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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