United States Environ mental Ptotection Agercy GreatLakesNationalPrcgramOffice 77 West Jackson Boulevard Chicago, Illinois 60604 February 1997 &EPA Lake Michigan Fact Sheet CONTROLLING LAKE MICHIGAN LaMP POLLUTANTS This fact sheet lists the pollutants by Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP) category and highlights how these pollutants are addressed by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) programs—both regulatory and voluntary. Other federal and state agencies have additional authorities that may, in some way, control these pollutants. Every environmental statute highlighted controls almost all LaMP pollutants in some way, and some of the LaMP pollutants have been banned from intentional production. Bans, however, do not always require destruction of products in use. Reviewing the effectiveness of existing controls is one step in the process of identifying the need for further actions such as prevention, reduction, source removal, or control activities. The LaMP process continues to evaluate the role of other sources, such as air deposition and sediments. What are the Lake Michigan Proposed LaMP Pollutants? The September 30, 1993, draft LaMP describes three categories for Lake Michigan LaMP pollutants: critical pollutants, pollutants of concern, and emerging pollutants. Proposed LaMP Critical Pollutants polychlorinatedbiphenyls (PCBs) dieldrin chlordane dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and metabolites mercury dioxins furans Proposed LaMP Pollutants of Concern arsenic cadmium chromium copper cyanrae ** ** ; react yy;'; > . ¦..? ^/. :>f~ zinc hcxachlorobcnzcnc toxaphene poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) Proposed LaMP EmergingPollutants atrazme selenium PCB substrtute compounds ------- 2 EPA Regulatory Programs and the Proposed La MP Pollutants Clean Water Act The goal of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (or the Clean Water Act, CWA) is to restore andmaintainthechemical, physical, andbiological integrity of the nati on' s waters. Wastewater and Storm Water Permits Through the CWA, priority pollutants were identified by Congress and interpreted by EPA to include 126 chemi- cals. EPA evaluated thetechnologies available to remove these pollutants from wastewater and selected the best technologies for a number of industries. EPA then pre- pared nati onal standards for those pollutants as a mass or concentration remaining in wastewater after the b est available waste-water treatment. All point source dis- charges are requi red to obtai n a National Pol 1 ution Di s- charge Elimination System (NPDES)permitto 1 awfully discharge. NPDES permits require the operator ofthe source to employ the best available water pollution control technology andtofurtherreduce discharges of pollution, as necessary, to comply with water-quality standards. Water Quality Standards and Criteria The same list of 126 chemicals must be considered in preparing water-quality standards and criteriaunderthe CWA. Water-quality standards consist ofthe designated uses of the navigable waters (such as use and value for public water supplies, propagation of fish and wildlife, recreational purposes, and agricultural, industrial, and other purposes including theiruseand for navigation)and water-quality criteria based on suchuses, and anon- degradation policy intended to maintain high-qualitywaters intheir present condition. Toxic substances shall not be present in waters ofthe Stateintoxicamounts. Water- quality criteria for the 126 priority pollutants are typically expressed numerically. In addition tobeing considered in the development of N PDES permits for point source discharges, water-quality standards and criteria may be considered in efforts to control nonpoint sources of pollution. Money made available under the CWA helps States control nonpoint sources of pollution. Final Water-Quality Guidance for the Great Lakes System The F inal W ater Quality Guidance for the Great Lakes System, also known as the Great Lakes Initiative or GLI, con si sts of num eric water-quality criteri a to protect aquati c life, wildlife, andhuman health from 29 pollutants (includ- ing all proposed critical pollutants except furans, and all proposed pollutants ofconcern except lead); detailed methodologies todevelop additional criteriaormaximum values comparabl e to cri teri a for other pol 1 utants; a non - degradation policy; procedures to determine the need for and to cal cul ate water quality-based effluent 1 imits for point source di scharges; and procedures for determining the total maximum daily load of pollutants which may enter the Lakes ortheirtributaries from all sources while still attaining water-quality standards. Comprehensive Environmental Response. Compensation, and Liability Act The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa- tion, and Liability Act, as amended (CERCL A or Superfund) is probably best known for authorities to respond to emergency rel eases of hazardous materials, andto clean up high-profile sites on the National Priorities List. While Superfund focuses on site-specific cleanups, it also addresses off-site contamination of surface waters, sediments, and ground water. Superfund has several provisions that are preventative in nature. These provisions address two different subsets of the LaMP pollutants. First is the requirement to report, to the National Response Center, spills greaterthan a "reportable quantity" (RQ) of "hazardous substances" which include all the proposed criti cal pollutants