August 27,2019
Executive Summary
Proposed Approval
Toxic Substances Control Act Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB)
Commercial Storage Facility and Chemical Waste Landfill
Chemical Waste Management, Inc. Kettleman Hills Facility
U.S. EPA proposes to issue an approval to store, treat for disposal, and dispose of polychlorinated
biphenyls ("PCB") waste at Chemical Waste Management, Inc.'s Kettleman Hills Facility. We
encourage the public to comment on all aspects of this proposed Approval and its supporting
determinations and analyses.
The Kettleman Hills Facility is located in Kings County, California, approximately 3.5 miles southwest
of Kettleman City. It is a commercial hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility that
accepts PCB waste and other types of hazardous wastes. It is currently approved by U.S. EPA under the
Toxic Substances Control Act (""TSCA") to dispose of PCB waste in Landfill B-l 8 and to store and treat
PCB waste at the PCB Flushing/Storage Unit. The PCB Flushing/Storage Unit has both an enclosed
building and an outside containment area. There are also three closed landfills at the Facility which were
used for PCB waste disposalLandfills B-14, B-16, and B-19. These units as well as other storage,
treatment, and disposal units at the Facility are permitted by the State of California's Department of
Toxic Substances Control ("DTSC") under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
U.S. EPA's proposed Approval, if made final, would replace the existing Approvals and would allow
Chemical Waste Management, Inc. to continue to:
Dispose of PCB waste in Landfill B-l 8 Phases I and II;
Store PCB waste in the enclosed building at the PCB Flushing/Storage Unit;
Drain and flush PCB-containing electrical equipment at the PCB Flushing/Storage
Bulk (combine small containers of waste into a larger container) and repackage PCB
waste in the enclosed building at the PCB Flushing/Storage Unit.
The Approval would also increase the TSCA-approved capacity of Landfill B-l 8 and contain conditions
for storage and treatment of PCBs that will allow Chemical Waste Management, Inc. to perform these
operations:
Dispose of PCB waste in Landfill B-l 8 Phase III;
Store PCB waste that is within thirty days of its removal from service date in the
outside containment area at the PCB Flushing/Storage Unit;
Bulk and repackage PCB waste within the outside containment area at the PCB
Flushing/Storage Unit; and
Perform bin-top and container-top solidification of incidental liquids at the PCB
Flushing/Storage Unit.
Unit; and
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Iฎ | Executive Summary Statement of Basis Kettleman Hills Facility Proposed TSCA PCB Approval
To maintain compliance with all applicable TSCA regulations for storage, treatment for disposal, and
disposal of PCB waste, the Approval would also require Chemical Waste Management, Inc. to:
Maintain records on Facility operations;
Regularly inspect and maintain the Facility;
Maintain and implement a contingency plan to respond to spills or other emergencies;
Promptly report any PCB spill or emergency that requires implementation of the
contingency plan;
Test groundwater annually from wells monitoring active Landfill B-18 and every five
years from wells monitoring closed Landfills B-14, B-16, and B-19 for PCBs and report
the results;
Test leachate annually from Landfills B-14, B-16, B-18, and B-19 for PCBs and report
the results;
Implement an air quality monitoring program that includes four monitoring sites and
provide quarterly air monitoring reports.
Test surfaces quarterly at the PCB Flushing/Storage Unit for PCB contamination and
promptly clean up any PCB contamination found at or above 10 micrograms per 100
square centimeters;
Promptly report any detection of PCBs in groundwater, leachate, air, or on surfaces at
the PCB Flushing/Storage Unit;
Maintain and implement post-closure plans, cost estimates, and financial assurance for
post-closure care for closed Landfills B-14, B-16 and B-19;
Maintain plans, cost estimates, and financial assurance for closure and post-closure care
of Landfill B-18;
Maintain a closure plan, cost estimates, and financial assurance for closure of the PCB
Flushing/Storage Unit; and
Follow public process requirements for many types of modifications to the Approval.
Overall, the proposed Approval would result in the following changes to the Facility:
Increases the TSCA-approved capacity of Landfill B-18 from 10.7 million cubic yards
to 15.6 million cubic yards by approving the disposal of PCB waste in Phase III; and
Set a maximum PCB waste storage capacity at the PCB Flushing/Storage Unit of 44,015
gallons.
U.S. EPA proposes to issue this Approval based in part on its finding that operations of the Kettleman
Hills Facility, under the terms and conditions of the proposed Approval, will not pose an unreasonable
risk of injury to health and the environment from PCBs. This finding is based on the engineering and
operational controls and monitoring requirements included in the proposed Approval and on an
assessment of the overarching weight of the scientific evidence regarding the relationship between
Kettleman Hills Facility PCB releases and the likelihood and magnitude of adverse health impacts in
the surrounding communities. U.S. EPA has analyzed a number of objective, site and media-specific,
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Iฎ | Executive Summary Statement of Basis Kettleman Hills Facility Proposed TSCA PCB Approval
multidisciplinary scientific investigations which collectively assessed the exposure-threat and
quantitative health-risk posed by PCB releases from the Kettleman Hills Facility.
