Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2001/11/19/01-28624/hazardous-waste-management-system-identification-and-listing-of-hazardous-waste-proposed-exclusion
Timestamp: 2018-08-15 19:27:19
Document Index: 459417808

Matched Legal Cases: ['§\u2009260', 'art 261', 'art 264', 'art 261', 'arts 262', 'art 270', 'arts 260', 'art 262', 'arth1', 'arth1', 'arth1', 'arth1']

EPA is requesting public comments on this proposed decision. Comments will be accepted until January 3, 2002. Comments postmarked after the close of the comment period will be stamped ``late.'' These ``late'' comments may not be considered in formulating a final decision.
57918-57930 (13 pages)
FRL-7103-6
A. Summary of Delisting Petition Submitted by Nissan North America, Inc., Smyrna, Tennessee (Nissan)
C. Should the Multiple Extraction Procedure (MEP) Be Used To Evaluate This Delisting Petition?
Appendix IX—Wastes Excluded Under §§ 260.20 and 260.22Start Printed Page 57929
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/01-28624 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/01-28624
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) today is proposing to grant a petition submitted by Nissan North America, Inc., Smyrna, Tennessee (Nissan), to exclude (or “delist”) a certain hazardous waste from the list of hazardous wastes under RCRA regulation. Nissan will generate the petitioned waste by treating wastewater from Nissan's automobile assembly plant when aluminum is one of the metals used to manufacture automobile bodies. The waste so generated is a wastewater treatment sludge that meets the definition of F019. Nissan petitioned EPA to grant a generator-specific delisting, because Nissan believes that its F019 waste does not meet the criteria for which this type of waste was listed. EPA reviewed all of the waste-specific information provided by Nissan, performed calculations, and determined that the waste could be disposed in a landfill without harming human health and the environment. Today's proposed rule proposes to grant Nissan's petition to delist its F019 waste, and requests public comment on the proposed decision. If the proposed delisting becomes a final delisting, Nissan's petitioned waste will no longer be classified as F019, and will not be subject to regulation as a hazardous waste under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The waste will still be subject to local, State, and Federal regulations for nonhazardous solid wastes.
EPA is requesting public comments on this proposed decision. Comments will be accepted until January 3, 2002. Comments postmarked after the close of the comment period will be stamped “late.” These “late” comments may not be considered in formulating a final decision.
Any person may request a hearing on this proposed decision by filing a request with Richard D. Green, Director of the Waste Management Division, EPA, Region 4, whose address appears below, by December 4, 2001. The request must contain the information prescribed in section 260.20(d).
Send two copies of your comments to Jewell Grubbs, Chief, RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30303. Send one copy to Nina Vo, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, 5th Floor, L & C Tower, 401 Church Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37243-1535. Identify your comments at the top with this regulatory docket number: R4-01-01-NissanP. Comments may also be submitted by e-mail to sophianopoulos.judy@epa.gov. If files are attached, please identify the format.
Copies of the petition are available during normal business hours at the following addresses for inspection and copying: U.S. EPA, Region 4, Library, Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303, (404) 562-8190; and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, 5th Floor, L & C Tower, 401 Church Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37243-1535. The EPA, Region 4, Library is located near the Five Points MARTA station in Atlanta. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is located in downtown Nashville near the intersection of Church Street and 4th Avenue North, about 0.2 mile northwest of Riverfront Park and 0.2 mile southwest of Bicentennial Park. Documents are also available for viewing and downloading at the Web site of EPA, Region 4: http://www.epa.gov/​region4/​index.html. At this site, click on “Waste,” “Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA),” “RCRA Program, and then on “New” under “Enforcement and Compliance.”
For general and technical information about this proposed rule, contact Judy Sophianopoulos, South Enforcement and Compliance Section, (Mail Code 4WD-RCRA), RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303, (404) 562-8604, or call, toll free, (800) 241-1754, and leave a message, with your name and phone number, for Ms. Sophianopoulos to return your call.
C. Should the Multiple Extraction Procedure (MEP) be Used to Evaluate this Delisting
IX . Executive Order 12866
Individual waste streams may vary, however, depending on raw materials, industrial processes, and other factors. Thus, while a waste that is described in these regulations generally is hazardous, a specific waste from an individual facility meeting the listing description may not be. For this reason, sections 260.20 and 260.22 provide an exclusion procedure, allowing persons to demonstrate that a specific waste from a particular generating facility [1] should not be regulated as a hazardous waste.
This petition requests a delisting for a hazardous waste listed as F019. In making the initial delisting determination, EPA evaluated the petitioned waste against the listing criteria and factors cited in Section 261.11(a)(2) and (a)(3). Based on this review, the EPA agrees with the petitioner that the waste is nonhazardous with respect to the original listing criteria. (If EPA had found, based on this review, that the waste remained hazardous based on the factors for which the waste was originally listed, EPA would have proposed to deny the petition.) EPA then evaluated the waste with respect to other factors or criteria to assess whether there is a reasonable basis to believe that such additional factors could cause the waste to be hazardous. See section 260.22(a) and (d). The EPA considered whether the waste is acutely toxic, and considered the toxicity of the constituents, the concentration of the constituents in the waste, their tendency to migrate and to bioaccumulate, their persistence in the environment once released from the waste, plausible and specific types of management of the petitioned waste, the quantities of waste generated, and waste variability.
