On this page:

• Rule Summary
• Rule History
• Additional Resources
• Compliance

Rule Summary

Section 129 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), titled, “Solid Waste Combustion,” requires the EPA to develop and adopt standards for solid waste incineration units pursuant to CAA sections 111 and 129.

This suite of actions promulgate EPA’s new source performance standards (NSPS), emission guidelines (EG), and federal implementation plan (FIP) for sewage sludge incineration units (SSI) located at wastewater treatment facilities designed to treat domestic sewage sludge. These final rules set limits for nine pollutants under CAA section 129:

• Cadmium,
• carbon monoxide,
• hydrogen chloride,
• lead,
• mercury,
• nitrogen oxides,
• particulate matter,
• polychlorinated dibenzo-pdioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans, and
• sulfur dioxide.

Rule History

04/29/2016 – Final Rule (81 FR 26039)

04/27/2015 – Proposed Rule (80 FR 23401)

04/27/2012 – Denial of Petitions for Reconsideration (77 FR 25087)

03/21/2011 – Final Rule (76 FR 15371)

11/05/2010 – Proposed Rule; Technical Correction (75 FR 68296)

10/14/2010 – Proposed Rule (75 FR 63259)

Additional Resources

Sewage Sludge Incinerators: Final Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources Final Rule Fact Sheets

National Association of Clean Water Agencies v. Environmental Protection Agency No. 11-1131

Solvay USA Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency No. 11-1189

2011 NSPS and EG Source Data Files

View the NSPS and EG supporting documents or the Federal Plan in the docket folder to find additional related documents to this rule.

View the supporting douments in the docket folder to find additional related documents to the 2016 Federal Plan rule.

Related Rules

Sewage Treatment Plants Incineration: New Source Performance Standards (NSPS)

Other Solid Waste Incinerators (OSWI): New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources

Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units (CISWI): New Source Performance Standards (NSPS)

Hospital, Medical, and Infectious Waste Incinerators (HMIWI): New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), Emission Guidelines, and Federal Plan Requirements Regulations

Large Municipal Waste Combustors (LMWC): New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emissions Guidelines

Small Municipal Waste Combustors (SMWC): New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emission Guidelines

Hazardous Waste Combustors: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP)

Biosolids Laws and Regulations

Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials (NHSM) Rulemakings

Compliance

Sewage Sludge Incinerators (SSI): Important Dates and Requirements for Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources (NSPS) and Emission Guidelines (EG) for Existing Sources

Summary of Requirements for Sewage Sludge Incinerators (SSI): New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emission Guidelines (EG)

Summary of Regulations Controlling Air Emission from Sewage Sludge Incinerators Brochure

Applicability Determination Index (ADI). The ADI is maintained by EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) and provides a data base of memoranda dealing with applicability issues.  The database is searchable by Subpart.

Emissions Measurement Center

Test Methods and existing alternate method approvals, such as "Use of Method 29 in place of 101A, 103, and 104 to demonstrate compliance with 40 CFR part 61 subparts C and E (PDF)."