ublic Power Association,
and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
On PCBs, CONSOLIDATED REPORTING AND RECORDKEEPING
REQUIREMENTS; REQUEST FOR COMMENT ON RENEWAL
OF INFORMATION COLLECTION ACTIVITIES
Notice - 69 Fed. Reg. 23747 (April 30, 2004)
Docket No. OPPT-2004-0087
INTRODUCTION
The following comments in response to EPAs Notice, PCBs, Consolidated
Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements, (66 Fed. Reg. 23747 (April 30, 2004))
are submitted on behalf of the Utility Solid Waste Activities Group (USWAG), the
Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the American Public Power Association (APPA), and
the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) (collectively referred to
herein as USWAG). USWAG was formed in 1978, and is an association primarily
dedicated to assisting members in the management of wastes and the beneficial use of
materials associated with the generation, transmission, or sale of electricity and natural
gas. USWAG is comprised of approximately 80 energy industry operating companies
and associations, including EEI, the NRECA, and the APPA. EEI is the principal
national association of investor-owned electric power and light companies. NRECA is
the national association of rural electric cooperatives. APPA is the national association
of publicly owned electric utilities. AGA is the national association of natural gas
utilities. Together, USWAG members represent more than 85% of the total electric
generating capacity of the U.S., and service more than 95% of the nation's consumers
of electricity and over 93% of the nations consumers of natural gas. ~WASH1:4595043.v1
2
DISCUSSION
1.
Reference No. 77 on Table 2-3 Concerning The Obligation to Keep
Records of PCB Articles Stored for Reuse (40 C.F.R. § 761.35(a)(2). The Agency
explains that the use of this information is to ensure the proper handling of the
equipment stored for reuse. In assessing the impact of this obligation, EPA fails to take
into account the additional recordkeeping and inspection requirements that have been
imposed on electric utilities and other entities that obtained variances from EPA to store
PCB articles for reuse for longer than five years in areas that do not meet the storage
standards under 40 C.F.R. 761.65(b). These site-specific variances granted by the EPA
Regions impose additional inspection and recordkeeping requirements that go beyond
those specified in 40 C.F.R. 761.35(a)(2). EPA should factor these additional regulatory
burdens into the ICR in order to accurately assess the true burden of this particular
obligation.
2.
Confirmatory Records When Using Independent PCB Transporters
Item 46 in Section 4(b) of the ICR package sets forth the requirements for the filing of
an exception report when a generator uses an independent transporter, including the
requirement for the generator to confirm by telephone or other convenient means that
the commercial storer or disposer actually received the manifested waste. Generators
must keep records of these follow-up confirmation procedures. See 40 C.F.R.
§ 761.208(a)(4). This follow-up confirmation requirement, and the associated record
keeping requirement, is unique to the PCB program. The RCRA hazardous waste
generator and manifest requirements which have worked well for over twenty five
years (and after which the PCB manifest rules were patterned) -- do not include these
additional confirmation and record keeping requirements. Accordingly, USWAG ~WASH1:4595043.v1
3
believes that this confirmation obligation is unnecessary and has little, if any, practical
utility for EPA or the regulated community. Therefore, this particular regulation is an
ideal candidate for elimination to minimize the burden of the PCB record keeping
requirements on the regulated community.
3.
SPCC Requirements for 30-Day PCB Temporary Storage Item 65 in
section 4(b) identifies the obligation under the storage for disposal requirements for all
entities storing PCB waste pursuant to 30-day temporary storage provision to implement
a spill prevention, control and counter measure plan (SPCC). See 40 C.F.R.
§
761.65(c)(1)(iv). The obligation to implement an SPCC plan (and all associated
record keeping and reporting requirements) under this provision is triggered without
regard to the volume or characteristics of the PCB wastes in question. In other words,
even though the SPCC requirements are normally triggered only when a specified
threshold of regulated substances is stored, this particular PCB obligation applies to any
volume of PCB wastes, including non-liquid PCBs. USWAG believes that this particular
obligation, and the associated record keeping and reporting requirements, should be
triggered only for liquid PCB waste and where the applicable SPCC threshold is
otherwise triggered.