In the past, EPA used the EPA Composite Model for Landfills (EPACML) fate and transport model, modified for delisting, as one approach for determining the delisting levels for petitioned waste. See 56 FR 32993-33012, July 18, 1991, for details on the use of the EPACML model to determine the concentrations of constituents in a waste that will not result in groundwater contamination. With the EPACML approach, as used in the past, EPA calculated a delisting level for each hazardous constituent by using the maximum estimated waste volume to determine a Dilution Attenuation Factor (DAF) from a table of waste volumes and DAFs previously calculated by the EPACML model, as modified for delisting. See 56 FR 32993-33012, July 18, 1991. The maximum estimated waste volume is the maximum number of cubic yards of petitioned waste to be disposed of each year. The delisting level for each constituent was equal to the DAF multiplied by the maximum contaminant level (MCL) which the Safe Drinking Water Act allows for that constituent in drinking water. The delisting level is a concentration in the waste leachate that will not cause the MCL to be exceeded in groundwater underneath a landfill where the waste is disposed. This method of calculating delisting levels resulted in conservative levels that were protective of Start Printed Page 57920groundwater, because the model did not assume that the landfill had the controls required of Subtitle D landfills. A Subtitle D landfill is a landfill subject to RCRA Subtitle D nonhazardous waste regulations, and to State and local nonhazardous waste regulations.
The EPA is proposing to use the Delisting Risk Assessment Software (DRAS),[2] developed by EPA, Region 6, to evaluate this delisting petition. The DRAS uses a new model, called the EPA Composite Model for Leachate Migration with Transformation Products (EPACMTP). The EPACMTP improves on the EPACML model in several ways. EPA is proposing to use the DRAS to calculate delisting levels and to evaluate the impact of Nissan's petitioned waste on human health and the environment. Delisting levels are the maximum allowable concentrations for hazardous constituents in the waste, so that disposal in a landfill will not harm human health and the environment by contaminating groundwater, surface water, or air.
Today's proposal provides background information on the mechanics of the DRAS, and the use of the DRAS in delisting decision-making. Please see the EPA, Region 6, RCRA Delisting Technical Support Document (RDTSD) for a complete discussion of the DRAS calculation methods. The RDTSD, and Federal Register s, 65 FR 75637-75651, December 4, 2000, and 65 FR 58015-58031, September 27, 2000, are the sources of the DRAS information presented in today's preamble, and are included in the RCRA regulatory docket for this proposed rule.
The DRAS performs a risk assessment for petitioned wastes that are disposed of in the two waste management units of concern: surface impoundments for liquid wastes and landfills for non-liquid wastes. Nissan's petitioned waste is solid, not liquid, and will be disposed in a landfill; therefore, only the application of DRAS to landfills will be discussed in this preamble.
DRAS uses the EPACMTP model to simulate the fate and transport of dissolved contaminants from a point of release at the base of a landfill, through the unsaturated zone and underlying groundwater, to a receptor well at an arbitrary downstream location in the aquifer (the rock formation in which the groundwater is located). DRAS evaluates, with the EPACMTP model, the groundwater exposure concentrations at the receptor well that result from the chemical release and transport from the landfill (Application of EPACMTP to Region 6 Delisting Program: Development of Waste Volume-Specific Dilution Attenuation Factors, U.S. EPA, August 1996). For the purpose of delisting determinations, receptor well concentrations for both carcinogens and non-carcinogens from finite-source degraders and non-degraders are determined with this model. Delisted waste is a finite source, because in a finite period of time, the waste's constituents will leach and move out of the landfill. If EPA makes a final decision to delist Nissan's F019 waste, Nissan must meet the delisting levels and dispose of the waste in a Subtitle D landfill, because EPA determined the delisting levels based on a landfill model.
The EPACMTP includes three major categories of improvements over the EPACML.
A summary of the key enhancements which have been implemented in the EPACMTP is presented here and the details are provided in the background documents to the proposed 1995 Hazardous Waste Identification Rule (HWIR) (60 FR 66344, December 21, 1995). The background documents are available through the RCRA HWIR Federal Register proposal docket (60 FR 66344, December 21, 1995). For more information, please contact Judy Sophianopoulos, South Enforcement and Compliance Section, (Mail Code 4WD-RCRA), RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303, (404) 562-8604, or call, toll free, (800) 241-1754, and leave a message, with your name and phone number, for Ms. Sophianopoulos to return your call. You may also contact her by e-mail: sophianopoulos.judy@epa.gov.
The EPACMTP model overcomes the deficiencies of the EPACML in the Start Printed Page 57921following way: The subsurface as modeled with the EPACMTP consists of an unsaturated zone beneath a landfill and a saturated zone, the underlying water table aquifer. Contaminants move vertically downward through the unsaturated zone to the water table. The EPACMTP simulates one-dimensional, vertically downward flow and transport of contaminants in the unsaturated zone, as well as two-dimensional or three-dimensional groundwater flow and contaminant transport in the underlying saturated zone. The EPACML used a saturated zone module that was based on a Gaussian distribution of the concentration of a chemical constituent in the saturated zone. The module also used an approximation to account for the initial mixing of the contaminant entering at the water table (saturated zone) underneath the waste unit. The module accounting for initial mixing in the EPACML could lead to unrealistic groundwater concentrations. The enhanced EPACMTP model incorporates a direct linkage between the unsaturated zone and saturated zone modules which overcomes these limitations of the EPACML. The following mechanisms affecting contaminant migration are accounted for in the EPACMTP model: Transport by advection and dispersion, retardation resulting from reversible linear or nonlinear equilibrium sorption on the soil and aquifer solid phase, and biochemical degradation processes. The EPACML did not account for biochemical degradation, and did not account for sorption as accurately as the EPACMTP.
