(VCCEP) Tier 1 Pilot Submission for BENZENE - Tera

Benzene has been designated a hazardous substance under the Clean Water Act (See 40
C.F.R. § 116.4). Because of this designation, discharges are regulated, and certain releases
must be reported. Direct discharges of wastewater from sources using end-of-pipe biological
treatment cannot exceed a benzene concentration above 136 μg/L on any particular day, and a
monthly average of 37 μg/L (see 40 C.F.R. § 414.91). For indirect-discharge sources and
direct-discharge sources that do not use end-of-pipe biological treatment, the maximum
benzene concentrations are 134 μg/L daily and 57 μg/L monthly (see 40 C.F.R. §§ 414.101,
414.111). Other EPA regulations permit ocean dumping of wastewater containing benzene, but
only when benzene is present in concentrations below its solubility in seawater [see 40 C.F.R.
§ 227.7(a)]. Releases in excess of 10 pounds of benzene from any facility must be reported
(see 40 C.F.R. § 117.3).
In addition, EPA has established water quality standards, which vary by body of water, for states
that do not comply with federal guidance for establishing their own standards under the Clean
Water Act (see 40 C.F.R. §§ 131.31–.40).
4.1.3 Safe Drinking Water Act
The Safe Drinking Water Act creates a comprehensive scheme for regulating drinking water and
its sources. Under the authority of the Act, EPA sets standards for approximately 90
contaminants in drinking water and its sources—rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, and
groundwater wells. For each of these contaminants, EPA sets an enforceable limit, called a
maximum contaminant level (MCL), and a non-enforceable public health goal, called a
maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG), which allows for a margin of safety.
EPA has set the MCLG for benzene in public drinking water sources at 0.0 mg/L, and the MCL
at 0.005 mg/L (see 40 C.F.R. §§ 141.50, 141.61). The permissible level for benzene in bottled
water products is 0.005 mg/L [21 C.F.R. § 165.110(b)(4)(iii)(B)].
In addition to MCLGs, MCLs, and other similar drinking-water standards, EPA also promulgates
health advisories, or guidance values, based on non-cancer health effects for different durations
of exposure (e.g., one-day, ten-day, and lifetime exposures). These health advisories provide
technical guidance to EPA, state and local government, and other public health officials
regarding “health effects, analytical methodologies, and treatment technologies associated with
drinking water contamination.” EPA has promulgated several health advisory values for
benzene [see Office of Water, EPA, 2004 Edition of the Drinking Water Standards and Health
Advisories, EPA 822-R-04-005 (Winter 2004)].
4.1.4 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act regulates the transportation, storage, treatment,
and disposal of hazardous wastes. RCRA includes benzene on its list of hazardous
constituents (40 C.F.R. Pt. 261 App. VIII). Moreover, benzene and certain substances
containing benzene are identified on two of RCRA’s three hazardous waste lists—hazardous
wastes from nonspecific sources (40 C.F.R. § 261.31) and commercial chemical products (40
C.F.R. § 261.33). Benzene also is on the groundwater monitoring list for owners and operators
of hazardous waste facilities (see 40 C.F.R. Pt. 264 App. IX). Thus, benzene is subject to a
variety of RCRA controls relating to its transportation, storage, treatment, and disposal.
Benzene VCCEP Submission
March 2006
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