United States Environmental Protection Agency Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OS-305) EPA/530-SW-89-050 September 1989 Modifying RCRA Permits Introduction The Resource Conservation and Recov- ery Act (RCRA) requires each hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal fa- cility to manage hazardous waste in accor- dance with a permit issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or a state agency that has a hazardous waste program approved by EPA. A RCRA permit establishes the facility's op- erating conditions for managing hazardous waste. EPA and state agencies use the per- mit to specify the administrative and tech- nical standards for each facility. Over time, however, the facility needs to modify the permit to improve equipment or make changes hi response to new standards. Recognizing this, EPA established pro- cedures early in the program for modifying permits. The Agency has now revised these procedures to provide more flex- ibility to both owners and operators of fa- cilities and EPA and to increase public involvement. This brochure briefly de- scribes EPA's new procedures for modify- ing RCRA permits. These procedures are effective now in states where EPA administers the RCRA program. However, authorized states will not use these procedures until they have adopted them as part of their own programs. The Old Process Acknowledging that a permit would need to be modified for various reasons during its life, EPA established in 1980 a process for modifying them. The process included different procedures for major and minor modifications. A minor permit modification allowed a limited number of minor changes to occur, after EPA reviewed and approved the modification request. There was no requirement for public notice and comment. For major modifications, EPA would fol- low procedures that were almost the same as those for issuing an initial permit. These procedures included developing a draft permit modification, announcing in a local newspaper and on the radio the avail- ability of the proposed modification, providing a 45-day public comment period, and, if requested, holding a public hearing. Public participation was limited to the specific permit conditions being modified. A Need for Change The old permit modification process was becoming increasingly unwieldy. It was impeding the ability of treatment, storage, and disposal facilities to respond quickly to improvements in technology and shifts in the types of wastes being generated. This made the routine changes necessary for effective operations more difficult to accomplish. Furthermore, the procedures often did not involve the public early enough in the modification process. In response to these concerns, EPA de- veloped new procedures with help from representatives from states and industrial, environmental, and public interest groups. The new process provides more flexibility for facilities to respond to changing con- ditions, clean up waste, and generally improve their waste management opera- tions. In addition, the new procedures al- low for more public involvement by expanding public notification and par- ticipation opportunities. The Congress, in an effort to address the nation's growing concern about its hazardous and solid waste problem, enacted the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 greatly expanded RCRA and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority to regulate these wastes. As a result, EPA is developing regulations and programs to reduce, recycle, and treat wastes; restrict land disposal; and require corrective action for releases of hazardous, wastes, or their constituents, into the environment. EPA's Office of Solid Waste, through its publications, aims to foster public understanding and encourage citizen involvement in helping to manage the nation's waste problem. Printed on recycled paper. ------- The New Process The new process establishes three classes of permit modifications and sets administrative procedures for approving modifications in each class. * Class One addresses routine and admin- istrative changes. Lowest range of permit modifications. • Class Two primarily addresses improve- ments in technology and management techniques. Middle range of modifications. * Class Three deals with major changes to a facility and its operations. Highest range of modifications. Class One Modifications Class One modifications do not substan- tially alter the conditions in the permit or reduce the facility's ability to protect human health and the environment. Such changes may include • Improving administrative and routine functions. • Upgrading plans and records maintained by the facility. • Replacing some equipment with func- tionally equivalent equipment. Most Class One changes do not require approval by the authorized permitting agency —either EPA or a state— before they are implemented. There are several types of changes, however, that may require such approval. EPA may deny any Class One modification. Notifying the Public. Within 90 days of implementing a change, a facility mak- ing a Class One modification must notify the public by sending a notice to all parties on its mailing list. This mailing list in- cludes people and organizations who have asked to be notified of the facility's