For more information on DRAS and EPACMTP, please see 65 FR 75637-75651, December 4, 2000; 65 FR 58015-58031, September 27, 2000; and 66 FR 9781-9798, February 12, 2001. The December 4, 2000 Federal Register discusses the key enhancements of the EPACMTP and the details are provided in the background documents to the proposed 1995 Hazardous Waste Identification Rule (HWIR) (60 FR 66344, December 21, 1995). The background documents are available through the RCRA HWIR FR proposal docket (60 FR 66344, December 21, 1995). A summary of DRAS is presented in 66 FR 9781-9798, February 12, 2001. Footnote 2 in Preamble Section I.B.2. above lists the URL addresses for Region 6 guidance on DRAS.
Nissan submitted to the EPA analytical data from its Smyrna, Tennessee plant. Samples of wastewater treatment sludge were collected from roll-off containers over a one-month period, in accordance with a sampling and analysis plan approved by EPA and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. A summary of analytical data is presented in Table 1 of section II below, with analytical details in the Table footnotes.
After reviewing the analytical data and information on processes and raw materials that Nissan submitted in the delisting petition, EPA developed a list of constituents of concern and calculated delisting levels and risks using DRAS and EPACMTP DAFs as described above. EPA requests public comment on this proposed method of calculating delisting levels and risks for Nissan's petitioned waste.
EPA also requests comment on three additional methods of evaluating Nissan's delisting petition and determining delisting levels: (1) Use of the Multiple Extraction Procedure (MEP), SW-846 Method 1320 [4] , to evaluate the long-term resistance of the waste to leaching in a landfill; (2) setting limits on total concentrations of constituents in the waste that are more conservative than results obtained by DRAS for total concentrations; and (3) setting delisting levels at the Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) Universal Treatment Standards (UTS) levels in 40 CFR 268.48. The UTS levels for Nissan's constituents of concern are the following:
Arsenic: 5.0 mg/l TCLP; Barium: 21 mg/l TCLP; Cadmium: 0.11 mg/l TCLP; Chromium: 0.60 mg/l TCLP; Cyanide Total: 590 mg/kg; Cyanide Amenable 30 mg/kg; Lead: 0.75 mg/l TCLP; Nickel: 11 mg/l TCLP; Silver: 0.14 mg/l TCLP; Vanadium: 1.6 mg/l; Zinc: 4.3 mg/l TCLP; Acetone: 160 mg/kg; Bis-2-ethylhexyl phthalate: 28 mg/kg; 2-Butanone: 36 kg/kg; Isobutyl alcohol: 170 mg/kg; 4-Methyl phenol: 5.6 mg/kg; Di-n-octyl phthalate: 28 mg/kg; Phenol: 6.2 mg/kg; and Xylenes: 30 mg/kg.
The EPA provides notice and an opportunity for comment before granting or denying a final exclusion. Thus, a final decision will not be made until all timely public comments (including those at public hearings, if any) on today's proposal are addressed.
Nissan manufactures light-duty vehicles and is seeking a delisting for the sludge that will be generated by treating wastewater from its manufacturing operations, when aluminum will be used to replace some of the steel in the vehicle bodies. Wastewater treatment sludge does not meet a hazardous waste listing definition when steel-only vehicle bodies are manufactured. However, the wastewater treatment sludge generated at manufacturing plants where aluminum is used as a component of vehicle bodies, meets the listing definition of F019 in Section 261.3.[5]
Nissan petitioned EPA, Region 4, on October 12, 2000, to exclude this F019 waste, on an upfront, generator-specific basis, from the list of hazardous wastes in 40 CFR part 261, subpart D.
Nissan claims that its F019 waste will not be hazardous because the constituents of concern for which F019 is listed will be present only at low concentrations and will not leach out of the waste at significant concentrations. Nissan also believes that this waste will not be hazardous for any other reason (i.e., there will be no additional constituents or factors that could cause the waste to be hazardous). Review of this petition included consideration of the original listing criteria, as well as Start Printed Page 57922the additional factors required by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) of 1984. See section 222 of HSWA, 42 U.S.C. 6921(f), and 40 CFR 260.22(d)(2)-(4). Today's proposal to grant this petition for delisting is the result of the EPA's evaluation of Nissan's petition.
In support of its petition, Nissan submitted: (1) Descriptions of its manufacturing and wastewater treatment processes, the generation point of the petitioned waste, and the manufacturing steps that will contribute to its generation; (2) Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) for materials used to manufacture vehicles; (3) the minimum and maximum annual amounts of wastewater treatment sludge typically generated, and an estimate of the maximum annual amount expected to be generated in the future; (4) results of analysis of the currently generated waste at the Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tennessee for the chemicals in Appendix IX of 40 CFR part 264: 17 metals; cyanide; 58 volatile organic compounds and 124 semi-volatile organic compounds; and, in addition to the Appendix IX list, hexavalent chromium ; (5) results of analysis for those chemicals (i.e., Appendix IX list, hexavalent chromium) and fluoride in the leachate obtained from this waste by means of the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure ((TCLP), SW-846 Method 1311); (6) results of determinations for the hazardous characteristics of ignitability, corrosivity, and reactivity, in this waste; (7) results of determinations of hexavalent chromium and percent solids; and (8) results of a dye tracer study and source inventory of Nissan's industrial wastewater system.
