Petroleum Refining Process Wastes

Final Rule - August 6, 1998

EPA amended the regulations for hazardous waste management under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to reduce hazards to human health and the environment from wastes generated from petroleum refining. EPA listed as hazardous four wastes generated during petroleum refining and issued a decision not to list ten other petroleum refining wastes.

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Federal Register Notice (PDF) (80 pp, 603K) - August 6, 1998

Extension of Comment Period (PDF) (2 pp, 21K) - August 13, 1998

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Support Materials

Docket Index - RCRA Docket No. F-98-PRLF-FFFFF: Hazardous Waste Management System; Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste; Petroleum Refining Process Wastes; Land Disposal Restrictions for Newly Identified Wastes; and CERCLA Hazardous Substance Designation and Reportable Quantities; Final Rule
Environmental Fact Sheet: Final Standards Promulgated for Petroleum Refining Waste (PDF) (2 pp, 14K) || Text Version (Text File) (6K)
Notice of Data Availability (NODA) Response to Comment Document Part I (PDF) - June 1998 (162 pp, 528K) || Text Version (Text File) (418K)
Notice of Data Availability (NODA) Response to Comment Document Part II (PDF) - June 1998 (162 pp, 503K) || Text Version (Text File) (485K)
Petroleum Refining Listing Determination: Proposed Rule Response to Comment Document: Part I (PDF) - June 1998 (87 pp, 292K) || Text Version (Text File) (253K)
Petroleum Refining Listing Determination: Proposed Rule Response to Comment Document: Part II (PDF) - June 1998 (69 pp, 230K) || Text Version (Text File) (197K)
Petroleum Refining Listing Determination: Proposed Rule Response to Comment Document: Part III (PDF) - June 1998 (94 pp, 291K) || Text Version (Text File) (255K)
Petroleum Refining Listing Determination: Proposed Rule Response to Comment Document: Part IV (PDF) - June 1998 (58 pp, 165K) || Text Version (Text File)(158K)
Petroleum Refining Process Waste Listing Determination; Additional Groundwater Pathway Analyses; Supplemental Background Document (PDF) (120 pp, 680K)

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Related Federal Registers and Documents

Technical Development Document for Proposed Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Landfills Point Source Category
Hazardous Waste Management System; Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste; Petroleum Processing Wastes; Exemption for Leachate from Non-Hazardous Waste Landfills Final Rule - February 12, 1999
Hazardous Waste Management System: Petroleum Refining Process Wastes; Identification of Characteristically Hazardous Self-Heating Solids; Land Disposal Restrictions: Treatment Standards for Spent Hydrorefining Catalyst (K172) Hazardous Waste (PDF) (6 pp, 60K) - October 20, 2003
Hazardous Waste Management System: Petroleum Refining Process Wastes; Identification of Characteristically Hazardous Self-Heating Solids; Land Disposal Restrictions: Treatment Standards for Spent Hydrorefining Catalyst (K172) Hazardous Waste -- Extension of Comment Period; Correction (PDF) (2 pp, 39K) - November 24, 2003
This notice of data availability (NODA) makes available to the public certain analytical data pertaining to the polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content of spent hydrorefining catalyst from petroleum refining operations (K172). These analytical data are contained in a petition for rulemaking (petition) submitted to EPA by the Vanadium Producers and Reclaimers Association (VPRA), formerly known as the Ferroalloys Association (TFA). The data were submitted by the petitioner to support its request that EPA amend the land disposal restriction (LDR) treatment standards for the K172 listed waste. The VPRA petition also asserted that K171 and K172 wastes are often being landfilled without being decharacterized for their ignitability/reactivity potential. Therefore, this notice provides information supporting the petitioner's assertions and requests comment and submittal of any additional relevant documentation. At this time, EPA is requesting comment only on the analytical data for K172 and information supporting VPRA's concerns about characteristically hazardous solids. Background information for this notice is available through Regulations.gov:
1. Select Docket Search.
2. Select "Environmental Protection Agency" from the Agency drop-down menu.
3. In the Docket ID box, type in the docket number — EPA-HQ-RCRA-2003-0023 and press the "Submit" button to receive search results. Be patient; loading the documents takes time.

