Steel slags and aluminum dross are regulated as “hazardous wastes” and refractories are governed as “other wastes” in India under the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 (“Hazardous Waste Rules”).

Any waste specified under column (3) of Schedule I of the Hazardous Waste Rules is categorized as hazardous waste in India and the waste which is specified in Part B of Schedule III of these Hazardous Waste Rules is categorized as other wastes.

As per S. No. 13 of Schedule I of the Hazardous Waste Rules, ‘Residues from coke oven byproduct plant’ generated from ‘Production of iron and steel including other ferrous alloys (electric furnace; steel rolling and finishing mills; Coke oven and byproducts plant)’ process is considered as hazardous waste. Therefore, steel slags are regulated as hazardous waste in India.

As per S. No. 11 of Schedule I of these Hazardous Waste Rules, ‘Drosses and waste from the treatment of salt sludge’ generated from ‘Production of primary and secondary aluminum’ process is considered as hazardous waste. Therefore, aluminum dross is regulated as hazardous waste in India.

Part B of Schedule III of the Hazardous Waste Rules includes a list of other wastes applicable for import and export. This list is based on Annexure - IX of the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes ("Basel Convention") and comprises wastes not characterized as hazardous under Article - I of the Basel Convention. The wastes in Part B are restricted and cannot be allowed to be imported without permission from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (“MoEF&CC”) and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade license, if applicable. ‘Refractory metals containing residues’ and ‘Wastes of refractory linings, including crucibles, originating from copper smelting’ are mentioned under Part B of Schedule III of the Hazardous Waste Rules and therefore refractories are regulated as ‘other waste’ in India.

Regulation Governing Disposal of Hazardous Waste in India

Disposal of hazardous and other wastes in India is also governed by the Hazardous Waste Rules. Under these rules, “disposal” includes disposal in secured landfill ¹.

Rule 6 of the Hazardous Waste Rules provides for disposal of hazardous and other wastes. As per this rule, every occupier of the facility who is engaged in the disposal of the hazardous and other wastes under these rules shall be required to make an application in Form 1 to the concerned State Pollution Control Board (“SPCB”) and obtain an authorization from the SPCB. Such application for authorization shall be accompanied by a copy of each of the following documents, namely:

• Consent to establish granted by the SPCB under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981;
• Consent to operate granted by the SPCB under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and/or Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981; and
• In case of renewal of authorization, a self-certified compliance report highlighting compliance with the effluent, emission standards and the conditions specified in the authorization for hazardous and other wastes.

Rule 4(2) of these rules provides that the occupier shall be responsible for safe and environmentally sound management of hazardous and other wastes.

Rule 4(3) states that the hazardous and other wastes generated in the establishment of an occupier shall be sent or sold to an authorized actual user or shall be disposed of in an authorized disposal facility.

As per Rule 6(5), every occupier authorized under these rules, shall maintain a record of hazardous and other wastes managed by him in Form 3 and prepare and submit to the SPCB, an annual return containing the details specified in Form 4 on or before the 30th day of June following the financial year to which that return relates.

As per Rule 9, utilization of hazardous and other wastes as a resource or after pre-processing either for co-processing or for any other use, including within the premises of the generator (if it is not part of the process), shall be carried out only after obtaining authorization from the SPCB in respect of the concerned waste.

Rule 23 provides that the occupier, importer or exporter and operator of the disposal facility shall be liable for all damages caused to the environment or third party due to improper handling and management of the hazardous and other waste. The rule further provides that the occupier and the operator of the disposal facility shall be liable to pay financial penalties as levied for any violation of the provisions under these rules by the SPCB with the prior approval of the Central Pollution Control Board (“CPCB”). Further, any entity engaged in the disposal of hazardous and others wastes shall be required to make an application in Form 1 to the concerned SPCB and obtain authorization from the SPCB as provided under Rule 6.

With regard to aluminum industries, the CPCB has framed standard operating procedure (“SOP”) for utilization of spent pot lining (“SPL”) generated from primary aluminum smelting industries.

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¹ Rule 3(1)(10)

The National Steel Policy, 2017 is aimed at substantially reducing the carbon footprint of the Indian steel industry. As per this policy, the concerned ministry is required to encourage the steel companies to develop a waste management plan with additional impetus on zero-waste or complete waste recycling. The said policy further states that concrete efforts will further be made by the concerned Ministry to promote the use of iron and steel slag in alternate uses like road making, rail ballast, construction material, soil conditioner, etc. Under this policy, steel plants will be pursued to set up steel melting shop (“SMS”) slag weathering/steam aging plants to enable them to supply processed/sized SMS slag for road making, rail ballast, etc.

