United States Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response

Nov. 4, 1994

Mr. James W. Hathcock
Environmental Manager
Laidlaw Environmental Services (Recovery), Inc.
2029 Bayou Plaquemine Road
Rayne, Louisiana 70578

Dear Mr. Hathcock:

Thank you for your letter of August 23, 1994, regarding the minimum heat content
requirements of waste-derived fuel blended for energy recovery in boilers and
industrial furnaces (BIFs). Specifically, Laidlaw proposes to lower the minimum heat
content requirement for hazardous waste accepted at its Crowley, Louisiana facility
from 5,000 Btu/lb to 4,000 Btu/lb for wastes with "significant organic content." Your
letter also serves as a follow-up to a previous Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
memorandum to EPA Region VI dated Nay 20, 1994, on a related subject.

In a letter to EPA Region VI dated October 19, 1993, Laidlaw proposed to lower the
minimum heat content requirement for wastes it accepts for blending into fuel for
energy recovery from 5,000 Btu/lb to 1,000 Btu/lb provided the BIF unit has certified
compliance with the BIF rules. EPA responded in a May 20, l994, letter stating that
blending of hazardous waste to increase its heating value for use as a fuel in BIF is not
prohibited; however, if an industrial furnace burns a listed hazardous waste with an
as-generated heating value less than 5,000 Btu/lb and the facility does not document
that the waste is burned for legitimate energy recovery, then any product applied to or
placed on the land in a manner that constitutes disposal (e.g., cement) would be a
waste-derived product subject to regulation as hazardous waste.

You now indicate that Laidlaw has developed a comprehensive list of 386 EPA
hazardous waste codes that are considered to have "significant organic content." You
also note that many of these waste streams have a land disposal restrictions (LDR)
treatment standard of incineration or fuels substitution. You contend that these waste
streams (with an as-generated heating value between 4,000 Btu/lb and 5,000 Btu/lb)
are suitable for their fuel blending program due to the wastes' "significant organic
content." Though not specifically mentioned, EPA must infer that Laidlaw intends to
send these blended wastes to industrial furnaces that produce a product applied to or
placed on the land in a manner constituting disposal (i.e., cement or light-weight
aggregate) and are concerned about the waste-derived product implications.

The Agency presumes that a hazardous waste with an as- generated heating value
greater than 5,000 Btu/lb is burned in an industrial furnace for energy recovery.
Documentation that a waste has a heating value greater than 4,000 Btu/lb and
"significant organic content" is not, by itself, adequate to rebut the presumption that it
being burned for destruction rather than for energy recovery. As indicated in the May
20 memorandum, an industrial furnace may burn a waste with an as-generated heating
value less than 5,000 Btu/lb and avoid waste-derived product implications only if the
facility documents that the lower heating value waste contributes substantial, useable
energy to the furnace. Documentation could be provided by, for example, empirical
data showing that substitution of a lower heating value waste results in a substantial
reduction in fuel (e.g., coal) usage that would otherwise be consumed. Other
approaches may also be used to demonstrate that low heating values waste
contributed significant energy input to the furnace. However, facilities should discuss
their approach(es) to document that lower heating value wastes are being burned for
legitimate energy recovery with the appropriate permitting agency to be sure that it is
acceptable.

I hope this information will be helpful. If you have any further questions or comments,
please contact Frank Behan of my staff at 703-308-8476.

Sincerely yours,
Michael Shapiro, Director
Office of Solid Waste

cc: William Honker, Region V (6H-P)

Attachment

LAIDLAW ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
2029 Bayou Plaquemine Road
Rayne, Louisiana 70578

August 23, 1 994

Mr. Michael H. Shapro, Director
Office of Solid Waste
401 M Street, SW
Washington, DC 20460

Re: BTU Limitation for Waste-Derived Fuels Laidlaw
Environmental Services (Recovery), Inc., Crowley, LA - LAD 079 464 095

Dear Mr. Shapiro:

The purpose of this letter is to request clarification concerning the minimum heat
content requirements of waste-derived fuel burned for energy recovery in boilers and
industrial furnaces (BIF's) and as a follow-up to your memorandum, dated May 20,
1994. As of August 21, 1991, Boiler and Industrial Furnace units were regulated
under the Boiler and Industrial Furnace Rule (40 CFR 266). Prior to this date, BlF's
were not regulated under RCRA if they were burning hazardous waste for energy
recovery. The only restriction was the hazardous waste burned for energy recovery
had to have a minimum heat content of 5,000 BTU/pound to avoid "sham recycling".
The "Sham Recycling Rule" (Federal Register, March 16, 1983, Pg. 11,157) was
intended to prevent BIF units from burning hazardous waste solely for the purpose of
destruction. Under the BIF Rule, the "Sham Recycling Rule" no longer applies to BIF
units once they have certified compliance with the Rule.

Laidlaw Environmental Services (Recovery), Inc., operates a hazardous waste fuel
blending facility in Crowley, Louisiana. At the current time, Laidlaw Environmental
Services (Recovery), Inc., does not accept hazardous waste with a heat content less
than 5,000 BTU/pound. The facility proposes to lower the minimum heat content
requirement for hazardous waste fuels accepted at the facility to 4,000 BTU/pound for
materials with "significant organic content". These materials would not be blended and
shipped to BIF units, which have not certified compliance with the BIF Rule. A list of
the EPA Hazardous Waste Codes, which Laidlaw considers to have "significant
organic content", are listed in Table 1. A description of the additional acceptance
criteria, which will be utilized by the facility, for the acceptance of hazardous waste
with heating values between 4,000 BTU/pound and 5,000 BTU/pound is provided in
Attachment A.

Laidlaw contends the materials with a heat content between 4,000 and 5,000
BTU/pound are suitable for the fuels blending program due to their "significant organic
content". However, these waste streams will not be widely accepted at the facility due
to the BTU/pound restrictions at the BIF units. Typically, the BIF units require
minimum heat contents of 10,000 BTU/pound for liquid waste.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter. If you have questions or
require further information, please call me at (318) 783-2624.

Sincerely,

James W. Hathcock
Environmental Manager