4.
PCB Transformer Registration Database Section 5 of the ICR
package addresses Information Collection Agency Activity, Collection Methodology
and Information Management. Section 5(a) of that section discusses the PCB
Transformer data base created by EPA. The discussion details how the database is
used to provide information to environmental and emergency response officials on an
as requested basis. ~WASH1:4595043.v1
4
It is apparent that the PCB Transformer database is used as an important tool for
a variety of reasons, including by various organizations, including EPA, for purposes of
developing future PCB regulatory policies and strategies. In this regard, USWAG
believes that it is absolutely critical for EPA to ensure that the database is updated and
kept as current as possible. This includes amending the database to remove those
PCB Transformers that have either been disposed or reclassified. The ICR does not
address how this type of information specifically, the disposal or reclassification of
previously registered PCB Transformers is incorporated into the database. This is a
potentially serious flaw in the database that requires immediate attention.
5.
Burden on Small Entities Section 5(c) if the ICR package, entitled
Small Entity Flexibility, discusses the general burden of the PCB record keeping and
reporting requirements on small entities. USWAG disagrees with the statement in the
first paragraph of that section that the reporting and recordkeeping requirements [for
small businesses] are no more burdensome than standard business procedures
currently in place. This statement fails to appreciate the burden of the PCB record
keeping and reporting requirements on many small businesses. The National Rural
Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is a USWAG member and represents rural
electric cooperatives across the country. These are small businesses that are subject
to the full gamut of PCB substantive, record keeping and reporting obligations. Many of
these PCB record keeping and reporting requirements are anything but standard
business procedures, including, for example, the storage for reuse record keeping
requirements, annual document log requirements, and certain of the associated PCB
manifest record keeping requirements. Therefore, EPA is incorrect in its assumption ~WASH1:4595043.v1
5
that the PCB record keeping and reporting obligations imposed on small entities are no
more burdensome than standard business procedures currently in place. The failure of
the ICR to accurately reflect these additional burdens on small businesses is a
potentially serious flaw in the ICR.
Also incorrect is the statement that very few small businesses are likely to own
PCB Transformers because of the initial cost associated with the purchase of this
equipment and long-term expense for their operation and maintenance. The ICR fails to
recognize that many small transformers such as potential and current transformers
must be assumed to be PCB Transformers under the Agencys PCB Transformer
assumption rule (see 40 C.F.R. § 761.2(a)(3) (if the date of manufacture and the type of
dielectric fluid in a transformer are unknown, the transformer must be assumed to be a
PCB Transformer). Therefore the costs associated with PCB Transformer record
keeping and reporting requirements often are borne by small entities. Again, the failure
of the ICR to recognize these PCB Transformer costs incurred by small businesses
results in under-estimating the true costs of the PCB record keeping and reporting
obligations on regulated entities.
6.
Federal Facilities as a Source of PCB Wastes Section 5(c)(i) of the
Small Entity Flexibility discussion identifies six general categories/circumstances
where PCB waste can be generated. These include: electric utilities, non-utility entities,
entities with PCB ballast and lighting fixtures, natural gas pipelines, electrical
components, and Superfund sites. A significant omission in this list is the large universe
of PCB wastes generated by federal, state and municipal facilities. Indeed, this
grouping of governmental facilities may represent one of the largest sources of PCB- ~WASH1:4595043.v1
6
containing equipment and PCB waste. In attempting to characterize the sources of
PCB-containing equipment and PCB wastes, EPA should not overlook the potentially
significant contributions of federal, state and local governments.
7.
Continuing Burdens Associated With Storage For Reuse Variance
Request Table 6-1 in the ICR sets forth the reporting burdens under TSCA
Section 6(e). An error in this table is reflected in item 7 with respect to requirements to
obtain approvals under 40 C.F.R. § 761.35(b) for PCB Articles stored for reuse for
greater than five years in a facility that does not comply with the storage for disposal
standard under 40 C.F.R. § 761.65(b). The ICR states that the time period for preparing
storage for reuse variance requests takes five minutes for a