Regulatory Determination on Cement Kiln Dust

Today's action presents the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulatory determination on cement kiln dust (CKD) waste. This action is required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA has concluded that additional control of CKD is warranted in order to protect the public from human health risks and to prevent environmental damage resulting from current disposal of this waste. The primary environmental concerns to be addressed through additional controls are documented damages to ground water and potable water supplies, and potential human health risks from inhalation of airborne CKD and ingestion via food chain pathways. The Agency has decided to take a common sense approach in imposing such controls. In order to avoid duplication among regulatory programs, the Agency will use, as appropriate, its various authorities under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and RCRA to address the relevant pathways of potential contaminant releases from CKD. Under Subtitle C of RCRA, the Agency will develop a tailored set of standards for CKD that controls releases to ground water. The tailored standards will protect human health and the environment, while imposing a minimal burden on the regulated community. Until the tailored regulations are published by the Agency, CKD will retain the Bevill exemption and the status of CKD under RCRA Subtitle C will remain unchanged. Those cement manufacturing facilities that burn RCRA hazardous waste in their kilns will still be required to test their CKD to see that it remains unaffected by the combustion of hazardous waste. EPA has not included an evaluation of clinker or other products or by-products of cement production in this regulatory determination. In the absence of the CKD regulatory exemption, under certain regulatory scenarios clinker produced from re-introduced CKD could be considered a hazardous waste. However, as part of the regulations that EPA will promulgate as a result of today's determination, EPA in