United States            Solid Waste and
                    Environmental Protection      Emergency Response          EPA530-F-95-004
                    Agency                (5305)                   January 1995

                    Office of Solid Waste
v°/EPA        Environmental
                    Fact  Sheet
                     EPA Determines that Ash from
                     Waste-To-Energy Facilities Is
                     Subject to Hazardous Waste
                     Regulations Upon Exiting the
                     Combustion Building

       Background
          On May 2, 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion
       interpreting Section 300 l(i) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery
       Act (RCRA). The Court held that, although municipal waste-to-energy
       (WTE) facilities that burn household wastes alone, or in combination
       with nonhazardous wastes from industrial and commercial sources,
       are exempt from regulation as hazardous waste treatment, storage, or
       disposal facilities, the ash that they generate is not exempt.
          Generally, two basic types of ash are collected at WTE facilities:
       bottom ash from the furnace and fly ash from the air pollution control
       equipment. EPA estimates that nearly 80 percent of WTE facilities
       routinely combine the bottom ash and fly ash. Bottom ash is
       approximately 75-80 percent of the total ash by weight.  Studies show
       that ash (usually fly ash) sometimes can be classified as hazardous
       waste because it can leach lead or cadmium above levels of concern.
          WTE facilities must determine if the ash they generate is hazardous.
       This determination can be made by either testing or by using
       knowledge of the combustion process to understand whether the ash
       would be hazardous. The Court ruling did not specify when or where
       this determination had to be made.

       Action
          Because the Court did not specify where a hazardous waste
       determination should be made, EPA is designating this point.  EPA
       interprets Section 300 l(i) of RCRA to first subject the ash generated by
       a WTE facility to hazardous waste regulations when it exits the
       combustion building following the combustion and air pollution control
       processes. This means that owners and operators of WTE facilities
       may combine bottom ash and fly ash inside the combustion building
       before making a hazardous waste determination. This action is a

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statutory interpretation, and does not change the Supreme Court
decision.
   Ash that is a hazardous waste must be managed in full compliance
with RCRA hazardous waste management rules. The Agency will
vigorously enforce against violations under RCRA. Landfilling of
nonhazardous ash must occur in a facility that meets stringent federal
design and operating standards, which are fully protective of human
health and the environment.

Contact
   For additional information or to order a copy of the Federal Register
notice, contact the RCRA Hotline, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30
p.m. EST. The national, toll-free number is (800) 424-9346: TDD (800)
553-7672 (hearing impaired).
   Copies of documents applicable to this rule may be obtained by
writing: RCRA Information Center (RIC), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Office of Solid Waste (5305), 401 M Street SW, Washington,
D.C. 20460.

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