Document ID: EPA-HQ-RCRA-2002-0031-0599
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2008-10-30T04:00Z

Memorandum

To:	The Record

From:	Susan Parker Bodine

	Assistant Administrator

	Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response

Re:	Meeting with National Mining Association representatives.

On June 4, 2008, Susan Bodine and Marcus Peacock met with the following
individuals regarding EPA’s proposed rule on the Definition of Solid
Waste:

Hal Quinn, NMA

Mike Wood, Freeport McMoran

Dave Kimball, Gallagher Kennedy 

John Howard, Vinson & Elkins

The NMA representatives raised concerns about the potential regulation
under the proposed rule of a land based production process: leaching. 
They were concerned that ambiguity of the term “contained” and the
term “significant release,” would be exploited later to try to
regulate this process as a waste management process.  They said a 1998
rule had made clear that this process was a production process, not
waste management. 

I spoke about the proposal and the concept in the proposal that material
that has been released into the environment is discarded, and therefore
could be regulated.  The NMA representatives did not dispute that and
stated that the fact pattern they were describing did not involve any
release into the environment.  Instead, materials may move from one unit
into another unit. 

I acknowledged that we had received comments requested clarification of
what “contained” and “significant release” means in the proposed
rule.