Storage of PCB Articles for Reuse; Availability of Supplemental Response to Comments Document

In 1998, EPA promulgated a major revision of the rules governing use, manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, and disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). One of these amendments created a new authorization for storing PCB Articles for reuse, subject to certain requirements. These requirements were challenged in court. While the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit's (the Court) decision generally upheld the requirements, the Court directed EPA to more fully address comments submitted during the rulemaking process that requested a waiver from the storage for reuse requirements for the electric utility industry. EPA has prepared a Supplemental Response to Comments Document that addresses those comments. That document explains why the comments do not contradict EPA's judgment that additional restrictions on storage for reuse were necessary to prevent an unreasonable risk, and do not support a generic waiver from the storage for reuse requirements for the electric utility industry. The Supplemental Response to Comments Document has been added to the rulemaking record and is available to the public.