Organobromine Production Wastes; Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste; Land Disposal Restrictions; Listing of CERCLA Hazardous Substances, Reportable Quantities; Final Rule

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today is announcing the vacature of regulatory provisions governing the identification of certain wastes as listed hazardous wastes. EPA is amending its regulations to conform with an order issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Cir.) in Great Lakes Chemical Corporation v. EPA (No. 98-1312), that vacated Agency regulations listing certain organobromine wastes as hazardous wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA also is modifying the land disposal restrictions treatment standards in 40 CFR part 268 by deleting these wastes and the associated treatment standards. In addition, EPA is vacating the Reportable Quantity (RQ) requirements for these notifications. Under the court's order, and as amended in today's rule, the vacated federal hazardous waste listings and regulatory requirements based on those listings are to be treated as though they were never in effect. State regulations, which may be more stringent than federal rules, were not necessarily affected by the court's ruling.