Keeping Pace with Science and Engineering Case Studies in Environmental Regulation (1993) / Chapter Skim
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Municipal Waste Combustion and New Source Performance Standards: Use of Scientific and Technical Information
Municipal Waste Combustion and New Source Performance Standards: Use of Scientific and Technical Information
Pages 91-140
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Municipal Waste Combustion and New Source Performance Standards: Use of Scientific and Technical Information Suellen W Pirages and Jason E
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PIRAGES AND JASON E JOHNSTON Municipal waste combustion (MWC)
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Such information was ignored in determining the need for a federal program specific to municipal waste combustion. Scientific and technical information was dismissed during EPA debates on whether a materials separation requirement should be included in operating permits for individual facilities.
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These goals are not mandated by a federal regulatory program. The volume of waste managed through MWC with energy recovery and the rate at which facilities have been constructed throughout the United States attest to local government's acceptance of this technology as a viable waste management option (Figure 3~.
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I - Revised standards for particulate controls by EPA - Legal ruling about EPA authorities in PSD regulatory programs - EPA determines level of dioxin emissions at MWC are not a public health risk - NRDC, New York, and Florida petition for 1977 mandated study - NRDC, New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut petition for determination of health effects - EPA Report to Congress on MWC - EPA advanced notice for rulemaking for MWC - EPA determines that acid gas scrubbers are best available technology 1 990~ L lintMA/ V^rl, one ~l~rirlo n~`titi~n tar r. alien en ~ vie vet v · ivy van vet ~ ivy ~ us y vat ~ materials separation and lead-acid batteries; US Court of Appeals, D.C.
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, ~ 3/0~ fib 1/0 1/0 1 2/1 -- -- \ my> .~'-9i4 6/3 2/0 4/3 1/0 ~~ it= 1~ at) ~1 ~1 5/1 ~ so o [A 1/0 2/1 8/1 -\ \2~0r 2/0 ~ 1/1 by ~1 5/2 X = Number of operating MWC facilities Y = Number inactive, planned, and under construction FIGURE 3 Distribution of operating and projected municipal waste combustion facilities.
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Technology Used Between 1975 and 1989 A major finding of this case study is that between 1975 and 1989, new facilities were being constructed with best available pollution control tech
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With few exceptions, these early PSD requirements led to use of the same technologies used by EPA to establish the 1990 new source performance standards. Combustion Design Municipal waste combustors consist of three basic types: mass burn, modular, and refuse-derived fuel (EPA, 1989b; National Solid Waste Management Association, 1991~.
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By the time EPA's new source performance standards were proposed for new MWC facilities in 1989, a substantial proportion of new facilities already included the proposed level of air pollution control. The Appendix provides a brief description of the different control technologies.
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removal technology was in its second generation at coal-fired plants during the 1970s; therefore, based on operational information from these plants, this removal technology was easily installed at MWC facilities. For example, in the 1970s, following three PSD permit remands concerned with appropriate acid gas controls, EPA declared that acid gas scrubbers used in conjunction with fabric filters were to be considered "available" control technology in the PSD permit program.
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can be controlled either by changing combustion conditions or installing add-on controls. Before the 1989 new source performance standards were proposed, combustion practices were used to control NOX emissions.
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Throughout the 1970s and 1980s there was strong public demand to develop stringent air pollution control requirements for MWC within the PSD program. This demand arose in part from legitimate concerns about potential emissions of dioxins and other harmful compounds from uncontrolled MWC air emissions.
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The PSD regulatory program was created as a partnership among federal, state, and local agencies, and became a vehicle for more stringent air pollution control at MWC facilities. The program was delegated to state and local agencies for the implementation and enforcement of air quality standards.
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As EPA acknowledged in the report, the recommended pollution control strategy was representative of those practices and controls already being implemented by state and local governments at many new facilities. In response to the 1986 petitions filed by NRDC and the three states, EPA announced its intent to develop regulatory requirements for MWC new source performance standards under Section 111 of the CAA.
