Guidance for Applicants Requesting to Treat/Dispose of PCBs Using Incineration or an Alternative Method (New)

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 6(e), 15 USC 2605(e), directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Implementing regulations have been codified in Part 761 in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR part 761). Under these rules, persons disposing of regulated PCBs are required to use approved methods and, in some cases, obtain an approval. Two of the approved methods to dispose of PCB wastes includes incinerators or high efficiency boilers that comply with requirements in 761.70 or 761.71, respectively. Section 761.70(d) discusses the approval process where an application and a demonstration test are required prior to destroying PCBs in an incinerator. Under 761.60(e), facilities may request approval of a method alternative to incinerators or high efficiency boilers if the method can achieve a level of performance equivalent to an incinerator approved under 761.70. As such, the approval process for 761.60(e) is generally similar to the discussion presented in 761.70(d). Guidance documents were developed in 1986 for persons applying to EPA for approval to dispose of PCBs using incineration (761.70) or a method alternative to incineration (761.60(e)). The guidances are split into two document (thermal and non-thermal) and they present and discuss the format, content, and suggested level of detail for approval applications, test plans, and test reports. These guidance documents are being updated and combined into a single document. This ICR describes the guidance and estimates the annual hour and cost burden to respondents and EPA who choose to use the guidance. This includes burden associated with reading the document and using the tables.

The latest form for Guidance for Applicants Requesting to Treat/Dispose of PCBs Using Incineration or an Alternative Method (New) expires 2022-10-31 and can be found here.