pajsanbay aoiAiag ssajppy
00£$ 'ssn aiBAUd M Aaeuad
ssauisng leioigQ
Lioean pieuoy :uj;v
souths VO 'oosjDUBJj UBS
(>-!SM) 19S4S auJoqiMEH 9L
6 uojBey 'AoueBy ucnpaiojd iBjuawuojiAug S'fl
I United States
iPSP1^'*l^fc* Environmental Protection
Agency
Inside...
U.S. EPA Requests Public Comment on Proposed PCB Permit for
U.S. Ecology Nevada, Inc.
ATTEND A PUBLIC MEETING: "^e ^ .S. EPA invites you to attend an informational Public Meeting and
Hearing on September 13, 2012 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm at the Beatty Community Center iocated at 100 A Ave-
nue South, Beatty, NV 89003.
PROVIDE COMMENTS: Comments ma y ^ submitted to U.S. EPA during a 45-day public comment period
which begins on August 10, 2012 and ends on September 24, 2012. Comments may be submitted in writing
via mail, email or fax or in person at the public meeting and hearing on the proposed PCB Approval (Permit).
Written comments should be faxed, emailed or postmarked on or before September 24, 2012 and sent to
the contact below.
For questions, concerns or further information, please contact:
Ronald Leach, Project Manager (WST-4) Phone number: (415) 972-3362
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Fax number: (415) 947-3530
75 Hawthorne Street Email: leach.ronald@epa.gov
San Francisco, CA 94105
U.S. EPA Requests Public Comment SEPA
on Proposed PCB Permit for Environmental Protection
Agency
US Ecology Nevada, Inc.
August 2012
Site Location Map, US Ecology Nevada
Need More Information? See page 3.
Want to Comment? See page 4.
Introduction
The United States Environmental Protection
Agency ("U.S. EPA") invites you to comment on its
proposed Approval (permit) for the US Ecology
Nevada, Inc. ("U.S. Ecology") facility located
approximately 11 miles southeast of Beatty,
Nevada. U.S. EPA's proposed Approval will allow
US Ecology to continue: (1) commercial storage
of polychlorinated biphenyl ("PCB") wastes;
(2) treatment of PCB wastes in two stabilization
tanks for final disposal; and (3) disposal of PCBs
in the Trench 11 landfill. The proposed Approval
will also, for the first time, (1) authorize PCB
disposal in the Trench 12 landfill that has been
receiving hazardous wastes since 2008 pursuant
to a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
("RCRA") permit issued by the State of Nevada,
and (2) include the State of Nevada, the site
owner, as a co-permittee for purposes of closure
and post-closure care only.
U.S. EPA is also, as required by Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act ("NHPA"),
requesting public comment on its determination
that historic properties will not be affected by the
Approval decision.
The proposed action is a renewal and modifica-
tion of an Approval issued by U.S. EPA in 1996.
According to U.S. EPA regulations under the Toxic
Substances Control Act ("TSCA"), the action we
are taking is technically known as an "Approval".
A TSCA Approval is essentially a permit. For in-
stance, U.S. EPA follows a similar administrative
process for Approval issuance, renewal and
modification as a permit.
7.5' topographic map (Carrara Canyon Quadrangle)
Proposed Decision
The proposed Approval includes conditions that US
Ecology must follow in order to comply with TSCA
to safely store, treat for disposal, and dispose of
PCB wastes at the Beatty, Nevada facility. An exam-
ple of a condition in the Approval is a limit on the
overall maximum amount of PCB wastes that can be
disposed of in the landfill units. U.S. EPA has also
prepared a Statement of Basis ("SB") that summar-
izes and provides rationale for the terms of the pro-
posed Approval.
-------
The proposed Approval allows US Ecology to:
• Store up to 59,400 gallons of RGB wastes in containers;
• Store up to 28,000 gallons of PCB waste in tanks;
• Treat for disposal up to 137,000 gallons per day of PCB waste;
and,
• Dispose of a maximum of 4.02 million cubic yards of PCB waste
in the Trench 11 and Trench 12 landfills. Trench 12 is being
constructed in three separate phases. The first phase was con-
structed in 2008 and the second phase in 2011.
The Approval will also require US Ecology to make the following
improvements:
• Construct a new sealed concrete Tank Truck Loading Pad; and,
• Construct new sealed concrete secondary containment for the
PCB tank storage area.
