Administrative Rule Review Report #AR08-053
Legislative Service Office
11-July-2008
AGENCY: Department of Environmental Quality.
DATE SUBMITTED: July 3, 2008.
SUBJECT: Chapters 1 through 14, Hazardous Waste Management.
NATURE OF RULES: Legislative, Procedural
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: W.S. 35-11-112(a) and (c) and 35-11-503(a), (c) and (d)
DETERMINATION OF PROCEDURAL COMPLIANCE BASED UPON INFORMATION
SUBMITTED BY THE AGENCY TO LSO: Apparently complete to date.
SUMMARY OF RULES: These amendments to Chapters 1 through 14 of the Hazardous Waste Management rules and regulations incorporate federal rules promulgated to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency from 1995 to 2004. These Agency rules have not been updated since 1998. The clean set of rules consists of over 1400 pages, double sided.
Generally, the proposed rules: remove provisions on the import and export of wastes to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries; define when military munitions are regulated as hazardous waste; add provisions on land disposal of wood preserving wastes, aliphatic hydrocarbons and metal bearing wastes; exclude scrap metal and containerized shredded circuit boards from regulation; clarify used oil generator requirements; exclude from regulation fuels comparable to fossil fuels produced from hazardous wastes; add hazardous waste listings for petroleum refineries and manufacturers of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons; allow flexibility to issue post-closure permits or orders; add a new remediation unit called a staging pile; streamline waste management standards for fluorescent lamps; revise air emission standards for tanks, surface impoundments and containers; allow longer storage of electroplating wastewaters; address the management of wastes containing a hazardous waste and a radioactive material; change the definition of waste material for spent material being reclaimed within the mineral processing industry; clarify when mixtures of certain excluded wastes (commonly referred to as Bevill wastes) and listed hazardous waste are regulated; change provisions on corrective action management units used to manage remediation wastes and correct typographical errors in the current rules.
Nine provisions are considered more stringent than the federal rules and are considered necessary by the Agency to protect human health and the environment. For more detail, see the attached Petition to Adopt More Stringent Rule Provisions.
For a more detailed explanation of these rules, see the attached Statement of Principal Reasons for Adoption.
Administrative Rule Review Report #AR08-053
Legislative Service Office
11-July-2008
Page 2
FINDINGS:
The rules appear to be within the scope of statutory authority and legislative intent.
Compliance with federal law has not been determined as it is assumed the Attorney General has provided such review.
TECHNICAL NOTES FOR AGENCY CONSIDERATION:
That the Council recommend the agency make the following technical corrections:
1. Chapter 1 – Recommend that because of the highly technical material covered under Chapters 1-14, that any definition in any of the chapters also be included in Chapter 1. Further, that along with the definitions section, that a section be added in Chapter 1 for all acronyms that are used in Chapters 1-14.
2. Chapter 2 – Section 1,(d)(i)(P)(II) contains definitions that are not included in Chapter 1. Again, recommend that all definitions in Chapters 1-14 also be included in Chapter 1.
3. Chapter 13 - Section 3(j)(vii), page 13-31 – Since this paragraph already has two (2) references to "this Chapter", recommend changing "Chapter 13 of these rules and regulations" to "this Chapter".
4. Chapter 10 – A formatting change allows for a question-answer format. While this may be easier for some readers, it may be harder for other readers to determine regulations from comment. Recommend putting question-answer or "Frequently Asked Questions" format at the end of any Chapter.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
That the rules be placed on the Consent List and be approved by the Council as submitted by the Agency.
That the Council recommend the Governor direct the Agency to incorporate the forgoing technical notes prior to filing the rules or at the next time the rules are amended.
_______________________
Maxine R. Weaver
Staff Attorney
_______________________
Dan J. Pauli
Director
MRW/