United States Off ce of Sond Waste
Environmental Protection and Emergency Response EPA/530-SW-89-001
Agency Washington DC 20460 October 1988
Office of Sohd Waste ~ "
SEPA Environmental
Fact Sheet
PROPOSED RULE TO ELIMINATE MOST ORE AND MTNRRAT.
PROCESSING SOLID WASTES FROM THE BEVILL AMENDMENT
BACKGROUND
In 1980, Congress amended the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA) to temporarily exclude from hazardous waste
regulation wastes from the extraction, beneficiation, and
processing (smelting and refining) of ores and minerals. This
exclusion, known as the Beviii Amendment, was temporary, pending
(1) the completion of further studies by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA); and (2) a regulatory determination as
to whether regulation of these wastes under Subtitle C of RCRA
as hazardous wastes was warranted.
In October 1985, EPA proposed to remove from the exclusion all
ore and mineral processing wastes except for four types of waste
and to list as hazardous wastes six smelter wastes. The four
types of waste proposed to be retained within the Bevill
Amendment were thought to be consistent with the "special waste"
concept (i.e., high volume, low hazard wastes) from EPA's 1978
proposed hazardous waste regulations.
In October 1986, EPA withdrew its proposed reinterpretation on
the grounds that the Agency wasn't able to determine the
appropriate status of some other wastes from mineral processing
operations. This prompted a challenge in Court; in July 1988,
the Court found against EPA, ordering the Agency to define a
narrower scope for the Bevill Amendment and to list the six
smelter wastes as hazardous wastes. The Court indicated that
ore and mineral processing wastes should be excluded from
hazardous waste regulations under Subtitle C of RCRA only if
they are "special wastes." The six smelter wastes were listed
as hazardous wastes in August 1988 in response to the Court
order.
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ACTION
In response to the Court order, EPA is proposing a narrowed
scope of wastes to be excluded under the Bevin Amendment from
hazardous waste regulation under Subtitle C of RCRA The
proposed regulation defines solid waste from processing of ores
and minerals to include only 15 specified wastes. These 15
high-volume wastes are considered "special wastes" and would
remain within the Bevin Amendment; i.e., further studies (to be
documented in a Report to Congress) and a regulatory
determination by EPA are necessary for defining the status of
these wastes as hazardous or not.
CONCLUSIONS
5L* K P * 1S Promul9ated> all ore and mineral processing
wastes other than the 15 identified in this proposal [see box]
will be permanently removed from the Bevin Amendment
Therefore, the wastes np_t remaining in the scope of the Bevill
±^ent™ni be subiect to Subtitle C regulations as hazardous
wastes. This reinterpretation, and the subsequent Report to
n?n™^S and re^ulatorY determination represent the final stages
of EPA's response to the provisions of RCRA Section 8002(D)-
r^foH1*1 be n° 5urther studies or regulatory determinations
related to ore and mineral processing wastes as a group.
CONTACT
father information, Please contact the RCRA Hotline Monday
through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. EST. The national
toll-free number is 800-424-9346; in Washington, D.C the
number is 202-382-3000.
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ORE AND MINERAL
REMAINING WITHIN THE RPV.M AMEMPMPNJ
1. Slog from primary copper smelting;
2. Process wastewater from primary
copper smelting/refining;
3. Slowdown from acid plants at
primary copper smelters;
4. Bleed electrolyte from primary
copper refining;
5. Slag from primary lead smelting;
6. Slowdown from acid plants at
primary zinc smelters;
7. Process wastewater from primary
zinc smelting/refining;
8. Red and brown muds from bauxite
refining;
9. Phosphogypsum from phosphoric
acid production;
10. Slag from elemental phosphorous
production;
11. Iron blast furnace stag;
12. Air pollution control dust/sludge
from Iron blast furnaces;
13. Waste acids from titanium
dioxide production;
14. Air pollution control dust from
lime Whs; and
15. Slag from roasting/leaching
of chromlte ore.
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