The Nissan assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, manufactures light-duty vehicles. Nissan's Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code is 3711. The manufacturing process that will cause F019 to be generated is conversion coating, when applied to vehicles that contain aluminum. Conversion coating takes place in three of Nissan's four paint plants and treats the metal surface of each vehicle body before painting to provide resistance to corrosion and to prepare the metal surface for optimum paint adhesion. Wastewater from all plant operations is treated at Nissan's industrial wastewater pretreatment plant. The wastewater is monitored for compliance with Nissan's Significant Industrial User's permit before discharging to the Town of Smyrna publicly owned treatment works. Treatment results in the formation of insoluble metal hydroxides. Wastewater treatment sludge is generated when these metal hydroxides are dewatered in a filter press. The sludge that exits from the filter press will be classified as F019 when the vehicle bodies contain aluminum, and the exit from the filter press will be the point of generation of F019.
Nissan currently generates from 1,000 to 1,500 tons of wastewater treatment sludge per year at its Smyrna, Tennessee assembly plant, and estimated a future maximum annual generation rate of 2,000 tons.
Table 1 below summarizes the hazardous constituents and their concentrations in Nissan's wastewater treatment sludge generated from the manufacture of steel-only vehicle bodies at the Smyrna, Tennessee plant.
Table 1.— Nissan North America, Inc., Smyrna, Tennessee: Wastewater Treatment Sludge Profile
Parameters 1
NS-01a NS-02a 2
NS-03a
NS-04a
NS-05a
C.V. 3
Arsenic 4.2 3.0 3.2U 4.3 4.3 4.3 3.8 0.64 17
Arsenic—TCLP 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U NA NA NA
Barium 6,200 6,600 3,400 2,100 3,400 6,600 4340 1959 45.1
Barium—TCLP 0.14 0.15 0.14 0.11 0.13 0.15 0.134 0.0152 11.3
Cadmium 0.61U 0.60U 0.81 0.71U 0.81U 0.81 0.708 0.103 14.5
Cadmium—TCLP 0.010U 0.010U 0.010U 0.010U 0.010U 0.010U NA NA NA
Chromium—Total 100 120 130 160 150 160 132 23.9 18.1
Chromium—Total TCLP 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U NA NA NA
Hexavalent Chromium 0.80UN* 6.7N* 2.6U 2.9UN 3.2U 6.7 3.24 2.15 66.3
Hexavalent Chromium—TCLP 0.25U 0.25U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.25U NA NA NA
Cobalt 22 24 21 8.7 16 24 18.3 6.14 33.5
Cobalt—TCLP 0.19 0.16 0.13 0.062 0.080 0.19 0.12 0.053 43.0
Copper 820* 870* 1,600 750 820 1,600 972 354 36.4
Copper—TCLP 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.05U NA NA NA
Lead 210 230 390 320 320 390 294 73.7 25.1
Lead—TCLP 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U NA NA NA
Nickel 3,000 3,100 4,200 4,100 4,100 4,200 3,700 595.8 16.1
Nickel—TCLP 32 33 46 41 31 46 36.6 6.58 18.0
Silver 0.61U 0.60U 0.68 0.71U 0.81U 0.81U 0.682 0.0853 12.5
Silver—TCLP 0.010U 0.010U 0.010U 0.010U 0.010U 0.010U NA NA NA
Tin 700 710 590 600 810 810 682 90.4 13.2
Tin—TCLP 0.10U 0.01U 0.10U 0.10U 0.10U 0.10U NA NA NA
Vanadium 190 190 52 18 48 190 99.6 83.6 83.9
Vanadium—TCLP 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U 0.050U NA NA NA
Zinc 15,000 17,000 15,000 20,000 17,000 20,000 16,800 2,049 12.2
Zinc—TCLP 17 16 17 16 7.2 17 14.6 4.19 28.6
Total Cyanide 3.2 3.1 2.9 1.4 1.0 3.2 2.32 1.04 44.7
Total Cyanide—TCLP 0.0095 0.0073 0.0050U 0.0050U 0.0050U 0.0095 0.00636 0.00202 31.7
Fluoride—TCLP 0.23 0.22 2.1 1.7 1.8 2.1 1.21 0.911 75.3
Corrosivity: Measured pH [Regulatory limit: ≤2.0 or ≥12.5] 8.2 8.0 9.1 9.0 9.2 9.2 Minimum: 8.0 8.7 0.56 6.4
Ignitability: Measured Flash Point, °F [Regulatory limit: <140°F] >212 >212 >212 >212 >212 >212 >212 0 0
Reactive Sulfide: Measured hydrogen sulfide released, mg/kg [Interim Guidance Level: 500 mg/kg] 260 210 66U 280U 320 320 227 98.4 43.3
Reactive Cyanide: Measured hydrogen cyanide released, mg/kg [Interim Guidance Level: 250 mg/kg] 0.61U 0.60U 0.66U 0.71U 0.81U 0.81U NA NA NA
Percent Solids 41 42 38 35 31 42 37.4 4.51 12.0
NS-01b NS-02b
NS-03b
NS-04b
NS-05b
Acetone 0.570 0.530 4.500 0.130J 0.015U 4.500 1.15 1.89 164
Acetone—TCLP 0.120D 0.160D 0.093JD 0.240BD 0.240BD 0.137 0.0663 48.4
2-Butanone 0.150J 0.230J 1.000 0.028U 0.029U 1.000 0.287 0.407 142
2-Butanone—TCLP 0.020U 0.020U 0.020U 0.020U 0.020U 0.020U NA NA NA
Isobutyl alcohol 0.024U 0.024U 7.4 0.73 0.029U 7.4 1.64 3.24 198
Isobutyl alcohol—TCLP 0.020UD 0.020UD 0.020UD 0.830D 0.020UD 0.830 0.182 0.362 199
Xylenes (all isomers) 0.320 0.440 2.700 0.270 0.0029U 2.700 0.746 1.10 148
Xylenes (all isomers)—TCLP 0.0020U 0.0020U 0.033D 0.007JD 0.011JD 0.033 0.0110 0.0129 117
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate 520JD 430JD 45.0J 92.0J 22.0U 520 222 235 106
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate—TCLP 0.004U 0.004U 0.020U 0.020U 0.020U 0.020U NA NA NA
