Kentucky environmental lawyer Sanders says US EPA will withdraw Emission Comparable Fuels Rule passed at end of Bush era at EPA.

U.S. EPA is planning to propose a rule to withdraw the Emission Comparable Fuels (ECF) rule, which became effective on January 20, 2009.

The proposal will present the agency's concerns and request comments from the public after publication in the Federal Register, planned for November 2009. After evaluating the public comments, the EPA will make a decision on whether to repeal the exclusion.

The ECF rule removed regulatory costs by reclassifying certain manufacturing byproducts as non-wastes. ECF is fuel that is produced from a hazardous waste, but which generates emissions when burned in an industrial boiler that are comparable to emissions from burning fuel oil. The materials must also be stored under an elaborate set of requirements.

The final rule has been criticized for allowing hazardous waste to evade the hazardous waste regulatory system, and also for being difficult to administer. Industry members have also criticized it because of the detailed and prescriptive conditions for reclassification, which they believe will limit the rule's use.

To look at the ECF rule and determine its potential legality under the multiple federal environmental programs, simply look at the Rule's effective date and you will instantly understand EPA's current action. In all fairness, this rule was a bone headed mistake from a very bad EPA under former EPA administrator, Stephen Johnson.

More information on the Emission Comparable Fuels rule: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/tsd/td/combust/compfuels/exclusion.htm