Document ID: EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640-4400
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Coal Combustion Residual Surface Impoundments; Data Availability
Posted Date: 2010-10-21T04:00Z

[Federal Register: October 21, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 203)]
[Proposed Rules]               
[Page 64974-64976]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21oc10-22]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 257, 261, 264, 265, 268, 271, and 302

[EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640; FRL-9216-3]
RIN 2050-AE81

 
Notice of Data Availability on Coal Combustion Residual Surface 
Impoundments

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of data availability.

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SUMMARY: This document announces the availability of new information 
and data posted in the docket for EPA's proposed rulemaking (75 FR 
51434, August 20, 2010) on the Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals 
from Electric Utilities. The Agency is seeking public comment on how, 
if at all, this additional information should affect the Agency's 
decisions as it develops a final rule. The information has been posted 
on EPA's Web site, and is now currently available in the docket; it 
consists of responses to Information Collection Requests that EPA sent 
to electric utilities on their coal combustion residual surface 
impoundments as well as reports and materials related to the site 
assessments EPA has conducted on a subset of these impoundments.

DATES: Submit comments on or before November 19, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
RCRA-2009-0640, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) 
to rcra-docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640. 
In contrast to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is 
not an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an e-mail comment 
directly to the Docket without going through EPA's electronic public 
docket, EPA's e-mail system automatically captures your e-mail address. 
E-mail addresses that are automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system 
are included as part of the comment that is placed in the official 
public docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
     Fax: Comments may be faxed to 202-566-9744; Attention 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640.
     Mail: Send your comments to the Hazardous and Solid Waste 
Management System; Identification and Listing of Special Wastes; 
Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals From Electric Utilities Docket, 
Attention Docket ID No., EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Mailcode: 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. Please include a total of two copies.
     Hand Delivery: Deliver two copies of your comments to the 
Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Identification and Listing 
of Special Wastes; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals From Electric 
Utilities Docket, Attention Docket ID No., EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640, EPA/
DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 
20460. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal 
hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for 
deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-
2009-0640. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/
epahome/dockets.htm. For additional instructions on submitting 
comments, go to the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Hazardous and 
Solid Waste Management System; Identification and Listing of Special 
Wastes; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals From Electric Utilities 
Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. This Docket Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket 
telephone number is (202) 566-0270.

[[Page 64975]]

The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the 
Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Kohler, Office of Resource 
Conservation and Recovery (5304P), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460-0002, 
telephone (703) 347-8953, e-mail address kohler.james@epa.gov. For more 
information on this rulemaking, please visit http://www.epa.gov/
coalashrule.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and 
page number).
     Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.
    2. Docket Copying Costs. The first 100-copied pages are free. 
Thereafter, the charge for making copies of Docket materials is 15 
cents per page.

II. How should I submit CBI to the agency?

    Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI 
electronically through http://www.regulations.gov or by e-mail. Send or 
deliver information identified as CBI only to the following address: 
RCRA CBI Document Control Officer, Office of Resource Conservation and 
Recovery (5305P), U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640. You may claim 
information that you submit to EPA as CBI by marking any part or all of 
that information as CBI (if you submit CBI on a disk or CD ROM, mark 
the outside of the disk or CD ROM as CBI and then identify 
electronically within the disk or CD ROM the specific information that 
is CBI). Information so marked will not be disclosed, except in 
accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes 
any information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not 
contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion 
in the public docket and EPA's electronic public docket. If you submit 
the copy that does not contain CBI on a disk or CD ROM, mark the 
outside of the disk or CD ROM clearly that it does not contain CBI. 
Information not marked as CBI will be included in the public docket and 
EPA's electronic public docket without prior notice. If you have any 
questions about CBI or the procedures for claiming CBI, please contact: 
LaShan Haynes, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (5305P), 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0002, telephone (703) 605-0516, e-mail address 
haynes.lashan@epa.gov.

