On its website the US Government Printing Office makes a wealth of Federal publications available for review and download; one of these is the Federal Register.

Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.

See below for a brief summary of announcements in the Federal Register by the US EPA on the subject of Hazardous Waste and the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) of the US DOT on the subject of Transportation of Hazardous Materials.

The Federal Register is a great way to look down the road and see potential changes to the regulations long before they are put into effect (sometimes The Rulemaking Process takes years before a final rule is issued, if ever).  Knowledge of these potential changes provides you with several advantages:

• Additional time to modify your business operations to comply.
• Awareness of on what topics the regulatory agencies intend to focus their efforts.
• The ability to register your concerns, complaints, suggestions, etc. in order to modify the proposed rule before a final rule is issued.  It can be done, really!
• Make changes to your training program to account for changes that become effective before the next training cycle.
• Alert you to the need to re-train your employees prior to their next scheduled training cycle, if necessary.
• Keep you abreast of changes to the regulations that affect your business and/or your industry group.

Please note that this is my best effort to identify the relevant announcements in the Federal Register that may be of interest to generators of hazardous waste and shippers of hazardous materials.  I encourage you to review the list of Federal Register publications yourself to ensure regulatory compliance.

August 1 through August 31, 2013

PHMSA – Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR):

Rules and Regulations:

None

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

Lac-Mégantic Railroad Accident Discussion and DOT Safety Recommendations Pages 48224 – 48229 [FR DOC # 2013-19211] PDF | Text | More

USEPA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA):

Rules and Regulations:

None

Proposed Rules:

None

Notices:

Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System: Identification and Listing of Special Wastes; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals From Electric Utilities Pages 46940 – 46947 [FR DOC # 2013-18706] PDF | Text | More

Information can be helpful but it’s useless if you are not able to make sense of it, determine how any changes to the rules and regulations (final or proposed) will affect your operations, and communicate the necessary information to your personnel.  I can help you do that.  Please contact me for a free consultation to determine your regulatory requirements and how training can help you to attain and maintain compliance.

The regulations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) require all generators of hazardous waste to conduct a hazardous waste determination for all waste generated, the purpose of which is to answer the following questions:

1. Is the material to be discarded?
2. If yes, is it excluded from regulation as a solid waste?
3. If no, it remains a solid waste; is it a listed or characteristic hazardous waste?
4. If yes, is it excluded from regulation as a hazardous waste?
5. If no, it remains a hazardous waste unless other exclusions exist, eg. universal waste, used oil, recyclable materials, etc.

The purpose of this article is to focus on a specific exclusion in Step 2 of the process:  The exclusion from regulation as a solid waste for by-products that are recycled by reclamation. (more…)

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A Small Quantity Generator of hazardous waste (SQG) that treats or stores (i.e. accumulates) hazardous waste in a tank as defined in 40 CFR 260.10 – and explained in detail in an earlier article (What is a Hazardous Waste Tank?) – must comply with 40 CFR 262.16(b)(3) Accumulation of hazardous waste in tanks. (more…)

Pursuant to 40 CFR 262.34, a large or small quantity generator of hazardous waste (LQG or SQG, respectively) may treat or store (ie. accumulate) hazardous waste on-site without a permit in any of four hazardous waste management units:

• Containers
• Tanks
• Drip Pads
• Containment Buildings

The purpose of this article is to identify and explain what the RCRA regulations refer to as a tank for the accumulation of hazardous waste at an LQG or SQG. (more…)

Many hazardous wastes, when mixed with other waste or materials at a hazardous waste facility, can produce effects which are harmful to human health and the environment, such as (1) heat or pressure, (2) fire or explosion, (3) violent reaction, (4) toxic dusts, mists, fumes, or gases, or (5) flammable fumes or gases.

Below are examples of potentially incompatible wastes, waste components, and materials, along with the harmful consequences which result from mixing materials in one group with materials in another group. The list is intended as a guide to owners or operators of treatment, storage, and disposal facilities, and to enforcement and permit granting officials, to indicate the need for special precautions when managing these potentially incompatible waste materials or components.

This list is not intended to be exhaustive. An owner or operator must, as the regulations require, adequately analyze his wastes so that he can avoid creating uncontrolled substances or reactions of the type listed below, whether they are listed below or not.

It is possible for potentially incompatible wastes to be mixed in a way that precludes a reaction (e.g., adding acid to water rather than water to acid) or that neutralizes them (e.g., a strong acid mixed with a strong base), or that controls substances produced (e.g., by generating flammable gases in a closed tank equipped so that ignition cannot occur, and burning the gases in an incinerator).

