vvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
DIRECTIVE NUMBER: 9542.02(81)
TITLE: Transfer, of Notification and Perilt Application Information To
States (P1G-8HO)
APPROVAL DATE: 3-24-81
EFFECTIVE DATE: 3-24-81
ORIGINATING OFFICE: S'
0 FINAL
D DRAFT
STATUS
REFERENCE ibttier~dbcuments):
OSWER OSWER OSWER
/£ DIRECTIVE DIRECTIVE Di
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PART 271 SUBPART B - INTERIM AUTHORIZATION DOC: 9542.02(81)
Key Words: RCRA Permits
Regulations: 40 CFR 271.126(b)(l);27l.126(c)(l); 271.132(b); 271.8(b);
271.17(6)
Subject: ' Transfer of Notification and Permit Application Information To
States (P1G-81-10)
Addressee: Program Implementation Guidance Addressees
Originator: Steffen W. Plehn, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid
Waste, R. Sarah Compton, Deputy Assistant Administator, Office of
Water
Source Doc: #9542.02(81)
Date: 3-24-81
Summary:
EPA is responsible for reviewing, acknowledging and making decisions on
all RCRA permit applications until a State receives Phase II Interim Authoriza-
tion. The "RCRA-State Interim Authorization Guidance Manual" and the "Additional
Guidance for Cooperative Arrangements under Subtitle C of RCRA" provides foe
the receipt of notification and permit application by the- States. The guidance
for interim authorization requires EPA to provide interim authorized States
with copies of notification forms and permit applications within 30 days after
the Memorandum of Agreement is signed.
States having Cooperative Arrangements with EPA are encouraged to assist
EPA in identifying and contacting non-notifiers and to make recommendations to
EPA concerning the review of applications following receipt of such information
from EPA. Copies of EPA's summary report containing notification information
were sent to the solid and hazardous waste management office of each State.
EPA will also share Part A permit application Information with Che States
(subject to confidential constraints). EPA Regional Offices and the States
should determine the exact information the states need and when such information
should be transferred. It is important to note the following: (a) transfer of
information to the States should not impede or delay issuance of the first
round interim*status acknowledgements; (b) if information is transferred prior
to completloo^of: the verification of all items on the Part A application, the
Regional Of^^K-should carefully identify the unverified information.
Computes*printouts should be used to transfer data to the States before
copying notification and Part A permit application forms.
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9542.02 (81)
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PSCTECTiC.N AGENCY
WASHINGTON. O.C. 20460
•,331
PIG-81-10
SUBJECT:- Transfer of Notification and Permit Application
Information to~ States
FROM: Steffen W. Plehn
/ Deputy Assistant Administrator
for Solid Waste (WH-562)
R. Sarah Compton
Deputy Assistant xSministratoi
for Water Enforcement and Permits (EN-335)
TO: PIGS Addressees
ISSUE;
When should EPA transfer information from both the notification
forms and the Part A's of the RCRA permit applications to the
States? In what format should EPA transfer this information?
How can the States assist EPA to review and process this
information?
DECISION:
(1) Until EPA authorizes a State for Phase II Interim Authori
zation to carry out a permit program in lieu of the Federal
permit program (or. authorizes a component of Phase II) , SPA
is responsible for reviewing *•** ^ftnovl edging RCRA ftgrmifc
*hfit q*Tt»itJ Irr-Tn-HiTj determining who appears
to meet the statutory requirements for interim status and
acknowledging the processes they may use and the wastes they
may handle during interim status*. EPA is also responsible
for these activities for those facilities not covered in a
State's authorization for a Phase II component. However,
EPA encourages States to assist the Agency in reviewing
permit applications until such time as the State receives
its Pha»e>- II authorization and will be receiving its own
permit applications.
