Monthly Hotline Report June 1992 RCRA/Superfund/OUST and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act The RCRA/Superfund/OUST and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act Monthly Hotline Report provides valuable OSWER programmatic information. This bulletin contains excerpts from the Report's "Questions and Answer" and "Publications" sections. The full report is available from the U.S. National Technical Information Service at 703-487-4650. For other information, please contact the RCRA/Superfund/OUST Hotline at 1-800-424-9346 or the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act Hotline at 1-800-424-9346. EPA Report Number: EPA/530-R-92-014f NTIS Number: PB92-922406 Hotline Questions and Answers RCRA 1. Wastewater Treatment Units: Regulatory Status of Waste According to 40 CFR Sections 264.1(g)(6), 265.1(c)(10), and 270.1(c)(2)(v), wastewater treatment units (WWTUs) as defined in Section 260.10 are exempt from Parts 264/265 permitted and interim status requirements for treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. If the WWTU itself is exempt from Subtitle C regulation, what is the status of the hazardous waste that it treats? As stated in an internal Agency memorandum, "[o]nly the wastewater treatment unit (i.e., the tank) is exempt; the exemption does not 'follow' or attach to the waste." Consequently, all applicable hazardous waste management standards apply to the waste prior to treatment in the WWTU, and to any residue generated by the treatment of that waste. In other words, solid waste resulting from the treatment of a listed hazardous waste in an exempt WWTU will remain a listed hazardous waste, and solid waste resulting from the treatment of a characteristic hazardous waste in an exempt unit will remain hazardous as long as the solid waste continues to exhibit a characteristic (Sections 261.3(c) and (d)). 2. Groundwater Monitoring Resampling Requirements Owners or operators required to establish a compliance monitoring program under 40 CFR Section 264.99 must sample all groundwater monitoring wells located at the point of compliance for any chemical parameter or hazardous constituent specified in the permit pursuant to Section 264.99(a) at least semiannually, and for all Appendix IX constituents at least annually (Sections 264.99(f) and (g)). If the groundwater contains any additional Appendix IX constituents that are not already identified in the facility permit as monitoring constituents, the owner or operator must report the results of the analysis to the Regional Administrator within seven days or resample within one month after the initial sampling. If the owner or operator chooses to resample, must he or she resample for all Appendix IX constituents? The owner or operator is not required to resample for all Appendix IX constituents. Since the purpose of resampling is to verify the presence of the additional constituents discovered in the initial sampling, resampling is only performed on those Appendix IX constituents the owner or operator wishes to contest. If the owner or operator chooses to resample and confirms the presence of the new constituents within seven days of the second sampling, he or she must report the concentrations of these additional constituents to the Regional Administrator and, through a permit modification, add them to the monitoring list required by Section 264.99(a)(1). The owner or operator must then monitor for these constituents at least semiannually pursuant to Section 264.99(f). If, after resampling, the second analysis does not confirm the initial analysis, then the "unconfirmed" constituents are not added to the monitoring list and notification to the Regional Administrator is not necessary. This, however, does not exempt the facility owner or operator from the annual Appendix IX analysis pursuant to Section 264.99(g). In the event that the owner or operator chooses not to resample, he or she must report the results of the initial sampling to the Regional Administrator and modify the monitoring list no later than seven days after the initial sampling. CERCLA 3. ARARs and OSHA Should regulations promulgated pursuant to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) be designated as applicable, relevant and appropriate requirements (ARARs) during the selection of a Superfund remedy? Must workers at a CERCLA site comply with OSHA regulations? OSHA requirements are directly applicable under NCP (40 CFR 300.150), and should not be designated as an ARAR. CERCLA Section 121(d)(2) states that when determining cleanup levels, applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements may be drawn from any Federal environmental law or any State environmental or facility siting law that is more stringent than any Federal standard. The National Contingency Plan states that, "...EPA believes that OSHA is more properly viewed as an employee protection law, rather than an 'environmental' law, and thus the process in CERCLA Section 121(d) for the attainment or waiver of ARARs would not apply to OSHA standards" (55 FR 8679; March 8, 1990). Workers at CERCLA sites, however, must comply with certain OSHA standards. CERCLA Section 111(c)(6) and SARA Section 126 charged the Department of Labor (DOL) with writing health and safety regulations that would apply to workers responding to emergency releases of hazardous substances or engaged in hazardous waste operations. In response, DOL developed the OSHA employee protection regulations found at 29 CFR Section 1910.120. These requirements were then incorporated by reference into the CERCLA regulations at 40 CFR Section 300.150. Other OSHA employee protection regulations which have not been specifically incorporated into CERCLA regulations may also apply to CERCLA sites. For example, 29 CFR Section 1910.180(b) established specific safety regulations pertaining to lifting cranes. These regulations would have to be complied with during a site remediation requiring the use of a crane, but would not be designated as ARARs. CERCLA site workers would be required to comply because of DOL's authority to regulate the workplace, not because of CERCLA requirements. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND COMMUNITY RIGHT-TO-KNOW 4. Estimating Releases for Section 313 For purposes of reporting on the Form R under Section 313 (40 CFR Part 372), a facility measures emissions from a sampling of valves, gaskets, and other potential emission points and, in turn, uses these measurements to estimate releases. Should the facility report the basis of the estimate as "M" (monitoring), or "E" (emission factors) in Section 5.1 of the Form R? The facility should enter "M" (monitoring) in Section 5.1.B. The Form R instructions state that "M" is used when "...the estimate is based on monitoring data or measurements for the toxic chemical as released to the environment and/or off-site facility." The basis of the estimate should be "E" (emission factors) only when using published emission factors. 