1995 EPA action which removed Chromium from the Sludge/biosolid Use Section of Part 503
Section 405(d) of the CWA requires EPA to establish management practices and numerical limits adequate to protect
public health and the environment from reasonably anticipated adverse effects of toxic pollutants in sewage sludge.
Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge
Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act provides that when
an agency for good cause finds that notice and public comment procedure
are impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest, it
may issue a rule without first providing notice and comment. In
addition, the agency may make the rule effective immediately. EPA has
concluded here that it should amend both the part 403 and part 503
regulations as described above without providing for notice and comment
and make these changes effective immediately.
EPA has concluded that notice and comment on today's action are
unnecessary. As explained above, the D.C. Circuit concluded that the
statute requires risk-based regulation and that the Agency lacked the
data to support risk-based regulation of chromium to prevent plant
injury. EPA has reviewed the record in the sewage sludge rulemaking in
light of the D.C. Circuit decision. The Agency's second look at the
data does not reveal additional information, not previously considered
by EPA, that would support regulation of chromium in sewage sludge to
prevent plant injury. As a result, the chromium land application
pollutant limits must be withdrawn. Further, the data do not support
adoption of a more stringent pollutant concentration limit for selenium
than 100 mg/kg.
[Federal Register: October 25, 1995 (Volume 60, Number 206)]
[Rules and Regulations ]
[Page 54763-54770]
>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[[Page 54763]]
Part II
Environmental Protection Agency
40 CFR Parts 403 and 503
Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge; Final Rule and
Proposed Rule
[[Page 54764]]
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 403 and 503
[FRL-5315-3]
RIN 2040-AC29
Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge
AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: On November 25, 1992, pursuant to Section 405 of the Clean
Water Act (CWA), EPA promulgated a regulation (40 CFR part 503) to
protect public health and the environment from reasonably anticipated
adverse effects of certain pollutants in sewage sludge (58 FR 9248,
February 19, 1993). This regulation established requirements for the
final use or disposal of sewage sludge when: (1) The sewage sludge is
applied to the land either to condition the soil or to fertilize crops
grown in the soil; (2) the sewage sludge is placed on the land for
final disposal; or (3) the sewage sludge is incinerated. In addition,
EPA also amended the General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR part 403)
to establish a list of pollutants for which a removal credit may be
available.
Today's action amends the part 503 sewage sludge regulation as a
result of EPA's reconsideration of certain issues remanded by the U.S.
Court of Appeals for additional justification or modification. The
Agency is deleting the current land application pollutant limits for
chromium and changing the land application pollutant concentration
limit for selenium.
EPA is also amending the list of pollutants for which a removal
credit may be available. This final rule removes chromium in sewage
sludge that is land-applied from the list of regulated pollutants for
which a removal credit may be available and adds it to the list of
unregulated pollutants that are eligible for a removal credit.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The final rule is effective October 25, 1995. For
purposes of judicial review, the final rule is issued at 1 p.m. on
October 25, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert M. Southworth, Biosolids
Manager, Health and Ecological Criteria Division (4304), Office of
Science and Technology, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M
Street SW., Washington, D.C. 20460, telephone (202) 260-7157.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Authority
Today's rule is being promulgated under the authority of sections
307 and 405 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). In section 307(b) of the CWA,
Congress directed EPA to establish categorical pretreatment standards
for industrial discharges of toxic pollutants to publicly owned
treatment works (POTWs). Congress also authorized POTWs in defined
circumstances to provide relief from categorical pretreatment standards
in the form of a removal credit to indirect dischargers. Section 307(b)
authorizes a removal credit where, among other things, grant of the
removal credit does not prevent the POTW from using or disposing its
sewage sludge in compliance with section 405.
Section 405(d) of the CWA requires EPA to establish management
practices and numerical limits adequate to protect public health and
the environment from reasonably anticipated adverse effects of toxic
pollutants in sewage sludge. Section 405(e) prohibits any person from
disposing of sewage sludge from a publicly-owned treatment works or
other treatment works treating domestic sewage through any use or
disposal practice for which regulations have been established pursuant
to section 405 except in compliance with the section 405 regulations.
B. Amendments to Part 503
On November 25, 1992, EPA promulgated, pursuant to section 405 of
the CWA, Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge, (40 CFR
part 503), published in the Federal Register on February 19, 1993 (58
FR 9248, et seq.). Section 405(d) of the CWA requires EPA to publish
regulations specifying management practices for sewage sludge
containing toxic pollutants and to establish numerical limitations for
the toxic pollutants that may be present in sewage sludge in
concentrations that may adversely affect public health and the
environment. On March 5, 1993, the Leather Industries of America, Inc.
filed a petition with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit seeking review of the pollutant limits for
chromium found in Tables 1-4 of 40 CFR 503.13(b). On June 17, 1993, the
City of Pueblo, Colorado, filed a petition for review with the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit challenging the selenium
pollutant limits in Tables 1-3 of 40 CFR 503.13(b). This case was
subsequently transferred to the D.C. Circuit.
