[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 181 (Monday, September 20, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50788-50789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-24455]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 261
[FRL-6441-2]
EPA Report to Congress on Fossil Fuel Combustion; Request for
Comments
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of period for public comment.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is today announcing
an extension of the public comment period (see 64 FR 22820) for its
Report to Congress on Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels until
September 24, 1999.
DATES: The comment period of the Report to Congress on Wastes from the
Combustion of Fossil Fuels is reopened and will close on September 24,
1999.
ADDRESSES: Those persons wishing to submit public comments must send an
original and two copies of their comments referencing EPA docket number
F-1999-FF2P-FFFFF to: RCRA Docket Information Center (5305W), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters (EPA,HQ), 401 M Street,
SW., Washington, DC, 20460. Hand deliveries of comments, including
courier, postal and non-postal express deliveries, should be made to
the Arlington, VA address below.
Comments may also be submitted electronically through the Internet
to: [email protected]. Comments in electronic format should also
identify the docket number F-1999-FF2P-FFFFF. All electronic comments
must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special
characters and any form of encryption. Commenters should not submit
electronically any confidential business information (CBI). An original
and two copies of CBI must be submitted under separate cover to: RCRA
CBI Document Control Officer, Office of Solid Waste (5305W), U.S. EPA,
401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460.
Public comments and supporting materials are available for viewing
in the RCRA Docket Information Center (RIC), located at Crystal Gateway
I Building, First Floor, 1235 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.
The RIC is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
federal holidays. To review docket materials, it is recommended that
the public make an appointment by calling (703) 603-9230. The public
may copy a maximum of 100 pages from any regulatory docket at no
charge. Additional copies cost $0.15 per page. The Report to Congress
is also available electronically. See the Supplementary Information
section below for information on electronic access.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information, contact the
RCRA Hotline at (800) 424-9346 or TDD (hearing impaired) (800) 553-
7672. In the Washington, DC metropolitan area, call (703) 412-9810 or
TDD (703) 412-3323. For more detailed information on specific aspects
of today's action, contact Dennis Ruddy, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (5306W), 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460, at (703) 308-
8430, or e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Customer Service
In developing the Report to Congress, we tried to address the
concerns of all our stakeholders. Your comments will help us improve
this regulatory action. We invite you to provide different views on
options we propose, new approaches
[[Page 50789]]
we have not considered, new data, how this regulatory action may affect
you, or other relevant information. We welcome your views on all
aspects of this action, but we request comments in particular on the
items discussed in the Report to Congress. Your comments will be most
effective if you follow the suggestions below:
Explain your views as clearly as possible and why you feel
that way.
Provide solid technical and cost data to support your
views.
If you estimate potential costs, explain how you arrived
at the estimate.
Tell us which parts you support, as well as those you
disagree with.
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.
Offer specific alternatives.
Refer your comments to specific sections of the report.
Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline in this
notice.
Be sure to include the name, date, and docket number with
your comments.
Copies of the full report, titled Report to Congress: Wastes from
the Combustion of Fossil Fuels; Volume 2--Methods, Findings, and
Recommendations (EPA publication number EPA 530-R-99-010), are
available for inspection and copying at the EPA Headquarters library,
at the RCRA Docket (RIC) office identified in Addresses above, at all
EPA Regional Office libraries, and in electronic format at the
following EPA Web site: http://www.epa.gov/osw/special.htm. Printed
copies of Volume 2 and the executive summary, titled Report to
Congress: Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels; Volume 1--
Executive Summary (EPA publication number EPA 530-S-99-010), can also
be obtained by calling the RCRA/Superfund Hotline at (800) 424-9346 or
(703) 412-9810. The Executive Summary is also available in electronic
format at the EPA Web site identified above.
Background
RCRA section 3001(b)(3) (hereafter referred to as the Bevill
Exemption) exempts, among other things, fossil fuel combustion wastes
from regulation under RCRA subtitle C, pending completion of a Report
to Congress and a subsequent determination of whether such regulation
is warranted. In RCRA section 8002(n), Congress directed EPA to conduct
a detailed and comprehensive study based on eight study factors, and
submit a Report to Congress on ``the adverse effects on human health
and the environment, if any, of the disposal and utilization of fossil
fuel combustion wastes.'' RCRA section 3001(b)(3)(C) then requires that
EPA determine, within six months of the date of submission of the
Report to Congress, either to promulgate regulations for fossil fuel
combustion wastes under subtitle C or determine that subtitle C
regulation is unwarranted.
The Bevill Exemption was added to RCRA on October 12, 1980, as part
of the 1980 Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendments. In response to the
1980 RCRA amendments, EPA published an interim final amendment to its
hazardous waste regulations to reflect the provisions of the Bevill
Exemption (40 CFR 261.4(b)(4)). In 1991, a suit was filed against EPA
for failure to complete a regulatory determination on fossil fuel
combustion (FFC) wastes. Gearhart versus Reilly Civil No. 91-2345
(D.D.C.). On June 30, 1992, the Agency entered into a Consent Decree
which established a schedule for EPA to complete the regulatory
determinations for all fossil fuel combustion (FFC) wastes. FFC wastes
were divided into two categories: (1) fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag,
and flue gas emission control waste from the combustion of coal by
electric utilities and independent commercial power producers, when
such wastes are managed separately, and (2) all remaining wastes
subject to RCRA sections 3001(b)(3)(A)(i) and 8002(n). On August 9,
1993, EPA published a determination for the first category of wastes,
concluding that regulation under subtitle C for these wastes was not
warranted. To make an appropriate determination for the second
category, or ``remaining wastes,'' EPA decided that additional study
was necessary. Under consent-decree deadlines, the Agency completed the
Report to Congress by March 31, 1999, and was to issue the regulatory
determination by October 1, 1999. To meet this deadline, EPA
established a 45-day public comment period following completion of the
report, which closed on June 14, 1999. Subsequently, the plaintiffs in
Gearhart versus Reilly moved to modify the consent decree to allow EPA
until March 10, 2000 to complete the regulatory determination to allow
EPA to reopen the comment period. EPA supported the motion and, on
September 2, 1999, the Court granted the motion. The comment period
will now extend until September 24, 1999, and the regulatory
determination will be issued by March 10, 2000.
Dated: September 8, 1999.
Elizabeth Cotsworth,
Director, Office of Solid Waste.
[FR Doc. 99-24455 Filed 9-17-99; 8:45 am]
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