Di-n-octyl phthalate 390D 320D 110 150 22.0JD 390 198 152 76.8
Di-n-octyl phthalate—TCLP 0.004U 0.004U 0.020U 0.020U 0.020U 0.020U NA NA NA
4-Methylphenol 17.0JD 5.1JD 4.2U 5.1U 3.4U 17.0 6.96 5.66 81.3
4-Methylphenol—TCLP 0.100D 0.096D 0.040U 0.040U 0.040U 0.100 0.0632 0.0318 50.3
Phenol 10.0JD 3.40JD 2.10U 2.60U 1.70U 10.0 3.96 3.44 86.8
Phenol—TCLP 0.036D 0.038D 0.028JD 0.015JD 0.010U 0.038 0.0254 0.0125 49.1
1 Parameters are the chemicals or properties analyzed.
2 The first set of results for each chemical shows the concentrations determined by total analysis of the samples in milligrams of chemical per kilogram of waste (mg/kg). The second set of results for each chemical shows the concentrations determined by analysis of the TCLP extracts of the samples in milligrams of chemical per liter of TCLP extract of the waste (mg/L). The TCLP results are in the row where the name of the chemical is followed by “—TCLP.” B = Compound detected in blank; D = Sample had to be diluted; E = Parameter concentration estimated due to matrix interference; J = Estimated result; the actual result is likely to be greater than zero but less than the estimated value; N = Predigested spike recovery not within control limits; NA = Not applicable; U = Not detected above the method detection limit, which is the value preceding the U; * = Duplicate analysis was not within control limits. The metals, antimony, beryllium, mercury, selenium, and thallium were not detected by total analysis of samples and are not included in the table in order to save space. Xylene (including all its isomers), 2-butanone (methyl ethyl ketone or MEK), isobutyl alcohol, and acetone were the only volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found at a level equal to or greater than 1 part per million by total analysis of the waste and are the only VOCs included in the table. For the same reason, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, di-n-octyl phthalate, 4-methylphenol (p-cresol) 6, and phenol are the only semi-volatile organic compounds included in the table. Columns 2 through 4 in the table heading contain sample identification numbers. “NS” stands for Nissan samples; numbers 01 through 05 are sequential numbers linking samples to the roll-offs from which they were collected. Numbers 01 and 02 were from the first roll-off sampled (see Note 4 below), and Numbers 03 through 05 were from roll-offs two through four, respectively. The letter “a” denotes a composite sample and the letter “b” denotes a grab sample. As described in the petition, four randomly selected roll-offs were sampled over the time period, by collecting one composite sample per roll-off. Each composite sample was a mixture of twelve vertical core samples. Each vertical core sample was approximately six to ten inches in depth and one inch in diameter; three vertical core samples were collected at each of four randomly selected locations per roll-off. Grab samples of each roll-off were collected for VOC analysis (see Note 4 below).
3 The last four columns contain a statistical analysis of the analytical results. Max. = maximum concentration found; Mean. = mean or average concentration found = sum of concentrations divided by the number of samples; S.D.= standard deviation = the square root of [(sum of squares of the differences between each measured concentration and the mean)divided by (the number of samples minus 1)]; C.V. = coefficient of variation, expressed as a percent = 100 times the standard deviation divided by the mean concentration. Statistical analyses were performed only if the parameter was detected in more than one sample. If a chemical was not detected in any of the samples, NA (not applicable) was written in the last three columns. Detection limits reported by the laboratory were used in the statistical calculations when chemicals were not detected (U) in some of the samples. This is a conservative assumption, which is likely to result in overestimation of the mean concentration.
4 One of the four composite samples was collected from a roll-off that was representative of plant maintenance activities and split into two samples for analysis: Sample Number NS-01a and its field duplicate, NS-02a. NS-01b was a grab sample from this roll-off, for VOC analysis, and NS-02b was a field duplicate of this sample. Composite samples NS-03a, NS-04a, and NS-05a were collected from three roll-offs that were representative of routine plant operations. Grab samples NS-03b, NS-04b, and NS-05b were collected from these three roll-offs for VOC analysis.
EPA concluded after reviewing Nissan's waste management and waste history information that no other hazardous constituents, other than those tested for, are likely to be present in Nissan's petitioned waste. In addition, on the basis of test results and other information provided by Nissan, pursuant to section 260.22, EPA concluded that the petitioned waste will not exhibit any of the characteristics of ignitability, corrosivity, or reactivity. See Sections 261.21, 261.22, and 261.23, respectively.
During its evaluation of Nissan's petition, EPA also considered the potential impact of the petitioned waste on media other than groundwater. With regard to airborne dispersal of waste, EPA evaluated the potential hazards resulting from airborne exposure to waste contaminants from the petitioned waste using an air dispersion model for releases from a landfill. The results of this evaluation indicated that there is no substantial present or potential hazard to human health from airborne exposure to constituents from Nissan's petitioned waste. (A description of EPA's assessment of the potential impact of airborne dispersal of Nissan's petitioned waste is presented in the RCRA public docket for today's proposed rule.)
