Summary of EPA Meeting with the Small Business Administration
Environmental Roundtable

April 27, 2007

On Friday, April 27, 2007, Definition of Solid Waste team members from
the Office of Solid Waste (OSW) met with industry representatives as
part of an environmental roundtable hosted by the Small Business
Administration (SBA). EPA began by giving a brief overview of the
supplemental proposed rule and then took questions and comments from the
group. Many comments centered on financial assurance, including
questions regarding the need for reclaimers to comply with all of
Subpart H financial assurance requirements. Specifically, members asked
if EPA would review new ideas for structuring financial assurance to
which EPA replied it was open to receiving all comments on this issue.
In response to questions regarding legitimacy, EPA explained that all
existing recycling exclusions are already considered to be legitimate
recycling. Moreover, the proposed legitimacy factors would apply to all
proposed and existing recycling exclusions. Specific to the proposed
legitimacy factors, members of the group voiced concerns regarding
language, such as ‘significant’, which can be subject to wide
interpretation. In response, EPA expressed interest in receiving
comments on this issue. Finally, the group cautioned EPA against adding
additional recordkeeping and reporting conditions to the exclusions,
which they reasoned would cause undue burden and expose the rule to
legal risk regarding EPA’s authority to regulate. Closing remarks
praised EPA for considering comments received on the 2003 proposal and
taking efforts to address issues in the 2007 supplemental proposal. 

Groups in Attendance:

American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA)

Brick Industry Association (BIA)

Chesapeake Business Finance Corp. (CBFC)

Cominco Engineering Services

Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA)

Council of Industrial Boiler Owners (CIBO)

DLA Piper LLP for COSARG 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

IPC- Association Connecting Electronics Industries

King & Spalding LLP

National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)

Portland Cement Association (PCA)

Small Business Administration (SBA)

Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA)

Survey of Business Owners (SBO)

Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA)

UTSA

Wiley Rein LLP

