for a company to operate under the 

exemption. It is the practice of Vermont’s hazardous waste management program to review and approve all 

notifications submitted pursuant to VHWMR § 7-502(o) and, as appropriate, to impose additional standards 

as a condition of approval. Finally, Vermont does not allow hazardous waste evaporators to be operated 

State of Vermont

Department of Environmental Conservation

Waste Management & Prevention Division

1 National Life Drive – Davis 1

Montpelier, VT 05620-3704

(802) 828-1138
Regional Offices – Barre/Essex Jct./Rutland/Springfield/St. Johnsbury

under the less stringent wastewater treatment unit exemption and, as has been previously authorized,

explicitly prohibits the disposal of hazardous waste by evaporation.

The original copy of the Attorney General’s Statement is enclosed with the copy of this letter directed to 

Beth Deabay in the Office of Ecosystem Protection. I am confident that the continued cooperation between 

our agencies will lead to expeditious completion of this authorization process.

Sincerely,

Charles Schwer, Director

Waste Management & Prevention Division

Cc: Beth Deabay