08/08/01  WED 16:36 FAX 607 762 8451       NYSEG LIC & ENV
                  UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                             WASHINGTON. O.C. 20460
                                                           OFPICE OF
                               ADR 9 R IQOA          SOLID WASTE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE

   MEMORAKPDM


   SUBJECT:        Remediation of Historic Manufactured Gas Plant
                   Sites

   FROM:           Sylvia K. Lowrance, Direc
                   Office of Solid Waste

   TO:             Regional Waste Management Division Directors

         Attached please find a document that describes a strategy
   for  voluntary remediation of historic manufactured gas plant
    (MGP)  sites.  There are in excess of 1500 historic manufactured
   gas  plant utilities.  The utility industry is interested  in
   initiating voluntary assessment and remediation of the sites.
   Last year, under the aegis of the Edison Electric Institute, the
   industry requested the Agency's assistance in clarifying  the
   applicability of existing RCRA regulations to certain remediation
   activities and materials at these sites.  At the direction of the
   Assistant Administrator, a group was established under the
   leadership of the Office of Solid Waste to work with Edison
   Electric Institute  (EEI) to clarify the regulations and thereby
   facilitate early voluntary clean-up.  The EPA working group
   included representatives from various Headquarters offices as
   well as Region VII, who has had extensive experience in
   addressing MGP sites.

         The attached strategy document was developed by EEI  for use
   by its member companies.  Its purpose is to clarify the RCRA
   regulations and other requirements applicable to MGP sites.  It
   has  been reviewed and commented on by the EPA working group.

         The strategy document consists of legal interpretations of
   EPA  rules and regulations as well as technical and procedural
   guidance that either draws directly on published EPA guidance or
   constitutes EEI's best engineering or technical judgement based
    on their experience at MGP sites.  OSW expects that the strategy
   would be implemented taking into account site-specific
    circumstances and that it would not necessarily be appropriate  or
    practical at all sites.  The strategy does not supersede  existing
    regulations; it is  not intended to be the presumptive remedy
    under CERCLA; nor can it serve as a shield against enforcement
    under RCRA or any other statute.  Rather, it is intended  to
    provide useful, practical  advice  on how to address materials at
                                                              Primed on Recycled Paper

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. 08/08/01  WED 16:37 FAX 607 762 8451       NYSEG LIC & ENV
                                                                         ©002
      these sites that may exhibit the RCRA characteristics.

           It is my view that the strategy described in the document
      can be implemented in a fashion that is consistent with existing
      federal RCRA regulations and, thus,  protective of human health
      and the environment.  I encourage Regions and States to work with
      site owners in implementing the strategy, thus promoting early
      and voluntary clean—up.

           The remediation strategy is based on the fact that
      contaminated soils generated at these sites are capable of being
      burned with coal and other fuel in high efficiency utility
      boilers.   Prior to the burning of these materials in utility
      boilers,  remediation waste that exhibits a hazardous
      characteristic will be rendered non-hazardous before it leaves
      the generation site.  This may be accomplished without the delays
      caused by RCRA permitting through the use of 90-day tanks,
      containers, or containment buildings covered by 40 CFR Section
      262.34(a).  Under federal regulations, waste may be treated in
      such units during the 90-day accumulation period without a
      permit, and if the waste thereafter no longer exhibits a
      hazardous characteristic, any further management of the waste,
      including the burning of such materials in utility boilers, no
      longer would be subject to Subtitle C of RCRA.

           Contaminated soils addressed in this strategy are those that
      are former Bevill wastes and are hazardous under the
      characteristics.  Land disposal restrictions do not currently
      apply to these wastes arid therefore LDR compliance should not be
      an issue at this time.  However, it should be noted that LDRs
      will be promulgated in the future.  The recent "Third Third"
      court decision, however, may have an impact on the approach
      discussed in the strategy sometime in the future.  In the
      development of strategies to conduct remediation activities, it
      would be appropriate to consider treatment in anticipation of
      future LDR requirements.  I will keep the Regions informed as to
      the effects of this decision on all aspects of our program.

           Throughout the document, reference is made to consultation
      with and obtaining approvals from appropriate governmental
      authorities.  The assumption  underlying the document is that the
      remediation activities are not being carried out under the
      Federal Corrective Action or Superfund program but that they are
      being voluntarily conducted with appropriate state and/or local
      oversight.  The document is not intended to provide detailed
      procedural guidance on obtaining governmental approvals.  And, as
      always, state requirements can be more stringent than their
      federal counterpart.