except furans (with an RQ of 1 pound each), all of the proposed pollutants of concern, and selenium (with various RQs, depending on the chemical form of the release) Reporting requi rements assure that the State and F ederal offici al s are noti fied of th e spill, and em ergency responders, in eluding responsible parties, address the spill to avoi d or mitigate adverse impacts to human health or the environment. Second, the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program underthe Emergency Planning and Community Rightto Know Act (incorporated as a Superfund amendment) appl i es to manufacturi ng faci 1 i ties (standard i ndustrial classification codes 20-3 9) that employ 10 or more full- ------- 3 time employees and that manufacture or process more than 25,000 pounds or use more than 10,000 pounds of any listed chemical duringthe calendar year. Atotal of 24,600 facilities nationwide are required to make public the levels of toxic chemicals they release into the air, water, andland. FacilitiesreporttheirTRIinformation annually to EPA and to the state in which they are located. Th e 1 i st of chemi cal s requi red to b e reported i ncludes some proposed critical pollutants (PCBs, chlordane, and mercury), all the proposed pollutants of concern, and none of the emerging pollutants. Oil Pollution Act The Oil Pollution Act address threats to the environment from petroleum (i.e. PA Ms) and non-petroleum based oil releases or spills. In addition to requiring that spill preven- ti on measures (Spill Preventi on Control and Countermea- sure Plans) be taken by production, storage, and transpor- tation facilities, the Act requires EPA to prepare for (area- wi de contingency pi an s and Facil ity Response PI ans) and to respond to any oil spill affecti ng the i nl and waters of the United States, including the Great Lakes system. Clean Air Act The purpose of the Clean Air Act, as amended (CAA) i s to protect and enhance the quality of the nation's air resources to promote the public health and welfare and the productive capacity of its population. A primary goal of the CAAisto encourage and promote reasonable actions for pollution prevention at all 1 evels of government. It provides authority to regulate 14 of the 20 La MP pollut- ants. Section 112(b) of the 1990 CAA amendments contains a list of 188 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). EPA is requiredby Section 112C5 to publ i sh a list of categories and subcategories of maj or sources (potential aggregate emitters of 10 tons per year of any HAP or 25 tons per year or more of any combination of HAPs) and area sources (stationary sources of HAPs, excluding vehicles and maj or sources) of these pollutants. In addition, Section 112(c)(6) requiresEPAtoidentify andregulate the sources responsibl e for at least 90 percent of the total air emissions of alkylated lead compounds, poly cyclic organic matter, hexa-chlorobenzene, mercury, PCBs, 2,3, 7,8-tetrachl orodi -benzofuran s, and 2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Section 112(d) of the CAA directs EPA to establish a maximum achievable control technology (MACT) stan- dard for each of the source categories determined under Section 112(c). Each MACT standard creates emission limits for the HAPs emitted by sources within the category. These hazardous ai r pol Iutants Ii sted i n Section 112(b) of the CAA overlap with the LaMP proposed pollutants: chlordane, DDE (a DDT metabolite), hexachloro-ben- zene, PCBs, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin(2,3,7,8 TCDD, adioxin), toxaphene, arsenic compounds, cad- mium compounds, chromium compounds, cyanide com- pounds, lead compounds, mercury compounds, poly cyclic organic matter, and selenium compounds. In Section 112(m),theCAAprovidesEPAtheauthority to regulate air emissi ons of hazardous air pollutants if air deposition i s found to contribute to exceedences of water- quality standards. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act The obj ectives of the Resource Conservation and Recov- ery Act (RCRA) are to promote the protection of human health and the environment and to conserve valuable material and energy resources by proper management of soli d and hazardous waste. The statute does not limit solid wastes to a particular phase state and does not include a list of chemicals. Rather, sol i d waste i s deti ried to i ncl ude garbage, refuse and sludge resulting from particular activities. Hazardous waste is solid waste which may pose a sub stantial present or potenti al hazard to human health or the environment when improperly managed. RCRA encourages process substitution, materials recovery, properly conducted recycling and reuse, and treatment over di sposal of wastes. Under Subtitle C of RCRA, regulatory definitions of solid an d hazardous waste h ave b een determined. Hazardous wastes have characteristics such as ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity. Itisimportantto realize thata single waste stream may contain multiple pollutants and that a singl e pollutant may be regul ated under many RCRA hazardous waste codes. For ex-ample, lead is identified as a hazardous constituent in more than 20 RCRA hazard- ous wastes. All of the proposed critical pollutants and pollutants of concern are included in at least one RCRA ------- 4 hazardous waste, and, of the proposed emerging pollut- ants, several selenium compounds are also identified as hazardouswastes. EPA Regulatory Programs and the Pro- posed La MP Pollutants Hazardous wastes are subj ectto