On November 15, 1994, the D.C. Circuit remanded the cumulative
pollutant loading rate for chromium in Table 2 and the pollutant
concentration limit for chromium and selenium in Table 3 to the Agency
for modification or additional justification. Leather Industries of
America, Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency, 40 F.3d 392 (D.C.
Cir. 1994).
The pollutant limits in Table 2 are determined from a risk-based
exposure assessment. The pollutant concentrations in Table 3 are the
lower of either (1) a risk-derived concentration or (2) the 99th
percentile concentration derived from EPA's National Sewage Sludge
Survey (NSSS), which includes data on sewage sludge from approximately
186 statistically representative publicly-owned treatment works. Sewage
sludge that meets the pollutant concentration limits in Table 3 may be
applied to land under less restrictive conditions than can sewage
sludge that has higher concentration of metals. In the case of chromium
and selenium, the 99th percentile concentration is lower than the riskderived
concentration so the limit specified in Table 3 for both
chromium and selenium is the 99th percentile value. The D.C. Circuit
concluded that section 405 of the CWA mandates a risk-based regulation
and that EPA lacked the statutory authority to adopt pollutant
concentration limits based on the 99 percentile because they are not
risk-based. The court also determined that EPA lacked an adequate
evidentiary basis for its risk-based chromium cumulative pollutant
loading rate in Table 2 of Sec. 503.13(b).
Today's rule amends 40 CFR 503.13(b) to delete the current
pollutant limits for chromium in Tables 1-4 applicable to sewage sludge
that is land applied. In addition, the Agency is amending 40 CFR
503.13(b) to change the selenium pollutant concentration limit in Table
3. This amendment is being promulgated under the authority of section
405 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. Sec. 1345.
Deletion of Pollutant Limits for Chromium in Land Applied Sewage
Sludge
EPA based the Table 2 cumulative pollutant loading rate for
chromium on an assessment of the potential for plant injury (measured
as retardation in the growth of a young plant) from chromium in sewage
sludge that is applied to the land. EPA derived the chromium cumulative
pollutant loading rate from field study data that the Agency evaluated
for the likelihood of plant injury. Because the field study
[[Page 54765]]
data did not show retardation in the growth of a young plant even at
the highest soil/chromium levels from the field studies--3,000 kg/
hectare, EPA established the cumulative pollutant loading rate for
chromium at the highest value for which it had data.
The D.C. Circuit agreed that EPA is authorized to protect against
plant injury and that EPA properly determined a plant toxicity
threshold associated with chromium in sewage sludge. However, the court
decided that EPA lacked adequate data to support the 3,000 kg/hectare
chromium cumulative loading rate because EPA had no data that showed
plant injury at soil levels of 3,000 kg/hectare or any other cumulative
load.
In response to the court's remand, EPA has reviewed the record in
this proceeding concerning potential risk to public health and the
environment associated with land application of sewage sludge that
contains chromium. As a result of its reconsideration, the Agency has
determined that there is an insufficient basis at this time for the
regulation of chromium in sewage sludge that is applied to the land.
This determination is confirmed by EPA's review of new information
concerning chromium and the land application of sewage sludge.
Consequently, the Agency is amending Tables 1-4 <SUP>1 to delete
chromium from the regulated metals for the following reasons. First,
EPA has reaffirmed its determination that chromium in sewage sludge
appears predominantly in the trivalent form for which the likelihood of
plant injury is substantially lower than the likelihood of plant injury
from chromium in the hexavalent form. See 58 FR 9248, 9297.
\1\ The chromium limits in Tables 1, 3, and 4 are derived from
the risk-based chromium limits in Table 2. Because the Agency has
determined that it does not at this juncture have information that
supports risk-based regulation of chromium in sewage sludge that is
land applied, the chromium pollutant limits in Tables 1, 3, and 4
also are being deleted.
Second, in addition to reexamining the rulemaking record, EPA
obtained more recent data from field studies of crops grown on soil to
which sewage sludge had been applied. These data are similar to those
used in the final rule for evaluating the potential for plant injury
from the chromium in sewage sludge. EPA evaluated these data using the
same statistical methods used for the final rule to assess the
potential for plant injury. Like the earlier data, these data show no
relationship between plant injury associated with chromium in sewage
sludge at high loading rates.