EPA evaluated the potential impact of the petitioned waste on surface water resulting from storm water runoff from a landfill containing the petitioned waste, and found that the waste would not present a threat to human health or the environment. (See the docket for today's proposed rule for a description of this analysis). In addition, EPA believes that containment structures at municipal solid waste landfills can effectively control runoff, as Subtitle D regulations (see 56 FR 50978, October 9, 1991) prohibit pollutant discharges into surface waters. While some contamination of surface water is possible through runoff from a waste disposal area, EPA believes that the dissolved concentrations of hazardous constituents in the runoff are likely to be lower than the TCLP results reported in today's proposed rule, because of the aggressive acidic medium used for extraction in the TCLP. EPA also believes that, in general, leachate derived from the waste will not directly enter a surface water body without first traveling through the saturated subsurface where dilution of hazardous constituents may occur. Transported contaminants would be further diluted in the receiving water body. Subtitle D controls would minimize significant releases to surface water from erosion of undissolved particulates in runoff. Start Printed Page 57925
In order to account for possible variability in the generation rate, EPA calculated delisting levels using Nissan's estimated maximum generation rate of 2,000 tons of wastewater treatment sludge per year. EPA converted the 2,000 tons to a waste volume of 2,400 cubic yards, by using the density of water for the density of the sludge. While the sludge is certainly more dense than water, using the lower density results in a higher value for the waste volume, and a lower, more conservative, Dilution Attenuation Factor (DAF).
Delisting levels and risk levels calculated by DRAS, using the EPACMTP model, are presented in Table 2 below. DRAS found that the major pathway for human exposure to this waste is groundwater ingestion, and the majority of the delisting and risk levels for the TCLP leachate of the waste were calculated based on that pathway. EPA requests public comment on using DRAS-calculated values based on MCLs, when these would result in more conservative delisting levels. The input values required by DRAS were the chemical constituents in Nissan's petitioned waste; their maximum reported concentrations in the TCLP extract of the waste and in the unextracted waste (See Table 1, Preamble Section II.A.); the maximum annual volume to be disposed (2,400 cubic yards) in a landfill; the desired risk level, which was chosen to be no worse than 10−6 for carcinogens; and a hazard quotient of no greater than 1 for non-carcinogens. The carcinogenic constituents detected in the waste are cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. Cadmium also has non-carcinogenic toxic effects. Allowable total concentrations in the waste, as calculated by DRAS for the waste, itself, not the TCLP leachate, were all at least 1,000 times greater than the actual maximum total concentrations found in the waste, and are not included in Table 2, since many amount to metal or cyanide concentrations of several per cent. However, in addition to limits on the concentrations of constituents in the TCLP leachate of the petitioned waste, EPA does propose to set the following limits on total concentrations, in units of milligrams of constituent per kilogram of unextracted waste (mg/kg): Barium: 20,000; Cadmium: 500; Chromium: 1,000; Cyanide (Total, not Amenable): 200; Lead: 2,000; and Nickel: 20,000. EPA asks for public comment on these limits which were chosen to be both protective of human health and the environment and to be realistic, attainable values for wastewater treatment sludges that contain metals and cyanide. The maximum reported total concentrations for Nissan's petitioned waste were all well below these limits. The limit for cyanide was chosen so that the waste could not exhibit the reactivity characteristic for cyanide by exceeding the interim guidance for reactive cyanide of 250 mg/kg of releasable hydrogen cyanide (SW-846, Chapter Seven, Section 7.3.3.)
Table 2.—Delisting and Risk Levels Calculated by DRAS With EPACMTP Model for Nissan's Petitioned Waste
Delisting Level (mg/l TCLP)/Delisting level in TCLP Based on MCL
Arsenic 2.63 × 10−3/2.70 54 9.5 × 10−6
Barium 206*/157* 78.2 8.98 × 10−4.
Cadmium 1.58*/0.422 84.4 5.78 × 10−15 0.00316.
Chromium 6.10 × 105*/1.08 × 103* 1.08 × 104 1.23 × 10−7.
Hexavalent Chromium Not Calculable; Risk Based on Inhalation of Particles in Air 43.6 9.11 × 10−14
Copper 2.96 × 104/2.56 × 104 ▼ 1.97 × 104 3.23 × 10−5.
Cyanide 38.0/10.1 50.6 2.50 × 10−4.
Lead 211* 1.41 × 104 Not Calculable; No Reference Dose for Lead.
Nickel 79.4 106 0.579.
Zinc 789 70 0.0216.
Acetone 201 53.4 0.00125.
Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate 0.0787/0.321 53.4 1.64 × 10−7
4-Methylphenol 10 53.4 0.0119.
Di-n-octyl phthalate 0.0984 75.9 0.102.
Isobutyl alcohol 602 53.4 0.00145.
Phenol 1,200 53.4 3.47 × 10−5.
Xylenes 2,810/534 53.4 2.23 × 10−5.
Total Hazard Quotient for All Waste Constituents 0.726.
Total Carcinogenic Risk for the Waste (due to Arsenic, Cadmium, Hexavalent Chromium, and Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) 9.66 × 10−6
* These levels are all greater than the Toxicity Characteristic (TC) regulatory level in 40 CFR 261.24. A waste cannot be delisted if it exhibits a hazardous characteristic; therefore, the delisting level for each of these constituents could not be greater than the TC level of 100 for Barium; 1.0 for Cadmium; 5.0 for Chromium; and 5.0 for Lead.
▼ The Safe Drinking Water Act standard for copper is a recommended secondary standard, rather than an enforceable MCL.