varying levels of federal regulation, depending in partupon thevolumeof waste generated. A particular LaMP pollutant may be present in a waste, but if hazardous waste i s created at a low rate at that facility (e.g., less than 1 00 kg per cal endar m ont h), the waste does not enter RCRA' s cradle-to-grave regulatory scheme. Household hazardouswastes are also excluded from the regul atory defi ni tion of hazardous waste. The cradl e-to-grave regul atory scheme mean s that wastes are tracked during active management by manifesting of shipments from the generatorthrough subsequent handlers to the waste's final recycling (e.g., burning for energy recovery or solvent di still ation) or di sposal (e.g., combus- tion, treatmenttorendernonhazardous, orplacementin a landfill). Under Subtitle D of RCRA, federal solid waste regulations include criteri a for cl assi fi cati on of sol i d waste di sposal facilities and practices, such as"appl ication to 1 and used for the production of food-chain crops." This regulation provides the criteri a di sti ngui shi ng between open dumps and allowable application of solid waste containing cad- mium (inunits of kilogram perhectare, depending on soil properties) or PC Bs (concentrations greater than 10 mg/ kg must be incorporated into the soil, unless it is assured thatPCB contentislessthan 0.2 mg/kgin animal feed or less than 1.5mg/kg—fat basis—in milk). Cadmium and PCBsarethe only two pollutants so specifically ad- dressed. Under the authority of RCRA Subtitle I regulations, EPA regul ates underground storage tanks (USTs) containing hazardous substances as defined in CERCLA (not includ- ing RCRA Subtitl e C hazardous wastes) and petrol eum products. Thetechnical standards include provisions for design, installation, operating, release response, and closure. As discussed under CERCLA reporting require- ments for releases of hazardous substances, 17 of the 20 LaMP pollutants are covered by UST regulations. Toxic Substances Control Act The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) gives EPA the authority to gather information about the toxicity of par- ticular chemicals and the extent to which people and the environment are exposed to them. EPA then uses the informati on to assess whetherthe chemicals cause unrea- sonable ri sks to hum ans and the environment and to institute appropriate control actions after weighing poten- tial risks againstbenefits to the nation's economic and social well-being. Essentially all chemical substances except those used for the tbl I owi ng eight purposes are subject toTSCA regulatory authority: pesticides, to- bacco, nuclear material, fire-arms and ammunition, food, food additives, drugs and cosmetics. These uses are regul ated under other statutes. Using PCBs as an example, the manufacture of PCBs was b anned under T S C A authority in 1978, but due to specific authorizations, exclusions, or exemptions, some PCBs can be used to the end of their useful lives. TSCA also prohibits dilution of PCBsto avoid TSCA provi sions, regulates the disposal above 50 ppm, and controls the burning for energy recovery of PCB waste oils between 2 and 5 0 ppm.. PCB s may still be used indefinitely in electrical equipment, such as transformers and capacitors. Because the manufacture of PCBs was banned i n the 1970s, PCB transformers and capacitors are at least 20 years old. This particular group of equipmentmay experi- ence a higher failure rate as it approaches the end of its useful life. Of the other LaMP pollutants, TSCA regulates specific uses of DDT and 1 ead and has specific testing and report- ing requirements for dioxins and furans. Many PAHs have uses which may be regulated under TSCA, but the TSCA regulatory status of each woul d have to be checked individually. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Roden- ticide Act The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) regulates substances created forthe purpose of pest control. The statute requires EPA to balance risk and benefit through regulation. Ofthe critical pollutants, dieldrin, chlordane, and DDTarecanceledpesticides. Cancel 1 ati on i m poses a date when sale and distribution ------- 5 may no longer take pi ace (usually, 18 months from the effective date of cancellation). Endusers are permitted to apply any existing stocks according to label instructions. Although DDT is a canceled pesticide, it is present as a by-product in dicofol, arelated pesticide currently inuse. However, all dicofol products containing more than. 1 percent DDT contamination have been canceled. Fungi- cide compounds containing mercury have al sobeen canceled under FIFRA. Dioxins and furans are not intentionally produced, but are created during the manu- facture of some pesti ci des. The herbi ci des 2,4,5 -T (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and si 1 vex were suspended and canceled because of dioxin contamination. Suspension is an action which disallows theuse of existing stocks anduses an allowable disposal method, such as incineration ortransferto an appropriate landfill. Of the pollutants of concern, arseni c, though con si derably restricted, is still a component of some pesticides. The inorganic arsenicals, lead, calcium, and sodium arsenate and sodium arsenite have been canceled, while arsenic tri oxi de i s mai nly used for wood treatm ent, such as pressure-treated lumber. The organic arsenicals, disodium methane-arsenate, mono sodium methanearsenate, and cacodylic acid are used as herbicides in and around ornamental