1
Memorandum
To:
Public
Docket
for
the
2006
Preliminary
Effluent
Guidelines
Program
Plan,
EPA
Docket
Number
OW­
2003­
0074
From:
Jan
Matuszko
USEPA/
OW/
OST
ph:
(
202)
566
1035
matuszko.
jan@
epa.
gov
Date:
July
26,
2005
Subject:
Tobacco
Products
Processing
Section
304(
b)
of
the
Clean
Water
Act
requires
EPA
to
annually
review
and,
if
appropriate,
revise
its
technology­
based
regulations,
called
"
effluent
limitations
guidelines"
or
"
effluent
guidelines,"
that
limit
the
discharge
of
pollutants
to
waters
of
the
U.
S.
from
various
categories
of
industrial
facilities.
Every
other
year,
Section
304(
m)
of
the
Clean
Water
Act
requires
EPA
to
publish
a
plan
establishing
a
schedule
for
the
annual
review
and
revision
of
effluent
guidelines
required
by
Section
304(
b).
This
plan
must
also
identify
industries
discharging
more
than
trivial
amounts
of
toxic
or
"
non­
conventional"
pollutants,
such
as
nutrients,
for
which
the
Agency
has
not
yet
promulgated
effluent
guidelines.
EPA
must
establish
a
schedule
for
completing
effluent
guidelines
for
these
industries
within
three
years.
Section
304(
m)
also
requires
EPA
to
take
public
comment
on
its
plan
prior
to
issuing
a
final
plan.

During
the
comment
period
for
the
proposed
2004
Effluent
Guidelines
Plan
(
Plan),
EPA
received
public
comment
that
it
should
consider
wastewater
discharges
from
the
tobacco
manufacturing
industry
for
effluent
guidelines
rulemaking.
In
specific,
the
commenter
questioned
the
quantity
of
carcinogens
in
wastewater
discharges
associated
with
cigarette
manufacturing.
Because
this
industry
is
not
currently
subject
to
an
effluent
guideline,
EPA
is
conducting
a
study
of
the
Tobacco
Products
industrial
sector
to
determine
whether
this
sector
is
discharging
more
than
trivial
amounts
of
toxic
or
"
non­
conventional"
pollutants.
EPA's
decision
to
conduct
a
detailed
study
on
this
industry
does
not
mean
that
EPA
is
required
to
select
this
industry
for
an
effluent
guidelines
rulemaking.
EPA
will
make
such
a
decision
as
part
of
the
final
2006
Plan.

During
this
study,
EPA
plans
to,
at
a
minimum,
collect
information
on
the
following
as
they
relate
to
tobacco
products
manufacturing:

a.
source
and
types
of
process
wastewaters;
b.
volume
of
process
wastewaters;
c.
pollutant
concentrations
in
untreated
process
wastewaters;
d.
applicable
treatment
and
pollution
prevention
(
flow
and
pollutant)
technologies;
e.
effectiveness
of
applicable
treatment
and
pollution
prevention
technologies;
2
f.
cost
information
related
to
applicable
treatment
and
pollution
prevention
technologies;
g.
pollutant
concentrations
in
discharges
to
surface
waters
or
to
Publicly
Owned
Treatment
Works
(
POTWs);
h.
typical
discharge
destination
(
i.
e.,
direct
to
surface
water
or
indirectly
to
POTW);
and
i.
typical
permit
restrictions.

For
additional
information
on
study
objectives,
see
the
Tobacco
Products
Processing
Detailed
Study
Plan
[
1]
(
DCN
01827).

Industry
Profile
The
Tobacco
Products
Processing
industry
includes
facilities
within
the
following
four
SIC
codes:

°
SIC
code
2111
(
Cigarettes)
­
establishments
primarily
engaged
in
manufacturing
cigarettes
from
tobacco
or
other
materials.

°
SIC
code
2121
(
Cigars)
­
establishments
primarily
engaged
in
manufacturing
cigars.

°
SIC
code
2131
(
Chewing
and
Smoking
Tobacco
and
Snuff)
­
establishments
primarily
engaged
in
manufacturing
chewing
and
smoking
tobacco
and
snuff.