Finally, to confirm its determination that data do not support
regulation of chromium at this juncture, EPA also took a second look at
other pathways of exposure. After the plant toxicity pathway, the next
significant pathway of concern is the risk associated with exposure of
a tractor operator to chromium from sewage sludge in the dust churned
up by the tractor. EPA reevaluated this pathway using current National
Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) standards for
worker exposure to trivalent chromium. EPA's second look at the tractor
operator exposure pathway determined that the appropriate risk-based
limit for this pathway is well in excess of its earlier finding of
5,000 mg/kg. The limit for this pathway using the updated NIOSH
standard is almost two orders of magnitude in excess of the observed
99th percentile concentration for chromium in the NSSS. Given the fact
that chromium limit for the next pathway of exposure--the ground-water
pathway--is an order of magnitude greater than the 99th percentile
sewage sludge concentration, EPA determined that it did not have data
that justify regulation of chromium in land applied sewage sludge at
this juncture. Applying the same criteria used for the final rule to
determine whether to regulate a particular pollutant, EPA concluded
that there is no current basis for establishing land application
pollutant limits for chromium based on the tractor operator pathway or
the ground-water pathway.<SUP>2 See 58 FR 9318 (``The Agency's risk
assessment results for the pollutant shows no reasonably anticipated
adverse effects on public health or the environment at the 99th
percentile concentration found the sewage sludge from the NSSS.'' 58 FR
9318). Consequently, the Agency is today amending its sewage sludge use
or disposal regulation to delete chromium from Tables 1-4 in 40 CFR
503.13(b). More details on the justification for deletion of the
chromium land application pollutant limits are presented in the
administrative record for this rulemaking.
\2\ EPA also evaluated the risk associated with tractor operator
exposure to hexavalent chromium by assuming that a small percentage
of the chromium in sewage sludge might be hexavalent chromium. (As
noted above, EPA has concluded that most chromium in sewage sludge
should be in the trivalent, not hexavalent, form.) Again, the
resulting risk-based chromium pollutant concentration limit would be
substantially higher than the 99th percentile concentration.
2. Modification of the Pollutant Concentration Limit for Selenium in
Table 3 of Sec. 503.13
As explained above, the pollutant concentration limit in Table 3 is
the more stringent of the risk-based limit or 99th percentile
concentration value for each of nine pollutants. In the case of
selenium, the more stringent cap is the 99th percentile number.<SUP>3
EPA supported its adoption of this approach for the Table 3 limits on
two bases. First, by adopting the lower of risk-based or 99th
percentile concentration, EPA would provide an additional margin of
safety to ensure adequate protection of public health and the
environment. Second, adoption of the 99th percentile limit would
prevent deterioration of sewage sludge from current levels of quality.
The D.C. Circuit rejected both reasons, concluding that the statute
requires a demonstrated link between risk and any pollutant
concentration limits the Agency adopted. EPA has reconsidered the Table
3 selenium pollutant concentration limit and concluded that it should
not adopt a more stringent concentration limit for selenium than the
risk-based limit of 100 mg/kg. This risk-based concentration was
derived from an assessment of the hazard to children, aged one to six,
who ingest undiluted sewage sludge containing selenium. EPA's exposure
assessment showed that so long as the concentration of the sewage
sludge did not exceed 100 mg/kg of selenium, children would be
adequately protected. EPA's exposure assessment used a number of
conservative assumptions in evaluating effects on children from
selenium exposure, including a reference dose for selenium based on
lifetime exposure--a significantly protective factor. In these
circumstances, EPA concluded that there is no risk basis for adopting a
more stringent limit.
\3\ The 99th percentile concentration is more stringent for
selenium and chromium; for nickel, the risk-based and 99th
percentile limits are the same. As described above, EPA is deleting
chromium from the pollutants regulated in Tables 1-4.
C. Amendment to Part 403
Many industrial facilities discharge large quantities of pollutants
to POTWs where their wastewaters mix with wastewater from other
sources, domestic sewage from private residences and run-off from
various sources prior to treatment and discharge by the POTW. The
introduction of pollutants to a POTW from industrial discharges may
pose several problems. These include potential interference
[[Page 54766]]
with the POTW's operation or pass-through of pollutants if inadequately
treated. Congress, in section 307(b) of the Act, directed EPA to
establish categorical pretreatment standards to prevent these potential
problems. Congress also recognized that, in certain instances, POTWs
could provide some or all of the treatment of an industrial user's
wastewater that would be required pursuant to the categorical
pretreatment standard. Consequently, Congress also established a
discretionary program for POTWs to grant ``removal credits'' to their
indirect dischargers. The credit, in the form of a less stringent
categorical pretreatment standard, allows an increased concentration of
a pollutant in the flow from the indirect discharger's facility to the
POTW.
