Document ID: EPA-R01-RCRA-2015-0195-0006
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2015-04-20T04:00Z

[Deliberative  -  Not intended for Public Release until FR publication] 

                              Executive Summary

         PROPOSAL TO GRANT FINAL RCRA SUBTITLE C AUTHORIZATION TO THE
                       STATE OF VERMONT FOR REVISIONS TO
                    ITS HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

I.   Purpose

This Executive Summary has been developed for the State of Vermont's application for revisions to its RCRA Subtitle C ("Hazardous Waste") program.  Vermont submitted its application to EPA on January 16, 2015, for rules it adopted regarding wastewater evaporation units.  The attached proposed rule and direct final rule will be published in the Federal Register to notify the public that the Region intends to approve Vermont's hazardous waste program revisions.

II. Background

Wastewater evaporation units evaporate water using heat, to reduce the volume of wastewater and to concentrate hazardous wastes.  At the federal level, many wastewater evaporation units have been exempted from most RCRA requirements under the federal wastewater treatment unit (WWTU) exemption.  Vermont developed regulations that take a more stringent approach regarding these units at generators under its generator regulations, with additional conditions.  The Vermont regulations require significant hazardous waste management for evaporators, including secondary containment and contingency planning, and comprehensive air emission controls.  Vermont's regulations require evaporator operators to notify the State and the State conducts a review of each evaporator to ensure that it will be properly operated.  

While the State regulations clearly are more stringent than the federal regulations in general, an issue was raised about whether the regulations are sufficiently stringent across the board.  While several guidance documents take a different approach, a note attached to one guidance document indicates that any evaporator that does not qualify for the WWTU exemption must obtain a full RCRA thermal treatment permit.  Vermont regulates all generator evaporators utilizing a middle ground approach, rather than taking such an `all or nothing' approach.  A determination is required regarding if the middle ground approach is sufficiently protective, if one assumes that a full permit is sometimes required at the federal level.
 
The Region has consulted with HQ Offices about this issue.  The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance (OECA) provided written comments in support of the Region proceeding with authorization.  No legal issues regarding this approach were raised by the Office of General Counsel.  The Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR) is considering whether to revise the approach taken in the note, but has not to date taken any action on this issue, and has not provided any final comments to the region on the authorization issue.  Accordingly, in November 2014, the Region advised ORCR Director Barnes Johnson that it planned to proceed with authorization of the Vermont program.  

The final authority for making authorization decisions has been delegated to the Regional Administrators and concurrence by the national offices is not required.  The national policy on `Functional Equivalency' allows the Regions to authorize state programs which take a different approach from the EPA approach, as long as the state approach is at least as environmentally protective as the federal approach.  We believe it is clear that Vermont's approach is not only equally protective but actually more stringent than the current federal approach, even factoring in the above mentioned note.  Vermont's effective control of all evaporators is more protective than exempting many of them under the WWTU exemption, even if at the federal level there is a requirement that some evaporators must get full permits.  Many evaporators are being operated across the country under the WWTU exemption, with controls that are much less stringent than those in Vermont regulations.

III. Final Decision to Grant Federal Approval for the Final Authorization of Vermont's RCRA Subtitle C Program Revisions

The attached Federal Register notices when signed will grant federal approval for the final authorization of Vermont's regulations.	

IV. Public Notice and Comment for Vermont Authorization

The proposed rule and direct final rule will be published in the Federal Register.  The public will have thirty (30) days after the date of publication to comment on Vermont's hazardous waste program revisions.  Final authorization will be effective sixty (60) days after the date of publication of the direct final rule, unless we receive adverse comments during the comment period.  Should we receive adverse comments we will publish a subsequent Federal Register notice withdrawing our direct approval decision, and respond to the public comments based on the proposed rule.  
  
V. Congressional Interest

There is no known Congressional interest in this matter.

VI. Recommendation

The RCRA Waste Management & UST Section and Office of Regional Counsel recommend that the Regional Administrator issue the proposed rule and direct final rule to authorize Vermont's revised Hazardous Waste Management Program by signing the enclosed Federal Register notices. 
 
VII. EPA Contacts

Questions or comments should be directed to either Sharon Leitch (8-1647) or Beth Deabay (8-1343) of the RCRA Waste Management & UST Section, OSRR, or Jeffry Fowley, ORC (8-1094).