United States Solid Waste and
Environmental Protection Emergency Response EPA530-F-94-035
Agency (5305) November 1994
E PA Statement of Michael
Shapiro, Director of the
of Solid Waste
Strategy for Hazardous
Waste Minimization and
Combustion
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STATEMENT OF MICHAEL SHAPIRO, DIRECTOR
OFFICE OF SOLID WASTE
Strategy for Hazardous Waste Minimization
And Combustion
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
announcing its Strategy for Hazardous Waste Minimization and
Combustion. The Strategy was released in draft eighteen months
ago by Administrator Browner as an effort to focus attention on
one of the Agency's top priorities—pollution prevention—and to
significantly improve and strengthen controls governing hazardous
waste combustion units. This Strategy represents a major
milestone in the Agency's ongoing commitment to determine, in the
context of our national hazardous waste management program, how
best to integrate source reduction, environmentally sound
recycling, and hazardous waste combustion and how best to assure
the public of safe operation of hazardous waste combustion
facilities. • The Strategy is the culmination of 18 months of
intensive effort by EPA and other interested parties.
The Strategy sets forth EPA's fundamental goals and basic
vision with respect to several key areas. First, the Strategy,
in combination with the Hazardous Waste Minimization National
Plan also being released today, discusses the role of waste
minimization in the RCRA hazardous waste management program.
Second, the Strategy addresses the role of combustion. In
addition, the Strategy presents EPA's views on expanded public
involvement in the RCRA decision-making process, the need for
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strong compliance and enforcement, and the role of risk
assessment in the permitting of hazardous waste combustion
facilities.
I'd like to highlight a few of the strategic directions
which EPA has developed over the past eighteen months through an
extensive and open process to solicit views from all affected
groups:
• EPA has a strong preference for source reduction over waste
management and places a particularly high priority on
reducing the quantities of persistent, bioaccumulative, and
toxic hazardous waste constituents.
• EPA believes that safe and effective combustion has an
important role in the management of hazardous waste.
However, the Agency also believes it should foster
commercial development and the use of alternative treatment
and other innovative technologies that are safe and
effective.
• EPA will ensure that combustion and other treatment
technologies reduce toxicity, volume, and/or mobility of
hazardous wastes in a manner that is protective of public
health and is preparing stringent new air emissions
regulation to support this goal.
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• EPA is committed to enhancing public involvement
opportunities in the process for considering permit
applications for combustion facilities and making sure that
local communities are fully informed about the RCRA
decision-making process (including waste minimization
opportunities).
• EPA and states will continue comprehensive compliance and
enforcement efforts against hazardous-waste burning
facilities while working with industry to ensure that EPA's
regulations are understood and followed. We also want to
enhance public confidence by promoting public understanding
of these activities and by increasing opportunities for
public involvement in the enforcement process.
EPA and other stakeholders share two fundamental priorities:
(1) to foster the maximum amount of source reduction and
environmentally sound recycling for all wastes (not just
combustible waste); and (2) to ensure that any waste management
practices, including combustion, are done in a manner that is
fully protective of human health and the environment.
With regard to our first shared priority, EPA's waste
minimization approach is presented in detail in our National
Plan. The National Plan has been subject to public evaluation
since its release in draft form in May 1994. This Plan creates
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the framework for the waste minimization activities under RCRA
and will guide the Agency's efforts to integrate waste
minimization into the other facets of our national waste
management program. EPA's goals are to reduce the most
persistent, bioaccumulative, and/or toxic constituents in
hazardous waste by 25% nationally by the year 2000, and by 50%
nationally by the year 2005. These goals are meant to be'applied
flexibly, and to complement rather than duplicate or compete with
existing industry voluntary efforts to reduce waste and state
pollution prevention programs.
The National Waste Minimization Plan is organized around
five objectives. First, to develop a framework for setting
national priorities, to develop a flexible screening tool for
identifying priorities at individual facilities, and to identify
constituents of concern. Second, to promote multimedia
environmental benefits and prevent cross-media transfers. Third,
to demonstrate a strong preference for source reduction, shifting
attention to the nation's hazardous waste generators to reduce
hazardous waste generation at its source. Fourth, to clearly
define and track progress and promote accountability for EPA,
states, and industry. And fifth, to involve citizens in waste
minimization implementation decisions.
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EPA is approaching our second shared priority through multiple related
actions. First, EPA will develop and promulgate rules that impose more
rigorous controls on combustion facilities based on an assessment of available
technologies and the most current science. The proposed rule is scheduled for
September 1995, with a final rule scheduled for December 1996. The intent is
to develop this rule in a coordinated manner under both RCRA and the Clean Air
Act authorities. EPA will encourage all combustion facilities to implement
the proposed standards to reduce emissions as quickly as possible, and will
itself examine how to implement the final rule in a manner that achieves the
greatest possible iinmediate reduction in dioxin, furan, and metal emissions at
all hazardous waste combustion facilities.
Another approach is being taken through giving top priority to those
facilities for which a final permit decision would result in the greatest
environmental benefits to the surrounding community or the greatest reduction
in overall risk to the public. Permit renewals can be included in this hic£i
priority category. This means that the Agency will maintain its current
policy of lower priority for work on applications involving new, non-
replacement combustion facilities.
The Strategy also maintains the current policy that a risk assessment,
including indirect exposure pathways, should be performed prior to a final
permit decision. The Agency will continue availability of Headquarter-
Regional Risk Assessment Review Team in scoping, performing, and/or reviewing
risk assessments.
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In addition, a group of proactive companies and organizations have come
forward to voluntarily work with us to meet some of our objectives without
regulatory or other mandatory requirements. One of the efforts that is being
vigorously pursued, both inside and outside EPA, is to test continuous
emission monitors (CEMs) for toxic organics and metals and to stimulate their
commercial availability and use as scon as possible. The goal is to have
these CEMs installed at hazardous waste combustion facilities as soon as
possible in a manner that affords public access to the monitoring results.
As part of ensuring protective management of hazardous wastes, high
priority also is being given to emphasize the public's right-to-know. By
summer 1995, EPA is scheduled to finalize the rule to enhance general public
involvement opportunities in the process for considering permit applications
for combustion and other RCRA facilities, and to better address limiting
operations at facilities that fail trial burns during interim status. Also,
with respect to waste minimization activities at generating facilities and at
combustion facilities, EPA will provide enhanced level of information to the
public and stakeholder groups through newsletter and electronic media. As an
example of this, EPA recently released its 1991 Biennial Report which
identifies those large quantity generators who were required to certify that
they have a waste minimization program in place. EPA also will explore use of
information outreach programs and technical assistance.
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Although I have not been able to cover all of the goals or action items
in much detail, it is important that we work with all stakeholders to
integrate these activities and achieve a balance in our implementation of the
Strategy.
Finally, I want to stress that the completion of this ei^iteen month
waste minimization and combustion policy review, and this issuance of our
Strategy, represents a beginning not an ending. Most of the hard work of
implementation lies ahead. Ihe Strategy itself should be viewed as a living
document, which we will periodically reopen based on our experience in
implementation and upon the continued input from the public.
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