1Identification of Secondary Materials thatIdentification of Secondary Materials thatare Solid Wastesare Solid WastesGeorge FaisonU.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEPA COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN RULEMAKINGROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONJANUARY, 28 20102OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATIONOVERVIEW OF PRESENTATION•EPA’s Proposal– What’s the purpose?– Why is it important?•Initial Steps Agency has Taken to Decide WhetherSecondary Materials are a Solid Waste•Summary of Comments•Issues and Challenges•Timing and Next Steps•Public Participation3Purpose of TodayPurpose of Today’s Meetings Meeting•Help interested citizens understand theproposed rule•Solicit your feedback on the following:– Issues discussed today– Specific types of information that will help youunderstand/review the proposed rule– Ideas for potential outreach activities after theproposal is issued4OVERVIEW OF EPAOVERVIEW OF EPA’S PROPOSALS PROPOSAL•Clarifies which secondary materials are solidwastes when burned in combustion units.– “Secondary” refers to materials that are not theprimary product of a manufacturing or commercialprocess– Includes consumer and industrial materials that areno longer used for their original purpose– Ex: Scrap tires, used oil, wood, coal refuse, andconstruction & demolition debris5Overview of EPAOverview of EPA’s proposals proposal•Determines whether air requirements under Clean ActSection 112 or Clean Act Section 129 apply to thoseunits•There are approximately 1.38 million boilers and processheaters nationwide, which include gas-fired boilers– Approximately 196,000 are anticipated to be regulated underCAA 112 (as either major orarea sources) or CAA 129•Gas-fired area source boilers are not anticipated to be regulatedunder CAA 1126Why is this rule important ?Why is this rule important ?•Units that burn SOLID WASTE would be subject torequirements under CAA section 129•Units that burn materials that are NOT A SOLIDWASTE would be subject to requirements underCAA section 1127BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND•There are differences in Clean Air section 112and section 129 requirements•CAA 112 gives discretion as to how area sources can beregulated, whereas under CAA129, all sources must beregulated based on maximum achievable control technology(MACT)•Under CAA 129, emission standards must be set for 9specific pollutants•CAA section 129 includes requirements for operator training,pre-construction site assessments, and monitoring that arenot included in CAA section 112•Those standards and court challenges will bediscussed in EPA’s Air Program presentation8BiomassConstruction debrisScrap tiresScrap plasticsSpent solventsUsed tiresCoal RefuseFoundry SandSewage SludgeWood manufacturingmaterialFyi:“Secondary materials” are the byproductsof a manufacturing or commercial process. Theyalso include both consumer and industrialmaterials that are no longer used for their originalpurpose.SECONDARY MATERIALSLike...When Burned A s a s o l id w a s t e



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eCAA 129CAA 112The Combustion Unitis regulated under...9INITIAL STEPS THE AGENCY HAS TAKEN TOINITIAL STEPS THE AGENCY HAS TAKEN TODECIDE WHETHER MATERIALS ARE A SOLIDDECIDE WHETHER MATERIALS ARE A SOLIDWASTE•EPA published Advanced Notice of ProposedRulemaking (ANPRM) on January 2, 2009•Identifies 2 key factors for solid waste determination– Whether secondary material has been discarded– If discarded, has it been sufficiently processed toproduce a legitimate fuel•“Discarded” means disposed of, abandoned, thrown away•Discusses concept that secondary material must belegitimately used to be considered a non-waste10INITIAL STEPS THE AGENCY HAS TAKEN TOINITIAL STEPS THE AGENCY HAS TAKEN TODECIDE WHETHER MATERIALS ARE A SOLIDDECIDE WHETHER MATERIALS ARE A SOLIDWASTE•Identifies materials that would NOT be considered assolid waste:– Traditional fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)– Wood– Discarded materials processed into legitimate fuel•Ex., discarded scrap tires processed into tire chips, used for fuel– Materials used as legitimate fuels that have not been discarded•Ex., scrap tires managed under state programs11AN APPROACH DISCUSSED IN ANPRMAN APPROACH DISCUSSED IN ANPRMFOR SOLID WASTE DETERMINATIONFOR SOLID WASTE DETERMINATIONMATERIALDISCARDED ?NONON-WASTEYESSUFFICIENTLYPROCESSEDINTONEW LEGITIMATENON-WASTEPRODUCT ?YESNON-WASTEWASTENOWASTE12ANPRM COMMENTS AND OTHERANPRM COMMENTS AND OTHERCORRESPONDENCECORRESPONDENCE•Many industry comments supported overall approach– Promote beneficial use•Concerns– Some states and industry representatives said regulating wholetires as solid waste when burned as fuel may disrupt existingrecycling markets and result in more waste tire piles with impactson adjacent communities– Some states emphasized that materials must be managedproperly prior to arrival at combustion site– Environmental groups raisedthe potential negative impacts onenvironmental justice communities, and stated the approach isnot consistent with RCRA and CAA requirements13ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED IN PROPOSALISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED IN PROPOSAL•Impact the rule will have on states’ ability to implementtheir own solid waste management programs•Whether materials that have been discarded can beadequately processed to convert the material into a nonwaste product•Whether the rule could preferentially promotecombustion of secondary materials over traditionalrecycling activities•Whether the rule will impact communities withenvironmental justice concerns14Environmental Justice AnalysisEnvironmental Justice Analysis•To identify disproportionately high and adverse humanhealth or environmental effects of the rule on minoritypopulations and low-income populations•Joint effort to evaluate the combined impacts of boilerMACT, CISWI rule, and definition of solid waste– Will report combined results•For the identification of non-hazardous secondarymaterials rule, analysis will focus on the management ofsolid waste materials– Ex., possible adverse impacts associated with solid waste beingsent to commercial waste combustors or landfills, as well aspossible impacts of increased waste tire piles– Will include demographic analysisfor facilities or sites wherethese solid wastes may ultimately be sent15TIMING AND NEXT STEPSTIMING AND NEXT STEPS•EPA must sign the proposed rule by April 15, 2010– This proposed rule that identifieswhich materials are solid wasteis linked to two CAA rules that are on court-ordered schedule– Will be followed by 30 day public comment period•EPA must sign final rule by December 15, 2010•For more informationhttp://www.epa.gov/waste/nonhaz/definition.htm16Public ParticipationPublic Participation• EPA would like your feedback on the following:• Issues discussed today•Specific types of information that will help youunderstand/review the proposed rule•Ideas for potential outreach activities after the proposal isissued• We only have 30 days to take comments, due to acourt-ordered deadline•How can we best engage with you?•Options