5. Remedial Action for Pollution Prevention Is dredging a lagoon (or surface impoundment) containing a Section 313 toxic chemical once every five years (routine procedure) considered a remedial action under the Pollution Prevention Act? If so, how should releases from the dredging be reported in Section 8.8 of the Form R (40 CFR Part 372)? Because the dredging of the lagoon (or surface impoundment) occurs routinely every five years, it is not considered a remedial action under the Pollution Prevention Act, and accordingly, releases from the dredging should not be reported as releases from remedial actions. Instead, releases resulting from dredging would be reported in Section 5 or Section 6 of the Form R, depending on the ultimate disposition of the chemical. NEW PUBLICATIONS HOW TO ORDER . NTIS Publications are available by calling (703) 487-4650, or writing NTIS, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161. Be sure to include the NTIS Order Number listed under the document. Hotline Publications are available through the RCRA/Superfund/OUST Hotline by calling a Document Specialist at 1-800-424-9346. Be sure to include the EPA Order Number (if any) listed under the document. RCRA TITLE: "FY93 RCRA Implementation Plan" AVAILABILITY: Hotline EPA ORDER NO.: EPA/530-R-92-017 Policy Directive No.: 9420.00-08 This document outlines national priority activities for the RCRA solid and hazardous waste programs. The implementation plan also defines and improves the environmental priority-based approach to RCRA program management. CERCLA TITLE: "Removal Program Representative Sampling Guidance, Volume 1 - Soil" AVAILABILITY: NTIS NTIS ORDER NO.: PB92-963 408 This is the first volume in a series of guidance documents that assist Removal Program On-Scene Coordinators and other field staff in obtaining representative samples at removal sites. The objective of representative sampling is to ensure that a sample or a group of samples accurately characterizes site conditions. This document specifically addresses representative sampling for soil. TITLE: "Considerations in Groundwater Remediation at Superfund Sites and RCRA Facilities - Update" AVAILABILITY: NTIS NTIS ORDER NO.: PB92-963 358 This directive clarifies and expands OSWER's general policy concerning remediation of contaminated groundwater, especially with regard to nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) contaminants. This document promotes a consistent and sound approach to groundwater remediation at both Superfund sites and RCRA facilities and reinforces OSWER's commitment to clean up groundwater contamination at these sites. TITLE: "Record of Decision (ROD) Annual Report FY 1991, Volume 1" AVAILABILITY: NTIS NTIS ORDER NO.: PB92-963 359 This document is a reference publication designed to provide EPA Headquarters, Regions, and the public with summary information on Superfund RODs, which document the remedy decision for a site or operable unit. Volume 1 highlights specific information about the RODs signed during 1991. Included in this document are exhibits of the types of RODs, treatment versus contain-ment remedies, treatment technologies used for remedies, treatment trains, and estimates for remedy costs. Additionally, this document contains a list of RODs signed in 1991, with abstracts, a FY 1991 ROD Summary Table, and a keyword list. TITLE: "Record of Decision (ROD) Annual Report FY 1991, Volume 2" AVAILABILITY: NTIS NTIS ORDER NO.: PB92-963 360 This document contains the FY 1982-1990 ROD Summary Table which lists the remedial action, site name, and date of ROD signature, and summarizes the threat or problem, waste volume, components of the selected remedy, cleanup goals, and estimated costs for each ROD. Volume 2 also contains a list of RODs signed to date, a keyword list for all FY 1982 - 1990 RODs, a list of ROD Amendments, and a list of ROD Explanations of Significant Differences. TITLE: "National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (The NCP)" AVAILABILITY: NTIS NTIS ORDER NO.: PB92-963 261 This directive contains the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) proposed and final rules as published in 53 FR 51394 and 55 FR 8664, respectively. This NCP document also contains tables of contents with specific Federal Register page references and a key terms index. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND COMMUNITY RIGHT-TO-KNOW TITLE: "Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Technical Guidance for Reporting Releases of Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) under Section 313" AVAILABILITY: Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act Hotline EPA ORDER NO.: None On June 24, 1992, EPA granted a petition to add an HCFC category to the Section 313 list of toxic chemicals (57 FR 28159). This technical document provides clarification on the categorization of the petitioned HCFC group and guidance on release estimations and threshold determinations of HCFCs for SARA Section 313 reporting. TITLE: "Chemical Accident Prevention and Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Fact Sheet" AVAILABILITY: Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act Hotline EPA ORDER NO.: CEPPO OS-120 This fact sheet summarizes the requirements for accidental chemical releases mandated by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. It outlines important dates, the background of these requirements, and the ensuing regulations. TITLE: "Seven Cardinal Rules of Risk Communication" AVAILABILITY: Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act Hotline EPA ORDER NO.: EPA/230-K-92-001 This updated pamphlet examines the seven most vital aspects of effective risk communication. It discusses such requirements as careful planning and coordination with the public and the media. OTHER TITLE: "Monthly Hotline Report" AVAILABILITY: NTIS NTIS ORDER NO.: See below Yearly Subscription PB92-922 400 530-R-92-014 January 1992 PB92-922 401 530-R-92-014a February 1992 PB92-922 402 530-R-92-014b March 1992 PB92-922 403 530-R-92-014c April 1992 PB92-922 404 530-R-92-014d May 1992 PB92-922 405 530-R-92-014e June 1992 PB92-922 406 530-R-92-014f The reports contain questions that required EPA resolution or were frequently asked, publications availability, Federal Register summaries, and call statistics.