xvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
May 2007
EPA530-F-07-017
www.epa.gov/osw
EPA Proposes to  Expand
Comparable Fuels  Exclusion
                EPA is proposing an amendment to allow certain manufacturing waste to be safely
             burned for energy recovery in industrial boilers. This action will remove unnecessary
             regulatory costs while maintaining current levels of protection of human health and the
             environment.

          Action
             Through this action, EPA is proposing to expand the Resource Conservation
          and Recovery Act's (RCRA) Hazardous Waste Comparable Fuels Exclusion to
          encompass a new category of liquid hazardous waste-derived fuel known as emission-
          comparable fuel (ECF). ECF is fuel that is produced from a hazardous waste but
          which generates emissions when burned in an industrial boiler that are comparable
          to emissions from burning fuel oil. In other words, the fuels are comparable from an
          emissions standpoint but not from a physical standpoint.
             This action would allow ECF to be burned by certain industrial waste boilers
          operating under specified conditions. ECF  would be subject to the same regulations
          that currently apply under the Comparable Fuels Exclusion, but would be exempt
          from the specifications for certain hydrocarbons and oxygenates. Facilities would also
          have to meet certain storage and burner conditions, including:
             (1) Design and operating conditions for the ECF boiler that ensure that the ECF
          is burned under RCRA's "good combustion conditions" typical for oil-fired industrial
          boilers; and
             (2) Conditions for storage in tanks which are comparable to those for storage  of
          fuels and organic liquids and which are tailored for the hazards that ECF may pose.
             EPA is accepting comment on this proposal for 60 days following publication in
          the Federal Register.

          Background
             On June 19, 1998, EPA issued the Comparable Fuels Exclusion (CFE) (63
          FR 33782), which established the standards to exclude certain hazardous waste-
          derived fuels from the regulatory definition of solid waste. These hazardous waste-
          derived fuels are comparable to fossil fuels. Since EPA issued the Comparable Fuels
          Exclusion, the regulated community informed EPA that regulatory constraints have
          prevented the use of potentially eligible waste streams as comparable fuels. The
          regulated community indicated that the removal of constraints could significantly
          increase the volume of waste eligible for the comparable fuels exclusion.

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   For More Information
    Information on this proposed regulation:
 http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/combust/compfuels/exclusion.htm.

To find out more detailed information or to ask a question, visit:
http://waste.custhelp.com and click on Find an Answer or Submit a Question.

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