Start Printed Page 57926
EPA proposes to use the delisting levels in the TCLP leachate calculated by the DRAS, using the EPACMTP (Table 2), in combination with the limits on total concentrations proposed in the paragraph preceding Table 2. These proposed delisting levels are summarized in Table 3, below. EPA is proposing to base the delisting levels for chromium on analysis for total chromium, not hexavalent chromium, for the following reasons: (1) Hexavalent chromium was undetected in the TCLP leachate of the petitioned waste; (2) the maximum reported concentration of total chromium in the unextracted waste was only 160 mg/kg; and (3) the maximum reported concentration of hexavalent chromium in the unextracted waste was only 6.7 mg/kg. EPA is not proposing delisting levels for cobalt, copper, silver, tin, vanadium, zinc, acetone, isobutyl alcohol, phenol, and xylenes, because the DRAS-calculated TCLP levels for these constituents are at least two orders of magnitude greater than the maximum reported concentrations in the TCLP leachate of the petitioned waste. EPA is not proposing delisting levels for arsenic for the following reasons: (1) TCLP leachate concentration was non-detect; (2) total concentration in the unextracted waste was below the background soil concentration for most of Tennessee, below the national average background, and three orders of magnitude below the DRAS allowable total concentration; and (3) DRAS found no ecological risk at the maximum reported concentrations and a human cancer risk within the range of 10−4 to 10−6 assuming a TCLP concentration equal to one-half the reporting limit of the analytical laboratory.
Table 3.—Summary of Delisting Levels for Nissan's Petitioned Waste
Proposed Total Concentrations (mg/kg in unextracted waste)
Barium *100.0 20,000
Cadmium 0.422 500.
Chromium *5.0 1,000
Cyanide 10.1 200 (Total, not Amenable)
Lead *5.0 2,000
* DRAS-calculated delisting level was higher than the TC level; therefore, the delisting level was set at the TC level.
EPA developed the MEP test (SW-846 Method 1320) to help predict the long-term resistance to leaching of stabilized wastes, which are wastes that have been treated to reduce the leachability of hazardous constituents. The MEP consists of a TCLP extraction of a sample followed by nine sequential extractions of the same sample, using a synthetic acid rain extraction fluid (prepared by adding a 60/40 weight mixture of sulfuric acid and nitric acid to distilled deionized water until the pH is 3.0 ± 0.2). The sample which is subjected to the nine sequential extractions consists of the solid phase remaining after, and separated from, the initial TCLP extract. EPA designed the MEP to simulate multiple washings of percolating rainfall in the field, and estimates that these extractions simulate approximately 1,000 years of rainfall. (See 47 FR 52687, Nov. 22, 1982.)
MEP data can be used to indicate whether a petitioned waste would be expected to leach hazardous constituents over the life of a landfill.[7] The average life of a landfill is approximately 20 years. (See 56 FR 32993, July 18, 1991; and 56 FR 67197, Dec. 30, 1991.)
EPA requests public comment on whether the MEP should be used in the evaluation of Nissan's petitioned waste.
After reviewing Nissan's processes, the EPA concludes that (1) no hazardous constituents of concern are likely to be present in Nissan's waste at levels that would harm human health and the environment; and (2) the petitioned waste does not exhibit any of the characteristics of ignitability, corrosivity, or reactivity. See 40 CFR 261.21, 261.22, and 261.23, respectively.
EPA believes that Nissan's petitioned waste will not harm human health and the environment when disposed in a nonhazardous waste landfill if the delisting levels for land disposal as proposed in Preamble section II.B. are met.
EPA proposes to exclude Nissan's petitioned waste from being listed as F019, based on descriptions of waste management and waste history, evaluation of the results of waste sample analysis, and on the requirement that Nissan's petitioned waste must meet proposed delisting levels before disposal. Thus, EPA's proposed decision is based on verification testing conditions. If the proposed rule becomes effective, the exclusion will be valid only if the petitioner demonstrates that the petitioned waste meets the verification testing conditions and delisting levels in the amended Table 1 of Appendix IX of 40 CFR part 261. If the proposed rule becomes final and EPA approves that demonstration, the petitioned waste would not be subject to regulation under 40 CFR parts 262 through 268 and the permitting standards of 40 CFR part 270. Although management of the waste covered by this petition would, upon final promulgation, be relieved from Subtitle C jurisdiction, the waste would remain Start Printed Page 57927a solid waste under RCRA. As such, the waste must be handled in accordance with all applicable Federal, State, and local solid waste management regulations. Pursuant to RCRA section 3007, EPA may also sample and analyze the waste to determine if delisting conditions are met.
This proposed rule, if promulgated, would be issued under the Federal (RCRA) delisting program. States, however, are allowed to impose their own, non-RCRA regulatory requirements that are more stringent than EPA's, pursuant to section 3009 of RCRA. These more stringent requirements may include a provision which prohibits a Federally issued exclusion from taking effect in the States. Because a petitioner's waste may be regulated under a dual system (i.e., both Federal and State programs), petitioners are urged to contact State regulatory authorities to determine the current status of their wastes under the State laws. Furthermore, some States are authorized to administer a delisting program in lieu of the Federal program, i.e., to make their own delisting decisions. Therefore, this proposed exclusion, if promulgated, would not apply in those authorized States. If the petitioned waste will be transported to any State with delisting authorization, Nissan must obtain delisting authorization from that State before the waste may be managed as nonhazardous in that State.
