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ROGERS ,JOSEPH O'DONNELL www.rjo.com Elianna Florido, REHS San Joaquin County Environmental Health Dept. August 26, 2020 Page 4 hazardous waste provided the pharmaceuticals have been removed from the stock bottle, dispensing bottle, vial, ampule, or the unit-dose container using the practices commonly employed to remove materials from that type of container. (italics added). EPA's response to a comment from the rulemaking process also highlights its position: One commenter asked us to add an explicit reference to acute/P-listed hazardous waste in this section of the regulations. We believe this is unnecessary since § 261.7(c) indicates that containers of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals (which includes acute and non-acute hazardous waste pharmaceuticals) are subject to § 266.507 in lieu of§ 261.7 for determining when they are empty. Nevertheless, we agree with the commenter that all of the new empty container provisions in § 266.507 apply to containers that held either non-acute or acute hazardous waste pharmaceuticals. Under the new subpart P provisions, for containers that once held non-acute waste pharmaceuticals to be considered empty, it will not be necessary to measure the remaining contents, and for containers that once held acute hazardous waste pharmaceuticals, it will not be necessary to triple-rinse the containers or demonstrate an equivalent removal method. (emphasis added). In promulgating this rule, U.S. EPA conducted its own study as well as a review of the testing submitted by at least 3 other stakeholders to arrive at its conclusion that empty warfarin stock bottles are exempt from handling as hazardous waste. If the residue is insufficient to count as hazardous waste, the bottles themselves should not be counted as hazardous waste. See https://nepis.epa.gov/Adobe/PDF/P100NG6J.pdf And,because of the sewer"ban"that applies to all states, triple rinsing is not a method available either under federal or state law (40 CFR 266.505) (see Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) effective in all states on August 21, 2019). Thus, California must follow the"sewer ban"under the HSWA and triple rinsing is not an available option to achieve "empty", notwithstanding Cal. Code Regs., tit. 22 § 66261.7(d). Walgreens' empty warfarin containers are lawfully managed in accordance with, § 66261.7, and specifically § 66261.7(r), which DTSC cites: Any container, or inner liner removed from a container, which previously held a hazardous material, including but not limited to hazardous waste, 515893.1 A Professional Law Corporation