The proposed Approval will be valid for ten years, and includes the
following requirements:
• Regular worker health and safety training;
• Monitoring requirements and regular reporting to U.S. EPA;
• Immediate notification to U.S. EPA if there are any PCB spills
over one pound; and,
• Procedures for modifying the Approval conditions (including
seeking public comment on proposed modifications).
Facility Description
The US Ecology facility is located
in the Amargosa Desert on an 80
acre site near Highway 95 about
100 miles northwest of Las
Vegas, Nevada. The closest city
is Beatty, Nevada, approximately
11 miles northwest of the facility
(see Site Location Map). The
facility treats, stores and dis-
poses of hazardous waste, PCBs,
and non-hazardous industrial
material. The hazardous waste
operations are permitted sepa-
rately by the Nevada Division of
Environmental Protection. The
site is owned by the state of
Nevada and operated by US
Ecology.
Trench
11
Trench 12
Phase 3 Phases 1 & 2
\
PCB Storage
Building and
MfcTanks
Phases 1 and 2 - Constructed in 2008 and 2011
Phase 3 - To be constructed
US Ecology Nevada Facility - 2008 Aerial Photograph
2
No Unreasonable Risk
Based on reviews of US Ecology's Renewal Appli-
cation (1/8/10), a Biological Evaluation (2/28/12),
a Screening Level Ecological Risk Assessment
(2/28/12), a PCB Surface Soil Sampling Report
(9/12/11), and the results of the most recent
inspection, U.S. EPA has determined that the
operation of this PCB storage and disposal (land-
fill) facility does not pose an unreasonable risk to
human health or the environment.
The most recent PCB inspection was conducted by
U. S. EPA from April 26, 2011 to April 28, 2011,
and showed that there were only minor TSCA
violations. These violations regarded labeling and
dating containers, and were corrected during the
site visit. Therefore, based upon this inspection
and other readily available information, the facility
is in compliance with its current Approval and the
TSCA PCB regulations at 40 C.F.R. Part 761. The
Facility will continue to be inspected by U.S. EPA
on a regular basis.
Historic Properties
Not Affected
U.S. EPA has made a determination under Section
106 of the NHPA that historic properties will not
be affected by renewal and modification of the
Approval for management of PCB wastes at the
Facility. This determination is further discussed
in the Statement of Basis, which is part of the
Administrative Record, and is located at the three
information repositories (see next column).
Endangered Species
Not Affected
U.S. EPA has also determined under Section 7 of
the Endangered Species Act that management of
PCB wastes at the US Ecology facility, as allowed in
the Approval, "will not affect" any listed species or
designated critical habitat. This includes the
desert tortoise, the only federally listed endan-
gered species likely to occur near the Facility. This
determination is further discussed in the State-
ment of Basis, which is part of the Administrative
Record, and is located at the three information
repositories (see below).
Next Steps in the
Permitting Process
U.S. EPA will make a final decision on the re-
newal and modification of the US Ecology TSCA
Approval after we have considered all public
comments submitted during the 45-day comment
period. Anyone commenting on the proposed
decision will receive a copy of our response to
comments. U.S. EPA will provide written notice of
our final decision to everyone on our mailing list.
To ensure you are on it, or to be added, please
contact U.S. EPA (see page 4).
For More Information
You may review the Administrative Record ("AR")
which contains the documents and information
that U.S. EPA considered in proposing to renew
and modify the US Ecology Approval. The AR is
physically located at the U.S. EPA Region 9 Office
in San Francisco, California.
Satellite information repositories containing the
most pertinent documents and an index of the
AR are located at the Beatty Library, 400 North
4th Street, Beatty, NV 89003-0129 and the
Nevada Division of Environmental Protection
office in Las Vegas, Nevada ("NDEP") at 2030
E. Flamingo Rd., Ste. 230, Las Vegas, NV 89119.
The most pertinent documents used in the
decision making process can also be found on
U.S. EPA's website at www.epa.gov/region9/pcbs/
usecology/. If you wish to view a document listed
in the index that cannot be found online, at the
Beatty Library or NDEP Office, please contact U.S.
EPA (see page 4) for a copy.
To contact U.S. EPA, attend a public meeting, or
provide comments, see page 4.
3
------- |