WAC 173-303-072   Procedures and bases for exempting and excluding wastes.  (1) Purpose and applicability.

     (a) The purpose of this section is to describe the procedures that will be followed by generators and the department when wastes are considered for exemption or exclusion from the requirements of this chapter. Any person(s) whose waste is exempted or excluded will not be subject to the requirements of this chapter unless the department revokes the exemption or exclusion.

     (b) Any person seeking a waste exemption must submit a petition to the department according to the procedures of WAC 173-303-910(3). A petition for exemption will be assessed against the applicable bases for exemption described in subsections (3), (4), and (5) of this section.

     (c) Any persons seeking to categorically exclude a class of wastes must submit a petition to the department according to the procedures of WAC 173-303-910(4). A petition for exclusion will be assessed against the applicable bases for exclusion described in subsection (6) of this section.

     (2) Department procedures. When considering, granting, or denying a petition for exemption or exclusion, the department will follow the appropriate procedures described in WAC 173-303-910(1).

     (3) Bases for exempting wastes. To successfully petition the department to exempt a waste, the petitioner must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department that:

     (a) He has been able to accurately describe the variability or uniformity of his waste over time, and has been able to obtain demonstration samples which are representative of his waste's variability or uniformity; and, either

     (b) The representative demonstration samples of his waste are not designated DW or EHW by the dangerous waste criteria, WAC 173-303-100; or

     (c) It can be shown, from information developed by the petitioner through consultation with the department, that his waste does not otherwise pose a threat to public health or the environment. However, this basis for exemption is not applicable to wastes that exhibit any of the characteristics specified in WAC 173-303-090, except 173-303-090 (6)(a)(iii).

     (4) Additional bases for exempting listed wastes. In addition to the demonstrations required by subsections (3)(a) and (b) of this section, for wastes listed in WAC 173-303-081 or 173-303-082 the petitioner must also demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department that his waste is not capable of posing a substantial present or potential threat to public health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of or otherwise managed. The following factors will be considered by the department when assessing such a demonstration:

     (a) Whether or not the listed waste contains the constituent or constituents which caused it to be listed. (For the purposes of this subsection, the constituents referred to will include any of the dangerous waste constituents listed in WAC 173-303-9905);

     (b) The nature of the threat posed by the waste constituent(s);

     (c) The concentration of the constituent(s) in the waste;

     (d) The potential of the constituent(s) or any degradation product of the constituent(s) to migrate from the waste into the environment under the types of improper management considered in (h) of this subsection;

     (e) The persistence of the constituent(s) or any degradation product of the constituent(s);

     (f) The potential for the constituent(s) or any degradation product of the constituent(s) to degrade into nonharmful constituents and the rate of degradation;

     (g) The degree to which the constituent(s) or degradation product of the constituent(s) bioaccumulates in ecosystems;

     (h) The plausible types of improper management to which the waste could be subjected;

     (i) The quantities of the waste generated at individual generation sites or on a statewide basis. Under this factor, the department will also consider whether or not the waste is listed under WAC 173-303-081 as a discarded chemical product and occurs in a relatively pure form. Any waste discarded chemical product which exceeds the quantity exclusion limit specified in WAC 173-303-081(2) for that waste will not be exempted;

     (j) The nature and severity of the public health and environmental damage that has occurred as a result of the improper management of wastes containing the constituent(s);

     (k) Actions taken by other governmental agencies or regulatory programs based on the health or environmental threat posed by the waste or waste constituent(s); and

     (l) Such other factors as may be appropriate.

     (5) Reserve.

     (6) Bases for categorically excluding classes of wastes. This subsection does not apply to any waste class that includes hazardous waste regulated under 40 CFR Part 261. To successfully petition the department to categorically exclude a class of wastes, petitioners must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department that the petition or petitions for exclusion:

     (a) Accurately describe the class of wastes for which categorical exclusion is sought and show that the class of wastes does not include any wastes which would be regulated as hazardous waste under 40 CFR Part 261;

     (b) Describe the variability or uniformity of the class of wastes over time and in relation to the individual wastes that comprise the class of waste;

     (c) Discuss the generators and their individual wastes that belong to the class of wastes and, to the extent practical, any generators or individual wastes that, although belonging to the class of wastes, are not represented by the petition or petitions; and

     (d) For each individual waste within the class of wastes, provide the demonstration described by subsection (3) of this section, except that where it is determined by consultation with the department to be impractical to provide the demonstration for each individual waste, the petitioner or petitioners will provide the demonstration for samples of the individual wastes determined by consultation with the department to be representative of the class of wastes.



[Statutory Authority: Chapters 70.105 and 70.105D RCW. 95-22-008 (Order 94-30), § 173-303-072, filed 10/19/95, effective 11/19/95; 94-01-060 (Order 92-33), § 173-303-072, filed 12/8/93, effective 1/8/94. Statutory Authority: Chapters 70.105 and 70.105D RCW, 40 CFR Part 271.3 and RCRA § 3006 (42 U.S.C. 3251). 91-07-005 (Order 90-42), § 173-303-072, filed 3/7/91, effective 4/7/91. Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.105 RCW. 84-14-031 (Order DE 84-22), § 173-303-072, filed 6/27/84.]