EPA abandons proposed change on used oil reg

EPA abandons proposed change on used oil reg

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week reversed itself on a proposal that would have undermined the ability of dealerships to burn used oil collected from do-it-yourself oil changers. The decision means dealerships may continue to burn the used oil they collect, including any from DIYs, as long as their space heaters are vented to the atmosphere and are below 500,000 BTUs in size (assuming there are no state laws to the contrary).

NADA had been pressing the agency to maintain the exemption for collecting do-it-yourself oil changers, as it was a key element of an agreement the association had brokered in the 1990s to exempt used oil from the federal Superfund regulations. NADA successfully argued that EPAs proposal would have increased the amount of used oil improperly disposed of, as it would have caused dealerships to be less willing to accept DIY used oil. EPAs reversal resulted from a joint NADA Regulatory/Legislative effort involving numerous sets of comments, testimony, agency meetings and congressional oversight.

NADA suggests that dealerships who send their used oil off-site for fuel processing take steps to prevent contamination during storage and to separately collect and ship any DIY used oil they collect.