February 8, 2021

Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW #1101A
Washington, D.C. 20460
Regan.Michael@epa.gov

Re: Petition for Rulemaking Pursuant to Section 7004(A) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act; and Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act Concerning the Regulation of Phosphogypsum and Process Wastewater from Phosphoric Acid Production.

Dear Administrator:

Please accept the enclosed petition from People for Protecting Peace River, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, Bayou City Waterkeeper, Calusa Waterkeeper, Center for Biological Diversity, Cherokee Concerned Citizens, Healthy Gulf, ManaSota-88, Our Santa Fe River, People for Protecting Peace River, RISE St. James, Sierra Club’s Florida and Delta chapters, Suncoast Waterkeeper, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, Waterkeeper Alliance, Waterkeepers Florida, which includes all 14 of Florida’s waterkeeper groups, and WWALS Watershed Coalition seeking the promulgation of rules that: (1) reverse the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 1991 Bevill regulatory determination excluding phosphogypsum and phosphoric acid production process wastewater (“process wastewater”) from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C hazardous waste regulations; (2) govern the safe treatment, storage and disposal of phosphogypsum and process wastewater as hazardous wastes under RCRA Subtitle C; (3) initiate the prioritization process for designating phosphogypsum and process wastewater as high priority substances for risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) §6(b)(1)(B)(i); (4) require manufacturers to conduct testing on phosphogypsum and process wastewater under TSCA §4(a)1(A)(ii); and (5) determine under TSCA §5(a) that the use of phosphogypsum in road construction is a significant new use.

In considering this petition, note that EPA has already acknowledged—and scientific research demonstrates—the current improper management of phosphogypsum and process water poses a substantial present hazard and an unreasonable risk of injury to human health and the environment.

Thank you for your consideration.

On behalf of Petitioners,

cc:

Office of Land and Emergency Management, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., #5101T, Washington, DC 20460

Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., #7101M, Washington, DC 20460
Enclosures

*See attached petition at http://fluoridealert.org/wp-content/uploads/citizens-petition-to-epa.feb8-2021.florida.phosphogypsum-process-wastewater-for-rulemaking.pdf

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