The US EPA issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) on August 22, 2025, to “cut red tape” and allow the temporary use of “Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incinerators (CISWI) for natural disaster debris removal…” The IFR is of particular interest to states prone to hurricanes, as untouched debris “contributes to poor air, land, and water quality and endangers lives.”

CISWI Flexibility Needed Regulatory Authority.
According to EPA, after Hurricane Helene, “the Biden-Harris Administration did not grant North Carolina’s request to use CISWI to accelerate clean up citing the lack of temporary provisions for CISWI. In responding directly to states’ request for more incinerators for disaster clean up, the Trump Administration recognizes the importance of temporary-use CISWI.”

EPA’s rules distinguish between Other Solid Waste Incinerators (OSWI) and CISWI. OSWI are very small municipal combustion units and institutional waste combustion incineration units. EPA had excluded OSWI from certain standards when used to combust debris during disaster recovery. The IFR will allow CISWI to have a comparable exclusion on a temporary basis to combust debris from a disaster or emergency such as a tornado, hurricane, flood, ice storm, high winds, or act of bioterrorism.

States Can Amend Plans for Existing CISWI.
While the IFR does not directly apply to existing sources, states are encouraged to amend their State Implementation Plans to include the temporary-use provisions in the IFR for implementation of 40 CFR part 60, subpart DDDD.

The IFR is effective upon publication but will also be subject to public comment for 45 days.

To see EPA’s news release, which has a link to access the text of the rule and comment procedures, https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-cuts-red-tape-commercial-industrial-incinerators-after-natural-disasters