In this submission ASBG addressed two main issues and their sub-issues including:
- Intended revoking of the Recovered Fines Orders and Exemptions (RF RRO/E), which ASBG recommended against as around 30% or 2.1Mt of masonry C&D waste relies on this exemption. Instead the EPA should adopt better quality control measures to improve quality of the products delivered from each users. Given the scale of material ASBG recommended a transitionary approach where each facility is audited in order of non-compliance and reviewed and has various levels of quality control requirements applied.
- Draft Recovered Soils Order and Exemption (RS RRO/E). ASBG noted its closeness to the ENM RRO/E, hence differences between the two will make it easy to swap to suit. Consequently the RS RRO/E should have the same limits. ASBG also questioned the opaque method used to determine RRO/E limits and subsequent variations between each. ASBG recommended EPA upgrade its waste sampling and measurement documents and support them with scientific peer reviews and public consultation. Conductivity and asbestos were singled out as examples:
- Conductivity as it is a de facto sodium measure can also capture beneficial ions especially calcium, consequently conductivity should be overruled where sodium is low and beneficial ions are dominant.
- EPA added in a number of ad hoc changes to AS4964 Asbestos in soils measurements, but these lacked any explanation, scientific assessment or peer review and cannot become an accredited NATA test and probably have difficulty standing up in court. ASBG recommended the EPA need to adopt a system similar to the US EPA where all methods are subject to an extensive validation process, peer review and public consultation.
