The new Remanufacturing Exclusion for certain spent solvents generated by – and destined for future use in – specified industry sectors requires the generator of the spent solvents and the remanufacturer to jointly develop and maintain a remanufacturing plan. The purpose of this article is to identify and explain the requirements of this new EPA regulation codified by the 2015 Definition of Solid Waste Rule.

The remanufacturing plan is only one requirement of the Spent Solvent Remanufacturing Exclusion found at 40 CFR 261.4(a)(27).  This conditional exclusion is itself only one part of the regulations created by the 2015 Definition of Solid Waste Rule announced by EPA in the Federal Register on January 15, 2015 and effective – at the Federal level – on July 13, 2015.

If you have questions about the 2015 DSW not answered by this article, I suggest you refer to my earlier articles on the subject:

• A brief summary of the 2015 Definition of Solid Waste Rule
• The legitimate recycling provision of the 2015 DSW
• Revisions to speculative accumulation provision under the 2015 DSW
• State authorization under RCRA and the 2015 DSW
• New definition of “contained” in the 2015 DSW

And just one more: the remanufacturing conditional exclusion at 40 CFR 261.4(a)(27).  That last one is important since 40 CFR 261.4(a)(27)(vi)(B) is the location of the remanufacturing plan.

Under the conditions of this exclusion from regulation as a solid waste, both the generator of the spent solvents and the remanufacturer must jointly develop and maintain (i.e. keep up-to-date) a remanufacturing plan which identifies or contains the following:

• Name, address, and EPA identification number of the generator(s) and remanufacturer(s).  These must be two different numbers since this conditional exclusion specifies that the spent solvents be “transferred to another person“.
• Types and estimated annual volumes of spent solvents to be remanufactured.
• The processes and industry sectors that generate the spent solvents.  This is important since the conditional exclusion specifies the processes and industry sectors from which the spent solvents may be generated.
• The specific uses and industry sectors for the remanufactured solvents.  Again, important because the conditions of the exclusion limit the uses and industry sectors for the remanufactured solvents.
• A certification from the remanufacturer as follows:

On behalf of [insert remanufacturer facility name], I certify that this facility is a remanufacturer under pharmaceutical manufacturing (NAICS 325412), basic organic chemical manufacturing (NAICS 325199), plastics and resins manufacturing (NAICS 325211), and/or the paints and coatings manufacturing sectors (NAICS 325510), and will accept the spent solvent(s) for the sole purpose of remanufacturing into commercial-grade solvent(s) that will be used for reacting, extracting, purifying, or blending chemicals (or for rinsing out the process lines associated with these functions) or for use as product ingredient(s). I also certify that the remanufacturing equipment, vents, and tanks are equipped with and are operating air emission controls in compliance with the appropriate Clean Air Act regulations under 40 CFR part 60, part 61 or part 63, or, absent such Clean Air Act standards for the particular operation or piece of equipment covered by the remanufacturing exclusion, are in compliance with the appropriate standards in 40 CFR part 261, subparts AA (vents), BB (equipment) and CC (tank storage).

The new 40 CFR Part 261, subparts AA, BB, & CC referenced in the certification are equivalent to the existing regulations at 40 CFR 264/265, subparts AA, BB, & CC, otherwise known as the RCRA Air Emission Standards.

There’s more to the conditional exclusion.  For that refer to this article:  40 CFR 261.4(a)(27) – the Conditional Exclusion for Remanufactured Spent Solvents.

The requirement to keep the remanufacturing plan up-to-date includes an allowance for the generator of the spent solvent(s) to update the plan to identify a new remanufacturer, if necessary.  This can be done without triggering the generators re-notification requirement. (80 FR 1717)