Since blast furnace (“BF”) slag is suitable for the cement industry due to the high percentage of lime and other constituents which are beneficial for the cement industry, they are being currently used extensively in the cement industry in India. The other areas in which steel slags are finding usage in India are in road construction, in rail ballast, soil stabilizer, insulation wool, agriculture and as raw material in clinker manufacture replacing limestones. In fact, efforts have been made by an Indian steel company for grinding steel slag to 300 mesh with the intent to use it as a soil conditioner in paddy fields, tea gardens, etc.

Anticipated Regulatory Developments

The Strategy Paper on Resource Efficiency in Steel Sector Through Recycling of Scrap & Slag ¹ published by the Ministry of Steel and NITI Aayog discusses the following alternative uses of steel slag:

• Steel slag as a replacement for natural aggregates in road construction;
• Steel slag for reclamation of acidic mine land; and
• Steel linz donawitz (“LD”) slag be used in fertilizers for agricultural applications.

Given the fact that the aforementioned strategy paper is published by the Ministry of Steel and NITI Aayog, there is a high likelihood that policy decisions may be taken in near future on the alternative uses of steel mentioned in this strategy paper.

It is pertinent to mention that steel slag aggregate meets all of the important physical characteristics of aggregates laid down in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (“MoRTH”) specification for Road and Bridge Work 2001 for preparation of bituminous concrete mixes. Also, the high bearing capacity of steel slag aggregates can be used advantageously on week subgrades and in heavy traffic applications. Therefore, one may anticipate the inclusion of steel aggregates in the Indian Road Congress (“IRC”) manual in near future and this will increase the acceptability of steel slag aggregate in road construction in India.

India’s production of cement is expected to increase. As per the Strategy Paper on Resource Efficiency in Steel Sector Through Recycling of Scrap & Slag published by the Ministry of Steel and NITI Aayog’ about 1.5-tons of limestone is required for making one ton of cement and with about 10% replacement of limestone with BF slag creates a market for 60 MT BF slag/year, thus legislation mandating or promoting replacing limestone with steel slag will result in both reuse of steel slag and reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Given the aforementioned reasoning, we may expect legislation mandating or promoting replacing limestone with steel slag in cement making in the next few months.

There are significant opportunities for thoughtful decarbonization of the steel sector in India. The MoEF&CC has released a Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy ("NREP"), 2019 ². The NREP is guided by the following principles:

• Reduction in primary resource consumption to ‘sustainable’ levels, in keeping with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and staying within the planetary boundaries;
• Creation of higher value with less material through resource-efficient and circular approaches;
• Waste minimization;
• Material security; and
• Creation of employment opportunities and business models beneficial to the cause of environment protection and restoration.

Steel is one of the seven sectors identified for the NREP. The targets in the draft NREP for the steel sector are as follows:

• By 2030, zero import of steel scrap for recycled steel production and 100% of the recycled steel be produced from domestic scrap;
• By 2030, establish 50% of the steel manufacturing capacity from the EAF route;
• Increase steel recycling rate to 90%;
• Ensure 50% overall utilization of slag by 2025 and 85% by 2030; and
• By 2022, introduce a quality index-based pricing mechanism to facilitate continuous and smooth scrap supply to recyclers.

There is a significant likelihood that the Draft NREP will be finalized in the next few months.

CPCB through an office order dated March 2, 2021, has constituted a technical committee to prepare the Guidelines on handling and management of High Volume Low Effect Waste – Slag from pyro-metallurgical operations (Iron & Steel and Ferrous Alloy Units). Therefore, it is possible that a guideline on these issues may be promulgated in the next 12-18 months ³.

The Ministry of Steel has constituted a Task Force for the Promotion and Utilization of Iron and Steel Slag ⁴. This Task Force had held extensive deliberations with the stakeholders in which all the issues related to the utilization of iron and steel slag and action plans were evolved. Ministry of Steel has written to the Indian Road Congress for the development of codes and procedures allowing the use of SMS slag as road aggregates, Research Designs & Standards Organisation (“RDSO”) for framing standard for use of iron and steel as rail ballast and MoEF&CC for considering making mandatory the use of iron and steel slag in road-making. The Ministry of Steel has also urged all the integrated steel plants for setting up commercial plants to produce processed SMS slag. Therefore, policy decisions on such issues may be taken in the future.

The Ministry of Steel has also constituted a core group of stakeholders comprising of steel producers, users of slag, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (“CSIR”) labs, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (“FICCI”) to explore the following:

• Evolving guidelines on the utilization of iron and steel slag;
• Focused R&D on processing and usage of iron and steel slag; and
• Development of web-based/application-based information sharing on iron and steel slag availability at various locations, its utilization and research being carried out.