Section 307(b) of the CWA establishes a three-part test a POTW
would need to meet to obtain removal credit authority for a given
pollutant. A removal credit may be authorized only if (1) the POTW
``removes all or any part of such toxic pollutant,'' (2) the POTW's
ultimate discharge would ``not violate that effluent limitation, or
standard which would be applicable to that toxic pollutant if it were
discharged'' directly rather than through a POTW and (3) the POTW's
discharge would ``not prevent sludge use and disposal by such [POTW] in
accordance with section [405]. * * *'' Section 307(b).
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has
interpreted the statute to require EPA to promulgate comprehensive
sewage sludge regulations before any removal credits could be
authorized. NRDC v. EPA, 790 F.2d 289, 292 (3rd Cir. 1986) cert.
denied. 479 U.S. 1084 (1987). Congress made this explicit in the Water
Quality Act of 1987, which provided that EPA could not authorize any
removal credits until it issued the sewage sludge use and disposal
regulations required by section 405(d)(2)(a)(ii). EPA has promulgated
removal credit regulations that are codified at 40 CFR part 403.7.
At the same time EPA promulgated the part 503 regulation, EPA also
amended the part 403 General Pretreatment Regulations to add a new
Appendix G that includes two tables of pollutants that would be
eligible for a removal credit so long as the other procedural and
substantive requirements of 40 CFR part 503 and 40 CFR 403.7 are met.
The first table (Appendix G--Section I) lists, by use or disposal
practice, the pollutants that are regulated in part 503 and eligible
for removal credit authorization. The second table (Appendix G--Section
II) lists, by use or disposal practice, additional pollutants that are
eligible for a removal credit if the concentration of the pollutant in
sewage sludge does not exceed a prescribed concentration. The
pollutants in Appendix G--Section II are the pollutants that EPA
evaluated and decided not to regulate during development of the part
503 regulation. See 58 FR at 9381-5. Currently, chromium is included on
both Appendix G--Section I and Appendix G--Section II.
As explained above, EPA is today promulgating a final rule that
deletes chromium from the pollutants that are regulated when sewage
sludge is applied to the land because EPA has concluded that there is
no current basis for establishing chromium limits for land-applied
sewage sludge. Consequently, because Appendix G--Section I lists only
pollutants regulated in part 503 and because the Agency has deleted
chromium from the list of regulated pollutants, EPA is removing
chromium from Appendix G--Section I for land application.
In the 1993 amendments to part 403, EPA included pollutants that it
evaluated for risk and decided not to regulate in Appendix G--Section
II at the highest concentration evaluated as safe. Consequently,
because EPA has now concluded that it does not need to regulate
chromium to protect the plant toxicity pathway, under the criterion
applied in the final rule, EPA should include chromium in Appendix G--
Section II in the land application column at the next highest
concentration evaluated as safe.
The next highest result for a pathway that EPA assessed and
evaluated as safe for the final rule is the tractor operator pathway--
Pathway 11. EPA determined that a tractor operator is protected from
occupational exposure to chromium from sewage sludge so long as the
concentration in the sewage sludge did not exceed 5,000 mg/kg. See
Technical Support Document for the Land Application of Sewage Sludge
Table 5.4-5, p. 5-435. However, as noted above, EPA has now reevaluated
that pathway and determined that the actual protective level is
substantial in excess of this concentration. The next level of risk
after the tractor operator pathway is the ground-water pathway--12,000
mg/kg. Technical Support Document for the Land Application of Sewage
Sludge, ibid. Therefore, under the criterion adopted in the final rule,
the Appendix G--Section II concentration for chromium should be 12,000
mg/kg.
While the public had an opportunity to comment on the land
application risk assessment that underlies the final Part 503
regulation, there has been no opportunity to comment on EPA's
reevaluation of the tractor operator pathway assessment. (Elsewhere in
today's Federal Register, EPA is proposing to amend Appendix G--Section
II to establish the new chromium concentration based on its reanalysis
of the Pathway 11 for chromium.) Consequently, it would not be
appropriate to take final action today to add chromium to Appendix G--
Section II at the ground-water pathway concentration level--the next
level after the reevaluated tractor operator pathway.
