Document jNgrkNNQvNxnw4apbg7vd5zN2

P, : rd [ 0 Oi St I'i buti on From 0. E. Cearloy - Houston Dye June 20, 1978 subject Resource Conservation and Recovery Act - Recommended Short-Term Actions for Minimizing Impact of Upcoming Regulations The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was enacted in October, 1976 to deal with the environmental problems posed by "solid wastes" and to promote resource recovery and other resource conserva tion measures as waste management alternatives. Solid waste is broadly defined in the Act to include waste sludges, liquids, and contained gases. To achieve these goals RCRA seeks to bring about development of comprehensive state end local solid 'waste programs that include regulation of hazardous wastes from point of generation through disposal, environmental controls on land disposal of all other solid wastes, and resource conser vation activities. The necessary regulations were to be promulgated within 18 months of the law's enactment (by April, 1978); however, because of the extensive eval uations, discussions, and reviews that have been necessary, the promulga tions have been delayed. Proposed standards for transporters of hazardous waste and guidelines for development of state hazardous waste programs have been issued for comment. The remaining guidelines and standards are to be proposed by the end of the year. Some key aspects of the act are attached Tor your information. F.PA RCRA draft, documents are now being reviewed and commented upon before publication in the Ftdc-rai Register. If the drafts pertaining to hazardous waster are promulgated without major changes, a significant impact on industry will result. A real crunch is sure to come from there just not being many approvable disposal facilities operating at the deadline of com pliance. The costs are going to be a great deal-multiples-of what we are used to. We are going r,o have to put a groat deal of effort into compliance details, paperwork, and testing, or risk hugh fines or even jail terms. There are a number of short-term actions that we can take to minimize the impact of these rules on our plants (see attached). Some facilities have already been requested by the states for submission of this type of data. The Lake Charles complex, for example, has completed an inventory and analy tical workup of the waste materials generated onsite. Several states have already proposed or promulgated hazardous waste programs, but we need to make sure their requirements are equivalent to the upcoming regulations under RCRA. The proposed EPA requirements for information gathering, testing, site eval uation, etc., alluded to in the recommended actions are too lengthy and cornpic;: to present now. When you are ready to act on any ofthe recommendations affecting your facility, notify me and I will help sot up.your program and pro vide the forms, i n forma >: i on requ i rumen ts , and actions required. CCR 000039817 OisiriMotion lkVjC Oiu.c- 23, '1078 I would like to reemphasize that the regulations to be promulgated under KCflA arc not final--i.hey won't he probably until sometime this fall. How ever, that doesn't moan we have to sit around and wait. The intent and direction of the rules is already apparent and actions we take now will reduce the impact of upcoming regulations. jyt JEC/vm Distribution: All Plant Managers i; P .{ CC* 00039818 RECOMMENDED ACTIONS FOR MINIMIZING ATTACHMENT 1 OF UPCOMING PCRA REGULATION? A. INVENTORY ALL WASTES (kinds you are generating, storing, treating, disposing) Where does waste come from? -- What process? Which unit operations? Which piece of equipment? Go through your processes unit-by-unit. What is the volume? -- How many pounds, tons, gallons per year? Or now many cubic yards or how many dumpster loads? Where is it disposed of? On-site or off-site? By whom? Who hauls it? Where is it stored? Don't forget to include pits, ponds, and lagoons even though they are part of an NPDES treatment facility. You may want to include the information called for in the draft prelimi nary notification form. Once promulgated, you have only 90 days to submit this data; so, it would be wise to start gathering the information now. B. ANALYZE WASTES Aside from the general description used for your inventory, summarize the existing analytical information and get some additional data composition ranges for major components and other components of concern. If it's a large volume waste, you may want to get detailed analytical data to pro vide a base for decisions on storage, treatment, disposal, and regulatory requirements. Depending on the nature of the waste, you may want to get data on such things as viscosity, flash point, heating valve, screen size, etc. C. TRACK YOUR WASTES A number of states such as New Jersey, Texas, California, Wisconsin, and others already require a manifest system for off-site disposal. Even if you don't use a manifest, you should use a log book in,which are entered at least the date, waste nature, source, volume shipped, name of hauler, and destination. Or you can track the wastes using shipping documents or purchase'orders. You may want to use the EPA draft manifest form. D. EVALUATE GROUNDWATER Groundwater quality is one of the main concerns of the act. If you know or suspect that you have a groundwater problem, it would be wise to start defining your problem. CCR 000039819 ^ la dime tit. 1 - Page; L E. COLLECT PERMIT APPLICATION OATA You may want to get a head start on your permit applications for opera tion of hazardous waste management facilities by gathering data that will be required, particularly data that is already available. For exam ple, site geology, site hydrology, climate, qualifications of personnel , listing of nearby residences and commercial buildings, etc. This will be a particularly burdensome task for land-based disposal techniques. Remem ber, waste stored onsite for more than 90 days prior to off-site disposal will be subject to all requirements and the storage pit will need a permit F. GET RID OF ACCUMULATED HASTES With the implementation of regulations under RCRA the cost of waste dis posal will increase appreciably, plus there will be limited off-site capa city for hazardous waste disposal. The cost to dispose of a drum of hazardous waste at a suitable landfill today runs about. $30.00. It would be advantageous to consider getting rid of any.large accumulations