EPA is today finalizing clarifying amendments to the rule authorizing treatment variances from the national Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) treatment standards. The clarifying changes adopt EPA's longstanding interpretation that a treatment variance may be granted when treatment of any given waste to the level or by the method specified in the regulations is not appropriate, whether or not it is technically possible to treat the waste to that level or by that method. In response to comment, the Agency is indicating in the rule the circumstances when application of the national treatment standard could be found to be ``inappropriate'', specifically where the national treatment standard is unsuitable from a technical standpoint or where the national treatment standard could lead to environmentally counterproductive results by discouraging needed remediation. In addition, EPA proposed to reissue the treatment variance granted to Citgo Petroleum under the clarified standard. The Agency is not taking further action on this part of the proposal because, due to changes in Citgo's remediation plans for its Lake Charles Louisiana facility, this particular variance has become moot. The Agency is consequently withdrawing the Citgo variance.