°
SIC
code
2141
(
Tobacco
Stemming
and
Redrying)
­
establishments
primarily
engaged
in
the
stemming
and
redrying
of
tobacco
or
in
manufacturing
reconstituted
tobacco.

Based
on
information
in
the
2002
Economic
Census,
EPA
estimates
there
are
114
tobacco
products
facilities
in
the
United
States.
The
U.
S.
Economic
Census
reports
data
by
NAICS
code
while
EPA's
Toxics
Release
Inventory
(
TRI)
and
Permit
Compliance
System
(
PCS)
databases
report
data
by
SIC
code.
For
this
reason,
the
2002
Census
data
have
been
converted
to
the
equivalent
SIC
code
to
standardize
the
results.
Table
1
shows
the
number
of
facilities
in
each
SIC
Code
as
reported
in
the
2002
Census.
3
Table
1.
Number
of
Tobacco
Products
Establishments,
2002
NAICS
code
Description
SIC
Code
2002
Census
312­
221
Cigarette
manufacturing
2111
15
312­
229
Other
tobacco
products
2121
(
cigars)
83
2131
(
chewing
&
smoking
tobacco)

312­
210
Tobacco
stemming
and
redrying
2141
16
total
114
source:
U.
S.
Economic
Census,
2002
[
2]

Tobacco
Manufacturing
facilities
are
located
throughout
the
United
States
with
a
concentration
in
Florida,
North
Carolina,
Pennsylvania
and
Virginia.
[
3]
Based
on
information
in
the
2002
Census,
over
half
of
the
facilities
have
fewer
than
20
employees.
In
fact,
six
facilities
account
for
about
60%
of
the
industry
employment.
That
is,
the
industry
is
marked
by
a
few
very
large
facilities
that
account
for
the
bulk
of
the
production
with
a
plethora
of
small
widelydispersed
facilities
accounting
for
the
rest.
In
addition,
five
of
the
six
largest
facilities
in
terms
of
employment
are
in
cigarette
manufacturing
(
SIC
Code
2111).
The
sixth
is
a
cigar
manufacturer.

For
additional
information
and
a
more
detailed
industry
profile,
see
Industry
Profile
for
Tobacco
Manufacturing
Facilities
[
3]
(
DCN
02281).

Tobacco
Facilities
Included
in
EPA
Databases
Table
2
presents
the
number
of
tobacco
facilities
with
information
in
EPA's
TRI
and
PCS
databases.

Industrial
or
commercial
facilities
that
discharge
wastewater
directly
to
surface
waters
are
required
to
obtain
an
NPDES
discharge
permit
from
EPA
or
state
permitting
authorities.
Permitting
authorities
classify
discharges
as
major
based
on,
among
other
factors,
the
potential
for
the
discharge
of
toxic
pollutants
and
the
discharge
flow.
Facilities
with
major
discharges
must
report
compliance
with
NPDES
permit
limits
via
monthly
Discharge
Monitoring
Reports
(
DMRs)
submitted
to
the
permitting
authority.
The
permitting
authority
enters
the
reported
DMR
data
into
PCS.
EPA
does
not
require
permitting
authorities
to
input
monitoring
data
for
minor
dischargers.
For
this
reason,
the
PCS
database
includes
data
only
for
a
limited
set
of
minor
dischargers
when
the
states
choose
to
include
these
data.
Based
on
information
collected
to
date,
only
one
direct
discharging
tobacco
products
processing
facility
is
classified
as
a
major
discharger.