But if EPA deletes chromium from Appendix G--Section I without
including a concentration for sewage sludge that is land applied in
Appendix G--Section II at this time, POTWs will not be able to seek
removal credit authority until such time as EPA has proposed and
promulgated a new chromium removal credit number. Therefore, EPA also
is promulgating an amendment to Appendix G--Section II that adds a
footnote for the interim that states that the removal credit
concentration for chromium in land-applied sewage sludge will be
established on a case-by-case basis. This change is necessary to ensure
there is no uncertainty about the continued eligibility of chromium in
sewage sludge for removal credits, pending EPA's promulgation of the
final rule that amends Appendix G--Section II.
Until today, POTWs complying with the Part 503 land application
chromium pollutant limits were eligible to seek removal credit
authority for chromium. It would not make sense to eliminate removal
credits for chromium when EPA has now decided not to regulate chromium
in sewage sludge. While EPA is considering what concentration level for
chromium to establish in Appendix G--Section II, a removal credit will
continue to be available for chromium. If a POTW whose sewage sludge is
land-applied requests authorization to grant a removal credit for
chromium, the Approval Authority (EPA or an NPDES-authorized State with
an approved pretreatment program) will make a decision on a case-bycase
basis about what the allowable chromium concentration for removal
credits purposes should be.
In today's final rulemaking, EPA also is correcting an error in the
entry for bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate in Appendix G--Table II for a
lined surface disposal site. The current entry is 100 milligrams per
kilogram. Results of the surface disposal risk assessment indicate that
the limit for bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate for a lined surface disposal
site is unlimited (interpreted to mean greater
[[Page 54767]]
than 100,000 milligrams per kilogram)--see ``Technical Support Document
for Surface Disposal of Sewage Sludge,'' EPA 822-R-93-019, November
1992. For this reason, the entry in Table II for bis(2-
ethylhexyl)phthalate for a lined surface disposal site should be
100,000 milligrams per kilogram (i.e. 100 grams per kilogram) instead
of 100 milligrams per kilogram. The superscript 3 was inadvertently
left-off of the current Table II entry for bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate
for a lined surface disposal unit. Today's rulemaking corrects that
error by adding the superscript 3 to the entry.
D. Procedural Requirements
Based on its reassessment of the rulemaking record and new
information, EPA is today taking final action amending its part 503
regulations. EPA's action deletes the chromium pollutant limits for
land application in Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Sec. 503.13(b) and amends
the selenium pollutant concentration limit in Table 3 of
Sec. 503.13(b). EPA also is amending its list of pollutants in landapplied
sewage sludge that are eligible for a removal credit. EPA is
removing chromium from the list of regulated pollutants and adding it
to the list of unregulated pollutants for which a removal credit may be
available.
Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act provides that when
an agency for good cause finds that notice and public comment procedure
are impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest, it
may issue a rule without first providing notice and comment. In
addition, the agency may make the rule effective immediately. EPA has
concluded here that it should amend both the part 403 and part 503
regulations as described above without providing for notice and comment
and make these changes effective immediately.
Notice and Comment
EPA has concluded that notice and comment on today's action are
unnecessary. As explained above, the D.C. Circuit concluded that the
statute requires risk-based regulation and that the Agency lacked the
data to support risk-based regulation of chromium to prevent plant
injury. EPA has reviewed the record in the sewage sludge rulemaking in
light of the D.C. Circuit decision. The Agency's second look at the
data does not reveal additional information, not previously considered
by EPA, that would support regulation of chromium in sewage sludge to
prevent plant injury. As a result, the chromium land application
pollutant limits must be withdrawn. Further, the data do not support
adoption of a more stringent pollutant concentration limit for selenium
than 100 mg/kg.
EPA also has concluded that there is good cause for amending its
part 503 regulation without first providing for notice and comment. EPA
received ample comment on issues related to the regulation of chromium
and selenium in sewage sludge that is applied to the land over the
course of a lengthy, multi-year rulemaking effort. During the process,
extensive comments on the Agency's pathway exposure assessments and the
underlying data were received from nationally known experts on sewage
sludge. Scientists possessing a wide understanding of the scientific
and technical issues associated with sewage sludge use or disposal
provided a broad critique of the exposure assessment models used to
develop the proposed regulation. In developing the final regulation,
EPA relied on several of these experts to develop the land application
exposure assessment that formed the basis for the pollutant limits in
Tables 1-4 of Sec. 503.13(b). In light of this, further comment is
unwarranted.
Under the final part 403 and part 503 regulations, a removal credit
was available for chromium when sewage sludge is land applied, so long
as the sewage sludge met the ceiling concentration limit of 3,000 mg/kg
in Table 1 of 40 CFR 503.13(b)(1) and the pollutant limits in either
Table 2, 3 or 4 at 40 CFR 503.13(b)(1). As explained above, to preserve
the eligibility of chromium for a removal credit when EPA deleted
chromium from Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4, EPA has added a footnote to the
list of pollutants in Appendix G--Section II that indicates the land
application chromium sewage sludge concentration for removal credit
purposes will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Because EPA action
in shifting chromium from Appendix G--Section I to Appendix G--Section
II reflects no substantive change in the actual sewage sludge
requirements that must be met for removal credit eligibility, comment
on this change is not needed.
