as a "major" source, which would require Intel to install top-performing controls, Mohin added. The permit levels for all pollutants require that emissions fall below levels required for other plants in Arizona, he said.
Agency begins drafting drinking water rules Despite the lack of critical data from municipal water utilities, agency staff have begun drafting two significant drinking water rules aimed at controlling microbial pathogens. Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act, signed by President Clinton in August 1996, require EPA to issue the proposed rules by November: one to control microbial pathogens and another to help control the potentially carcinogenic byproducts of chlorine and other drinking water disinfectants. To meet the November deadline, however, EPA must begin developing the two regulations before critical microbial and disinfection byproduct data are available from large metropolitan water suppliers. The data are to be collected under the Information Collection Rule (ICR), finalized last May, covering the occurrence of microbial contaminants and disinfection byproducts, their associated health risks and proper forms of treatment. Collection of the data has been delayed however, as questions raised by water companies are addressed concerning the analytical methods for detecting Crvvtosporidium a microscopic parasite implicated in a number of waterborne disease outbreaks The rule requires this information to be reported by November 1998 The ICR schedule reflects an agreement negotiated in 1993 by water utilities, state and local agencies, environmental, and consumer groups, and EPA. But the data gap poses a problem for some of the participants in the agreement. The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), which represents larger water suppliers, and the Natural Resources Defense Council support the enforceable limit and say that if the agency waits for the ICR data, controls on microbials and disinfection byproducts won't be in place until 2002 or later. However, AMWA representatives note that some water systems will be unable to comply, at least in the
short term, because of cost and technical considerations. Small systems, in particular, are wary about the cost of new water purification techniques. A trade group that includes small systems in its membership, the American Water Works Association (AWWA), is calling for an unenforceable action level that will allow systems more flexible treatment options. Without more data, AWWA believes an enforceable limit is premature because little is known about the number of systems that can meet future requirements or what action EPA would take against those systems that don't comply
times to speed up the agency's "glacial pace" of regulating effluents, according to NRDC attorney Jessica Landman. Although the two options are acceptable to the NRDC, Landman said the group is more concerned that the industry-by-industry process of controlling effluents moves forward. The agency has discussed with the NRDC and others revisions to help speed the standardsetting process. In the next four V63TS the agency plans to regulate the coastal oil, gas extraction, and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries as well as industrial laundries
Pollution prevention option offered pesticide formulators
New financial assurance test for local landfill owners
The nation's 2600 pesticide formulators, packagers, and repackagers will be allowed to discharge small amounts of pesticide pollution in their wastewater in exchange for better pollution prevention controls under a recently published rule [Federal Register r996, ,1 (216)6 57518-66). The guidelines are the latest in a series of rules required by the 1972 Clean Water Act limiting discharges of polluted effluents into the nation's rivers, lakes, and streams. The agency's 1994 proposed rule called for a "zero discharge limitation" and pretreatment standards. But that approach was abandoned after EPA received complaints from pesticide makers and packagers who said the limitation would create other "cross-media" impacts, such as possible environmental damage resulting from hauling and incinerating the nonreusable portion of wastewater from the plants. In a move supported by industry, EPA will now allow facilities to choose between achieving zero discharge of pesticides in effluents or implementing pollution prevention practices and wastewater treatments on a product-by-product basis. The pollution prevention options include practices such as pretreatment of effluents, water conservation, and facility maintenance. They will reduce toxic discharges by almost 99%. EPA estimates that the new rules will remove 7.6 million toxic pound equivalents from water discharges per year, for about $29.9 million. Since the mid-1970s, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has successfully sued EPA several
After five years of negotiations with municipal owners of solid waste landfills, EPA will provide localities with more flexibility when proving their ability to pay landfill closure costs. New landfill regulations in 1991 required owners and operators to demonstrate that adequate funds will be available for closure, postclosure care such as groundwater monitoring, and corrective action for releases from facilities. This rule required local governments and private landfill owners to prove their ability to pay closure costs through the use of a trust fund, insurance policy, or other third-party financial instrument. But several local governments and waste management industry companies that own and/or operate landfills felt the 1991 requirement to obtain a third-party guarantee of closure funds was excessive—EPA estimated the cost of obtaining letters of credit at $18.1 million annually. Under a recent final rule published Nov. 27 {Federal Register 1996, 62(230), 60328-39), the nation's 2700 municipal landfill owners are expected to save $105 million annually, EPA
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The new rule adds two new, selfimplementing mechanisms: a financial test for landfill owners and one for local governments willing to guarantee the costs for the landfill owner. The new financial mechanisms become effective April 7. Industry landfill owners and operators expect EPA to finalize similar self-implementing financial mechanisms for their facilities in April.
VOL. 31, NO. 2, 1997/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS " 7 3 A
