® 

Washington State 

vrffl Department of Transortati 

Paula ,1 . Hammond, P®E, 

Secretary of Transportation 

November 8, 2010 

n 

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NOV 15 2010 

Transportation Building 

310 Maple Park Avenue S.E . 

P.O . Box 47300 

Olympia, WA 98504-7300 

360-705-7000 

TTY: 1-800-833-6388 

www.wsdot .wa .gov 

Hazardous Waste Management System 

Identification and Listing of Special Wastes 

Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities Docket 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Mail code: 5305T 

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW 

Washington, DC 20460 

Attention: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ RCRA-2009-0640 

RE-:, Comments Relative tcx"I-Iazardous and. Solid Was~e~,,Managernent System;, :, . 

~ :U.-atif cation and Listing of Special Wastes- Disposal of C®al :Eombustioin, 

Residuals- from Electric-U- tilities,"~FederatRegister; Monday, 3uaie~21, 20W 

Dear,EPA Adrnanistratorg: 

Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the EPA's proposal to-regulate 

coal combustion residuals (C.CRs) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 

(RCRA). The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has a long 

history of taking waste products-such as CCRs destined for landfill and putting those 

waste products to beneficial use. WSDOT's program uses large quantities of Type F 

Flyash to mitigate against Alkali Silica Reactivity (ASR), a devastating reaction in 

concrete which- greatly: reduces the useful- life of the product. Use of CCRs as pozzolanic 

cements has benefited, not harmed, the environment. 

The incidents that prompted this proposed regulation were both due to improperly 

constructed impoundments of CCRs. The nature of the impoundments (dams) caused the 

failure and the subsequent damage, not the nature of the material . Existing regulations 

for these impoundmerits already exist and their success is based on enforcement of the 

regulations, not through adding new regulations. 

CCR1s should, not be labeled or regulated as either special wastes or hazardous wastes : 

they-are not hazardoas. .Two National Cooperative .Highway>>Research ;Pragrain 

(NC~igP) reports= N£HRP Report;4:43=,°.."Primer Environ~nentai-'I~pact: :qf Gonstri~cotion 

and Repair Materials on Surface and. Ground Waters'z and NCHRP Report 448, ` 

"Environmental . Impact of Construction,and Repair Materials o 

' 

n.S~urface arid Ground 

Waters" concluded that there was "no impact" of leaching of construction and repair 

materials on surface and-ground waters from CCRs. 

EPA's two: .proposed pew re~gulations for; CCRs are. both .flawed~ ~TThefirst would regulate 

CCRs,ng-special :waste wl?ew~destined for disposal at surface'dinpoundir.ents or landfills; 

this- is,not acceplable.-,-Under.this -Proposal;- CCRs:would be re - " d~

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~er'S6j6tle C of 

~ 
Environmental Protection Agency 

November 8, 2010 

Page 2 

RCRA, but the labeling of CCRs as special wastes under hazardous waste regulations 

would be inaccurate and damaging to their beneficial use. 

The second option would not classify CCRs as special waste; however, new regulation 

would be used to regulate CCRs by issuing national minimum criteria. Under this option, 

EPA would regulate CCRs under subtitle D of RCRA. This is still unnecessary as 

regulations on impoundments handle the true need, but this is less damaging to the 

transportation industry arid to the public . Under this new regulation the beneficial use of 

what was once a waste product (CCRs) could continue, diverting millions of tons of 

waste from needlessly being sent to landfills. 

WSDOT uses CCRs to replace portland cements in concrete, reducing greenhouse gas 

emissions and improving the performance of our concrete . Reducing greenhouse gas 

emissions is critically important, but this proposed regulation would increase greenhouse 

gas emissions, negatively impacting the environment. Millions of tons of CCRs currently 

put to beneficial use would instead end up in landfills, destroying useable land and 

wasting money, resulting in a net loss for the environment. 

If a formal listing of beneficial uses is developed, it should be easily updatable so that 

new beneficial uses may be included. Such a list should not exclude uses that are not 

included on the list, but merely serve as practices that exemplify acceptable beneficial 

uses. 

No new regulation of CCRs is necessary. Existing regulations of impoundments are 

more than adequate to protect the environment, if adequate enforcement is applied to 

achieve compliance. WSDOT recommends that no new regulation be established. Of the 

proposed new regulations, the subtitle D option is the less onerous option. 

A lengthy comment period should also be allowed before any proposed regulations 

related to beneficial use are adopted. 

Sincerely, 

. 

C. . Lenzi, P°. E., Chief Engineer 

JCL:tb 

cc: Tom Baker, WSDOT State Materials Engineer