4301 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 300 Washington DC 20008 T 202.244.4700 F 202.966.4818

August 28 , 2015

Via Electronic Transmission: Helms.greg@epa.gov Mr. Gregory Helms Project Manager, Corrosivity Standard Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (5304 P) 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20460

Dear Mr. Helms:

The National Waste & Recycling Association ( NWRA ) is pleased to offer comm ents on the PEER petition requesting EPA to revise the characteristic of corrosivity. PEER has requested that EPA redefine the corrosivity characteristic of solid waste to include solid wastes and to lower the alkaline limit from a pH of 1 2 .5 to 1 1 .5

.

NWRA is a not

- for

- profit trade association represent ing private solid waste and recycling collection, processing and management companies. Our member companies own and operate disposal, recycling and transfer facilities that take in materials that would be affected by this proposal.

Based on feedback from our members, the operational and cost implications of lowering the pH and adding solids to the definition of corrosivity would be significant for every a spect of solid waste management : construction and demolition (C&D) debris landfills and recycling faci lities
, municipal solid waste landfill s and transfer stations, and hazardous waste facilities . Further, it would impose significant new costs on generators of these materials

.
In addition, the central justification for the action requested by the petitio n is based on the inhalation of caustic dust during a building collapse as experienced during 9/11. The RCRA corrosivity characteristic applies to the definition of solid waste, not particulates. So the proposed changes would not reduce the impacts cited. T herefore, we recommend that the EPA maintain the existing definition for the corrosivity standard.

### Construction & Demolition (C&D) Debris Landfills and Recycling Facilities

Traditionally, concrete wastes have been safely managed as construction and demolition (C&D) debris at C&D landfills or at C&D recycling facilities. These materials, however, are likely to have a pH above 11.5. According to EPA’s June 2015, Advancing Susta in able Materials Management: 2013 , EPA530

- R

- 15

- 00 2 , Portland cement concrete C&D debris generated was 353 million tons in 2013

. Sustainableconcrete.org estimates that about 140 million tons are recycled annually.

If these materials were classified as haz ardous waste due to a lowered pH standard applied to solid materials, beneficial reuse in roadbed or new construction c ould halt, and the materials would need to be buried in Subtitle C landfills

.



### Subtitle D MSW Landfills

Subtitle D landfills receive about 1 3 0 million tons of MSW w astes each year. In addition, Subtitle D facilities handle other industrial wastes that are not considered hazardous. A portion of this volume is non

- hazardous solid wastes that will likely have a pH greater than 11.5. These materials may include remediation soils, scrubber solids, concrete and cement, tank cleanout residues, sandblast media, soda ash, drilling muds containing bentonite and furnace or coal combustion residues . Because these materials are solids , there is no re cord of the quantity of alkaline waste volumes received at MSW landfills

. Our members report, however, that it would be million s of tons.

In addition, many MSW landfills perform solidification using high pH materials such as lime, fly ash and cement kiln dust . The solidified materials could also be defined as hazardous if the p H limit was lowered and applied to solids. Lastly, between 15

- 20% of biosolids are landfilled, much of it lime

- sta bilized

. As with other materials, we believe that the quantity of these materials to be significant, but there are no records of actual quantities managed by Subtitle D landfills.



### Subtitle C Landfills

According to EPA’s March 25, 2015, National Capacity Assessment Report: Capacity Planning Pursuant to CERCLA Section 10 4(c)(9), in 2014, the total maximum operational commercial hazardous waste landfill capacity for the nation was 89 million tons. This is considered sufficient to provide approximately 25 years of capacity for disposal of hazardous wastes.

These facilities are very difficult to site, permit and expand. Even when possible, facilities could take up to ten years from conception to accepting material.

Given the tremendous volume of material that would fall under any rule, it is impractical to manage these mat erials as hazardous. The total 25

- year capacity would be exhausted by three months of Portland cement concrete alone, leaving no place for disposal of genuinely hazardous materials.

### Conclusion

As described, a change in the corrosivity standard would have a tremendous detrimental impact on the solid waste industry by reducing recycling, increasing costs and overwhelming the hazardous waste infrastructure. Yet, with all that, t he justification for the proposed action
, inhalation of caust ic dust by first responders due to a building collapse
, is not governed by RCRA.

M ater ials meeting the current corrosivity standards have been managed safely in C&D and Subtitle D landfills for decades

. Further, t he Subtitle C landfill infrastructure can not support the volume of material that would result from the PEER proposal . T he PEER proposal would not achieve the intent of protect ing first responders . Therefore , w e recommend that EPA maintain the current corrosivity standard.

NWRA appreciates the op portunity to provide comments to the PEER petition for rulemaking. Should you have any questions about the information provided, please feel free to contact me at (202) 364

- 3724 or agermain@wasterecycling.org

. We look forward to continuing to work with you as you develop your response to the petition.

Best regards
,

Anne Germain Director of Waste & Recycling Technology