[Federal Register: August 3, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 148)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 42221-42243]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03au99-27]
[[Page 42221]]
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Part IV
Environmental Protection Agency
_______________________________________________________________________
40 CFR Part 372
Lead and Lead Compounds; Lowering of Reporting Thresholds; Community
Right-to-Know Toxic Chemical Release Reporting; Proposed Rule
[[Page 42222]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 372
[OPPTS-400140; FRL-6081-4]
RIN 2070-AD38
Lead and Lead Compounds; Lowering of Reporting Thresholds;
Community Right-to-Know Toxic Chemical Release Reporting
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to lower the reporting thresholds for lead
and lead compounds which are subject to reporting under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA)and section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (PPA). EPA believes that lead and lead compounds are persistent, bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemicals that warrant lower reporting thresholds than those currently established under EPCRA section 313. Today's proposed action also includes a limitation on the reporting of lead when contained in certain alloys and proposed modifications to certain reporting exemptions and requirements for lead and lead compounds.
NCPA Action:The following letter was written in cooperation with the Corn Refiners Association and the National Cotton Council:
DRAFT
October 29, 1999
Document Control Office (7407)
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
Re: Proposed Rulemaking on Lead and Lead Compounds; Lowering of
Reporting Thresholds; Community Right-to-Know Toxic Chemical Release
Reporting
Dear Sir or Madam:
The Corn Refiners Association, Inc. (CRA), the National Cotton Council(NCC) and National Cottonseed Products Association (NCPA) appreciate the opportunity to provide these comments on the United States Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rulemaking on lead and lead compounds; lowering of reporting thresholds; community right-to-know toxic chemical release reporting. A detailed description of each organization is attached.
CRA, NCC and NCPA and their members support the public's right to know about emissions of TRI substances. CRA, NCC and NCPA members currently report other chemicals under TRI, however, this proposal appears to unjustifiably burden the industry by requiring the additional reporting of trace levels of naturally occurring materials found in raw grain.
We recommend that EPA adopt a regulation "impos(ing) the least burden on society…consistent with obtaining the regulatory objectives, taking into account…the costs of cumulative regulations, as established in President Clinton's Executive Order on Regulatory Planning and Review
No.12866. California's Proposition 65 recognizes that naturally occurring chemicals should not be considered an "exposure" upon human consumption. The Proposition 65 definition holds that "a chemical(is)naturally occurring if it is a natural constituent of a food, or if it is present in a food solely as a result of absorption or accumulation of the chemical which is naturally present in the environment in which the food is raised, or grown, or obtained…"
We request clarification on whether it is EPA's intent to require the reporting of trace levels of naturally occurring chemicals in grain. It appears under this proposal that if the total amount of lead or lead compounds in incoming raw materials exceeds 10 pounds per year, reporting is required, even if subsequent environmental releases are less than 10 pounds per year. Every grain shipment would have to be tested to estimate the amount of lead in the raw material, costing the industry substantially.
We also request clarification on whether it is EPA's intent to eliminate the de minimis exemption for agricultural products. By eliminating the de minimis exemption, EPA is implying that there is no acceptable level of naturally occurring chemicals in products even
though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recognizes the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC) specifications for the major processed food products.
Eliminating the de minimis exemption will create a huge burden in the regulated community since relevant data are not readily available. Industry would have to track the manufacture and processing of food products rather than the reagents and waste streams associated with their processing. Food chemicals are usually consumed as components of processed foods and therefore it is difficult to accurately estimate the level of lead intake relative to that from the total diet. There is the added uncertainty of the contribution of lead from food packaging components. Finally, "lead is inadvertently introduced as an environmental contaminant during food processing and is known to be present" in food crops. The removal or reduction of naturally occurring lead in food chemicals is limited by feasible technology."1 Methods are not obtainable to estimate releases that may come from processing, and there are no pertinent lead emission factors except for air emissions from fuel combustion. A lack of emission factors or basis to calculate emissions will likely result in pressure to perform extensive sampling of waste streams for lead. This will cause varying degrees of reporting and inconsistent data for EPA for a benefit that has not been adequately identified.
In closing, we recommend retaining the current TRI reporting threshold and de minimis exemption for lead and lead compounds in agricultural products. Thank you again for the opportunity to comment on the proposed rulemaking. If you have any questions, please call Jennifer Snyder, CRA, 202-331-1634.
Sincerely,
Corn Refiners Association, Inc.
National Cotton Council
National Cottonseed Products Association
Attachment
Description of Organizations
Corn Refiners Association
The Corn Refiners Association, Inc. is the national trade association representing the corn wet milling industry. Members of the Association produce starches, sweeteners, alcohol, feed ingredients and vegetable oil using the corn wet milling process.
National Cotton Council
The National Cotton Council (NCC) is the central organization of the U.S. cotton industry, representing producers, ginners, oilseed crushers, merchants, cooperatives, warehousemen, and textile manufacturers in 18
states. NCC represents over 20,000 cotton producers and over 1,000 gins that annually gin about 14 million bales of cotton. NCC's member firms annually handle about 5 million tons of cottonseed (for crushing and direct feed) in 12 states, employing nearly 2,000 workers.
National Cottonseed Products Association
The National Cottonseed Products Association (NCPA) is a century old trade association representing the cottonseed crushing industry. NCPA crusher members are engaged in the processing of cottonseed to produce vegetable oil, oilseed meal, linters and hulls, as well as the marketing of whole cottonseed for animal feed. NCPA member firms handled approximately 4 million tons of seed in 1998 at 29 plants employing an estimated 1800 workers and generating an estimated $1 billion in revenue.