United States Solid Waste and
Environmental Protection Emergency Response EPA530-F-92-023
Agency (OS-305) December 1992
&EPA Environmental
Fact Sheet
Temporary Suspension of the
Toxicity Characteristic in
Non-UST Petroleum-Product
Cleanups Proposed
As a step toward expediting cleanups of petroleum spills and avoiding
duplicative regulation, the Environmental Protection Agoncy (EPA) is
proposing a temporary suspension of the Toxicity Characteristic rule (or
non-underground storage tank (UST) petroleum-contaminated media in
states with adequate petroleum clean-up programs. EPA believes that the
effective use of state authorities for these environmental problems will
enhance and accelerate petroleum-product cleanup operations and
ensure overall environmental protection.
Background
On March 29, 1990 (55 FR 11798), EPA issued the Toxicity
Characteristic (TC) rule, which is used to identify certain hazardous
wastes that are subject to regulation under Subtitle C of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This rule added 25 organic
constituents, including benzene, a common constituent of petroleum,
to the existing list of hazardous constituents. It was effective
immediately (March 1990) in all states.
Recognizing the enormous potential impacts of regulating huge
volumes of petroleum-contaminated material, the TC rule provided an
exemption for petroleum-contaminated media (such as soils, ground
water) that results when leaks from underground storage tanks are
cleaned up. Pointing to this exemption, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New
York, and North and South Dakota petitioned the Agency to exclude
petroleum-product releases from non-UST sources from the TC rule.
This action proposes EPA's response to the issues raised by the states.
Action
EPA proposes a three-year suspension of the TC to media and
debris contaminated by petroleum products from non-UST sources.
During this time, wastes generated from these clean-up actions would
not be regulated under RCRA. The suspension would apply only to the
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25 organic TC constitutents, and not to the toxic metals and pesticides
on the TC list of hazardous constituents.
The suspension would apply only in states that certify to EPA they
have effective programs and authorities to require cleanups of
petroleum releases from such sources as above-ground tanks,
pipelines, or transportation spills (non-UST), as well as control over
the management of those clean-up wastes. The suspension would
be limited to wastes generated from federal and state supervised
petroleum-release cleanups.
Conclusion
Federally regulating as many as 36,000 petroleum-product spills a
year as RCRA hazardous waste may overburden permitting programs,
threaten existing capacity at hazardous waste management facilities,
create clean-up delays, and increase cost, with little or no environ-
mental benefit. Responding to states' concerns, EPA believes that
environmental protection can be ensured through state petroleum
clean-up programs while the Agency makes a more thorough
assessment of the most appropriate Federal regulatory requirements
for this material (such as soil and ground water).
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); in Washington, D.C., the number is (703)
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