From: Bloomberg/BNA
March 17 –The White House Office of Management and Budget began its review March 15 of a long-delayed proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency that would revise a 2008 Bush-era rule exempting certain recycled materials from hazardous waste regulation, according to OMB’s website.
If finalized, the July 2011 proposed rule would promote greater accountability and oversight of hazardous materials under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, according to the EPA, while also ensuring continued economic and environmental benefits through recycling.
The EPA agreed in a 2010 settlement with the Sierra Club to finalize the revisions to the Definition of Solid Waste rule by Dec. 31, 2012, but failed to meet that deadline and has not provided any definite time frame for completing its work.
In its July 2011 proposed rule, the EPA estimated the revisions would impact 6,500 to 9,100 industrial facilities and impose costs anywhere from $7.2 million to $47.5 million annually, depending on state adoption.
EPA’s top waste official acknowledged frustration from groups in finalizing the regulation in a January interview with Bloomberg BNA, but attributed delays to the need to “fine tune” aspects of the final rule.