In the lists below, the mixing of a Group A material with a Group B material may have the potential consequence as noted.

Potential consequences: Heat generation; violent reaction.

Potential consequences: Fire or explosion; generation of flammable hydrogen gas.

Potential consequences: Fire, explosion, or heat generation; generation of flammable or toxic gases.

Potential consequences: Fire, explosion, or violent reaction.

Potential consequences: Generation of toxic hydrogen cyanide or hydrogen sulfide gas.

Potential consequences: Fire, explosion, or violent reaction.

Source: “Law, Regulations, and Guidelines for Handling of Hazardous Waste.” California Department of Health, February 1975.

[45 FR 33232, May 19, 1980, as amended at 71 FR 40276, July 14, 2006]

09/18/2013

(Seattle—Sept 18, 2013) Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage failed to comply with federal hazardous waste management laws and has agreed to pay a fine to resolve the violations, according to a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The base has taken action to correct the violations and will pay a fine of over $21,000.

“Careful hazardous waste management protects human lives and the environment, and it also prevents the public from having to fund costly cleanup operations,” said Scott Downey, Manager of the Hazardous Waste Compliance Unit at the EPA Seattle office. “Facilities have to inspect hazardous waste storage and keep staff up to date on training to prevent incidents.”

The facility generates and stores hazardous waste from vehicles, aircraft and other facility maintenance. This includes acids, contaminated soils, batteries, PCB wastes, solvents, used oil and pesticides.

EPA inspections found a series of violations from 2010-2011, including

1. Failure to conduct weekly inspections of hazardous waste facilities and containers for leakage or deterioration;
2. Failure to ensure staff participated in annual hazardous waste management training; and
3. Failure to submit hazardous waste tracking reports.

The violations occurred under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Hazardous waste personnel training required for large quantity generators of hazardous waste at 40 CFR 262.34(a)(4) and explained in 40
CFR 265.16 would have prevented these violations from happening.

Contact me to provide you with high-quality hazardous waste personnel training (aka: RCRA Training) before you become the subject of a news release like this one.

News Release: Presidio Trust Awarded Honorable Mention for U.S. EPA Resource Conservation Competition
08/26/2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  August 26, 2013

MEDIA CONTACT:  David Yogi, yogi.david@epa.gov, (415) 972-3350

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announces the Presidio Trust as its 2012 WasteWise “Federal Government Partner of the Year” Honorable Mention recipient. The Presidio Trust is recognized for its efforts to reduce and compost food waste, and recycle and reclaim demolition materials for use in new construction projects.

“Presidio Trust’s efforts alone will save the organization over $215,000 and remove the equivalent of 334 households’ annual CO2 emissions from the air,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest.  “EPA is proud to recognize the efforts of the Presidio Trust to ensure their operation’s environmental impact is as small as possible.”

As part of its efforts, the Presidio Trust:

• reused wood from re-foresting and deconstruction projects in the Presidio—part of the federal Golden Gate National Recreation Area—to create park benches and new elements for building renovations;
• reused material onsite (such as gravel, top soil, sand, architectural elements, hardware, lighting, furnishings, etc.) that was collected from construction, renovation and demolition projects.
• diverted 100% of green waste generated from Presidio gardening, landscaping, and forestry projects;
• increased the amount of food waste it diverted from landfills by 47 percent from 2010 to 2011, bringing its total diversion rate to 69 percent;
• reduced its total waste by 24 percent in 2011; and
• recycled a total of 4,447 tons of materials (equivalent to avoiding the annual CO2 output of 1356 automobiles) and made 626 tons of compost in 2012.

The Presidio Trust has been an EPA WasteWise partner since 2000, and has won sustainability awards in 2001 and 2007.

EPA’s WasteWise program was launched in 1994 to help organizations and businesses reduce municipal and industrial wastes. Organizations can join WasteWise as a partner, endorser, or both. Partners demonstrate how they reduce waste, practice environmental stewardship, and incorporate sustainable materials management into their waste-handling processes. Endorsers promote enrollment in WasteWise as part of a comprehensive approach to help their stakeholders realize the economic benefits to reducing waste.

WasteWise is something that I mention at all of my Training Seminars.  It is a good tool to use when reducing the waste (including but not necessarily exclusive to hazardous waste) at your facility.

For more information on EPA’s WasteWise program, please visit:  http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/smm/wastewise/index.htm