The facilities covered by the rule manufacture, rebuild, or maintain metal products, parts, or machines and directly discharge treated effluent from activities generating oily wastewater. These facilities fall within various industry sectors, including the aerospace, household equipment, hardware, office machines and motor vehicles industries.
More information on the MP&M final rule is available at: http://www.epa.gov/guide/mpm/ .
EPA EXPANDS PUBLIC INPUT FOR NEW SOURCE REVIEW PROGRAM
EPA announced that it is extending the comment period on its proposed rule to provide a regulatory definition of "routine maintenance, repair and replacement" for the New Source Review (NSR) Program. During this time, the agency will hold five public hearings across the country. The November, 2002 proposed rule would offer facilities greater flexibility to improve and modernize their operations in ways that will reduce energy use and air pollution."We are taking this action today to provide additional opportunity for comment and participation," said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. "I believe that full public participation is key to our review of the NSR program."
The current schedule for comments is due to end on March 3. This week's action extends the comment period by 60 days; the closure for the extended comment period will be May 2, 2003. The details for the five public hearings will soon be announced in a Federal Register Notice.
The Federal Register notice on the comment extension and public hearing will be published in the near future. Comments on NSR may be submitted to EPA electronically, by mail, by facsimile, or through hand delivery/courier. Additional information and copies of the proposed rule are available on the Web at: http://www.epa.gov/nsr/ .
U.S. GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY RELEASED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
EPA has released a draft version of the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2001 for a 30-day public comment period. The major finding in this year's report is that overall emissions declined by 1.6% from 2000 to 2001, the first such decline since 1990. This decline was due primarily to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions associated with fuel and electricity consumption in the industrial sector of the economy, and also coincided with a drop in industrial output. Secondary contributors include a relatively warm winter, which reduced demand for heating fuel, and targeted measures to reduce non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions in industries such as aluminum smelting. Overall, total U.S. emissions have risen by 13 percent from 1990 to 2001.Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases were 6,947 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2001. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. Fossil fuel combustion was the largest source of emissions, accounting for 80 percent of the total.
The Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2001 is prepared annually by the EPA, in collaboration with experts from a dozen other federal agencies, and is one of the most comprehensive analyses of greenhouse gases in the world. After EPA completes a final version of the document, the Department of State will submit the "Inventory" to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
A Federal Register notice announcing a 30-day public comment period on the report was published on Jan. 29, 2003. The report is available at: http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/publications/emissions
EPA GRANTS ONE-YEAR EXEMPTIONS FOR DOD TO SAFELY DISPOSE OF PCB WASTES
EPA has issued a final rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to grant two Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) petitions to import PCB waste to be safely eliminated at EPA-permitted disposal facilities. DLA is a component of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). EPA's action ensures that the PCBs will be disposed of in a safe manner that poses no threat to U.S. or Japanese citizens or to the environment. Before granting these exemptions, DLA had to demonstrate under TSCA regulations that they could dispose of the PCBs in a manner that presented "no unreasonable risk to health or the environment," and that DLA had made good faith efforts to find alternatives to import into the United States.Polychlorinated biphenyls are man-made (synthetic) chemicals that were used as coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment. Since the late 1970s the U.S. has been removing PCBs from use and disposing of remaining materials.
One petition granted is to import DoD's PCBs that are stored on Wake Island, a United States territory in the Pacific Ocean west of Hawaii. The other petition is to import PCBs owned by DoD that are currently in use or storage in Japan. These exemptions will become effective on April 18, 2003, and under TSCA 6(e)(3)(B), are limited to one-year.
For further information, see the Federal Register notice at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-TOX/2003/January/Day-31/t2344.htm.