Proposed Rules. Proposed rule; notice of reopening of comment period

Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Action: Proposed rule; notice of reopening of comment period
Citation: FR Doc. 03-174 · SW-FRL-7435-3 · 40 CFR 261

Summary

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, also, ‘the Agency’ or ‘we’) is reopening the period for submitting public comments on our previous proposal to approve two petitions submitted by the University of California—E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (or LBNL). The Agency initially announced this proposed decision in the July 31, 2002 Federal Register (67 FR 49649). The first petition requested EPA to grant a one-time, generator-specific exclusion (or ‘delisting’) of certain LBNL treatment residues from the list of RCRA hazardous waste. The second petition requested EPA to grant a “determination of equivalent treatment” (DET) for a catalytic chemical oxidation (CCO) technology that LBNL used to treat their original mixed waste. For the first petition, EPA reviewed all of the waste-specific information provided by LBNL and determined that the petitioned waste (tritiated water with no detectable organic chemical constituents) was non-hazardous. For the second petition, EPA reviewed all of the specific CCO treatment information provided by LBNL and determined that the CCO treatment was equivalent to combustion. EPA received a written request for an informal public hearing. Exercising the discretion set forth in the rules for rulemaking petitions, EPA has granted the request and will hold a public hearing. The purpose of the hearing will be to hear oral comments on our tentative decision.

Dates

The public hearing will be held on January 23, 2003 at 7 p.m. EPA is reopening the public comment period and we will accept public comments on these proposed decisions until February 6, 2003. We will stamp comments postmarked after the close of the comment period as “late.” These “late” comments may not be considered in formulating a final decisions.