9    HAZARDOUS WASTE MINIMIZATION IN CALIFORNIA
PETROLEUM REFINERIES
Joseph M. Wong, Supervising Engineer
Brown and Caldwell
Pleasant Hill, California 94523-4342
INTRODUCTION
Waste minimization is a policy specifically mandated by the United States (U.S.) Congress in the
1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA). In response, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Office of
Pollution Prevention and developed the Waste Minimization Opportunities Assessment Manual in
1988' to instruct entities on how to conduct a waste-minimization assessment and develop options for
reducing hazardous-waste generation. EPA also set up the American Institute for Pollution Prevention in 1989 under a cooperative agreement with the University of Cincinnati. The institute functions
as a nonadversarial bridge between industry and the EPA. Subsequently, Congress passed the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) of 1990. Other programs to implement the PPA, such as that in the Clean
Air Act Amendments of 1990, and the 33-50 Voluntary Reduction Program, have followed.
In addition to the federal mandates, many states have been acting in parallel to EPA's development.
An example is the Source Reduction and Hazardous Waste Management Review Act of 1989, commonly referred to as Senate Bill (SB) 14, in California. It requires hazardous-waste generators to
examine current hazardous-waste generating processes for minimization opportunities and create a
plan to implement workable alternatives. The petroleum refining industry is among the California
industries that are required to prepare such a plan. This paper summarizes the review of such plans
from six major refineries in California.
CALIFORNIA SENATE BILL 14
SB 14 applies to generators producing routinely more than 12,000 kilograms per year (kg/yr) of
hazardous waste or 12 kg/yr of extremely hazardous waste.2 Certain hazardous waste, such as
infectious waste and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), are exempted from this act. This act promotes
reduction in hazardous-waste generation through source reduction. In addition, it is designed to
provide a mechanism for the sharing of source-reduction technology among organizations with
similar activities.3 This act is not typical "command and control" legislation that dictates specific
levels of hazardous-waste reduction or the use of "best available technology." Rather, it requires
examination of current hazardous-waste generating processes for minimization and creation of a plan
to implement workable alternatives. With few exceptions, most industries are not required to submit
the plans to the regulating agency. All generators are required to make a copy of the documents,
excluding trade secrets, available "locally for public review."
Generators were required to prepare a Source Reduction Evaluation Review and Plan (plan), a
Hazardous Waste Management Performance Report (report), and their summaries by September 1,
1991, and the text must be updated every four years.4 The plan, which is meant to be a prospective
document, requires generators to illustrate their hazardous-waste generating processes and conduct a
source-reduction evaluation review and analysis of major hazardous waste streams. Additionally, a
schedule for implementing feasible source-reduction measures must be established. The plan summary
is similar to an executive summary to the plan. The report, which is intended as a retrospective
document, details past and current efforts and their effectiveness in managing hazardous waste. The
report summary is similar to an executive summary to the report.
The plan, which is the subject of this paper, must identify each routinely generated hazardous waste
stream that has a yearly volume of 5 percent or more of the generator's total yearly volume of
hazardous waste (extremely hazardous waste is separately identified). For each identified waste
stream, the plan must present:5
48th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings, 1993 Lewis Publishers, Chelsea, Michigan 48118. Printed in
U.S.A.
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