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NODA - April 8, 1997

EPA published a Notice of Data Availability (NODA) for the Petroleum Refining Listing Determination in the Federal Register (PDF) (7 pp, 110K) on April 8, 1997 (62 FR 16747). The NODA presented for public comment modeling analyses for 7 process wastes using different assumptions than used for the proposal, additional analyses of waste characteristics and disposal practices, and other evaluations of the potential impact of different modeling assumptions on the risk assessment results. It also included clarifications on several definition of solid waste issues including the recycling of oil-bearing sludges to cokers, RCRA jurisdiction over coke fines produced from listed hazardous waste sludges, and a headworks exemption for wastewater from the cleaning of process reactors containing spent catalyst. The NODA had a 60-day comment period, with a final rule promulgation date of April 30, 1998.

Index to Petroleum Refining Process Waste Listing Notice of Availability (Text File) (2K)

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Non-Groundwater Pathway Risk Assessment
Technical support document related to the nongroundwater pathway analyses conducted to assess risks for petroleum refining process wastes. Report presents methodology and results of the nongroundwater models for risk associated with land treatment, including codisposal of multiple wastestreams, soil biodegradation of PAHs(polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, and inhalation/dermal risk from residential use of contaminated groundwater.

Text Version (Text File) (201K)
Table of Contents (PDF) (16 pp, 45K)
Chapter 1 - 4 (PDF) (16 pp, 147K)
Chapter 5 -7 (PDF) (11 pp, 302K)
Chapter 8 (PDF) (25 pp, 128K)
Chapter 9 (PDF) (25 pp, 129K)
Chapter 10 (PDF) (25 pp, 80K)
Chapter 11 (PDF) (25 pp, 100K)
Chapter 12 (PDF) (25 pp, 73K)
Chapter 13 (PDF) (25 pp, 67K)
Chapter 14 (PDF) (25 pp, 126K)
Chapter 15 (PDF) (65 pp, 410K)
Appendix A (PDF) (98 pp, 399K)
Appendix B (PDF) (13 pp, 67K)
Appendix C (PDF) (11 pp, 69K)
Appendix D (PDF) (5 pp, 12K)
References (PDF) (1 pg, 6K)

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Groundwater Pathway Risk Analysis
Technical support document related to the groundwater pathway analyses conducted to assess risks for petroleum refining process wastes. Report presents methodology (including Monte Carlo based) and results of the groundwater model for risk associated with landfilling, including codisposal of multiple wastestreams, conditional exemption for clarified slurry oil storage tank sediment, noningestion risks from groundwater contamination, and the use of TCLP sample data that exceeds the RCRA toxicity characteristic.

Text Version (Text File) (107K)
Main Document (PDF) (65 pp, 346K)
Appendix A (PDF) (14 pp, 36K)
Appendix B (PDF) (11 pp, 54K)
Appendix C1 (PDF) (19 pp, 98K)
Appendix C2 (PDF) (6 pp, 42K)
Appendix C3 (PDF) (13 pp, 74K)
Appendix D (PDF) (10 pp, 57K)
Appendix E (PDF) (6 pp, 50K)

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Listing Support Analyses for Petroleum Refining Process Waste Listing Determination
Technical support document related to various engineering analyses including leaching of oily wastes, additive risks from multiple sources, impact of the proposed oil-bearing residuals exclusion on coke product, comparison of product coke to off-spec product and fines from thermal processes, active lives of landfills used for disposal of petroleum refining wastes, characterization of on-site land treatment units, and the potential impact of the headworks exemption for clarified slurry oil sediment and K171/K172 washwaters.

Text Version (Text File) (271K)
PDF (70 pp, 282K)

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Petroleum Refining Process Wastes

Related Links

Final Rule - August 6, 1998

NODA - April 8, 1997

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