of wastes by disposal methods acceptable to the state in the immediate future G. EVALUATE INCREASED DISPOSAL COSTS It would be advantageous to see that future operating budgets and capital plans include added costs for waste disposal even if it's on your own property. Costs will go up significantly unless you are able to find a taker for your discarded materials. Oq0 3 9a2 0 RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY ACT REGULATIONS ISSUED OR IN IMPLEMENTATION :CTT0N OF ACT 1008 3001 3002 3003 3004 3005 3006 3010 4002 (a) 4002 (b) 4004 J 6002 7002 7004 DESCRIPTION Solid waste management guidelines Identification and listing of hazard ous waste Standards for generators of hazardous waste Standards for transporters of hazardous waste Standards for owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities Permits for treatment, storage, or dis posal of hazardous waste Guidelines for development of develop ment of state hazardous waste programs Notification system regulations Guidelines for identification of regions and agencies for solid waste management Guidelines for state plans Criteria for classification of disposal facilities Guidelines for procurement practices Prior notice of citizen suits Public participation guidelines PROPOSED GUIDELINES ISSUED X IN IMPLEMENT TATION X X X X X X X X (Interim Guidelines) X X X X (Final) X (Interim Guidelines) CC 0000382l orkey AsprrTs resource conservation Atm recovery act Some key aspects of parts of the regulatory program that will have the most significant impact on our operations are as follows: SECTION 3001 - DEFT NI TIG A HAZARDOUS WASTE Section 3001 of RCRA mandates the promulgation of regulations identifying and listing hazardous wastes. The definition of hazardous waste determines the scope of the program and is therefore the key element. The Agency has tenta tively identified a sec of criteria for the definition of hazardous wastes. These criteria include Flammability, reactivity, corrosiveness, toxicity, genetic change potential, tendency for bioaccumulation, infectiousness, radio activity. Each of these areas is being investigated to determine how each criterion should be defined and the means to measure or identify the particu lar characteristic. In most cases, the latter will be specified in terms of a particular test method and a quantitative measure. ;For example, flammability may be defined as a flash point of 140 F or lower using a specific test. SECTION 3002 - STANDARDS FOR GENERATORS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE Section 3002 requires standards for generators of hazardous waste respecting: recordkeeping, labeling of containers, use of appropriate containers, fur nishing of information on waste composition, and submission of reports to ERA or authorized State agency. Since many of the standards impact on transpor tation (labeling, containers, manifests, furnishing or information), EPA is coordinating the development of Section 3002 regulations with the Office of Hazardous Materials Operation, Department of Transportation. SECTION 3003 STANDARD C *> FOR TRANSPORTERS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE Section 3003 requires standards for transporters covering as a minimum record keeping, labeling, compliance with the manifest system, and transportation of all hazardous wastes only to the waste management facility which the shipper declares on the manifest form to be a permitted facility. EPA is working closely with the Department of Transportation in the development of these standards. EPA intends to adopt the DOT hazardous materials regulations for interstate and intrastate transportation. DOT plans to include hazardous wastes in their list of regulated materials and incorporate most, if not all, EPA standards for generators and transporters. SECTION 3004 REGULATIONS FOR TREATMENT, STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL Section 3004 mandates the development of performance regulations for haz ardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities; such regulations shall include requirements respecting recordkeeping, reporting, monitoring, design, construction, training, and ownership. The subjects being investi gated in the development effort include, for example, emission control criteria, location criteria and protective requirements for ground and sur CCR 000039822 face wafers, emergency alarm systems, and compatibility of wastes during treatment, storage, and disposal. SECTION 3005 - PERMIT SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT Under Section 3005 regulations are to be developed requiring each person owning or operating a facility for the treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste to obtain and comply with a permit. The permit system must provide a mechanism to assure uni form-control by States or EPA over haz ardous waste management facilities, including maintenance of data for com pliance monitoring and enforcement. Development of these regulations has included detailed review of five ongoing State permitting programs. SECTION 3010 - NOTIFICATION Section 3010(a) requires that all persons generating or transporting haz ardous v.'astes or operating facilities for treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous wastes notify the EPA Administrator (or authorized State programs) within 90 days of promulgation of the definition of hazardous wastes under Section 3001. Notification must consist of the name and location of the person conducting hazardous waste activities, the type(s) of activities, and a description of the waste handled. SECTION 3006 - STATE IMPLEMENTATION Section 3006 allows EPA to authorize States to conduct hazardous waste regu latory programs in lieu of the Federal program. The Act recognizes that few of the States v.'ill be prepared to administer and enforce a program as com prehensive as that mandated under the Act by October 1978; consequently it provides for "interim authorization" from October 1978 to October 1980. The only criterion for "interim authorization" is that the proposed State pro gram be "substantially equivalent" to the Federal program. The intent of this provision is clearly that as many States as possible be authorized, and that EPA administer and enforce the Act in the fewest possible States. The Act requires EPA to promulgate guidelines for State programs under Section 3005(a) CCR 000039823