ac- tivities. The list is maintained by the per- mitting agency. Citizens may be added to the mailing list by sending a written re- quest to the agency. Any member of the public may ask EPA to review a Class One modification. Class Two Modifications Class Two modifications include those changes that enable a facility to respond to variations in the types and quantities of wastes that it manages, technological advancements, and new regulatory re- quirements. Class Two changes do not substantially alter the facility's design or the management practices prescribed by the permit. They do not reduce—and in most cases should enhance—the facility's ability to protect human health and the en- vironment. Under some circumstances, the permitting agency may determine that the modification request should follow the more restrictive Class Three procedures. Class Two modifications address changes like • Increases of 25 percent or less in a facil- ity's tank treatment or storage capacity. • Authorization to treat or store new wastes that do not require different man- agement practices. • Modifications to improve the design of regulated units or improve management practices. The new procedures require the facility to submit a request for approval of the change to the permitting agency. The re- quest describes the change, explains why it is needed, and provides information showing that the change complies with EPA's technical standards for the facility. For Class Two modifications, a facility may begin construction 60 days after sub- mitting a request, although the permitting agency may delay all or part of the con- struction. Involving the Public. The permit holder must notify people and organiza- tions on the facility mailing list about the modification request by sending them a let- ter and publishing a notice in a major local newspaper. The notice must appear within seven days before or after the facility sub- mits the request to the permitting agency. The newspaper notice marks the beginning of a 60-day comment period and an- nounces the time and place of an informal public meeting. This public comment period is an op- portunity for the public to review the facil- ity's permit modification plans at the same time as the permitting agency—early in the process. All written comments submit- ted during the 60-day comment period will be considered by the agency before a final decision is made on the modification request. The public meeting is conducted by the permittee and is held no fewer than 15 days after the start of the comment period and no less than 15 days before it ends. The purpose of this meeting is to provide for an exchange of views between the pub- lic and the facility's owner or operator and, if possible, to resolve any issues concern- ing the permit modification. The meeting is less formal than the public hearings held when a new RCRA permit is under devel- opment. Because the meeting is intended to be a dialogue between the facility owner or operator and its neighbors, the permit- ting agency is not required to attend the meeting. EPA believes that the meeting will result in more public comments being submitted to the agency and, perhaps, vol- untary revisions to the permittee's modi- fication request. To inform citizens about how the facility has met the conditions of the permit, the permitting agency must make the facility's compliance history available to the public. A compliance history may include a sum- mary of any permit violations, when ------- violations have occurred, and how the vio- lations have been corrected. : Default Provision. The procedures for Class Two modifications include a default provision to ensure that the permitting agency responds promptly to the facility's request. The agency must respond to a re- quest within 90 days or, if the agency calls for an extension, 120 days. If the agency does not reach a final decision on the re- quest within 120 days, the facility is auto- matically allowed to conduct the requested activities for 180 days. During this period, the facility must comply with all federal and state regulations governing hazardous waste facilities. If the permitting agency still has not acted by day 250, the facility then must let the public know that the fa- cility will become permanently authorized to conduct the proposed activities unless the agency approves or denies the request by day 300. At any time during the Class Two procedures, the agency may reclassify the request as Class Three if there is sig- nificant public concern or if the permitting agency determines that the facility's pro- posal is too complex for the Class Two procedures. This reclassification would re- move the possibility of an automatic deci- sion by default. Class Two Modification Schedule Day 1 Modification request re- ceived by agency. News- paper notice published and mailing list notified. Days 15-45 Informal public meeting held. Day 60 Written public comments due to agency. Day 90 Agency response to Class Two modification request due. Deadline may be ex- tended 30 days. Day 120 If no response, requested activity may begin for 180 days. Day 250 If still no response, public notified. Day 300 If still no response, activity permanently authorized. Class Three Modifications Class Three modifications address