           I view the attached remediation strategy as another step in
      the direction of achieving more risk-oriented and effective
      application of RCRA regulations to environmental clean-up

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08/08/01  WED 16:37 FAX 607 762 8451       NYSEG LIC & ENV
                                                                        1^003
    activities.   As the Regional Offices gain experience working with
    these  sites,  I would appreciate hearing from you if the
    recommended  strategy is helpful in expediting clean-up and if you
    encounter any problems that further or more specific guidance
    would  alleviate.

        If you  have any questions about this strategy document,
    please call  Ed Abrams, Chief, Listing Section at 202-260-4770, or
    David  Bussard, Director, of the Characterization and Assessment
    Division at  202-260-4637.


    Attachment

    cc:  OSW Division Directors
        MGP workgroup

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  08/08/01   WED  16:38 FAX  607 762 8451
'11/25/98  WED 15:50 FAX 518 457 9639
 NYSEG LIC & ENV
BPM
   New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
   Division of Solid and Hazardous Materials, Room 488
   50 Wolf Road, Albany, New York  1 2233-725O
   Phone: (518) 457-6934   FAX: (518) 457-O629
                                               UOV 1 9 1998
         Ms. Elizabeth A. Cotsworth
         Acting Director
         Office of Solid Waste (530I-W)
         U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
         401M Street S.W.
         Washington, DC 20460
                                                                                      John P. Cahill
                                                                                      Commissioner
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         Dear Ms. Cotsworth:
                        Re:  LDRs and Decharacterizing MGP Coal Tar Wastes

               Recently, this Department received copies of the August 21, 1998 letter from
         your office to Piper & Marbury, L.L.P., concerning the effects the Phase IV LDR
         Supplemental Rule might have on the cleanup of manufactured gas plant sites. Your
         letter was in response to a May 11, 1998 letter requesting guidance on this subject and
         submitted on behalf of the Utility Solid Waste Activities Group.

               Regarding processes for decharacterizing coal tar wastes, further EPA guidance is
         needed. In New York State, for example, the elimination of the toxicity characteristic
         (DO 18) has been accomplished by the addition of coal fines and activated carbon to reduce
         the leachability of the contaminated media.  Sufficient carbon and coal fines are added such
         that the media no longer exhibits a characteristic. This admixture binds but does not .reduce
         or destroy the principal or underlying hazardous constituents, virtually all of which are
         organics. This treatment has occurred both within the excavation and in a. container
         adjacent to the excavation.  In New York State, the decharacterized material is then
         transported to an approved combustion unit (i-e-., utility boiler) where the organics are
         destroyed thermally after the material is combined with coal.

                1.     Is it acceptable under the LDRs to decharacterize DO 18 MGP waste,  or soil
                      containing same, by treatment with carbon and/or coal fines,  provided the
                      organic component of the decharacterized material is subsequently
                      permanently treated in a thermal destruction device?
Post-it* Fax Note 7671
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_ 08/08/01  WED 16:38  FAX  607 762 8451         NYSEG LIC & ENV                               12] 005
11/2S7-98  WED 15:51 FAX 518 457 9639         BPM                                           10002

        Ms. Elizabeth A. Cotsworth                                                     2.


              2.     Is it acceptable to add soil, either in the area of contamination or in
                     tanks/containers, to DO 18 MQP waste or soil containing same, in order (a) to
                     decharacterize the waste and (b) to allow the mixed material to be transported
                     to an off-site, non-RCRA "C" facility for thermal destruction? Is such soil
                     mixing impermissible dilution?

              Given that we are presently faced with several important permitting and remediation
        decisions concerning MGP wastes, we urgently need EPA's opinion relative to whether
        these methods are acceptable under the LDR's.

              If you have any questions, you may contact this office at (518) 457-6934 or have
        your staff call Lawrence Nadler, of my staff, at (518) 485-8988.

                                              Sincerely,
                                              Stephen Hammond, P.E.
                                              Director
                                              Division of Solid & Hazardous Materials
         cc:    K. Callahan, EPA Region II

         bcc:   F. Bifera
               E. Crotty
               C.Johnson
               S. Hammond (2)
               J. Willson
               M. O'Toole
               C. Sullivan
               P. Counterman
               L. Nadler
               M. Sheen
               J. Miccoli
               W. Yeman

         LN:SH:mas
         C:\OFFICE\WPWIN\WPDOCS\HAMMOND\EC.MGP

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