This rule, if promulgated, will not have an adverse economic impact on any small entities since its effect would be to reduce the overall costs of EPA's hazardous waste regulations and would be limited to one facility. Accordingly, I hereby certify that this proposed regulation, if promulgated, will not have Start Printed Page 57928a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This regulation, therefore, does not require a regulatory flexibility analysis.
Nissan North America, Inc Smyrna, Tennessee Wastewater treatment sludge (EPA Hazardous Waste No. F019) that Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) generates by treating wastewater from the automobile assembly plant located at 983 Nissan Drive in Smyrna, Tennessee. This is a conditional exclusion for up to 2,400 cubic yards of waste (hereinafter referred to as “Nissan Sludge”) that will be generated each year and disposed in a Subtitle D landfill after [insert date of final rule.] Nissan must demonstrate that the following conditions are met for the exclusion to be valid.
(1) Delisting Levels: All leachable concentrations for these metals, cyanide, and organic constituents must not exceed the following levels (ppm): Barium-100.0; Cadmium-0.422; Chromium-5.0; Cyanide-10.1, Lead-5.0; and Nickel-79.4; Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate-0.0787; Di-n-octyl phthalate -0.0984; and 4-Methylphenol-10.0. These concentrations must be measured in the waste leachate obtained by the method specified in 40 CFR 261.24, except that for cyanide, deionized water must be the leaching medium. The total concentration of cyanide (total, not amenable) in the waste, not the waste leachate, must not exceed 200 mg/kg. Cyanide concentrations in waste or leachate must be measured by the method specified in 40 CFR 268.40, Note 7. The total concentrations of metals in the waste, not the waste leachate, must not exceed the following levels (ppm): Barium-20,000; Cadmium-500; Chromium-1,000; Lead-2,000; and Nickel-20,000.
(2) Verification Testing Requirements: Sample collection and analyses, including quality control procedures, must be performed according to SW-846 methodologies, where specified by regulations in 40 CFR parts 260-270. Otherwise, methods must meet Performance Based Measurement System Criteria in which the Data Quality Objectives are to demonstrate that representative samples of the Nissan Sludge meet the delisting levels in Condition (1).
(A) Initial Verification Testing: Nissan must collect and analyze a representative sample from each of the first eight rolloff boxes of Nissan sludge generated in its wastewater treatment system after [insert date of final rule]. Nissan must analyze for the constituents listed in Condition (1). Nissan must report analytical test data, including quality control information, no later than 60 days after generating the first Nissan Sludge to be disposed in accordance with the delisting Conditions (1) through (7).
(B) Subsequent Verification Testing: If the initial verification testing in Condition (2)(A) is successful, i.e., delisting levels of condition (1) are met for all of the eight rolloffs described in Condition (2)(A), Nissan must implement an annual testing program to demonstrate that constituent concentrations measured in the TCLP extract and total concentrations measured in the unextracted waste do not exceed the delisting levels established in Condition (1).
(5) Data Submittals: Data obtained in accordance with Condition (2)(A) must be submitted to Jewell Grubbs, Chief, RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Branch, Mail Code: 4WD-RCRA, U.S. EPA, Region 4, Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30303. This submission is due no later than 60 days after generating the first batch of Nissan Sludge to be disposed in accordance with delisting Conditions (1) through (7). Records of analytical data from Condition (2) must be compiled, summarized, and maintained by Nissan for a minimum of three years, and must be furnished upon request by EPA or the State of Tennessee, and made available for inspection. Failure to submit the required data within the specified time period or maintain the required records for the specified time will be considered by EPA, at its discretion, sufficient basis to revoke the exclusion to the extent directed by EPA. All data must be accompanied by a signed copy of the certification statement in 40 CFR 260.22(i)(12).
1. Although no one produces hazardous waste intentionally, many industrial processes result in the production of hazardous waste, as well as useful products and services. A “generating facility” is a facility in which hazardous waste is produced, and a “generator” is a person who produces hazardous waste or causes hazardous waste to be produced at a particular place. Please see 40 CFR 260.10 for regulatory definitions of “generator,” “facility,” “person,” and other terms relating to hazardous waste, and 40 CFR part 262 for regulatory requirements for generators.
1. Delisting Guidance Manual http://www.epa.gov/​earth1r6/​6pd/​rcra_​c/​pd-o/​dlistpdf.htm.
2. Delisting Risk Assessment Software (DRAS) http://www.epa.gov/​earth1r6/​6pd/​rcra_​c/​pd-o/​dras.htm.
3. DRAS Technical Support Document (DTSD) http://www.epa.gov/​earth1r6/​6pd/​rcra_​c/​pd-o/​dtsd.htm.
4. DRAS Users Guide http://www.epa.gov/​earth1r6/​6pd/​rcra_​c/​pd-o/​uguide.pdf.
3. Nationwide Survey of Industrial Subtitle D Landfills, Westat, 1987.
4. “SW-846” means EPA Publication SW-846, “Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods.” Methods in this publication are referred to in today's proposed rule as “SW-846,” followed by the appropriate method number.
5. “Wastewater treatment sludges from the chemical conversion coating of aluminum except from zirconium phosphating in aluminum can washing when such phosphating is an exclusive conversion coating process.”
6. Because 4-methylphenol could not be distinguished from 3-methylphenol in all samples, the values reported for 4-methylphenol in Table 1 include the values for 3-methylphenol.
7. This estimate would be based on the following type of calculation for a 100-gram sample, using nickel as an example: % nickel leached out over a long period of time = 100 × (total number of milligrams of nickel in all the sample MEP extracts) ÷ the number of milligrams of nickel originally present in the 100-gram sample.
[FR Doc. 01-28624 Filed 11-16-01; 8:45 am]