. United States Solid Waste and EPA530-F-98-008
Environmental Protection Emergency Response www.epa.gov/osw
Agency. '. „ (5305W) , '. , May 1998
Office of Solid Waste ; " : - . V '. " ~~~~
c/EPA Environmental
Fact Sheet
Final Standards for Hazardous
Waste Combustors - Phase I
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is promulgating a final rule for
hazardous waste> combustors that provides:• (1)iariexclusion from RCRA Subtitle C"'--
jurisdiction of hazardous-waste-derived fuels that are comparable to particular fossil fuels;
(2) an amendment to the RCRA permit modification rules for hazardous waste combustion
units; (3) notification requirements for sources who intend to comply with the MACT final
V rule; and (4) waste minimization and pollution prevention criteria to be included in a
request for a compliance extension.. :
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Background
Under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RGRA), Congress
authorized EPA to regulate the treatment, storage, andxtisposal of hazardous waste. On April 19,
1996, EPA proposed rules to control emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from
hazardous-waste-burning incinerators, cement kilns, and lightweight aggregate kilns (61FR
17358). Today's final rule, "Hazardous Waste Combustors; Final Rule^-Part 1: RCRA
Comparable Fuel Exclusion, Permit Modifications for Hazardous Waste Combustion Units;
Notification of Intent to Comply; Waste Minimiizatiori and Pollution Prevention Criteria for
Compliance Extensions", commonly referred to as the "Fast Track Rule," addresses four elements
of the April 19,1996, proposal to revise the standards for hazardous waste, combustors. ..
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EPA has drafted this rule to address both the RCRA and Clean Air Act (CAA) components,
and has built in maximum flexibility so that the regulated community can make certain choices in
implementing the rules in ways that are most reasonable,: Further, finalizing this portion of the
maximum achievable control technology (MACT) rule prior to the rest of the proposal will allow
stakeholders to anticipate some of the-requirements, thereby saving time and resources in the
eventual implementation of the emission standards.
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Under this final rule, EPA is issuing four specifib items in final form, as part of its proposal to
revise the air emission standards for certain units that combust hazardous wastes: (1) an exclusion
from RCRA Subtitle C jurisdiction of hazardous-waste-derived fuels that are comparable to
particular fossil fuels; (2) an amendment to the RCRA permit modification rules for hazardous
waste combustion units; (3) notification requirements for sources that intend to comply with the
final rule; and (4) waste minimization and pollution prevention criteria to be included in a request
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for a compliance extension.
EPA is excluding from the definition of solid and hazardous-waste-derived fuels those that
meet specification levels comparable to fossil fuels for concentrations of toxic constituents and
physical properties that affect burning. The exclusion does not apply to solids, but does apply to
gaseous and liquid hazardous-waste-derived fuels. Except for viscosity, this rule explicitly
prohibits any blending or other "treatment" that does not remove or destroy hazardous
constituents.
The Agency is amending the RCRA permit modification regulations to offer streamlined
procedures that will help facility owners and operators meet two compliance concerns —
compliance with their RCRA permits and compliance with the forthcoming MACT standards. The
streamlined procedures will also help permitting agencies handle the large number of modification
requests EPA anticipates will be submitted in a relatively short period of time following
promulgation of the final MACT standards. By promulgating the revised procedures before the
final MACT standards, EPA hopes to provide ample time for states to develop comparable
standards and obtain EPA authorization before they need to process MACT-related modification
requests from facility owners or operators.
EPA is adopting a requirement that affected sources must prepare and submit for public
comment a notification identifying the facility's intentions to comply with the final rule and
describing the strategy and steps they intend to follow to comply. Sources must also hold at least
one informal public meeting to facilitate dialogue between the affected source and the surrounding
community. If a source has not made satisfactory progress according to demonstration criteria
contained within the rule, the source would be required to stop burning hazardous waste 2 years
after promulgation of this rule.
This rule also identifies the waste minimization and pollution prevention criteria for a 1-year
compliance date extension when additional time is needed to install waste minimization measures
mat reduce the amount of hazardous waste entering combustion feedstreams. Regulated entities
that apply for a 1-year extension must provide: (1) a description of the waste minimization
measures to be installed, and (2) a compliance schedule indicating when waste minimization
measures and other pollution control changes will be initiated, when installation will be completed,
and when compliance will be achieved.
Applicability _
This rule applies to hazardous waste generators and hazardous-waste-burning incinerators,
cement kilns, and lightweight aggregate kilns.
For More Information
The Federal Register notice and this fact sheet are available in electronic format on the
Internet through the EPA Public Access Server; For additional information or to order paper
copies of the Federal Register notice, call the RCRA Hotline at (800) 424-9346 outside the
Washington, DC, area and (703) 412-9810 within the Washington, D.'C. area. Copies of
documents applicable to this rule may be obtained by writing: RCRA Information Center (RIG),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste (5305 W), 401 M Street SW,
Washington, DC 20460.
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