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Friday, March 21, 1997
AMSA Opposes CAA Sewage Sludge Incineration Proposal
AMSA this week issued comments in opposition to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Air & Radiation proposal to subject sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs) to the same regulations as solid waste incinerators. In its technical and legal analysis AMSA points out that the proposal could result in the elimination of incineration of sewage sludge, "even though the agency has declared that incineration is a safe and acceptable" disposal method. AMSA notes that the practice could be eliminated because operators of publicly owned treatment works may "find it either cost prohibitive or technically infeasible to simultaneously meet the proposed standards for carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen.
EPA's Jan. 14 proposed rule would delist SSIs from the list of major sources of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), but list them with other solid waste incinerators subject to regulation under Section 129 of the statute.
In its March 17 comments, AMSA offers support for the agency's intent to delist SSIs from Section 112, because "there is substantial evidence that SSIs do not qualify as 'major sources' as defined under Section 112." However, the Association "strongly opposes regulation of SSIs under Section 129 of the CAA for the following reasons:"
- Regulation of SSIs under Section 129 is beyond the agency's statutory authority.
- The agency's contemplated method for establishing maximum achievable control technology standards for SSIs under Section 129 would lead to the elimination of sewage sludge
- incineration -- a "safe, viable and cost-effective" management practice.
- The properties of sewage sludge are quite different than those of the hazardous, medical and municipal wastes currently regulated under Section 129.
- SSI emissions, that comply with Clean Water Act Part 503 limits and management practices do not adversely affect human health and the environment.
- The "expensive and/or infeasible" control measures that Section 129 will impose will not yield any environmental benefits, and may create a "net loss" of environmental benefits.
The comment period closed March 17, and EPA is working under a Nov. 15, 2000 deadline for promulgating a final rule. Members of AMSA's Air Quality Committee will likely meet with EPA Air & Radiation Office staff within the next few months to review the proposal and discuss the Association's concerns.
AMSA/Municipal Interests Urge EPA Action on SSO Policy
AMSA and other municipal interests of EPA's Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) Federal Advisory Subcommittee plan to submit a letter to EPA program and enforcement officials early next week that emphasizes support for timely completion of the national SSO dialogue, support for negotiated affirmative defense provisions for unavoidable SSOs, and recommends that EPA reconsider draft enforcement priorities that target cities with SSO problems over the next two years. AMSA learned this past week that in recent internal EPA discussions, regional EPA enforcement officials have expressed their strong reluctance to support an SSO policy, which in their view, limits their enforcement discretion. The final meeting of EPA's SSO Advisory Subcommittee, originally scheduled for April 21-22, has been postponed indefinitely until EPA makes substantial progress in its dialogue with regional officials.