PCB Cleanup Just Got a Little Easier

18 Mar PCB Cleanup Just Got a Little Easier

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PCB cleanup can be expensive and challenging. However, thanks to recent regulatory changes on the federal level, some cleanups may become a little less so.

EPA Regulatory Changes

On August 29, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized regulatory changes related to the PCB Cleanup and Disposal Program under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The changes became effective on February 26, 2024, and are codified in part 761 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

There are four areas of the PCB Cleanup and Disposal Program that have been changed or added to make cleanup and disposal more streamlined and cost-effective. These include:

• expanded options for analytical methods used to characterize sites and verify cleanup;
• added flexibility when addressing emergency situations;
• added flexibility to the Performance-based Cleanup Option; and
• clarification and harmonization of the rule to improve implementation.

PCB Cleanup Options

There are three PCB cleanup options under TSCA: Self-Implementing Cleanup (§ 761.61(a)), Performance-Based Cleanup (§ 761.61(b), and Risk-Based Cleanup (§ 761.61(c)).  Performance-Based and Risk-Based Cleanups were not feasible for many projects due to financial considerations and/or schedule constraints. Under the previous version of TSCA, Performance-Based Cleanup required that all PCBs greater than 1 part per million (ppm) be disposed of in a TSCA disposal facility, significantly increasing the cleanup cost . Additionally, under most circumstances, the EPA still requires a minimum of one year to review Risk-Based Cleanup proposals. Consequently, Self-Implementing Cleanup has become the most desirable option, even though Performance-Based Cleanup did not require previous notification to or approval from the EPA.

Cost- and Space-Saving Changes

As mentioned above, under the previous version of TSCA, Performance-Based Cleanup required that all PCB waste greater than 1 ppm be disposed of in a TSCA disposal facility (landfill or incinerator). This requirement was not only costly but also consumed countless cubic yards of decreasingly available TSCA landfill space and/or made cleanup unnecessarily energy intensive, adding to the carbon footprint of cleanup. Under the new provisions, disposal under the Performance-Based Cleanup option can be conducted based on the concentration of the non-liquid waste material subject to disposal. Thus, under this option, PCBs can now be disposed of at RCRA Subtitle C landfills, depending on the concentration of the material in the waste and the individual landfill’s acceptance criteria. This harmonizes the requirements of Performance-Based Cleanup with those under Self-Implementing Cleanup, which allows disposal at RCRA Subtitle C landfills under similar circumstances.

In the EPA’s preamble to the TSCA revisions, they indicate that an estimated 55,000 to 66,000 tons of PCB remediation waste are generated at 430 to 460 sites cleaned up under Performance-Based Cleanup each year. The potential cost savings using the new flexibility under the Performance-Based Cleanup model could be significant when not only the disposal cost but also the transportation cost is taken into consideration, as TSCA landfills typically require that a significantly larger amount of money be allocated for transportation.  Thus, Performance-Based Cleanup just became less expensive.

While this is great news for the regulated community, EPA granted this additional flexibility with some additional controls. These controls exclude the Performance-Based Cleanup option for certain sites, including those located in the 100-year floodplain and those with the potential to impact sensitive populations. Further controls include the need to conduct verification sampling, a 30-day Post-Cleanup Notification, and record-keeping requirements.

Weigh Your Options

Previously, for the vast majority of sites, Self-Implementing Cleanup was the only real option. Now that Performance-Based Cleanup and Self-Implementing Cleanup have been harmonized to a degree, the choice of palatable options has broadened. Which of the three PCB cleanup options is most advantageous for a particular site should be answered by a qualified Environmental Consultant like ESA after reviewing site-specific characteristics, the needs of the business, and the desired schedule.