EPA WATCH
Interim policy issued on major source definition Ttoo 1995 court decisions are forcing EPA to revise Clean Air Act rules that establish EPA's role in determining whether a facility is a major source and subject to stringent regulations, said John Seitz, director of the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), in a Jan. 22 memorandum announcing an interim policy. At issue is whether EPA, in designating a facility as a major source based on its "potential to emit," must include state-adopted controls, said an industry lawyer. EPA uses actual emissions and the potential to emit to designate major sources. A state can require a plant to add controls to reduce its potential emissions, but EPA determines whether these controls are adequate. In one case, the court required EPA to explain why it alone can assess a control's effectiveness. In a second case, the court nullified EPA's requirement that it assess the effectiveness of major new sources' controls. In the interim policy memo, Seitz amended EPA's definition of potential to emit to include state-adopted measures. Mary Nichols and Steve Herman, assistant administrators for air and radiation and enforcement, respectively, published a document Jan. 31 for an advisory subcommittee detailing its options for a final policy. According to OAQPS's Tim Smith, the options are either recognizing state-issued controls or reducing administrative requirements while maintaining EPA definitions. EPA will propose amended rules that deal with EPA definitions of potential to emit this spring and hopes to have final rules completed next year, Smith said. If EPA must accept state-adopted controls, sources designated as major might avoid CAA regulation, said Susan Connela, legal counsel for the Chemical Manufacturers Association. As a result, she said that any sources that were "on the cusp" of
the Clean Air Act emission limits could be given designations that have less-stringent requirements than major sources. However, Smith said few facilities will change designation should EPA accept stateissued controls. Major sources emit or have the potential to emit 10 tons/year of one hazardous air pollutant (HAP), 25 tons/year or more of all HAPs, or 100 tons/year of a criteria pollutant such as sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide. The potential to emit is determined by the substances a facility has on site and how it controls them.
Second HWIR rule eases requirements on media Parties responsible for soil and groundwater contaminated with low concentrations of hazardous compounds may avoid strict handling requirements under a proposed hazardous waste identification rule (HWIR) issued in March, according to an Office of Solid Waste (OSW) official. The proposed rule would establish a baseline concentration level that triggers Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Subtitle C provisions. The HWIR for contaminated media would give EPA or the state, whichever exercises oversight, authority to reduce handling requirements for low-concentration contaminated media, said OSW's Carolyn Hoskinson. Currently, contaminated media are subject to Subtitle C, which requires permits for treatment and stringent handling and disposal requirements for excavation, transport, and disposal. The rule sets a concentration ceiling, or "bright line," that varies by constituent and medium, Hoskinson said. If the concentration is above the line, the medium is subject to Subtitle C requirements. The agency exercising oversight would set a sitespecific plan for media with concentrations below the ceiling. Although the parties responsible for groundwater and soil pollution
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applaud the proposed rule, they would prefer that the rule call for site-specific management plans across the board rather than Subtitle C requirements that may be waived if the site is under the contamination level, said Karl Bourdeau, an industry attorney. Contaminated media generally involves large volumes of soil and sediments treated or transported for disposal and groundwater pumped for treatment, so that reducing those quantities will yield significant savings, Hoskinson said. The estimated annual savings ranges between $500 million and $1.2 billion, according to OSW's Lyn Luben. There will be a 90-day comment period, and EPA hopes to have the final rule issued by summer of 1997.