Ministry of Steel is also funding the following three R&D projects for promoting utilization of steel slag:

• Development of design guidelines and specifications for utilization of steel slag in road construction by CSIR- Central Road Research Institute (“CRRI”);
• A novel approach of making green belite cement from Electric Arc Furnace steelmaking slag by the Indian Institute of Technology (“IIT”) Kharagpur; and
• Development of newer cementitious materials using chemically activated LD slag by CSIR-CBRI.

Aluminum Byproduct

Producing primary aluminum results in byproducts like bauxite residue (red mud), fly ash, SPL, dross, etc. These byproducts have significant potential for value-added applications.

NITI Aayog in its Draft Strategy on Aluminium Resource Efficiency released in December 2018, has stated that at a national level, a comprehensive strategy needs to be prepared on utilization of red mud mainly in the following five areas:

• Cement making;
• Bulk construction – road, embankment, marine clay reclamation and mine backfilling;
• Brick/block/paver block/plaster etc. for housing and roads;
• Man-made soil for green belt development; and
• Metal/non-metal value recovery.

In the aforesaid document, it has been further stated that in each of the aforementioned areas, a national-level mission project needs to be launched.

As India embarks on a growing economic trajectory, aluminum demand will increase. Given the push the concept of “circular economy” is getting in the Indian policy domain, a national material recycling policy may be anticipated in the next few months.

Aluminum is one of the seven sectors identified for the NREP. The targets in the draft NREP for the aluminum sector are as follows:

• By 2030, domestic scrap to fulfill 50% of the total aluminum scrap requirement;
• Increase recycling rate to 50% by 2025 and 90% by 2030; and
• Increase rate of utilization of dross to 40% by 2025 and 80% by 2030.

As per the Ministry of Mines, Government of India Annual Report 2019–2020, the Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (“JNARDDC”), Nagpur has submitted a brief status report along with a recommendation for environmentally friendly solutions for the aluminum industry waste. JNARDDC has submitted recommendations of the aluminum industry for supporting CPCB in formulating guidelines for safe disposal and utilization of aluminum industry waste i.e. red mud. Therefore it is possible that CPCB may formulate guidelines for safe disposal and utilization of aluminum industry waste ⁵.

JNARDDC is also in the process of formulating recommendations for the Bureau of Indian Standards (“BIS”) for developing standards for aluminum scrap and other aluminum alloys.

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¹ Details can be accessed at https://www.niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/RE_Steel_Scrap_Slag-FinalR4-28092018.pdf

² Details can be accessed at http://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Draft-National-Resourc.pdf

³ CPCB office order dated 02.03.2021 can be accessed at https://cpcb.nic.in/openpdffile.php?id=TGF0ZXN0RmlsZS8zMTdfMTYxNjA0MzA4OV9tZWRpYXBob3RvMTA4NDMucGRm

⁴ Ministry of Steel, Government of India Annual Report 2019-2020 which can be accessed at https://steel.gov.in/sites/default/files/Annual%20Report-Ministry%20of%20Steel%202019-20.pdf

⁵ Ministry of Mines, Government of India Annual Report 2019 – 2020 which can be accessed at https://mines.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/Corrected%20AR%20220902020.pdf

The Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules, 1989 (“MSIHC Rules”) focus on the use and storage of hazardous chemicals in India. The MSIHC Rules lay down provisions about how the chemicals and other dangerous substances must be manufactured, stored, and imported in India. For the purposes of the MSIHC Rules, “hazardous chemical” means any chemical which satisfies any of the criteria laid down in Part I of Schedule 1 or listed in Column 2 of Part II[1] of this Schedule or any chemical listed in Column 2 of Schedule 2[2] or any chemical listed in Column 2 of Schedule 3[3] of the MSIHC Rules. As per Rule 13(4) of MSIHC Rules, the occupier shall ensure that a mock drill of the on-site emergency plan is conducted every six months.

Some of the relevant chemicals which are considered as a hazardous chemical by the MSIHC Rules and hence, governed by these rules are as follows:

In addition to the chemicals mentioned in the aforementioned table, several others are also covered by the MSIHC Rules.

In India, the Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Response) Rules, 1996 (“1996 Rules”) lay down provisions for planning, preparedness, and response in case a chemical accident occurs. The 1996 Rules define “hazardous chemicals” by categorizing them under different heads and also provides for the constitution of crisis alert systems and groups at different levels. Under these rules, a hazardous chemical means any chemical which satisfies any of the criteria laid down in Part I of Schedule 1 or is listed in Part II[1] of the said Schedule or any chemical listed in Column 2 of Schedule 2[2] or any chemical listed in Column 2 of Schedule 3[3].