As
shown
in
Table
2,
nine
of
the
114
tobacco
facilities
enumerated
by
the
2002
census
have
active
NPDES
permits.
The
remaining
facilities
either
discharge
no
wastewater
or
discharge
their
wastewater
to
a
city
sewer
and
POTW.
Table
2
also
shows
that
PCS
includes
discharge
monitoring
data
for
only
one
major
facility
(
Reynolds
American,
Hanmer
Plant,
Chester,
VA).
4
The
TRI
database
includes
information
reported
by
facilities
that
meet
certain
requirements:
They
must
have
operations
in
SIC
codes
20
through
39,
or
seven
additional
SIC
codes
outside
this
range;
they
must
have
10
or
more
full­
time
employees;
and
they
must
manufacture,
process
or
otherwise
use
each
TRI­
listed
chemical
at
or
above
the
appropriate
activity
threshold
(
specified
for
each
chemical).
In
TRI,
facilities
report
annual
loads
released
to
the
environment
of
each
toxic
chemical
or
chemical
category
that
meets
reporting
requirements.
For
this
review,
EPA
focused
on
the
amount
of
chemicals
facilities
reported
either
discharging
directly
to
a
receiving
stream
or
discharging
indirectly
by
transfer
to
a
POTW.

As
shown
in
Table
2,
a
total
of
20
of
the
114
tobacco
facilities
enumerated
by
the
2002
census
reported
wastewater
discharges
of
TRI­
listed
chemicals.
Facilities
that
did
not
report
to
TRI
may
not
discharge
any
wastewater
or
may
discharge
wastewater,
but
fail
to
meet
the
TRI
employment
or
chemical­
use
reporting
requirements.
Most
reporting
facilities
either
manufactured
cigarettes
or
conducted
tobacco
stemming
and
re­
drying
operations.
No
cigar
manufacturers
reported
discharges.

Table
2.
Number
of
Tobacco
Facilities
with
Information
in
EPA
Databases.

SIC
Code
Description
2002
PCS
2002
TRI
Active
Permits
Major
Dischargers
with
DMR
data
in
PCS
Total
Direct
Indirect
Both2
2111
Cigarette
manufacturing
2
0
7
1
5
1
2121
Cigars
1
0
0
0
0
0
2131
Chewing
and
Smoking
Tobacco
1
0
4
0
4
0
2141
Tobacco
stemming
and
re­
drying
5
1
9
1
6
2
9
1
20
2
15
3
Sources:
EPA's
Envirofacts
database
[
4],
PCSLoads2002
and
TRIReleases2002
[
see
5]

One
of
the
toxic
chemical
categories
that
facilities
are
required
to
report
to
TRI
is
"
nicotine
and
salts."
Table
3
presents
the
nicotine
discharges
reported
by19
of
the
20
tobacco
facilities
that
reported
wastewater
discharges
to
TRI
in
2002.
More
than
90%
of
the
nicotine
discharges
are
reported
by
cigarette
manufacturers.
Most
of
the
rest
are
reported
by
facilities
that
report
SIC
code
2141,
tobacco
stemming
and
re­
drying,
as
their
primary
SIC
code.
5
Table
3.
Nicotine
Wastewater
Discharges
(
pounds),
by
SIC
Code
SIC
Code
Description
2002
Nicotine
Discharges
Reported
to
TRI
pounds
%
of
total
2111
Cigarette
manufacturing
552,397
93.46%

2121
Cigars
0
0
2131
Chewing
and
Smoking
Tobacco
7,567
1.28%

2141
Tobacco
stemming
and
re­
drying
31,079
5.26%

total
591,042
source:
TRIReleases2002
[
5]
Note:
discharges
include
transfers
to
POTWs
and
account
for
an
average
POTW
removal
efficiency
for
nicotine
of
1.91%

Most
facilities
that
report
SIC
code
2141
as
their
primary
SIC
code
conduct
stemming
and
re­
drying
operations:
grading,
blending,
and
removing
stems
from
the
tobacco
leaves
then
redrying
the
leaves
to
remove
moisture
and
ensure
they
can
be
stored.
Both
stems
and
leaves
are
shipped
to
the
end
product
manufacturer
[
3].
Some
facilities
that
report
SIC
code
2141
produce
reconstituted
tobacco
sheet
which
is
used
by
other
facilities
owned
by
the
same
company
to
manufacture
cigarettes.
The
Philip
Morris
Park
500
plant
is
an
example.
This
facility
processes
the
remainders
left
over
from
the
cigarette
production
at
other
facilities
into
a
product
known
as
reconstituted
tobacco.
This
paper­
like
tobacco
is
shipped
to
other
Philip
Morris
plants,
where
it
is
blended
with
virgin
tobacco
to
make
cigarettes.
[
3]