Based upon a comprehensive review, U.S. EPA did not identify PCB concentrations above a level of
concern in air, water, vegetation or soils in areas proximate to the Kettleman Hills Facility. In addition,
U.S. EPA was not able to derive unacceptable health risk-estimates to either residents or on-site workers
from Kettleman Hills Facility PCB releases. Finally, based on the available data, the concentration of
PCBs found in environmental media proximate to the Facility are consistent with the concentration of
PCBs found in many rural areas of California's Central Valley. These PCB concentrations are also
consistent with the concentrations of PCBs found by a separate U.S. EPA investigation in undisturbed
wilderness locations within the United States.
We also propose to issue this Approval based on our findings that the Kettleman Hills Facility complies
with applicable requirements for PCB storage facilities and PCB landfills including meeting applicable
design and operational requirements, personnel qualifications, and provision of closure and post-closure
plans, cost estimates, and financial assurance.
We propose to continue to grant four waivers of regulatory requirements for PCB landfills. These
waivers allow:
Use of the DTSC-approved groundwater well purge method instead of the method listed
in PCB regulations.
Testing of groundwater using the same parameters and analytic methods required by
state permits instead of the outdated methods in the PCB regulations.
Testing of leachate using the same parameters and analytic methods required by state
permits instead of the outdated methods in the PCB regulations.
Disposal of small containers of ignitable waste in overpacked drums (lab packs) as an
exception to the prohibition on the disposal of ignitable waste in PCB landfills in the
PCB regulations.
We have also reviewed the compliance history of the Kettleman Hills Facility. While the Facility has
violated applicable requirements in the past, these violations do not evidence a pattern of noncompliance
that demonstrates Chemical Waste Management, Inc.'s unwillingness or inability to achieve and
maintain compliance with the regulations applicable to it and its operations at the Kettleman Hills
Facility. In addition, the corrective actions that the Facility implemented to address these past violations
include physical and operational improvements which reduce the potential for future violations and
prevent and contain future releases.
We have also prepared a Draft Environmental Justice Analysis to document that environmental
justice concerns, including past outreach to seek the affected communities' involvement,
were considered in the drafting of the proposed permit. We are now seeking community input
before reaching a final permit decision.
We have consulted with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that this Approval will not have an
adverse impact on any endangered species. We have also consulted with the California Office of Historic
Preservation to ensure that the Approval will not adversely impact any historic properties. Finally, we
evaluated the project to assure that it conforms to the San Joaquin Valley's plans to attain and maintain
the national health-based air quality standards.
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Iฎ | Executive Summary Statement of Basis Kettleman Hills Facility Proposed TSCA PCB Approval
The proposed Approval was issued on August 27, 2019. Public comments on the proposal can be
submitted until Friday, November 1, 2019. Public comments on all aspects of the proposed Approval
and its supporting determinations and analyses are welcome. Public comments can be submitted on
www.regulations.gov [docket number EPA-R09-RCRA-2019-0088] or postmarked or emailed to the
following address no later than November 1, 2019.
Frances Wicher, Kettleman Hills Project Manager
Permits Office, Land, Chemicals & Redevelopment Division (LND-4-2)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone Number 415-972-3957
Email: wicher.frances@epa.gov
All comments that are received by email or through www.regulations.gov will be included in the
administrative record for the proposed Approval without change and will be available to the public,
including any personal information provided with the comments. If a commenter sends email directly
to U.S. EPA, the sender's email address will be automatically captured and included as part of the public
comment. Comments submitted to the U.S. EPA through the U.S. Mail or any other non-electronic
delivery method will also be included in the administrative record without change and will be available
to the public, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information the disclosure of which is restricted by statute.
Information that is considered to be CBI or otherwise protected should be clearly identified as such and
should be submitted only through U.S. Mail or a non-electronic delivery method; such information
should not be submitted through www.regulations.gov or email.
U.S. EPA will hold a public meeting with a question and answer session followed by a public hearing
on the proposed Approval at the time and location listed below. Simultaneous Spanish translation will
be provided at the meeting and hearing.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Public Meeting/Question and Answer Session: 5:30 to 7:00 pm
Public Hearing: 7:30 pm
Kettleman City Elementary School Cafeteria
701 General Petroleum Avenue
Kettleman City, California 93239
A copy of the proposed Approval, this Statement of Basis and its appendices, the Draft Environmental
Justice Analysis, the application submitted by Chemical Waste Management, Inc., and other key
documents can be found on U.S. EPA's Kettleman Hills project website at
https://www.epa.gov/ca/kettleman-hills: on www.regulations.gov [docket number EPA-R09-RCRA-
2019-0088]; and from the Kettleman Hills Project Manager listed above. Other documents relevant to
the proposed Approval are on www.regulations.gov. A hard copy of the proposed Approval, this
Statement of Basis (including the Draft Environmental Justice Analysis), and the application can be
found at:
Kettleman City Library
104 Becky Pease Street
Kettleman City, CA 93239
(559) 386-9804
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Iฎ | Executive Summary Statement of Basis Kettleman Hills Facility Proposed TSCA PCB Approval
U.S. EPA will review, summarize and provide written responses to all substantive comments received
during the public comment period and at the public hearing prior to making a decision on whether to
issue or deny a final Approval.
Information en espanol sobre la Aprobacion propuesta y la Declaration de Bases se puede obtener por
medio de:
Soledad Calvino
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9
Office: 415-972-3512
Email: calvino.maria@epa.gov
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