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EPA Withdraws Emission Comparable Fuels Rule

Release Date: 06/08/2010
Contact Information: Latisha Petteway, [email protected], 202-564-3191, 202-564-4355

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has withdrawn the Emission Comparable Fuels (ECF) Rule, a rule that was finalized in December 2008. The rule sought to remove regulatory costs by reclassifying fuels that would otherwise be regulated as hazardous waste, but generate emissions similar to fuel oil when burned.

EPA has now withdrawn the rule due to difficulty of ensuring that emissions from burning ECF are comparable to emissions from burning fuel oil.

The ECF rule was criticized for potentially allowing hazardous waste to evade the hazardous waste regulatory system, and for being difficult to administer. Industry members have also criticized it because of the detailed conditions for reclassification, which they believe will limit the rule’s use.

More information on the rule: https://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/tsd/td/combust/compfuels/exclusion.htm