III. Coal Combustion Residual Surface Impoundment Information

A. Background on Information Collection Request Responses

    After the failure of the coal combustion residual (CCR) surface 
impoundment at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston facility in 
December 2008, EPA undertook an effort to assess the structural 
integrity of the other CCR surface impoundments. This effort had three 
components: (1) An Information Collection Request (ICR2020-
0003) that was sent to facilities known to have surface impoundments or 
similar management units asking for specific information on the 
structural stability of those units; (2) on-site assessments of the 
structural integrity of these units; and (3) reports and 
recommendations for actions at the facility. EPA is still in the 
process of completing these assessments; however, EPA is placing the 
data that are currently available in the docket for the rulemaking, and 
is soliciting public comment on these data in connection with this 
rulemaking.
    EPA sent Information Collection Requests in March, April and 
December of 2009 to electric utilities that have surface impoundments 
or similar management units that contain CCRs. All of the responses 
covering 228 facilities and 629 surface impoundments and similar 
management units are currently posted in the docket. (Note: These 
responses have been posted on EPA's Web site since they have been 
received by the Agency. Thus, these responses have already been 
publicly available.) The 228 facilities that responded to EPA's 
information collection request have 629 surface impoundments and 
similar management units; 200 units (32 percent) have been given a 
hazard potential rating using the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National 
Inventory of Dams criteria. Of the 200 units that have been rated, 50 
units (25 percent) are rated as having a High Hazard Potential; 71 
units (36 percent) are rated as having a Significant Hazard Potential; 
71 units (36 percent) are rated as having a Low Hazard Potential; and 8 
units (4 percent) are rated as having a Less than Low Hazard Potential. 
429 units (68 percent) have not received a hazard potential rating. The 
hazard potential ratings do not assess the stability of these units; 
rather, the ratings assess the potential for loss of life or 
environmental and economic damage. Units rated as having a High 
Potential Hazard are those where failure will probably cause loss of 
life.
    Of the 629 surface impoundments and similar units covered in these 
responses, 443 (70 percent) were designed by a professional engineer. 
The units show considerable variation in height, with 80 units (13 
percent) being reported as greater than 50 feet in height; 133 units 
(21 percent) being reported as greater than 25 feet, but less than 51 
feet in height; 268 units (43 percent) being reported as greater than 6 
feet, but less than 26 feet in height; 39 units (6 percent) being 
reported as greater than 0 feet, but less than 7 feet in height; and 
105 units (17 percent) being reported as having no height.
    A majority of the information contained in the company responses 
has been inserted into a database. All the fields and entries in this 
database have been extracted and posted in the docket as PDF and 
Microsoft Excel spreadsheets which enable users to easily search for 
aggregate or facility-specific information.

B. Background on CCR Impoundment Assessment Information

    As part of EPA's ongoing national effort to assess the management 
of CCRs, EPA has assessed the structural integrity of many impoundments 
and similar management units containing CCRs at electric utilities. 
This effort is still ongoing; however, EPA is making available for 
comment those 53 assessment reports that have been

[[Page 64976]]

finalized. Most of the impoundments that have been assessed have a 
``high'' or ``significant'' hazard potential rating. As mentioned 
above, the hazard potential rating is not related to the stability of 
these impoundments, but to the potential for harm should the 
impoundment fail. For example, a ``significant'' hazard potential 
rating means impoundment failure can cause economic loss, environmental 
damage, or damage to infrastructure.
    The assessment reports being placed into the docket have been 
completed by contractors who are experts in the area of dam integrity, 
reflect the best professional judgment of the engineering firm, and are 
signed and stamped by a professional engineer who is licensed in the 
state in which the impoundment is located. The reports are based on a 
visual assessment of the site, interviews with site personnel, and the 
review of geotechnical reports and studies related to the design, 
construction and operation of these impoundments, if available. The 
engineering firms also reviewed past state/federal inspections of the 
impoundments. EPA's contractors were not authorized to conduct any 
physical drilling, coring or sampling while on site; however, they did 
review studies which may have included such information. Also, the 
contractors were asked to rate the impoundments as ``satisfactory,'' 
``fair,'' ``poor,'' or ``unsatisfactory,'' terms commonly used in the 
field of dam safety. Only impoundments rated as ``unsatisfactory'' pose 
immediate safety threats. None of the impoundments assessed so far have 
received an ``unsatisfactory'' rating. Impoundment ratings noted in the 
reports should be taken in the proper context, since a unit may be 
found to be structurally sound, while it may receive a ``fair'' or 
``poor'' rating based on other factors such as lack of information. 
These condition ratings are different than the hazard potential ratings 
described above because they are related to the stability of the 
individual impoundment as assessed through a field inspection and 
available information on the impoundment.
    Draft copies of these reports have been reviewed by the facilities 
and the states for factual accuracy and their comments on the draft 
reports have also been placed in the docket and posted to EPA's Web 
site. EPA continues to review the reports and the technical 
recommendations, and is working with the facilities to ensure that the 
recommendations are implemented.
    EPA has provided a copy of the final report to each facility and 
has requested that the facility implement the recommendations in the 
reports and develop plans for taking action. The action plans that have 
been completed also have been placed in the docket along with the draft 
assessment reports, comments on the draft reports, and the final 
assessment reports. (Note: These reports and action plans have been 
posted on EPA's Web site since they have been received by the Agency. 
Thus, these reports and action plans have already been publicly 
available.) Additional action plans will be posted to EPA's Web site as 
they become available (but in the absence of further EPA action, will 
not be considered part of the rulemaking record). Should facilities 
fail to take sufficient measures, EPA will take additional action, if 
the circumstances warrant, and will be devoting special attention to 
those facilities receiving a ``poor'' or ``unsatisfactory'' rating.
    Some companies have claimed that certain information they have 
provided to EPA related to their coal ash impoundments is CBI. While 
EPA reviews these claims, the information that is claimed as CBI is 
redacted (removed) from the coal ash reports. If these claims are 
accepted by EPA, the information will remain redacted. If EPA denies 
these claims, the information will be made publicly available and 
posted to EPA's Web site.

C. Conclusion

    The Agency solicits comments on this information, including the 
extent to which both the CCR surface impoundment information collection 
request responses and assessment materials on the structural integrity 
of these impoundments should be factored into EPA's final rule on the 
Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities.

    Dated: October 13, 2010.
Mathy Stanislaus,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.
[FR Doc. 2010-26657 Filed 10-20-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P