2. Effective date
Under section 405 of the CWA, EPA's sewage sludge regulation must
require compliance with the regulation as expeditiously as practicable
but in no case later than 12 months after publication, unless such
regulation requires construction of new pollution control facilities,
in which case the regulation must require compliance expeditiously, but
not later than two years from publication. The part 503 regulation was
effective on March 22, 1993. In the case of the chromium pollutant
limits, the regulation required compliance by February 19, 1994.
Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act requires publication of
a substantive rule not less than 30 days before its effective date
except in certain circumstances. These include ``a substantive rule
which grants or recognizes an exemption or relieves a restriction'' or
``as otherwise provided by the agency for good cause found and
published with the rule.'' 5 U.S.C. section 553(d) (1) and (3). Because
this rule relieves a restriction, the Agency has determined that these
amendments should be effective immediately.
Given its determination that the rule should be effective
immediately, the Agency also is providing, pursuant to 40 CFR 23.2,
that the rule is issued for the purpose of judicial review on the
effective date.
E. Regulatory Requirements
Executive Order 12866
Executive Order 12866 requires EPA to prepare an assessment of the
costs and benefits of any ``significant regulatory action.'' Because
the effect of today's rule is to relieve the regulated community from
current part 503 requirements, costs to the regulated community should
be reduced. Consequently, no assessment of costs and benefits is
required.
2. Regulatory Flexibility Act
Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601-612,
whenever an agency is required to publish a General Notice of
Rulemaking for any proposed or final rule, it must prepare and make
available for public comment a regulatory flexibility analysis that
describes the impact of the rule on small entities (i.e., small
businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions).
No regulatory flexibility analysis is required, however, if the head of
the Agency certifies that the rule will not have a significant impact
on a substantial number of small entities.
This action to modify the part 503 regulation promulgated today is
deregulatory in nature and thus will only provide beneficial
opportunities for entities that may be affected by the rule.
Accordingly, I certify that this regulation will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This
regulation, therefore, does not require a regulatory flexibility
analysis.
3. Paperwork Reduction Act
There are no reporting, notification, or recordkeeping
(information) provisions
[[Page 54768]]
in this rule. Such provisions, were they included, would be submitted
for approval to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the
Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
4. Unfunded Mandates
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), P.L.
104-4, establishes requirements for Federal agencies to assess the
effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal
governments and the private sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA, EPA
generally must prepare a written statement, including a cost-benefit
analysis, for proposed and final rules with ``Federal mandates'' that
may result in expenditures to State, local, or tribal governments, in
the aggregate, or to the private sector, of $100 million or more in any
one year. When such a statement is needed for an EPA rule, section 205
of the UMRA generally requires EPA to identify and consider a
reasonable number of regulatory alternatives and adopt the least
costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative that
achieves the objectives of the rule. The provisions of section 205 do
not apply when they are inconsistent with applicable law. Moreover,
section 205 allows EPA to adopt an alternative other than the least
costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative if the
Administrator publishes with the final rule an explanation why that
alternative was not adopted.
Before EPA establishes any regulatory requirements that may
significantly or uniquely affect small governments, including tribal
governments, it must have developed under section 203 of the UMRA a
small government agency plan. The plan must provide for notifying
potentially affected small governments, giving them meaningful and
timely input in the development of EPA regulatory proposals with
significant Federal intergovernmental mandates, and informing,
educating, and advising them on compliance with the regulatory
requirements.
EPA has determined that today's amendments to part 403 and part 503
do not contain a Federal mandate that may result in expenditures of
$100 million or more for State, local or tribal governments or the
private sector in any one year. The changes to the part 503 regulation
promulgated today, to the extent they reduce the costs of complying
with current requirements, will, in fact, lessen the regulatory burden
on State, local, or tribal governments.
The part 503 regulation includes monitoring and recordkeeping
requirements for certain POTWs and other treatment works treating
domestic sewage when sewage sludge is applied to the land. Because EPA
will no longer regulate the amount of chromium applied to the land in
sewage sludge, POTWs and other treatment works treating domestic sewage
will not need to incur any monitoring and recordkeeping cost for
chromium. Consequently, there are either no (or reduced) costs
associated with the final rule promulgated today. Thus, today's rule is
not subject to the requirements in sections 202 and 205 of the Act.