In addition to certain oxides which are covered by the 1996 Rules, some of the relevant chemicals which are considered as a hazardous chemical by the 1996 Rules and hence, governed by these rules are as follows:

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⁶ Ministry of Mines, Government of India Annual Report 2019 – 2020 which can be accessed at https://mines.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/Corrected%20AR%20220902020.pdf
⁷ Part II mentions the list of hazardous and toxic chemicals.
⁸ Schedule 2 deals with isolated storage at installations other than those covered by Schedule 4 of the MSIHC Rules.
⁹ Schedule 3 Lists the hazardous chemicals for application of Rules 5 and 7 to 15 of the MSIHC Rules.
¹⁰ This Part lists hazardous and toxic chemicals.
¹¹ This Schedule list certain chemicals and their threshold planning quantities.
¹² This Schedule has Part I which lists named chemicals and Part 2 which lists classes of substances not specifically named in Part I.

The MoEF&CC issued the first Fly Ash Notification in 1999 which has been subsequently amended in 2003, 2009 and 2016. Through this Fly Ash Notification, the use of fly ash for the purpose of manufacturing ash-based products such as cement, concrete blocks, bricks, panels or any other material or for construction of roads, embankments, dams or for any other construction activity within a radius of 300 km from thermal power stations (“TPPs”) has been mandated. 

Using fly ash in the external overburden, mines backfilling or stowing of mines within a distance of 50 km has also been made mandatory. In fact, it has been made mandatory for all construction agencies/government departments undertaking road projects, fly over/bridges as well as local authorities to make provisions for use of fly ash in their tender documents and schedule of material and rates. The Fly Ash Notification further prescribes the fly ash utilization targets in a phased manner for all coal or lignite-based TPPs in India so as to achieve 100% utilization of fly ash. It is pertinent to mention that the 2016 amended notification provides that the cost of transportation of fly ash up to 100 km distance shall be borne by the TPPs and for the distance between 100 km to 300 km, the cost will be shared equally between the user and TPPs.

The environmental standards for integrated iron and steel plant is prescribed in India by the MoEF&CC under the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 amended from time to time. The environmental standards for integrated iron and steel plant in India is as follows:

Dust Control

The MoEF&CC has notified of the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016. The said rules apply to every waste resulting from construction, remodeling, repair and demolition of any civil structure of individual or organization or authority who generates construction and demolition (“C&D”) waste such as building materials, debris, rubble, etc. 

Under these rules, the CPCB in March 2017 prepared the Guidelines on Environmental Management of Construction & Demolition (C&D) wastes. These guidelines have been prepared with the objective to:

• promote an integrated approach, whereby environmental management of construction and demolition waste is given due consideration throughout the duration of the project; and
• approach towards reduction of environmental impacts.

These guidelines recommend pollution mitigation measures in the operation of C&D dumpsites/waste processing facilities.

In November 2017 the CPCB prepared the Guidelines on Dust mitigation measures in handling construction material and C&D wastes. These guidelines address dust abatement measures that arise during the handling of construction material and C&D wastes on-site and off-site.

Water Treatment

The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 (“Water Act”) is the first specific and comprehensive legislation institutionalizing the regulatory agencies for controlling water pollution in India. 

For the purposes of the Water Act, trade effluent includes any liquid, gaseous or solid substance which is discharged from any premises used for carrying on any industry, operation or process or treatment and disposal system other than domestic sewage.

Section 25 of the Water Act provides that no person can establish or take steps to establish any industry, operation or process, or any treatment and disposal system or any extension or addition thereto which is likely to discharge sewage or trade effluent into a stream or well or sewer or on land without the previous consent of the State Board.

Section 44 of the Water Act states that whoever contravenes the provisions of section 25 shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year and six months but which may extend to six years and with a fine.

Natural Gas

The grant of petroleum exploration licenses (“PELs”) and petroleum mining leases (“PMLs”) for petroleum and natural gas that belongs to the government, and for their conservation and development is regulated in India by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 1959 (“PNG Rules”). Additionally, granting of licenses by the government to explore and exploit the resources of the continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone is provided by the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and the Maritime Zones Act, 1976. 

Apart from the generally applicable Indian environmental, health and safety (“EHS”) laws, some of the specific laws and regulations governing safety in the oil and gas sector are as follows:

• Petroleum and Natural Gas (Safety in Offshore Operations) Rules, 2008;
• PNGRB (Technical Standards and Specifications including Safety Standards for City or Local Natural Gas Distribution Networks) Regulations, 2008;
• PNGRB (Integrity Management System for Natural gas pipelines) Regulations, 2012; and
• PNGRB (Technical Standards and Specifications including Safety Standards for Petroleum and Petroleum Products Pipelines) Regulations, 2016.

