[Federal Register: October 30, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 211)]
[Notices]
[Page 64614-64615]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30oc08-44]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8736-6]
Approval of a Petition for Exemption From Hazardous Waste
Disposal Injection Restrictions to AK Steel Corporation, Middletown, OH
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of final decision on petition.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) that an exemption to the land disposal
restrictions under the 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA)
to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) has been granted
to AK Steel Corporation (AK Steel) of Middletown, Ohio, for two Class I
injection wells located in Middletown, Ohio. As required by 40 CFR part
148, AK Steel has demonstrated, to a reasonable degree of certainty,
that there will be no migration of hazardous constituents out of the
injection zone or into an underground source of drinking water (USDW)
for at least 10,000 years. This final decision allows the continued
underground injection by AK Steel of a specific restricted waste, Waste
Pickle Liquor, (code K062 under 40 CFR part 261), into two Class I
hazardous waste injection wells specifically identified as Waste
Disposal Wells No. 1 and No. 2, at the Middletown facility. This
decision constitutes a final EPA action for which, except for the two
parties who commented on the draft decision, there is no Administrative
Appeal.
DATES: This action is effective as of October 30, 2008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leslie Patterson, Lead Petition
Reviewer, EPA, Region V, telephone (312) 886-4904. Copies of the
petition and all pertinent information relating thereto are on file and
are part of the Administrative Record. It is recommended that you
contact the lead reviewer prior to reviewing the Administrative Record.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
AK Steel submitted a petition for renewal of an existing exemption
from the land disposal restrictions of hazardous waste on March 6,
2006. EPA personnel reviewed all data pertaining to the petition,
including, but not limited to, well construction, well operations,
regional and local geology, seismic activity, penetrations of the
confining zone, and computational models of the injection zone. EPA has
determined that the geologic setting at the site as well as the
construction and operation of the wells are adequate to prevent fluid
migration out of the injection zone within 10,000 years, as required
under 40 CFR part 148. The injection zone at this site is the upper
Middle Run Formation, the Mt. Simon Sandstone, and the Eau Claire
Formation, at depths between 2,423 feet to 3,296 feet below ground
level. The confining zone is the Knox Dolomite at depths between 1,172
feet to 2,423 feet below ground level. The confining zone is separated
from the lowermost underground source of drinking water (at a depth of
522 feet below ground level) by a sequence of permeable and less
permeable sedimentary rocks, which provide additional protection from
fluid migration into drinking water sources.
EPA issued a draft decision, which described the reasons for
granting this exemption in more detail, a fact sheet, which summarized
these reasons, and a public notice on June 21, 2008, pursuant to 40 CFR
124.10. A public meeting was subsequently held in Middletown on July
21, 2008. The public comment period expired on August 5, 2008. EPA
received two comments on the proposed exemption granted to AK Steel,
neither of which bear on the validity of the no-migration
demonstration. Although the draft decision incorrectly referred to an
injection rate of 90 gallons per minute, this final decision is based
on the more conservative injection rate that was used to demonstrate
no-migration. This value is 60 gallons per minute, combined for both
wells. EPA has determined that its reasons for granting the exemption
as set forth in the original draft decision remain valid. A final
exemption is therefore granted as proposed.
Conditions
This exemption is subject to the following conditions. Non-
compliance with any of these conditions is grounds for termination of
the exemption:
(1) All regulatory requirements in 40 CFR 148.24 are incorporated
by reference;
(2) The exemption applies to the two existing injection wells, UIC
Well No. 1 and
UIC Well No. 2, located at the AK Steel facility at 1801 Crawford
Street, Middletown, Ohio;
(3) Injection is limited to that part of the lower Eau Claire
Formation, Mt. Simon Sandstone, and upper Middle Run Sandstone at
depths between 2,900 and 3,296 feet below the surface (referenced from
an eight-foot Kelly bushing);
(4) Only wastes denoted by the RCRA waste code K062 may be
injected;
(5) Maximum concentrations of chemical contaminants that are
hazardous at less than one part per million are limited according to
the table below:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum
concentration
Chemical constituent at the well
head (mg/L)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chromium................................................. 1,200
Hexavalent Chromium...................................... 1,200
Lead..................................................... 1,000
Nickel................................................... 542
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(6) The specific gravity of the injected waste stream must at all
times range from 1.00 to 1.30;
(7) The volume of wastes injected in any month through both wells
at the site must not exceed 2,629,800 gallons;
(8) This exemption is approved for the 12-year modeled injection
period, which ends on October 1, 2017. AK Steel may petition EPA for a
reissuance of the exemption beyond that date, provided that EPA Region
5 receives a new and complete petition and no-migration demonstration
by April 1, 2017.
(9) AK Steel must quarterly submit to EPA a report containing the
fluid analyses of the injected waste which must indicate the chemical
and physical properties upon which the no-migration petition was based,
including the levels of those constituents listed in Condition 5 of
this exemption approval;
(10) AK Steel must annually submit to EPA a report containing the
results of a bottom hole pressure survey (fall-off test) performed on
either UIC Well No. 1 or UIC Well No. 2. The survey must be performed
after shutting in the well for a period of time sufficient to allow the
pressure in the injection interval to reach equilibrium, in accordance
with 40 CFR 146.68(e)(1). The annual report must include a comparison
of reservoir parameters determined from the fall-off test with
parameters used in the approved no-migration petition; and
(11) The petitioner must fully comply with all requirements set
forth in
[[Page 64615]]
Underground Injection Control Permits UIC 05-09-001-PTO-I and UIC 05-
09-002-PTO-I issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Upon
the expiration, cancellation, reissuance, or modification of these
permits by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, this exemption is
subject to review. A new demonstration may be required if information
shows that the basis for granting the exemption is no longer valid
under 40 CFR 148.23 and 148.24.
Dated: October 7, 2008.
Timothy C. Henry,
Acting Director, Water Division, EPA Region 5.
[FR Doc. E8-25909 Filed 10-29-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P