This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to change hazardous waste rules so that units that reclaim vanadium and other metals from spent petroleum catalyst are exempt from certain Boilers and Industrial Furnaces (BIF) requirements under subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. The rule must explicitly cover spent hydrotreating catalyst (K171) and spent hydrorefining catalyst (K172). It would clarify that thermal treatment units (for example, roasters) and metallurgical units (for example, furnaces and hydrometallurgical units) are covered, and that a transfer-based exclusion (40 C.F.R. 261.4(a)(24)) can apply when spent catalyst is sent to a third party for metals reclamation. The bill requires the EPA to publish a final rule as soon as practicable, make that rule effective on publication, and complete the rulemaking without the usual notice-and-comment period under the Administrative Procedure Act.
No publicly available information. The bill requires EPA to issue a rule but does not include cost estimates or appropriation language in the provided text.
Supporters in the bill say recovering vanadium from spent petroleum catalyst can help produce a domestic supply of a critical mineral used in high-strength steel for infrastructure, energy, and defense. The bill notes that recycling processes can legitimately recover metals rather than destroy waste, and that units performing recovery are comparable to furnaces already conditionally exempt from BIF. It also states that existing air permits (such as title V permits) and pollution controls are already in place, and that clarifying the rules would encourage environmentally safe domestic recovery while avoiding duplicative regulation.
No publicly available information.