The EPA proposes to amend the regulations for hazardous waste management under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) by listing as hazardous certain waste solids and liquids generated from the production of paint. EPA is proposing a concentration-based listing approach for each of these wastes. Under this approach, the identified paint production wastes are hazardous if they contain any of the constituents of concern at concentrations that meet or exceed regulatory levels. Generators must determine whether their wastes are listed hazardous wastes. If their wastes are below regulatory levels for all constituents of concern, then their wastes are nonhazardous.
The EPA is also proposing a contingent management option for waste liquids. These wastes would not be subject to the listing if they are stored or treated exclusively in tanks or containers prior to discharge to a publicly owned treatment works or discharged under a Clean Water Act national pollutant discharge elimination system permit. This proposal would also add the toxic constituents n-butyl alcohol, ethyl benzene, methyl isobutyl ketone, styrene, and xylenes found in these identified wastes to the list of constituents that serves as the basis for classifying wastes as hazardous, and to establish treatment standards for the wastes. Due to the uncertainties in the EPAs assessment of the management of paint manufacturing waste liquids in surface impoundments, the EPA is also considering an alternative proposal not to list paint manufacturing waste liquids.
If these paint production wastes are listed as hazardous waste, then they will be subject to stringent management and treatment standards under Subtitle C of RCRA. Additionally, this action proposes to designate these wastes as hazardous substances subject to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and to adjust the one pound statutory reportable quantities (RQs) for these substances. Other actions proposed in this notice would add acrylamide and styrene to the treatment standards applicable to multisource leachate and designate styrene as an underlying hazardous constituent. As a result, a single waste code would continue to be applicable to multisource landfill leachates and residues of characteristic wastes would require treatment when styrene is present above the proposed land disposal standards.
Based on materials received by FMLink from environ.com