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The NRDC and the states of New York and Florida challenged EPA's elimination of materials separation requirements and its ban on burning lead-acid batteries in the final rule. A court decision was rendered in July 1992, supporting the agency in its elimination of a materials separation requirement.
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would be constructed after promulgation of new source performance standards. The source of this projection is not clearly identified in EPA documents; our analysis suggests that it was an exaggerated number.
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If EPA had applied the results of a comprehensive, comparative analysis of projected air emissions, its decision about a federal regulatory need might have been much different. In the absence of reliable and verifiable data, EPA staff had no ability to balance diverse political pressures.
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were not above the then-informal, national acceptable risk range.3 The agency evaluated potential risks under two exposure conditions: · Projected facilities would use electrostatic precipitators to control particulate emissions and implement good combustion practices to minimize emissions of other constituents; this was designated the baseline scenario. · Projected facilities would use dry alkaline scrubbers in conjunction with particulate control technology and good combustion practices equivalent to the baseline condition; this was designated as the controlled scenario, which was being installed at many new facilities in 1987.
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Estimates of noncarcinogenic hazards associated with air emissions for hydrogen chloride, lead, and mercury were below health parameters enforced in 1989.4 Therefore, facilities with pollution control technology as defined in the baseline scenario do not pose unacceptable carcinogenic risks or noncarcinogenic hazards. Agency officials chose to ignore these studies.
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The second problem was the public pressure for federal regulations beyond those already included in the PSD permit program. In addition, there was evidence that once Congress addressed amendments to the CAA, it would mandate development of new source performance standards for MWC facilities.
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However, because of public concern about potential risks associated with these facilities, local regulatory agencies have been motivated to implement state-of-the-art technologies as a means of gaining community acceptance of proposed facilities. Unless these officials are able to show that the best available air pollution controls will be installed, their communities do not approve construction (personal communication with D
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The agency did not follow its own 1985 National Air Toxics Strategy, which could have increased financial and technical assistance to state environmental programs. · EPA estimates of increases in overall MWC air emissions, without a new federal regulatory program, were not supported by any information available in the mid- to late-1980s.
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However, even with an emphasis on a technology-based standard, political pressure can affect this stage of regulatory development rather rapidly and forcefully, as illustrated in the following discussion of the materials separation requirement. As noted there, politics worked against using available information in the proposed rule, but was the driving force (in support of available information)
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Table 1 lists the changes made between the proposed and final rule. The extent to which technical and scientific information has been used is illustrated below for good combustion practices and emission controls for particulates, metals, acid gases, organics, and nitrogen oxides.
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emission levels; · Site-specific maximum inlet temperature for particulate control devices, demonstrated during a dioxin/furan performance test; · Maximum load level demonstrated during a dioxin/furan performance test; and · Certification for supervisor and operator training and use of training manuals for other personnel. Changes made in these components and published in the final rule reflect the incorporation of new information provided through public comment.
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However, EPA maintained that its data were sufficient to demonstrate that acid gas limits could be met. Between publication of the proposed rule and promulgation of the final rule, EPA reviewed additional data supplied by commenters and changed its standard for acid gas emissions.
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Organic Controls The EPA proposed to control emissions of organics by using dioxin/ furan emissions as a surrogate measure of formation of organics. The proposed rule indicated a concentration range and stipulated that a single limit would be promulgated in the final rule (EPA, 1989b)
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Total Dioxin Measurements. In the proposed rule, the agency noted that although it was theoretically possible to measure all components of flue gases, it would be very burdensome, expensive, and impractical to perform such analyses repeatedly (EPA, 1989b)
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Inclusion of this requirement was driven by internal political considerations. The debate concerning a materials separation requirement is discussed at length here because it is the most dramatic example of a conflict between political desires and supporting scientific, technical, and economic information.
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Scientific and Technical Data The 1990 report Municipal Waste Combustion: Background Information for Materials Separation presented EPA's evaluation of data to support its claims about reduced emissions associated with materials separation (EPA, 1990~. Emissions monitoring data for several constituents were presented, including data for total metals, mercury, lead, dioxins and furans, paper, and yard waste.