Office of Water introduces effluent trading program Effluent trading among industries that discharge pollutants into the same watershed is being promoted through an Office of Water voluntary trading policy [Federal Register 1996, 61 (28), 4994-96]. Assistant Administrator for Water Robert Perciasepe announced the agency's effluent trading policy Jan. 25, claiming it will allow states to develop programs that will help achieve Clean Water Act (CWA) water quality goals through economic incentives. The policy will be implemented through the CWA permitting program, which is run primarily by states, according to Mahesh Podar, director of budget and policy for the Office of Water. Trading will remain in accordance with existing clean water regulations. The policy allows companies capable of making large reductions to sell effluent credits to companies that would have greater difficulty in achieving prescribed levels, Podar said. Polluting industries can collectively devise a plan to achieve reductions to stay under current total maximum daily loadings (e.g., a daily contaminant dumping level that EPA determines a
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"Research Watch" Contributors ES&T's monthly Research Watch department highlights important and interesting research papers in the current literature. This department contains brief summaries from a wide range of journals. ES&T is looking to expand this department to include contributions from specialists in the fields of: Air quality/indoor air Ecosystems Human health Risk analysis Contributors should possess current knowledge of relevant scientific and technical fields, the ability to pinpoint significant research results, and the writing skill to concisely interpret that significance to an audience of nonspecialists. If you are interested in contributing to Research Watch on a contractual basis by submitting 3 items each month, send a CV and a list of those scientific and technical publications you read regularly to: ES&T Managing Editor 1155 16th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Fax: (202) 872-4403
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
body of water can receive and retain water quality standards). The companies would decide how to make the reductions, and those procedures would be written into each company's permits. Several environmental groups oppose the policy, claiming it takes the public out of the decision-making process. "Under this system you have economic powers choosing how much and where a polluted effluent will be dumped," said Paul Schwartz of the Clean Water Action Project (CWAP), an environmental advocacy group. The policy addresses only the net reductions across a very large watershed, said Schwartz, and does not account for the effects on water quality at specific localities. It will set up a ranking system in which one portion of a watershed is valued over others. The CWAP advocates pollution taxes as an economic incentive. Podar said these criticisms will be addressed this spring when EPA's effluent trading work group further refines the policy and publishes guidelines for states to use in developing effluent trading programs. States can begin setting up programs immediately.
New wastewater method eliminates CFC use A new analytical method has been proposed to replace current gravimetric test procedures for oil and grease in wastewater, which use the chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) Freon-113 as the extraction solvent [Federal Register 1996, 61(15), 1730-39]. EPA developed Method 1664 because Freon-113, used in Methods 413.1 and 5520B, is a CFC, production of which is being phased out, said Ben Honaker, a Water Office scientist. The new method replaces Freon-113 with rc-hexane. Although EPA delayed the CFC production ban until 1997, the need for a new method still exists, he said. "Nobody produces [Freon] any more." And Clean Air Act regulations call for reduced use of CFCs "to the lowest achievable level." The method would be used to measure wastewater oil and grease levels for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits, Honaker said. The method would be used by more than half of industrial categories; however, new equipment will not be required in most cases.
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A final rule on the new method is scheduled for publication June 1, and the rule would become effective in December.
SAB rejects written public disclosures The Science Advisory Board (SAB) Executive Committee decided against providing written disclosure statements to the public at its Feb. 28 meeting. The board had considered providing members' written disclosures of potential biases because of criticisms by community and environmental groups (ES&T, Jan. 1996, 18A). The board's decision was based on the lack of any legal requirement for disclosure beyond a confidential written statement of potential conflicts of interest that members provide to the Office of the General Counsel, according to SAB Executive Director Donald Barnes. SAB members will continue the practice of providing verbal potential bias disclosures at the beginning of each meeting. SAB Chair Genevieve Matanoski also voiced concern that written bias disclosures would subject SAB members to legal challenges based on perceived biases. "We are not a jury," she said.
New brownfield projects announced Eleven former industrial and commercial sites were selected Jan. 25 to receive up to $200,000 over two years as redevelopment pilot projects under an EPA brownfields program. Preliminary testing showed the sites did not qualify as Superfund sites. The EPA grants will be used to assess the sites and develop cleanup or redevelopment plans, said Katherine Dawes of the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. The pilot projects, now numbering 40 with 10 more to be selected in spring, assist urban communities to speed the cleanup and redevelopment of abandoned or underutilized industrial and commercial sites. The 11 new projects are located in Stockton, Calif.; Emeryville, Calif.; Houston, Tex.; Worcester, Mass.; Lawrence, Mass.; New York, N.Y.; Gary, East Chicago, and Hammond, Ind.; Phoenixville, Pa.; Portland, Ore.; Tacoma, Wash.; and Rhode Island.
