Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That Are Solid Waste

Proposed Revisions to Final Rule

On December 23, 2011 EPA proposed several revisions to the Part 241 regulations codified on March 21, 2011.

Highlights

Part 241 Regulations
Implementation of the Final Rule:
- Contaminant Comparison Tables
- Traditional Fuels as Defined in this Rule

Rule Clarification Materials

Since publishing the 2011 final rule, EPA has provided guidance and clarification.

Related Air Regulations

The NHSM rules issued in conjunction with the Clean Air Act rules.

Rulemaking Synopsis

The 2011 non-hazardous secondary material (NHSM) final rule under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) identifies which non-hazardous secondary materials are, or are not, solid wastes when burned in combustion units.

Units that burn non-hazardous secondary materials that are solid waste under RCRA would be subject to the section 129 Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements.
Units that burn non-hazardous secondary materials that are not solid waste under RCRA would be subject to the section 112 CAA requirements. (see details on CAA requirements)

Final Rule (3/21/11) - Federal Register Notice | PDF Version (97 pp, 593K)

In general, the final rule identifies non-hazardous secondary materials burned in combustion units as solid wastes unless:

The material is used as a fuel that remains within the control of the generator (whether at the site of generation or another site the generator has control over) and meets the legitimacy criteria. (For definition of legitimacy criteria, please see 40 CFR 241.3 (d) ).
The following materials have not been discarded in the first instance and meets the legitimacy criteria when used as a fuel (by the generator or outside the control of the generator): scrap tires removed from vehicles and managed under established tire collection programs and resinated wood residuals.
The material is used as an ingredient in a manufacturing process (whether by the generator or outside the control of the generator) that meets the legitimacy criteria.
The material has been sufficiently processed to produce a fuel or ingredient product that meets the legitimacy criteria.
The material that has been determined through a case-by-case petition process to not have been discarded and to be indistinguishable in all relevant aspects from a fuel product.

These provisions are codified into regulations at 40 CFR 241.

The rule preamble discusses the classification for a variety of materials, including: scrap tires managed under established tire collection programs and scrap tires retrieved from waste piles; used oil (both on-spec and off-spec); coal refuse; pulp and paper sludge; resinated wood residuals; sewage sludge; cement kiln dust (CKD); coal combustion residuals (CCRs); and foundry sand.

Information on accessing supporting documents in the docket.

Information developed for the NHSM Final Rule promulgation on March 21, 2011:

Final Rule Fact Sheet | PDF Version (2 pp, 236K) | Press Release | Frequent Questions

Implementation of the Final Rule

Note: The final rule is in effect during the pending proposal issued December 23, 2011.

Rule Clarification Materials for use in Implementation of the NHSM Final Rule (March 21, 2011)

Contaminant Comparisons

(per the legitimacy criteria in §241.3(d))

Contaminant Concentrations in Traditional Fuels: Tables for Comparison, November 29, 2011 (PDF) (5 pp, 53K)
Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials (NHSM) Rule: Comparable Contaminant Guidance Concept Paper, July 11, 2011 (PDF) (3 pp, 87K)

Part 241 Rule Clarifications and Response Letters

Disclaimer

The following letters are examples of EPA decisions regarding 40 CFR Part 241 based on the information provided. They are included here for informational purposes only. EPA does not endorse or promote any particular product, service or entity.

ReEngineered Feedstock; Response to ReCommunity, August 24, 2012 (8 pp, 2.51 MB)
Engineered Fuel Products, Response to Lhoist, April 3, 2012 (PDF) (8pp, 463k)
Biosolids; Response to DTEES, March 16, 2012 (PDF) (6 pp, 615k)
Biogas; Response to NACWA, February 15, 2012 (PDF) (3 pp, 774K)
Biosolids; Response to Delhi Charter Township (PDF) (6 pp, 276K)
Fiber and Polymer-Based NHSM; Response Letter for Greenwood Fuels, November 14, 2011 (PDF) (6 pp, 1.4MB)
Paper; Response Letter to IPPC, October 5, 2011 (PDF) (6 pp, 1.4MB)
Coal Refuse Letter to ARIPPA, August 15, 2011 (PDF) (2 pp, 369K)
Scrap Tires; Response for RMA Regarding Factory Scraps, August 5, 2011 (PDF) (2 pp, 650K)
Landfill Gas Letter to Waste Management, August 5, 2011 (PDF) (2 pp, 583K)
Ash Recirculation/Reinjection and Carbon Burn-Out Units Letter, July 21, 2011 (PDF) (5 pp, 752K)
Oil Filter Fluff Letter. June 30, 2011 (PDF) (4 pp, 977K)
Contained Gas Letter. May 13, 2011 (PDF) (2 pp, 375K)
Memorandum. Combustion in a Cement Kiln and Cement Kilns’ Use of Tires as Fuel. April 25, 2011

EPA Regional Contacts

Regional Contacts for the Non-Hazardous Secondary Material Waste Determination under Part 241.

Traditional Fuels as Defined in the 2011 NHSM Final Rule (40 CFR 241.2)

Traditional fuels are materials that are produced as fuels and are unused products that have not been discarded and therefore are not solid waste (nor secondary materials). These include the following:

1. Fuels that have been historically managed as valuable fuel products rather than being managed as waste. Examples:

Fossil Fuels: Coal, oil, and natural gas
Fossil Fuel Derivatives: Petroleum coke, bituminous coke, coal tar oil, refinery gas, synthetic fuel, heavy recycle, asphalts, blast furnace gas, recovered gaseous butane, coke oven gas, and virgin wood
Cellulosic biomass: Virgin Wood

2. Alternative fuels developed from virgin materials that can now be used as fuel products:

Used oil which meets specifications outlined in 40 CFR 279.11
Currently mined coal refuse that previously had not been usable as coal
Clean cellulosic biomass*

* As defined in 40 CFR 241.2: “Clean cellulosic biomass means those residuals that are akin to traditional cellulosic biomass such as forest-derived biomass (e.g., green wood, forest thinnings, clean and unadulterated bark, sawdust, trim, and tree harvesting residuals from logging and sawmill materials), corn stover and other biomass crops used specifically for energy production (e.g., energy cane, other fast growing grasses), bagasse and other crop residues (e.g., peanut shells), wood collected from forest fire clearance activities, trees and clean wood found in disaster debris, clean biomass from land clearing operations, and clean construction and demolition wood. These fuels are not secondary materials or solid wastes unless discarded. Clean biomass is biomass that does not contain contaminants at concentrations not normally associated with virgin biomass materials.”

Non-Hazardous Secondary Material (NHSM) Rulemaking Synopsis:

1. Proposed Revisions to Final Rule - December 23, 2011; 76 FR 80452
2. Final Rule - March 21, 2011; 76 FR 15456
3. Proposed Rule - June 4, 2010; 75 FR 31844
4. Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - January 2, 2009; 74 FR 41

These are located under EPA docket # EPA-HQ-RCRA-2008-0329

Refer to the Rulemaking Synopsis page for more details on these actions.

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