changes that substantially alter a facility or its operation. For example, the following modification requests fall under Class Three: • Requests to manage new wastes that re- quire different management practices. • Major changes to landfill, surface im- poundment, and waste pile liner, leach- ate collection, and detection systems. • Increases in tank, container, or incinera- tor capacity of more than 25 percent. • Major changes to the facility's ground- water monitoring program. Involving the Public. For Class Three modifications, the facility must initially follow the same public notice, comment, and meeting procedures as for Class Two modifications. This allows for early public review and comment on proposed changes. Then the permitting agency must prepare a draft permit modification, allow 45 days for public comment on the draft, hold a public hearing if requested, and then issue or deny the permit modification request. Public Involvement Steps for Class Three Modifications: The facility representative • Requests a modification of the permit to the permitting agency. • Notifies the public. • Holds a public meeting. The permitting agency • Allows 60 days for public comment on the modification request. • Prepares draft permit modification conditions. • Notifies the public of the agency's draft permit conditions. • Allows 45 days for public comment on permit conditions. • Holds a public hearing, if requested. • Issues or denies the revised permit conditions. Temporary Authorization For certain Class Two or Three modi- fications, the permitting agency may grant a facility temporary authorization to per- form certain activities for up to 180 days. For example, temporary authorizations may be granted to ensure that cleanups, or corrective actions, and closure activities can be undertaken quickly and that sudden changes in operations not covered under a facility's permit can be addressed promptly. Activities performed under a temporary authorization must comply with the applicable waste management regula- tions. The facility must notify the public within seven days of making the request. The permitting agency may grant a tempo- rary authorization without notifying the public. A facility may renew a temporary authorization only by requesting a permit modification and initiating public participation. Administering Permit Modifications These procedures are effective now in states where EPA administers the RCRA program. States with hazardous waste pro- grams equivalent to, or more stringent than, the federal program may be autho- rized by EPA to administer RCRA haz- ardous waste programs. Authorized states ------- are not required to adopt this new permit modification process, although it is ex- pected that many of them will. Therefore, for state-administered RCRA permits, the state agency may use different modifica- tion procedures until it adopts the new modification approach. However, EPA may use these new procedures in authorized states whenever it is necessary to change a RCRA permit to implement provisions im- posed by federal law. EPA regional offices, listed below, maintain up-to-date informa- tion about which states are following this and other hazardous waste programs. Getting involved EPA encourages community involve- ment in the permitting and permit modi- fication processes. The revised permit modification procedures expand oppor- tunities for the public to be notified and to participate. The procedures also allow for the expeditious approval of requests when there is no apparent public concern about proposed changes. Citizen Involvement Steps • Contact your EPA regional office or state agency to identify the permitting agency. • Write the permitting agency and request to be put on the mailing list to receive notices of permit modification requests. 1 Review modification requests. 1 State your support for, or objection to, the requested modifications during the public comment period by providing written comments. 1 Participate in the public meetings. These informal meetings allow facility repre- sentatives to explain their permit modi- fication requests and answer your questions. For a copy of the new regulations gov- erning the permit modification process and more information on the new permit modi- fication process or other RCRA programs, call EPA's RCRA Hotline: 800-424-9346; in Washington, D.C., the number is 382-3000. Or contact EPA Regional Offices: Region I JFK Federal Building Boston, MA O22O3 (617) 573-9644 Region II 26 Federal Plaza New York, NY 1O278 (212) 264-8682 Region III 841 Chestnut Building Philadelphia, PA 191O7 (215) 597-794O Region IV 345 Courtland Street, N.E. Atlanta, GA 3O365 (404) 347-3433 Region V 23O S. Dearborn Street 13th Floor (HR-11) Chicago, IL 6O6O4 (312) 353-0398 Region VI First International Bldg. 1445 Ross Avenue Dallas, TX 75202 (214) 655-6785 Region VII 726 Minnesota Avenue Kansas City, KS 661O1 (913) 236-2888 Region VIII 999 18th Street One Denver PI., Suite 13OO Denver, CO 80202-2413 (303) 293-1676 Region IX 215 Fremont Street San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 974-8026 Region X 12OO Sixth Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 (206)442-1099 United States Environmental Protection Agency Offices of Solid Waste Washington, DC 20460 ------- |