EPA has determined that this rule contains no regulatory
requirements that might significantly or uniquely affect small
governments that may operate publicly owned treatment works (POTWs)
generating sewage sludge. The rule would not significantly affect small
governments because, as explained above, the amendments would reduce
the monitoring and recordkeeping requirements associated with land
application. The amendments also would not uniquely affect small
governments because deleting the land application pollutant limits for
chromium and changing the pollutant concentration limit for selenium
will not affect POTWs operated by small governments differently from
other sewage sludge users or disposers.
List of Subjects
40 CFR Part 403
Environmental protection, Incineration, Land application,
Pollutants, Removal credits, Sewage sludge, and Surface disposal.
40 CFR Part 503
Environmental Protection, Frequency of monitoring, Incineration,
Incorporation by reference, Land application, Management practices,
Pathogens, Pollutants, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sewage
sludge, Surface disposal and Vector attraction reduction.
Dated: October 10, 1995.
Carol M. Browner,
Administrator.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, title 40 of the Code of
Federal Regulations is amended as set forth below:
PART 403--GENERAL PRETREATMENT REGULATIONS FOR EXISTING AND NEW
SOURCES OF POLLUTION
The authority citation for 40 CFR part 403 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: Sec. 54(c)(2) of the Clean Water Act of 1977, (Pub.
L. 95-217) sections 204(b)(1)(C), 208(b)(2)(C)(iii),
301(b)(1)(A)(ii), 301(b)(2)(A)(ii), 301(b)(2)(C), 301(h)(5),
301(i)(2), 304(e), 304(g), 307, 308, 309, 402(b), 405 and 501(a) of
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Pub. L. 92-500) as amended
by the Clean Water Act of 1977 and the Water Quality Act of 1987
(Pub. L. 100-4).
2. Appendix G to part 403 is revised to read as follows:
Appendix G To Part 403--Pollutants Eligible For A Removal Credit
I. Regulated Pollutants in Part 503 Eligible for a Removal Credit
Use or disposal practice
Pollutants -----------------------------------------
LA SD I
Arsenic....................... X X X
Beryllium..................... ............ ............ X
Cadmium....................... X ............ X
Chromium...................... ............ X X
Copper........................ X
Lead.......................... X ............ X
Mercury....................... X ............ X
Molybdenum.................... X
Nickel........................ X X X
Selenium...................... X
Zinc.......................... X ..........
Total hydrocarbons............ ............ ............ X \1\
Key:
LA--land application.
SD--surface disposal site without a liner and leachate collection
system.
I--firing of sewage sludge in a sewage sludge incinerator.
\1\ The following organic pollutants are eligible for a removal credit
if the requirements for total hydrocarbons in subpart E in 40 CFR Part
503 are met when sewage sludge is fired in a sewage sludge
incinerator: Acrylonitrile, Aldrin/Dieldrin(total), Benzene,
Benzidine, Benzo(a)pyrene, Bis(2-chloroethyl)ether, Bis(2-
ethylhexyl)phthalate, Bromodichloromethane, Bromoethane, Bromoform,
Carbon tetrachloride, Chlordane, Chloroform, Chloromethane,
DDD,DDE,DDT, Dibromochloromethane, Dibutyl phthalate, 1,2-
dichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethylene, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 1,3-
dichloropropene, Diethyl phthalate, 2,4-dinitrophenol, 1,2-
diphenylhydrazine, Di-n-butyl phthalate, Endosulfan, Endrin,
Ethylbenzene, Heptachlor, Heptachlor epoxide, Hexachlorobutadiene,
Alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane, Beta-hexachlorocyclohexane,
Hexachlorocyclopentadiene, Hexachloroethane, Hydrogen cyanide,
Isophorone, Lindane, Methylene chloride, Nitrobenzene, NNitrosodimethylamine,
N-Nitrosodi-n-propylamine, Pentachlorophenol,
Phenol, Polychlorinated biphenyls, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-pdioxin,
1,1,2,2,-tetrachloroethane, Tetrachloroethylene, Toluene,
Toxaphene, Trichloroethylene, 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene, 1,1,1-
Trichloroethane, 1,1,2-Trichloroethane, and 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol.
[[Page 54769]]
II. Additional Pollutants Eligible for a Removal Credit
[milligrams per kilogram--dry weight basis]
Use or disposal practice
-------------------------------------------------------------
Pollutant I
LA SD ------------------------------
unlined \1\ Lined \2\
Arsenic........................................... ............. .............. \3\ 100 .............
Aldrin/Dieldrin (Total)........................... 2.7 .............. .............. . ............
Benzene........................................... \3\ 16 140 3400 .............