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¹³ http://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/277E-1.pdf 
¹⁴ https://cpcb.nic.in/openpdffile.php?id=UmVwb3J0RmlsZXMvNTUyXzE1MTEyNjQwMTVfbWVkaWFwaG90bzQ2OTAucGRm 
¹⁵ https://cpcb.nic.in/openpdffile.php?id=UmVwb3J0RmlsZXMvNTYxXzE1MTE5MzMzNzJfbWVkaWFwaG90bzEyNjcxLnBkZg

Perform Achieve and Trade ("PAT") Scheme

Under the National Action Plan for Climate Change (“NAPCC”), one of the missions India has is the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (“NMEEE”). The Perform, Achieve and Trade ("PAT") Scheme (“PAT scheme”) is the flagship scheme under NMEEE. PAT scheme is a regulatory instrument to reduce specific energy consumption in energy-intensive industries. It is a market-based mechanism to enhance the cost-effectiveness through certification of excess energy saving which can be traded. The PAT scheme became effective from April 2012.

Through PAT, mandatory energy consumption targets are placed on companies in energy-intensive industries. Those with the greatest inefficiencies have the highest reduction targets. Companies that outperform their targets are awarded certificates that can be traded to weaker performers or banked for future use.

As per the Annual Report 2019-20 of the Ministry of Steel, Government of India, during 2012-2019 under the PAT scheme 158 iron and steel plants have been notified who are required to reduce the Specific Energy Consumption (“SEC”) from their baseline value. 67 of these Designated Consumers (“DCs”) completed the PAT I cycle and entered the PAT II cycle. 71 DCs have participated in the PAT II cycle, which completed in March 2019. The PAT III, PAT IV and PAT V cycles are also notified by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (“BEE”) in 2017, 2018 & 2019 respectively with 29 new DCs in the PAT III cycle, 35 new DCs in PAT IV cycle and 23 new DCs in the PAT V cycle. 

It is pertinent to mention that the total savings achieved by the iron and steel sector covering the designated consumers in the PAT I cycle was 2.10 Million Tons ¹⁶.

JNARDDC is the aluminum sector expert under the PAT scheme. 

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¹⁶ Page 81 of this annual report. https://steel.gov.in/sites/default/files/Annual%20Report-Ministry%20of%20Steel%202019-20.pdf 

The wastes mentioned in Part B of Schedule III of the Hazardous Waste Rules are restricted and cannot be allowed to be imported without permission from the MoEF&CC and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade license, if applicable. The following relevant wastes are covered under Part B of Schedule III of the Hazardous Waste Rules: 

• Granulated slag arising from the manufacture of iron and steel;
• Slag arising from the manufacture of iron and steel including slags as a source of Titanium dioxide and Vanadium;
• Mill scale arising from the manufacture of iron and steel; and
• Waste anode butts from steel or aluminum production made of petroleum coke or bitumen and cleaned to normal industry specifications (excluding anode butts from chloralkali electrolyzes and from metallurgical industry)

Part D of Schedule III of the Hazardous Waste Rules provides a list of other wastes based on Annexure-IX of the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and comprises wastes not characterized as hazardous under Article-I of the Basel Convention. Iron and steel scrap is included in Part D of Schedule III of these rules. Therefore, their import is permitted in India to the actual user or to the trader on behalf of the actual users authorized by SPCB on one-time basis and subject to verification of documents specified in Schedule VIII of these rules by the Customs Authority.

The following relevant wastes are covered under the definition of hazardous waste in the Hazardous Waste Rules:

• Waste such as spent pickling liquor, sludge from acid recovery unit, benzol acid sludge, decanter tank tar sludge, tar storage tank residue and residues from coke oven byproduct plant generated from the production of iron and steel including other ferrous alloys; and
• Waste such as cyanide, nitrate, or nitrite containing sludge generated by spent hardening salt process 

Under Rule 11 of the Hazardous Waste Rules, the MoEF&CC shall be the nodal Ministry to deal with the transboundary movement of the hazardous and other wastes in accordance with the provisions of these rules.

Rule 12 of the Hazardous Waste Rules provide for a strategy for the import and export of hazardous and other wastes. 

Procedure for import of hazardous and other wastes are prescribed under Rule 13 of the Hazardous Waste Rules. 

Procedure for export of hazardous and other wastes from India is prescribed under Rule 14 of the Hazardous Waste Rules.