Wastewater
Discharge
Cigarette
Manufacturing
and
Reconstituted
Tobacco
Based
on
information
collected
to
date,
EPA
believes
that
primary
processing
at
cigarette
manufacturers
and
their
related
reconstituted
tobacco
operations
are
the
only
significant
wastewater
dischargers
in
this
industry
in
terms
of
volume.
Cigarette
manufacturing
accounts
for
62%
of
the
employment
in
the
tobacco
products
industry.
[
3]
Philip
Morris
USA,
a
subsidiary
of
the
Altria
Group,
controls
49%
of
the
U.
S.
market
while
Reynolds
America
(
formed
by
R.
J.
Reynolds'
purchase
of
the
Brown
and
Williamson
division
of
British
American
Tobacco
in
2004)
owns
32%
of
the
domestic
market.
The
next
largest
company,
in
terms
of
market
share,
is
Lorillard
Tobacco
Company
(
part
of
Loews)
with
9%
of
the
market.
[
3]

EPA
contacted
each
of
these
companies
to
collect
information
on
wastewater
generation,
characteristics,
control,
and
discharge
at
their
facilities.
These
companies
collectively
operate
six
cigarette
manufacturing
facilities
and
two
reconstituted
tobacco
facilities,
two
of
which
are
direct
discharges
and
four
of
which
discharge
indirectly
to
POTWs.
One
of
the
cigarette
manufacturing
facilities
also
performs
reconstituted
tobacco
operations.
According
to
these
companies,
these
6
three
represent
all
of
the
reconstituted
tobacco
operations
in
the
United
States.
Information
submitted
Philip
Morris,
Reynolds
American,
and
Lorillard
can
be
found
in
DCN
01834,
01835,
and
01830,
respectively.

EPA
conducted
site
visits
at
four
cigarette
manufacturing
facilities
and
two
dedicated
reconstituted
tobacco
facilities.
For
notes
of
pre­
visit
discussions
with
these
facilities,
see
DCNs
01912
to
01917.
In
addition
to
collecting
information
on
processes
and
wastewater
generation,
EPA
also
collected
grab
samples
of
wastewater
during
these
site
visits.
EPA
collected
these
wastewater
samples
to
1)
further
characterize
wastewater
generated
and/
or
discharged
at
these
facilities
and
2)
evaluate
treatment
effectiveness,
as
applicable.
EPA
expects
to
place
non­
CBI
information
and
data
regarding
these
site
visits
and
sampling
episodes
in
the
public
record
(
EPA
Docket
No.
OW­
2004­
0032)
by
December
2005.

Tobacco
Stemming
and
Redrying
In
its
raw
form,
tobacco
is
a
highly
perishable
product.
It
must
be
processed
soon
after
harvest
to
create
a
product
that
can
be
stored
until
it
is
needed
for
use
in
cigarettes,
cigars,
and
smokeless
tobacco.
Stemming
and
re­
drying
facilities
that
process
green
 
recently
harvested
 
tobacco
are
the
"
middle
man"
between
farmers
and
manufacturers.
Stemming
and
redrying
companies
purchase
tobacco
to
meet
the
specific
needs
of
end­
product
manufacturers
with
whom
they
have
long
standing
relationships.
After
purchase,
the
company
grades,
blends,
and
removes
the
stems
from
the
leaves
then
re­
dries
the
leaves
to
remove
moisture
and
ensure
they
can
be
stored.
Both
stems
and
leaves
are
shipped
to
the
end
product
manufacturer.

