![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Envotech Highlights
On March 28, 1996, the Underground Injection Control (UIC) Branch finalized permits to Envotech, L.P., for the construction and operation of two deep hazardous waste injection wells. The permit finalization was in response to an Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) ruling on February 15, 1996, that the UIC program had acted properly in issuing the permits.
Background
To provide some background on this case, in 1991 Envotech, L.P. submitted applications to Region 5 for two Class I non-hazardous waste disposal wells to be sited in southeast Michigan. Envotech was proposing to use the wells to both remediate an existing closed State Superfund landfill and to dispose of leachate and wastewaters from a hazardous waste landfill and incinerator that they were proposing to construct on the site. Envotech has since withdrawn the incinerator application but is continuing with the new hazardous waste landfill. The public is strongly opposed to Envotech's plans.
In the course of reviewing the UIC application, the Region determined that the leachate from the abandoned landfill contained a listed hazardous waste, electroplating sludge. The Region required Envotech to change its applications to Class I hazardous wells. On August 15, 1994, the Region held a public hearing on the draft permits which was attended by approximately 1600 people, including elected officials and environmental groups. The Region finalized the permits on March 30, 1995, which were then appealed by the public. The 36 appeals filed on this action are the most ever filed on a single Agency decision. The EAB ruled that the UIC program did not err in either legal or technical decisions made in issuing the permits.
Environmental Justice Issues
In its ruling on environmental justice (EJ), the Appeals Board ruled that the actions taken by the UIC program were sufficient to address environmental justice concerns. These actions included: public meetings in advance of the draft decision; sending copies of the permit applications to local libraries to afford greater public access; more stringent monitoring requirements in the permits such as a full Appendix IX analysis of the wastestream and daily analyses of key parameters for 90 days thereafter; and finally, the UIC program conducted a demographic analysis of the of the area and determined that it did not qualify as an EJ site. All of these actions, conducted prior to the issuance of a national EJ strategy, conform to the suggested actions contained in the national EJ strategy.
Other Issues
Another issue under appeal was the characterization of the proposed waste stream. Spurred by information provided by the public, the UIC program conducted an investigation that lead to the determination that the proposed wastestream, leachate from an abandoned landfill, should be characterized as hazardous waste, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) code F006. This countered an earlier determination by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) that the leachate was non-hazardous. In a controversial decision, the UIC and RCRA programs overrode the MDNR's waste determination. This decision resulted in more stringent hazardous waste permits issued to Envotech. It also caused the leachate to be handled as a hazardous waste during the remediation of the landfill. The Appeals Board backed the UIC/RCRA action when it ruled that "the Region properly undertook its own investigation and made its own determination of waste characterization."
Other issues brought before the EAB included that underground injection is unsafe; Envotech has a poor compliance history; the wells will infringe on property rights through subsurface trespass; Envotech has not received all State and local approvals for the wells; strong community opposition; possible induced seismicity; improper geologic characterization of the site; and other technical issues.
The Board did remand the permits to the UIC program so that waste minimization certification language can be added. Upon receipt of the certification from Envotech, the UIC Branch issued final permits on March 28, 1996.
Other Documents Relating to the Envotech Decision
- Responses by the UIC Branch to Environmental Justice Issues
- Environmental Appeals Board decision on the appeals of the Envotech decision, specifically responding to environmental justice issues