H.R. 7523 — Spent Petroleum Catalyst Recycling and Critical Minerals and Metals Recovery Exemption Act

This section states congressional findings on the national security and economic importance of recovering vanadium and other critical minerals from spent petroleum catalyst (i.e., recycling by oil refineries via de-oiling, thermal treatment such as roasting, and metallurgical processing) to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources such as China and Russia. The findings affirm that such recycling qualifies for solid waste exclusions under the Solid Waste Disposal Act (e.g., 40 C.F.R. §261.4(a)(24)), reference a 1995 EPA notice analogizing these activities to exempt smelting operations, deem Boilers and Industrial Furnaces requirements duplicative given Clean Air Act title V permits, and conclude that regulatory clarification will promote domestic recovery without unnecessary burdens.

This section directs the EPA Administrator to promulgate, as soon as practicable after enactment, a final rule revising hazardous waste management regulations under RCRA Subtitle C (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) as follows: (1) revise 40 C.F.R. 266.100(c) and (d) to exempt units reclaiming valuable metals, including critical minerals such as vanadium, from spent hydrotreating catalyst (EPA Hazardous Waste No. K171) and spent hydrorefining catalyst (EPA Hazardous Waste No. K172) generated by petroleum refining from boilers and industrial furnaces requirements; (2) clarify that the exemption applies to thermal treatment units, including roasters, that process spent petroleum catalyst into intermediates suitable for metals reclamation, and to metallurgical units, including furnaces and hydrometallurgical units, that reclaim metals from spent catalyst and intermediates; and (3) clarify that the transfer-based exclusion under 40 C.F.R. 261.4(a)(24) applies when spent petroleum catalyst is sent to third parties for metals reclamation. (As background, boilers and industrial furnaces requirements are stringent RCRA standards for units burning hazardous wastes to ensure protection from toxic emissions.) The final rule takes effect upon Federal Register publication notwithstanding any other provision of law and is exempt from notice-and-comment requirements under 5 U.S.C. 553.