Benzo(a)pyrene.................................... 15 \3\ 100 \3\ 100 .............
Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate........................ ............. \3\ 100 \3\ 100 .............
Cadmium........................................... ............. \3\ 100 \3\ 100 .............
Chlordane......................................... 86 \3\ 100 \3\ 100 .............
Chromium.......................................... \4\ .............. \3\ 100 .............
Copper............................................ ............. \3\ 46 \3\ 100 1400
DDD, DDE, DDT (Total)............................. 1.2 2000 2000 .............
2,4 Dichlorophenoxy-acetic acid................... ............. 7 7 .............
Fluoride.......................................... 730 .............. .............. .............
Heptachlor........................................ 7.4 .............. .............. .............
Hexachlorobenzene................................. 29 .............. .............. .............
Hexachlorobutadiene............................... 600 .............. .............. .............
Iron.............................................. \3\ 78 .............. .............. .............
Lead.............................................. ............. \3\ 100 \3\ 100 .............
Lindane........................................... 84 \3\ 28 \3\ 28 .............
Malathion......................................... ............. 0.63 0.63 .............
Mercury........................................... ............. \3\ 100 \3\ 100 .............
Molybdenum........................................ ............. 40 40 .............
Nickel............................................ ............. .............. \3\ 100 .............
N-Nitrosodimethylamine............................ 2.1 0.088 0.088 .............
Pentachlorophenol................................. 30 .............. .............. .............
Phenol............................................ ............. 82 82 .............
Polychlorinated biphenyls......................... 4.6 <50 <50 .............
Selenium.......................................... ............. 4.8 4.8 4.8
Toxaphene......................................... 10 \3\ 26 \3\ 26 .............
Trichloroethylene................................. \3\ 10 9500 \3\ 10 .............
Zinc.............................................. ............. 4500 4500 4500
Key: LA--land application.
SD--surface disposal.
I--incineration.
\1\ Sewage sludge unit without a liner and leachate collection system.
\2\ Sewage sludge unit with a liner and leachate collection system.
\3\ Value expressed in grams per kilogram--dry weight basis.
\4\ Value to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
PART 503--STANDARDS FOR THE USE OR DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE SLUDGE
The authority citation for part 503 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: Sections 405(d) and (e) of the Clean Water Act, as
amended by Pub. L. 95-217, Sec. 54(d), 91 Stat. 1591 (33 U.S.C. 1345
(d) and (e)); and Pub. L. 100-4, Title IV, Sec. 406 (a), (b), 101
Stat., 71, 72 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.).
2. Sec. 503.13(b) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 503.13 Pollutant limits.
* * * *
(b) Pollutant concentrations and loading rates--sewage sludge.
(1) Ceiling concentrations.
Table 1 of Sec. 503.13.--Ceiling Concentrations
Ceiling
concentration
Pollutant (milligrams
per kilogram)
\1\
Arsenic.................................................. 75
Cadmium.................................................. 85
Copper................................................... 4300
Lead..................................................... 840
Mercury.................................................. 57
Molybdenum............................................... 75
Nickel................................................... 420
Selenium................................................. 100
Zinc..................................................... 7500
\1\ Dry weight basis.
(2) Cumulative pollutant loading rates.
Table 2 of Sec. 503.13.--Cumulative Pollutant Loading Rates
Cumulative
pollutant
loading
Pollutant rate
(kilograms
per
hectare)
Arsenic.................................................... 41
Cadmium.................................................... 39
Copper..................................................... 1500
Lead....................................................... 300
Mercury.................................................... 17
Nickel..................................................... 420
Selenium................................................... 100
Zinc....................................................... 2800
(3) Pollutant concentrations.
[[Page 54770]]
Table 3 of Sec. 503.13.--Pollutant Concentrations
Monthly
average
concentration
Pollutant (milligrams
per kilogram)
\1\
Arsenic.................................................. 41
Cadmium.................................................. 39
Copper................................................... 1500
Lead..................................................... 300
Mercury.................................................. 17
Nickel................................................... 420
Selenium................................................. 100
Zinc..................................................... 2800
\1\ Dry weight basis.
(4) Annual pollutant loading rates.
Table 4 of Sec. 503.13.--Annual Pollutant Loading Rates
Annual
pollutant
loading rate
Pollutant (kilograms
per hectare
per 365 day
period)
Arsenic................................................... 2.0
Cadmium................................................... 1.9
Copper.................................................... 75
Lead...................................................... 15
Mercury................................................... 0.85
Nickel.................................................... 21
Selenium.................................................. 5.0
Zinc...................................................... 140
* * * *
[FR Doc. 95-25740 Filed 10-24-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P