*Note that this acknowledgment of the processes a facility may
use and the wastes they may handle is baaed only on the owner/
operator's Part A application. EPA merely copies on to the
acknowledgment the wastes and processes the owner/operator
included on the application: the acknowledgment is not a
determination by EPA that a facility is an environmentally
acceptable facility for particular wastes.
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(2) SPA Headquarters La providing 5£a*o solid and hazardous
waste management agencies with copies of the Aaencv's notifi-
cation report which presents a compilation of information that
was-received and processed between May 19, 1980 and November 19,v
1980^>"The report includes the names and addresses of notifiers I
in each State and a listing of the hazardous waate(s) they handle.
EPA will provide supplements of this report to State agencies • -,
as new notification information is received and processed.
(3) Subject to confidentiality constraints, SPA will alao share .
all Part A permit apol-j^**-
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win send an initial acknowledgment to applicants when they
meet all of these three conditions. The purpose of this
acknowledgment is to inform the applicant that a preliminary
review of the information he provided indicates that he
appears to- satisfy the statutory requirements for interim
status. EPA will not load any data into the computer data
base during this initial review except to "flag" the data
base to indicate those facilities for which EPA has sent an
acknowledgment.
During round two of the review process EPA will conduct
a more detailed review of the permit application. The purposes
of this round are (1) to attempt to verify that the facility
needs a RCRA permit; (2) to acknowledge the processes which
the facility is allowed to use and the wastes which the
facility is allowed to handle during interim status; and (3)
to check that the remainder of the information items required
in Part A of the application, such as the map, photographs*
and sketch have been provided. In the round two review, EPA
(using State assistance wherever possible) will resolve"
errors and inconsistencies in information items by communicating
with the applicant. When EPA has. verified that certain key
items are correct, the data on the application will be loaded
into the computer data base, and a second acknowledgment \
will be sent to the applicant. This acknowledgment will '
include a list of the wastes which may be handled during
interim status and the processes to which the interim status
applies (based on the owner/operator's Part A application).
EPA and State responsibilities
There has been some confusion as to what role the States
can play in reviewing and acknowledging permit applications.
Until a State receives Phase II Intern *"**«•"•< flagon to carry
out a permit program in lieu of the Federal permit program~"
(or flait uf a program, i.e., a component of Phase T-I) *., spA
is responsible for reviewing and a.eknowiedging all permit
"applications, including determining who appears to quaTTEy
Tor interim Status", and aeknowledging the processes tney may
-use and tne wastes they may handle during Tm i"*"**"^ a*a^iT«
Per'iod* - States with only Phase I Interim Authorization are
not aut£f||£z«d to carry out a RCRA permit program and cannot
assum« .;B(wjion»ibility for these functions (although they
can as*i|rtteJ5PA in this area). EPA is also responsible for
these activities for those facilities not covered in a State's
authorization for a component of Phase II**.
*Do not confuse Phase I*and Phase II of Interim Authorization
with the two rounds of Part A permit application processing.
**When a State receives interim authorization for one or more
components of Phase II, the issue of whether a facility (covered
by a component handled by the State) qualifies for interim status
is moot because State, rather than Federal requirements, then apply
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Therefore, EPA is responsible for completing the review of
Part A of the permit apol_Lra- ^^L**^^ -3r sending on^
ledamenta.^/SPA must therefore retain the originals of al
-ribtiiiclkion forms and Part A's of the permit applications
which th« Agency has received*.
EPA encourages and welcomes States to assist the Agency in
reviewing and acJcnowledging applications, particularly for the
round two reviews. This State involvement has a number of
advantages: (1) it will give the States an opportunity to
become familiar with the information which applicants have
submitted: (2) the extra resources will help EPA expedite the
review and acknowledgment of applications; and (3) the States can
provide useful, and sometimes crucial information about certain
facilities of which EPA may not be aware.
