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June 20, 2024
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This e-newsletter delivers announcements from EPA's Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery on rulemakings, guidance documents, reports, research, upcoming webinars, and more.
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EPA Denies Alabama’s Coal Combustion Residuals Program
On May 23, 2024, EPA denied Alabama Department of Environmental Management’s coal combustion residuals permit program application. EPA determined that the portions of the Alabama CCR permit program that were submitted for approval do not meet the standard for approval under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
EPA found that the Alabama CCR permit program is significantly less protective of people and waterways than the federal regulations require. ADEM largely adopted the language in the federal CCR regulations into its state regulations. However, when EPA reviewed Alabama’s CCR permits, EPA found that the permits were not as protective as the federal CCR regulations.
For more information, visit the Alabama CCR permit program webpage.
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EPA Issues Memorandum Implementing Climate Resilience in Hazardous Waste Permitting
On June 5, 2024, EPA issued a final memorandum that provides guidance to EPA Regions, states, and territories on when and how to consider potential adverse climate change impacts in the hazardous waste permitting process under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. This guidance includes recommendations for conducting climate change vulnerability screenings and assessments for treatment, storage, and disposal facilities to determine whether there are climate vulnerabilities that hazardous waste permits should address. The memo’s recommendations ensure that controls provide long-term effectiveness through resilience to adverse climate change impacts into the future.
EPA welcomed public comment on the memorandum from December 12, 2023, through January 26, 2024. Read the memo on our website.
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Implementing Climate Resilience in Polychlorinated Biphenyls Approvals Memo
On June 18, 2024, EPA issued a final memorandum that communicates EPA’s approach to implementing climate resilience in PCB approvals.
EPA encourages project managers overseeing PCB approvals to assess whether proposed PCB cleanup, storage, treatment, and disposal controls will be resilient to the impacts of climate change. This guidance emphasizes the importance of considering climate change when determining whether there is risk to human health or the environment. This guidance also identifies measures that strengthen the resilience of PCB cleanup, storage, treatment, and disposal controls to climate change impacts, ensuring the protection of human health and the environment over time.
EPA accepted public comment on a draft memorandum from December 12, 2023, through January 26, 2024.
Read the memo on our website.
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EPA, USDA, and FDA Release National Strategy on Food Loss and Waste
On June 12, EPA, USDA, and FDA announced the release of the “National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics” as part of President Biden’s whole-of-government approach to tackle climate change, feed people, address environmental justice, and promote a circular economy.
The goal of the strategy is to prevent the loss and waste of food, where possible, increase recycling of food and other organic materials to support a more circular economy for all, reduce GHG emissions, save households and businesses money, and build cleaner, healthier communities. The actions detailed in this strategy will help the U.S. meet its National Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal to halve food loss and waste and contribute to achieving the National Recycling Goal to achieve a 50% recycling rate by 2030, as well as contribute to global achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3.
For more information, read the press release.
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