Notice2024-30508
Notice of Approval for Other Use of Phosphogypsum
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 23, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA or the Agency) has approved, subject to certain conditions, the request for a "Small- scale Road Pilot Project on Private Land in Florida" submitted by Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC in March 2022, and updated by the "Revised Request for Approval of Use of Phosphogypsum in Small-scale Pilot Project", submitted in August 2023. The Agency's review found that Mosaic's request is complete per the requirements of EPA's National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants under the Clean Air Act, and that the potential radiological risks from conducting the pilot project meet the regulatory requirement that the project is at least as protective of public health as maintaining the phosphogypsum in a stack. On October 9, 2024, the EPA issued a pending approval of the request and solicited public comments on the pending approval. While EPA received comments raising questions about the project, no comments were received which led EPA to change the results of its risk analyses for this proposed pilot project. This approval is only for the proposed pilot project, and EPA has placed conditions on the approval to make sure that the project remains within the scope of the application.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 246 (Monday, December 23, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 246 (Monday, December 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 104535-104536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30508]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0446; FRL-12501-01-OAR]
Notice of Approval for Other Use of Phosphogypsum
AGENCY: Office of Air and Radiation, Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA or the Agency)
has approved, subject to certain conditions, the request for a ``Small-
scale Road Pilot Project on Private Land in Florida'' submitted by
Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC in March 2022, and updated by the ``Revised
Request for Approval of Use of Phosphogypsum in Small-scale Pilot
Project'', submitted in August 2023. The Agency's review found that
Mosaic's request is complete per the requirements of EPA's National
Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants under the Clean Air
Act, and that the potential radiological risks from conducting the
pilot project meet the regulatory requirement that the project is at
least as protective of public health as maintaining the phosphogypsum
in a stack. On October 9, 2024, the EPA issued a pending approval of
the request and solicited public comments on the pending approval.
While EPA received comments raising questions about the project, no
comments were received which led EPA to change the results of its risk
analyses for this proposed pilot project. This approval is only for the
proposed pilot project, and EPA has placed conditions on the approval
to make sure that the project remains within the scope of the
application.
DATES: This decision is effective immediately.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Walsh, Radiation Protection
Division, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, Mail Code 6608T,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20460; 202-343-9238; <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#54033538273c7a1e3b3a35203c353a143124357a333b22"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c493a5a8b7acea8eabaaa5b0aca5aa84a1b4a5eaa3abb2">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Phosphogypsum is the waste byproduct of wet acid phosphorous
production. It contains elevated concentrations of the radionuclide
radium, which decays to form radon gas. The EPA's regulations under the
Clean Air Act at 40 CFR part 61, subpart R (hereafter ``Subpart R'')
require that phosphogypsum must be disposed of in engineered piles,
called stacks, to limit public exposure to its radioactive components.
Subpart R allows the removal of phosphogypsum from stacks for outdoor
agricultural purposes and indoor research and development, subject to
conditions and restrictions. Any other use of phosphogypsum requires
prior approval from the EPA. The EPA may approve a request for a
specific use of phosphogypsum if it determines that the proposed use is
at least as protective of public health as placement of phosphogypsum
in a stack. The processes for requesting such an approval are described
in 40 CFR 61.206.
Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC submitted a request for a Small-scale Road
Pilot Project on Private Land in Florida in March 2022, and submitted a
Revised Request for Approval of Use of Phosphogypsum in Small-scale
Pilot Project in August 2023. Mosaic has proposed to construct a small-
scale pilot project at its New Wales facility in Polk County, Florida.
Mosaic's plan is to construct four sections of test road having varying
mixtures of phosphogypsum (PG) in the road base ``to demonstrate the
range of PG road construction designs that meet the Florida Standard
Specifications for Road and Bridge construction'' (Request for Approval
of Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum Pursuant to 40 CFR 61.206, Small-
scale Road Pilot Project on Private Land in Florida). The pilot project
will be constructed in the place of an existing facility road near the
phosphogypsum stack, and the study will be conducted in conjunction
with researchers from the University of Florida.
The EPA performed a complete review of Mosaic's request, documented
in ``Review of the Small-scale Road Pilot Project on Private Land in
Florida Submitted by Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC'' (<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>,
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0446). The Agency's review found that
Mosaic's request is complete per the requirements of 40 CFR 61.206(b).