trees, shrubs, andlawns. Copper and zinc are usedin pesti cideproducts. Hexachlorobenzenewas cancel ed under FIF RA, but i s stil 1 contai ned as a 1 ow-1 eve! contaminant in a few pesticides currently in use, such as DCPA (dacthal) and chlorothalonil. Toxaphene's use as a pesti ci de is canceled. F IF RA authority i s also being used to prepare the pesti- cide component of ground-water protection plans. The State Management Plan (SNIP) proposed rule includes voluntary best management practi ces to reduce the contamination of ground water by pesticides. In the proposed rule, thefivepesticides, atrazine, simazine, cyanazine, alachlor, andmetolachlor will requirethat SMPs be developed for each state. These five pesticides are herbici des used on maj or crops (parti cul arly corn and soybeans) i n the Lake Michi gan watershed. Only atrazi ne hasbeenidentifiedasa LaM P pol lutant b ecause trace amounts were detectedinLakeMichigan waterin 1992. As part of the SMP process, the use of a given pesticide can be restri cted in speci fi c porti on s of a state when the ground-water concentration of the pesticide exceeds a state's regulatory threshold and the contamination is not from a point source. EPA Voluntary Programs and Proposed La MP Pollutants Great Lakes Binationaf Toxics Strategy Pollution preventi on activities can be targeted on LaMP pollutants by applying the same four-step process laid out in th eCanada—United States Strategy for the Virtual Elimination of Persistent Toxic Substances in the (ire at Lakes (i nform ati on gathering, analysis, identification of cost-effective options, and i mpl ementati on) to all ofthe LaMP pollutants. The Strategy i ncl udes chal 1 enges to the United States and Canada to virtually eliminate mercury, dioxins and furans, chlordane, aldrin/dieldrin, DDT, mi rex, toxaphene, octachlorostyrene, alkyl lead, PCBs, hexachlorobenzene, andbenzo(a)pyrene—a significant overlap with the draft Lake Michigan LaMP pollutants. Information gathering and analysis can consist of reviewing governrnent databases (e.g., TRI, RCRA biennial reports, pesticideuse and field crop data) to identify the most si gnifi cant sources of the pol lutants and their sources. 33/50 Program A partnership approach m ay be appropri ate when regula- tory approaches are not cost effective or are politically impossible. InPai-tnerships in Preventing Pollution, A Catalog of the Agency's Partnership Programs (United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA lOO-B-96- 001, Spring 1996), EPA explains howitisbuilding partnerships with a variety of groups, including small and large businesses, citizen groups, state and local govern- ments, universities and trade associations. A successful exam pi e of pol luti on preventi onisthe33/50 program, whi ch set nati onal prioriti es for preventing chemi cal releases to theenvironmentby targeting 17 pollutants reported to TRI in 1988 for reduction by 33 percentin 1992 and 50 percent in 1995. The 33/50 target chemicals were selected nationally on thebasis of relative toxicity, volumes ofuse, andpotential for reduction through ------- 6 pollution prevention. The LaMP pollutants overlap with these 33/50 chemi cal s: mercury and compounds, cadmium and compounds, chromium and compounds, cyanide compounds, and lead and compounds. The 1,300 individual voluntary pledges from corporate America represent a commitment to a cl eaner environment in a healthy economy. Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program EPA also describes the Pesticide Environmental Steward- ship Program (PESP) in the publication,"Partnerships in Preventing Pollution, A Catalog of the Agency's Partnership Programs. " The PESP is abroad effort by EPA, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration to reduce pesticideuse and risk in agriculture and non-agricultural settings. In September 1993, the three agencies announced a federal commitment to two m aj or goal s: Developing specific use/risk reduction strategies that include reliance on biological pesticides and other approaches to pest control that are thought to be saferthan traditional chemical methods. sector teams made up of representatives from: Environmental Organizations « Environmental Justice and Community organizations Industry Labor Federal, State, and Local governments. These teams are developing holistic, consensus-based strategies to public health and environmental protection that are fl exible, innovative alternatives to the current regulatory system. The six industries participating are: AutomobileManufacturing Computers and Electronics Iron and Steel Metal Finishing Petroleum Refining Printing Having 75 percent of U. S. agricultural acreage adopt integrated pest management programs by the year 2000. One of the way s to reduce the use of persi stent toxicants for pest control is to use genetically engineered crops, such as Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) corn, potatoes and cotton. Genetic engineering i s also used to prepare herbicide-resistant crops, such as Round-up Ready Soybeans. Whilenot necessarily reducing overall pesti- cide use, glyphosate (the active ingredient of Round-up) has not become a widespread water contaminant. Common Sense Initiative Through thi s initiative, EPA i s moving beyond the tradi - tional singlemedia, one-size-fits-all approach to environ- mental and public health protection towards a holistic, industry-by-industry approach that 1 ooks across all medi a. Approximately 40 proj ects are underway in six industry ------- ------- |