1 Impact of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials Rule 2012 Annual ARIPPA Tech Convention August 22, 2012 Presented by: John Slade, Senior Consultant, All4 Inc.

2 Agenda  Background on U.S. EPA Rules for NHSM and CISWI  Recent U.S. EPA actions  NHSM Rule issued as final  EPA Determinations & Impacts

3 Background  The Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration (CISWI) definitions rule (“Definitions Rule”)  Originally issued September 2005 pursuant to CAA section 129 requirements  Excluded units “used to recover energy for a useful purpose” from the definition of solid waste incinerators  Subject to the CAA section 112 standards.

4 Background  An appeal on this issue resulted in the US D.C. Circuit Court ruling that U.S.EPA had erred by excluding units that combust solid waste for energy recovery from being subject to the CISWI standards.  The court found that the CAA requires any unit that burns “any solid waste material at all” to be regulated under the CAA section 129 as a “solid waste incineration unit.”

5 Background  On June 4, 2010 EPA proposed 4 related rules on: 1. Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That Are Solid Waste 2. NESHAP on Major Source Boiler MACT 3. NESHAP on Area Source Boiler MACT 4. NESHAP on Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units (CISWI Rule)

6 Background  The important distinction is that if you are presently burning a material as a fuel under the NHSM Rule, you could be determined to be burning a waste material.  This would make you subject to the much more restrictive emission standards under the CISWI Rule.  CISWI requires significantly more costly emissions controls.

7 Background Section 129 of the CAA specifically states, that the term “solid waste” shall have the meaning “established by the Administrator pursuant to Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).”

8 Present Status  On March 21, 2011 EPA issued a final NHSM Rule which establishes criteria from which to evaluate whether a material is a waste, even if it is presently being combusted as a fuel.  Rule was effective on May 20, 2011.

9 Changes from Proposed to Final  Scrap tires are also a non-waste fuel if removed from vehicles and managed under the oversight of established tire collection programs.  Resinated wood residuals are not a waste if they meet legitimacy requirement.  Legacy abandoned coal refuse not a waste if processed the same way as newly generated waste coal.  “Traditional fuels” are not secondary materials and are not solid wastes unless “discarded “.

10 Final Rule  Non-hazardous secondary materials burned or used in combustion units are solid wastes unless: Material used as fuel: remains within control of the generator and meets the legitimacy criteria. Material used as an ingredient: meets the legitimacy criteria. Discarded Material used as a fuel or ingredient has been sufficiently processed to produce a material that meets the legitimacy criteria. Non-Discarded Material that has been handled outside the control of the generator has been approved by U.S. EPA on a case-by-case basis.

11 Sufficiently Processed  Remove or Destroy Contaminants: Removing wire from shredded tires or removing paint from painted wood.  Improve Fuel Characteristics: Drying and pelletizing biosolids or shredding and blending scrap plastics.  Improve As-Fired Energy Content: Removing moisture, dirt and/or metal to improve heating efficiency.

12  Improve Ingredient Characteristics: Processing of high carbon fly ash to remove carbon and produce a specification concrete fly ash.  Minimal operations like shredding do not constitute sufficient processing.  Self Implementing. Sufficiently Processed

13 Within the Control of the Generator? Means that the non-hazardous secondary material is generated and burned in combustion units at the generating facility; or is generated and burned in combustion units at different facilities, as long as the facility combusting the non-hazardous secondary material is controlled by the generator. Example: Pulp and Paper Sludge. Control of the Generator

14 Legitimacy Criteria – Fuels  Valuable commodity: Storage period. Management consistent with an analogous fuel. Protective of the environment.  Meaningful heat value (>5,000 Btu/lb): Combustion unit recovers energy.  Comparable or lower contaminant levels.

15 Examples of Waste – Not a Fuel  Whole scrap tires from waste tire piles;  Off-specification used oil;  Unprocessed Sewage/wastewater treatment sludge;  Contaminated construction and demolition material;  Chromate copper arsenate treated wood.

16 Approval Determinations by EPA Biosolids Pellet Fuel Project Approved EPA Findings:  Processed to manage size, moisture content, removal of metals and Btu.  Managed as a valuable commodity.  Default Heat Content greater than 5,000 Btu per pound as-fired.  Comparable contaminant levels as coal.

17 Approval Determinations by EPA Manufactured Fuel from Paper, wood, textiles and non-halogenated plastics EPA Findings:  Processing to remove contaminants, shredding and sizing, and Btu.  Managed as a valuable commodity.  Heating content 9,000-10,000 Btu/pound.  Comparable contaminant levels as traditional solid fuels and No. 6 oil.

18 Fuel Issues Waste-Coal Facilities  “Legacy coal pile” waste-coal should be accepted by U.S. EPA as a non-waste fuel with a showing of comparability to newly generated waste-coal.  However, other co-fired fuels may present approval issues based on processing, contaminants and BTU content on an as-fired basis.

19 Fuel Issues for Waste-Coal Facilities  Paper sludge where the BTU per pound is below EPA’s typical fuel-Btu value of 5,000 is not met.  Sewage sludge depending on contaminants and Btu content.  Engineered fuels where consistent make- up cannot be demonstrated.  Other materials “historically” fired with regular coal to achieve fuel blends.

20 The Future  Avoidance of the very stringent CISWI rule requirements is imperative to continued economic dispatch of a waste-coal unit.  Even with avoidance of CISWI, the Boiler MACT requirements could be problematic for some waste-coal units.  The addition of an Acid Rain Operating Permit for each facility location if they lose their exemption status.  More recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements.

21 What To Do  Review fuels relied upon for economic operation based on EPA determinations.  Consider additional processing of fuels to meet EPA exclusion criteria.  Prepare determination requests carefully to assure an acceptable demonstration as a non-waste.

22 Thank You Speaker Contact Information John Slade (717)