Further, the review found that Mosaic's risk assessment is technically
acceptable, and that the potential radiological risks from the proposed
[[Page 104536]]
project meet the regulatory requirements of 40 CFR 61.206(c); that is,
the project is at least as protective of public health as maintaining
the phosphogypsum in a stack. Therefore, the Agency issued an approval
of the small-scale pilot project per 40 CFR 61.206, subject to terms
and conditions which limit the project to the scope of the application.
The terms and conditions are included in the approval letter to Mosaic,
which is available in the public docket and on the EPA website, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/radiation/phosphogypsum">https://www.epa.gov/radiation/phosphogypsum</a>. Approval by the Agency is
specific to the pilot project as described in the Mosaic request and
indicates only that this project meets the approval requirements of
Subpart R.
II. Public Comments and Responses
The EPA's decision to approve or deny a request for other use under
40 CFR 61.206 is not a rulemaking. In December 2005, the EPA issued a
guidance document, ``Applying to EPA for Approval of Other Uses of
Phosphogypsum: Preparing and Submitting a Complete Petition Under 40
CFR 61.206, A Workbook'' (December 2005). Although this guidance is not
binding, the EPA sought public comment on this pending approval using
the procedure described in Section 2.4 of the Workbook. As outlined in
the Workbook, the EPA published a notice of availability of this
pending approval in the Federal Register on October 9, 2024, and opened
a 30-day comment period, which was extended in response to public
requests for an additional 15 days to close on November 23, 2024.
Physical copies of the Mosaic request and the EPA's technical
evaluation were placed for public review in the Mulberry Public
Library, 905 NE 5th Street, Mulberry, FL 33860. The EPA also placed
notices of public availability in local newspapers.
The EPA has reviewed all comments received for their relevance to
the pending approval.
Many comments requested an extension of the 30-day comment period.
The EPA extended the comment period in response to these requests.
The majority of comments were generally opposed to the use of
phosphogypsum in public roads, and critical of the current state of
phosphogypsum management; these comments were determined to be outside
the scope of this action, which is specific to the small-scale pilot
project as it is described in Mosaic's request. The EPA's approval
applies only to the proposed pilot project and not any broader use. Any
other use would require a separate application, risk assessment, and
approval.
Comments related to EPA's management of phosphogypsum and its non-
radiological contaminants under the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act and other statutes similarly fell outside the scope of the current
decision. EPA has documented other regulatory issues in its supporting
documents, but EPA's decision is only a determination of the
permissibility of the project under the Clean Air Act National
Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Radionuclides. It
does not imply any other regulatory approval or determinations of
compliance. These must be obtained or made separately from this
decision.
Some commenters indicated that EPA established a legal ban on the
use of phosphogypsum in road construction by considering but not
issuing a categorical approval in 1992. Road use is not prohibited by
the regulation as amended in 1992 and is eligible to be considered as
an ``other use.''
Commenters were critical of many aspects of the risk assessment.
Commenters questioned the EPA's overall ability to perform radiological
risk assessment, use of fatal radiogenic cancers as a health endpoint,
selection of dose and risk coefficients, selection of models, and
selection of exposure scenarios and whether current risk data was used.
Specifically, several commenters believed that greater emphasis should
be placed on the consideration of a future resident at the site of the
pilot project. These comments represent disagreements with decisions
that EPA has made in its evaluation of potential risks associated with
the proposed pilot project, rather than new information that the Agency
has not previously considered. After reviewing the comments, the EPA
continues to believe that the risk assessments associated with this
pilot project are consistent with current radiological risk assessment
methodologies and precedent, and sufficient to evaluate the project per
the requirements of 40 CFR 61.206. Results from multiple modeling
efforts indicate that risks due to the proposed pilot project are low.
EPA believes that for this existing site, it is most appropriate to
consider the potential risk to site workers and the nearest residents
to the site when determining whether the pilot project is as protective
as leaving the phosphogypsum in the stack. No comments raised topics
which EPA did not consider in its technical evaluation or lead to a
concern for human health or environmental impacts not previously
considered.
The Agency's response to comments document is available in the
public docket \1\ and on the EPA phosphogypsum website,\2\ together
with electronic copies of the application, the EPA's review, and
relevant background materials.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-
0446.
\2\ <a href="https://www.epa.gov/radiation/phosphogypsum#aaup">https://www.epa.gov/radiation/phosphogypsum#aaup</a>.
Joseph Goffman,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2024-30508 Filed 12-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 23, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.