State information needs and specific provisions for EP.\ to
provide States with information
The information EPA received in the notification forms
and in the Part A's of the applications can be useful to the
States in various ways. Some examples are:
-*
(1) to evaluate the scope of State regulatory coverage ?
and* to determine if State control of hazardous waste is
"substantially equivalent" to Federal control,
(2) to calculate resource needs for conducting a State
hazardous waste permit program, for conducting surveillance
and enforcement activities, and for providing technical
assistance,
(3) as a potential- source of data for revisions to grant
regulations,
(4) to assist States with interim authorization in preparing
reports to EPA,
• (5) as input, for developing a strategy for siting hazardous
wast* facilities.
(Sjfe^^assist States with hazardous waste permit programs
to idoirilf^,:facilities which may need a State permit but have
not apptlid.-for one. (Likewise, State permit files will also
be useful to EPA).
•Note that this continues to be important even after a State
receives interim authorization for one or more components of
Phase II, because if a State program reverts to EPA during
Phase II or at the end of the"interim authorization period,
facilities without RCRA permits will again need interim status
in order to be able to operate lawfully.
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(7) to assist States with notification requirements to
identify non-notifier s.
assist State inspectors in conducting facility
inspections.
Both the "RCRA State Interim Authorization Guidance Manual",
issued June 25, 1980, and the "Additional Guidance for Cooperative
Arrangements under Subtitle C of RCRA1*, issued August 5, 1980,
provide that States may obtain notification and permit application
information. Specifically, the guidance for interim authorization
indicates that EPA will furnish to States with interim authoriza-
tion copies of notification forms and permit applications within
30 days after the Memorandum of Agreement is signed. The guidance
for cooperative arrangements does not specify that SPA will
furnish notification and permit application information to the
States. However, under cooperative arrangements, the States
are encouraged to assist EPA in identifying and contacting non-
notifiers and to make recommendations to EPA concerning the
review of applications. In order to make this process work*
the Agency will have to provide the States with some notification
and Part A information, consistent, of course, with the confident-
iality provisions in 40 CFR Part 2. >;• .
Assessing individual State information needs and, formats
for transferring information
_EPA Headquarters will send each State solid and hazardous
waste management office copies of EPA's summary report contain-
ing notification information received during the period of
May 19, 1980, to November 19, 1980. The report contains the
following items of information on hazardous waste facilities:
the name and location of the facility; the type of activity(ies)
(i.e., generate, transport, treat, store, or dispose of hazardous
waste)? a listing of the hazardous waste(s) which the facility
handles; the name of the owner of the facility; whether or not
the facility is Federally or privately owned; and whether or
not th«rekis\aa underground injection well located at the
report has ten volumes; one volume for each of
Each volume contains a State-by-State list-
The Agency will routinely send State Agencies
».-'- to this report as new notification information is
processed.
While EPA intends to share fully with the States all permit
application information, transferring this information requires
a significant resource commitment, and if not done carefully
can result in the States being inundated with information which
has not been verified and therefore may be of little use to the
State. We recommend that Regional Offices and States work
together and carefully assess what specific pieces of Part A
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application data the individual States need to run their program
and to assist EPA, and when that data is needed. For example,
a State with Phase I interim authorization may need to know „
earlygon who has applied for a Federal permit and who has receivedj
a round one acknowledgement. The State may have no immediate use
for information about the processes or wastes described in the
application, except on a case by case basis. In this example,
it would make little sense for EPA to spend time copying Part A
forma in order to provide the State with the information.
Instead, as SPA completes the round one reviews for facilities
in the State, it would be better for the Agency to provide the
State with computer printouts containing the names and addresses-
of all facilities EPA considers to have interim status. This
approach would provide the State with much of the information
it needs, save EPA a considerable amount of time in copying forms,
and eliminate the possibility of the State clogging its files
with superfluous information which may be inaccurate since it
has not been reviewed by the Agency.
A number of notifiers and applicants hav-e submitted claims
of confidentiality for their information. EPA will transfer
to the States, information covered by these claims only in£
accordance with the provisions of 40 CFR Part 2. c,
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