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Such collection practices undoubtedly contributed significantly to observed variations in emissions. The result of this data collection effort was that EPA could not provide supporting evidence for its theory about the impact of materials separation on MWC emissions (EPA, 1990~.
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. Political Debate Concerning Materials Separation Although all stakeholders in the final rule for new source performance standards have been extremely supportive of recycling programs, many of them opposed requiring materials separation as a component of MWC permits.
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The contracting process for operation of MWC facilities is not conducive to a materials separation requirement as part of an NSPS permit (Curling, 1990; Martineau, 1 990a; National Association of Counties, 1990~. Echoing many of these local issues, state officials also emphasized their
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It is also noted that, as proposed, the materials separation requirement constituted a goal of the new source performance standards, not a tool that operators could use to meet a performance standard (Gruenspecht, 1990~. The President's Council of Competitiveness (PCC)
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12291. In response to these public comments, EPA stated in the preamble to the final rule that achievability was not an issue in its decision to remove the materials separation requirement.
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Unfortunately, there is little evidence to date that EPA can, or is willing, to be a strong leader against political tides. Science versus Politics In reaching an initial decision to proceed with a federal regulatory program for municipal waste combustion (i.e., giving this activity priority over development of regulations for other sources)
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The second point at which EPA ignored science and technology was in its decision to propose a materials separation requirement as part of a facility permit. At the time of development of the proposed rule, no data existed to support a claim that separation of materials would reduce toxic emissions.
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Without applying the best available technology, communities in which these facilities are to be sited do not give this support. In addition, local site conditions and specific community demands are driving forces behind implementation of most standards for pollution control at MWC facilities.
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Should the agency desire to revisit a materials separation requirement in other rules or in future revisions to this rule, it will be necessary to seek appropriate data to support assumptions about the reduction in air emissions associated with materials separation and the impact on public health and the environment. The CAA itself inhibits to some extent the incentive to identify new data about new and cutting-edge technological innovations.
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The main reason that there was so little opposition to most of the provisions in the proposed new source performance standards is that most new facilities were already being required to implement the equipment and practices recognized as BDT in the proposed rule. Thus, the rule simply equalized the playing field within the regulated community.
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15-25~. There is no question that politics both shaped the decision about whether a federal regulatory program was necessary for MWC and influenced provisions in the proposed and final new source performance standards.
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A second recommendation concerns a mechanism to enhance the quality of information available to the agency for use in developing regulatory requirements. Both government and industry agree that, for the most part, EPA used available information in formulating the proposed and final rules for new source performance standards.
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A more effective mechanism is needed through which the agency can request and receive new information during development of a proposed rule, rather than waiting to receive information submitted voluntarily or during the public comment period. The Expert Panel on the Role of Science has provided extensive suggestions for enhancing the use of better information (EPA, 1992~.
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While these recommended options offer other mechanisms for enhancing the availability of new scientific and technical information to the agency, they do not address the underlying and extremely critical problem inherent in a regulatory process: the influence of political factions to the exclusion of scientific and technical information. The MWC rule for new source performance standards is not unique in the role that politics played in determining the need for and the scope of the regulatory program.
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. Acid Gas Scrubbers Acid gas scrubbers operate by bringing acid gases into contact with alkali reagents, forming a neutralized salt solid that can be removed by ESPs or FFs.
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Potential disadvantages include the difficulty of maintaining the optimal flue gas temperature in the injection zone. Also, ammonia may react with acid gases to form ammonia salts, which may corrode and foul downstream equipment or exit the stack as a visible plume (Frillici and Schwartz, 19914.
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EPA's proposed rules fur municipal waste combustors, dated March 1, 1990. Integrated Waste Services Association.
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1991. Air emissions from municipal waste combustion and their environmental effects.
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1990. Municipal Waste Combustion: Background Information for Materials Separation.
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