ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE

Facility-Wide Emission Limits Added to Halogenated Solvent Cleaning MACT

In a May 3, 2007 final rule (72 FR 25138–25159), EPA revised the 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart T maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards for halogenated solvent cleaning to establish new, facility-wide emission limits. The facility-wide emission limits are intended to address the residual risk requirements of CAA Section 112(f), which requires the agency to evaluate the residual risk associated with emissions from sources subject to MACT standards once the standards have been fully implemented. In addition to continuing to comply with the existing requirements of the halogenated solvent cleaning MACT, owners/operators of facilities covered by the May 3, 2007 final rule will now also be required to meet a facility-wide annual emission limit. The annual emission limit for most facilities affected by the final rule is 60,000 kg/yr, expressed as methylene chloride-weighted emissions. For military maintenance facilities, the annual emission limit is 100,000 kg/yr, again expressed as methylene chloride-weighted emissions. Compliance with the annual limit is demonstrated by determining the annual perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene, and methylene chloride emissions from all halogenated solvent cleaning machines at an affected facility. No other additional monitoring or work practice requirements are included in the May 3, 2007 final rule.

Supreme Court Overturns Fourth Circuit Court’s Duke Energy Decision

In an April 2, 2007 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Fourth Circuit Court), which held that the term “modification” must have the same meaning for both new source performance standards (NSPS) and prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) regulations (Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy, No. 05-848 [U.S. April 2, 2007]). The Fourth Circuit Court had previously ruled that a source’s maximum hourly emission rate must increase in order for the source to be subject to new source review (NSR) (United States v. Duke Energy, Number: 04-1763 [4th Cir. June 15, 2005]). In the case, the federal appeals court rejected EPA’s arguments that physical changes made to power plants by Duke Energy should have undergone NSR because annual emissions increased. The court ruled that EPA was required to interpret the term “modification” in the NSR program in the same manner as the term “modification” is interpreted in the NSPS program. Under the NSPS program, a modification occurs only if there is an increase in the hourly emission rate. However, in its April 2, 2007 decision, the Supreme Court held that EPA is not required to interpret modification in the same way under the NSPS and PSD programs, despite the fact that the PSD provisions of the CAA incorporate by reference the definition of modification from the Act’s NSPS provisions. According to the Court, the agency's differing uses of the term “modification” in the NSPS and PSD regulations need only fall within the bounds of what is reasonable.

2007 Directory of U.S. Commercial Recycling Facilities

In accordance with RCRA Subtitle C, EPA regulates hazardous wastes with the primary objective of protecting human health and the environment. Section 1003(a)(6) states that one of the objectives of RCRA is “... minimizing the generation of hazardous waste and the land disposal of hazardous waste by encouraging process substitution, materials recovery, properly conducted recycling and reuse, and treatment.” Accordingly, the agency’s regulations are also designed to encourage the conservation and recovery of valuable materials. Hazardous waste recycling reduces the quantity of waste that must be treated and/or disposed. Recycling also fulfills the RCRA goal of reducing the consumption of raw materials and energy. However, recycling practices can pose a threat to human health and the environment if they are not conducted properly. Therefore, EPA regulates certain hazardous waste recycling activities and the stringency of regulation applied to hazardous waste recycling depends on the degree of potential threat that the activity poses. In addition, a material destined for recycling is regulated based on the type of material and the recycling process. The 2007 Recycling Directory has been developed to help users find appropriate recycling facilities. The annual Recycling Directory provides facility contact information, as well as listings of hazardous waste recycled.

Preliminary Determinations Issued for 11 Contaminants From the Contaminant Candidate List

In 1996, Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to emphasize sound science and risk-based priority setting, and established contaminant candidate list (CCL) requirements. As amended, the SWDA requires EPA to: 1) publish a list every five years of currently unregulated contaminants in drinking water that may pose risks (i.e., the CCL); and 2) make determinations whether or not to regulate at least five of these contaminants 3.5 years after each CCL is published [see SDWA Section 1412(b)(1)]. In a May 1, 2007 notice (72 FR 24016–24058), EPA presented its preliminary regulatory determination for 11 of the 51 contaminants listed on the agency’s second contaminant candidate list (CCL 2). In the May 1, 2007 notice, EPA announces its preliminary determination that national primary drinking water regulations are not necessary for each of the 11 contaminants. The notice provides opportunity to submit comments and additional data regarding the 11 contaminants. While no preliminary determination has been made, the notice also requests public comment and additional data for the agency’s evaluation of perchlorate. Finally, the May 1, 2007 action provides an update on EPA's review of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

More US Companies Release ESG Reports

Half of the United States’ top 100 companies report their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. The Social Investment Research Analysts Network (SIRAN) and KLD Research & Analytics, an investment research firm, report that 49 of the companies in the S&P 100 Index issued comprehensive ESG reports—11 for the first time—in the period from June 2005 to December 2006. The 11 companies issuing comprehensive reports for the first time included Bank of America, Caterpillar, Cisco, Heinz, Merck, and Xerox. The number of companies reporting ESG content on their Web sites was 79.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Bush Announces First Step Toward Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions

As a follow-up to the 2 April 2007 US Supreme Court ruling that the US EPA must either regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cars or provide a convincing argument for not doing so, US President Bush has directed EPA and the US Departments of Energy, Transportation, and Agriculture to coordinate the development of possible federal regulatory action to address GHG emissions from new vehicles. Bush said these agencies would “take the first steps toward regulations” to reduce GHG emissions, using as a starting point the Administration’s “20 in 10” plan to reduce projected US gasoline consumption by 20% over the next 10 years. CCH Washington Bureau, May 2007.

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