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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 169 / Friday, September 3, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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federally enforceable upon EPAs approval. The procedures for adopting and submitting state plans are in 40 CFR
part 60, subpart B.
III. Why does EPA regulate air emissions from MWCs?
EPA is required to regulate air emissions from MWCs under sections 111d and 129 of the Clean Air Act.
Large municipal waste combustors LMWCs are capable of combusting more than 250 tons per day of solid waste, while small municipal waste combustors SMWCs are capable of combusting at least 35 tons per day, but no more than 250 tons per day of municipal solid waste or refuse-derived fuel. When burned, municipal solid wastes emit various air pollutants, including particulate matter, hydrogen chloride, dioxins/furans, heavy metals lead, cadmium, and mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Exposure to particulate matter can aggravate existing respiratory and cardiovascular disease as well as increase risk of premature death. Chronic exposure to hydrogen chloride has been reported to cause gastritis, chronic bronchitis, dermatitis, and photosensitization.
Acute exposure to high levels of chlorine in humans may result in chest pain, vomiting, toxic pneumonitis, pulmonary edema, and death. At lower levels, chlorine is a potent irritant to the eyes, the upper respiratory tract, and lungs. Exposure to dioxin and furan can cause skin disorders, cancer, and reproductive effects such as endometriosis. These pollutants can also affect the immune system.
Mercury is highly hazardous and is of particular concern because it persists in the environment and bioaccumulates through the food web. Serious human health effects, primarily to the nervous system, have been associated with exposures to mercury. Harmful physiological impacts on wildlife have also been reported; these include nervous system damage and behavioral and reproductive deficits. Human and wildlife exposure to mercury occur mainly through ingestion of fish. When inhaled, mercury vapor attacks the lung tissue and is a cumulative poison.
Short-term exposure to mercury in certain forms can cause hallucinations and impair consciousness. Long-term exposure to mercury in certain forms can affect the central nervous system and cause kidney damage.
IV. What history does NHDES have with MWC state plans?
EPA approved NHDESs sections 111d/129 state plan for existing large and small MWCs on February 10, 2003,
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effective on April 11, 2003. The state plan establishes the operating and performance standards for MWCs with the capacity to combust greater than 35
tons per day of municipal solid waste, to comply with CAA sections 111d and 129 as well as State rules promulgated under the New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules Env-A
3300 Municipal Waste Combustion.
Since its approval, the state plan has been amended twice. On January 29, 2009, NHDES submitted a revision to comply with EPAs revised regulations for LMWCs via 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cb, Emissions Guidelines and Compliances for Large Municipal Waste Combustors that are Constructed on or Before September 20, 1994. EPA
approved these revisions on September 3, 2014. See 79 FR 52204. The second revision was submitted by NHDES on July 28, 2016, to align standards for SMWCs with those of LMWCs. EPA
proposed these revisions on June 6, 2017. See 82 FR 25972.
V. Why did NHDES revise the MWC
state plan?
EPAs February 8, 2016 revision to 40
CFR part 241, subpart B, Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials that are Solid Wastes when Used as Fuels or Ingredients in Combustion Units, added construction and demolition C&D wood processed from C&D debris according to best management practices to its categorical list of non-waste fuels. See 81 FR 6743.
Subsequently on August 11, 2018, NHDES removed a ban on wood residue combustion via the state statute RSA
125C:10cIIb Combustion Ban. The change allows combustion of no more than 10,000 tons per year of wood residue at any large municipal waste combustor from November 15 through April 15 from facilities that process construction and demolition debris in a manner no less stringent than the requirements at 40 CFR 241.4a5, Non-Waste Determinations for Specific Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials When Used as a Fuel. The change also requires NHDES to adopt rules regarding fuel quality standards and test methods in accordance with RSA 125
C:6, XIVa before any such combustion shall occur, therefore this state plan revision is a necessity. The change was initiated in 2016, and it was introduced by the NHDES Air Resources Division and the Solid Waste Division at multiple stakeholder meetings open to the public with opportunities for comment. The proposed rule was presented to the NHDES Air Resources Council on September 11, 2017, and the final rule was posted for notice on May
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14, 2018, with a public hearing on June 15, 2018, a comment period ending on June 29, 2018, and an effective date of September 27, 2018.
VI. What revisions have been made to the state plan?
On October 1, 2018, NHDES
submitted the sections 111d/129
revised state plan for existing large and small municipal waste combustors to EPA. The revision incorporates fuel quality standards and test methods for wood residue at MWC facilities that process C&D wood debris. The revised state plan includes changes to Env-A
3300, defining processed wood residue PWR as construction and demolition wood that has undergone positive or negative sorting in accordance with the best management practices as described in 40 CFR 241.4a5. The state plan revision also includes new part Env-A
3308 Additional Requirements for Combusting PWR with sections outlining applicability, operating practices, PWR fuel quality, fuel supplier requirements, independent third-party inspections, analysis of compositive samples, reporting and recordkeeping for LMWCs combusting PWR, and cessation and resumption of receipt of PWR from a supplier.
VII. Why is EPA proposing to approve NHDESs revised state plan?
EPA has evaluated NHDESs sections 111d/129 revised state plan for existing large and small MWCs for consistency with the CAA, EPA
guidelines, and policy. C&D wood is a non-hazardous secondary material that is not classified as a solid waste when used as a fuel in a combustion unit and is regulated by Env-A 3300, which EPA
finds to be no less stringent than 40 CFR
241.4a5.
Furthermore, the quantity of PWR
New Hampshires existing large MWCs are allowed to combust ensures that the units do not meet the definition of a cofired combustor and thus become exempt from Federal regulations for large MWCs. Cofired combustors, defined as MWC units combusting municipal solid waste with nonmunicipal solid waste fuel, that have a federally enforceable permit limiting municipal solid waste combustion to 30 percent of the total fuel input by weight, are exempt from large MWC emission guidelines and Federal Plan. See 40 CFR 60.32bi, 60.50ad, 60.50bj, 60.1020g, 60.1555g, 62.14102j, and 62.15020g.
By limiting the combustion of no more than 10,000 tons per year of PWR at any MWC from November 15 through April 15, and further restricting combustion of
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