EPA
estimates
that
there
are
16
tobacco
stemming
and
redrying
facilities
in
the
United
States.
They
are
primarily
located
on
the
East
Coast
­
near
tobacco
farmers.
EPA
contacted
one
of
the
two
primary
companies
that
dominate
this
industrial
sector.
During
processing,
the
only
water
usage
is
for
misting.
All
of
the
water
sprayed
onto
the
tobacco
during
misting
is
absorbed
by
the
tobacco;
there
is
no
wastewater
discharge
from
this
phase
of
the
operation.
The
main
wastewater
source
at
these
facilities
results
from
rain
that
may
come
in
contact
with
materials
from
baghouses,
which
are
used
for
air
controls.
Therefore,
based
on
information
collected
to
date,
EPA
believes
that
very
little
process­
related
wastewater,
if
any,
is
generated
and/
or
discharged
from
tobacco
stemming
and
redrying
facilities.
See
DCN
1921
for
additional
information
on
tobacco
stemming
and
redrying.
7
Cigars
There
are
three
categories
of
cigars:
premium
cigars,
large
cigars,
and
little
cigars.
Premium
cigars
are
hand­
made
from
the
best
tobacco
and
sell
for
$
1
to
more
than
$
25
dollars
each.
The
Congressional
Research
Service
estimates
that
99%
of
premium
cigars
are
imported.
Based
on
information
collected
to
date,
EPA
believes
that
the
remainder
are
made
in
very
small
shops.
Outside
of
these
small
shops,
the
only
other
premium
cigars
manufactured
in
the
United
States
are
produced
in
Puerto
Rico.

Large
cigars
are
mass
produced
by
machines
from
lower
quality
tobacco
and
sell
for
under
a
dollar
each.
Small
cigars
are
machine
made
and
defined
as
cigars
that
weigh
less
than
three
pounds
per
thousand.
In
1997,
approximately
2.3
billion
large
cigars
were
manufactured
in
the
United
States
 
about
61%
of
cigars
 
while
small
cigars
made
up
about
39%
of
the
market.
In
terms
of
production,
cigarettes
dwarf
cigars.
For
comparison,
it
would
take
the
Philip
Morris
cigarette
manufacturing
plant
in
Richmond
less
than
7
days
to
make
3.8
billion
cigarettes,
the
number
of
cigars
manufactured
in
the
United
States
in
all
of
1997.
In
addition,
some
small
cigar
companies
have
recently
moved
manufacturing
operations
from
the
United
States
to
other
countries
such
as
the
Dominican
Republic.
For
some
locations,
it
is
difficult
to
ascertain
whether
they
only
import
tobacco
or
manufacture
products
from
imported
tobacco.

Because
the
vast
majority
of
cigar
manufacturing
is
conducted
outside
of
the
United
States
and/
or
at
a
few
small
facilities,
EPA
does
not
believe
that
cigar
manufacturing
in
the
United
States
produces
significant
amount
of
wastewater
discharges.
As
shown
in
Table
2,
no
cigar
manufactures
reported
to
TRI
wastewater
discharges
of
toxic
chemicals
in
2002.

Other
Tobacco
Products
Processing
This
category
includes
a
number
of
very
different
tobacco
products.
The
most
important
are
smokeless
tobacco
and
smoking
tobacco
(
roll
your
own
cigarettes
and
pipe
tobacco).
Overall,
Census
[
3]
reports
70
companies
in
this
sector.

The
smokeless
tobacco
category
includes
dry
snuff,
moist
snuff,
plug/
twist,
and
loose
leaf
chewing
tobacco.
According
to
the
Federal
Trade
Commission,
in
2001,
moist
snuff
accounted
for
over
83%
of
smokeless
tobacco
sales,
followed
by
loose
leaf
chewing
tobacco
with
more
than
13%
of
sales.
All
other
smokeless
tobacco
products
account
for
less
than
4%
of
sales.
[
3]

References
1.
Tobacco
Products
Processing,
Draft
Detailed
Study
Plan.
November
10,
2004.

2.
U.
S.
Economic
Census.
2002.
Available
online
at:
http://
www.
census.
gov/
econ/
census02.
8
3.
James
Covington,
III,
EPA/
OW/
OST.
Memorandum:
Tobacco
Manufacturing
Industry:
Economic
Profile.
August
10,
2005.

4.
U.
S.
EPA,
Envirofacts,
Available
online
at:
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
idea/

5.
U.
S.
EPA,
Screening­
Level
Analysis
Report.
August
2005.
