Resources for Hazardous Waste Cleanups

This rule provides EPA with the authority to grant a permittee temporary authorization, without prior public notice and comment, to conduct activities necessary to respond promptly to changing conditions. Read the discussion on temporary authorization on pages 37919 through 37921.

Hazardous Waste Management System: General; Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste; Standards for Generators of Hazardous Waste; Standards for Transporters of Hazardous Waste; EPA Administered Permit Programs; Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Programs (51 FR 10146)(pdf)(68 MB)

In this final rule, EPA allows for limited on-site storage without the need for a permit or interim status (90 days for over 1000 kg/month generators and 180/270 days for 100-1000 kg/month generators). On page 10168, EPA states "Of course, no permitting would be required if a generator chooses to treat their hazardous waste in the generator’s accumulation tanks or containers in conformance with the requirements of § 262.34 and Subparts J or I of Part 265. Nothing in § 262.34 precludes a generator from treating waste when it is in an accumulation tank or container covered by that provision."

Section 3008(h) authorizes EPA to order a facility owner or operator to conduct corrective action during interim status when EPA determines that there is or has been a release of hazardous waste into the environment. Section 270.72(a)(5) promulgated in this final rule allows interim status facilities to make changes in accordance with corrective action orders issued by the Agency under section 3008(h) or other Federal authority (or orders issued by a Director under an equivalent State authority). The discussion about corrective action starts on page 9599 of this Federal Register.

As part of President Clinton’s March 1994 environmental regulatory reform initiative, EPA issued new requirements for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act hazardous remediation wastes treated, stored or disposed of during cleanup actions. These new requirements made five major changes:

1. They made permits for treating, storing and disposing of remediation wastes faster and easier to obtain.
2. They provided that obtaining these permits will not subject the owner and/or operator to facility-wide corrective action.
3. They created a new kind of unit called a ‘‘staging pile’’ that allows more flexibility in storing remediation waste during cleanup.
4. They excluded dredged materials from RCRA Subtitle C if they are managed under an appropriate permit under the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act or the Clean Water Act.
5. They made it faster and easier for States to receive authorization when they update their RCRA programs to incorporate revisions to the Federal RCRA regulations.

The RCRA Contained-In Policy applies to contaminated media and debris. Environmental media (water or soil) that contain one or more listed wastes or exhibit one or more characteristics of hazardous waste are managed as hazardous waste.

Rule amends 1993 CAMU rule in six ways: establishes a specific definition, distinct from the definition of remediation waste, to govern the types of wastes that are eligible for placement in CAMUs; establishes more detailed minimum design and operating standards for CAMUs in which waste will remain after closure, with opportunities for Regional Administrators to approve alternate design standards under certain circumstances; establishes treatment requirements for wastes that are placed in CAMUs, including minimum treatment standards, with opportunities to adjust treatment requirements under certain circumstances; establishes more specific information requirements for CAMU applications and is explicitly requiring that the public be given notice and a reasonable opportunity for public comment before final CAMU determinations are made; establishes new requirements for CAMUs that will be used only for treatment and storage; and, ‘‘grandfathers’’ certain types of existing CAMUs and allows them to continue to operate under the 1993 rule.

Rulemaking amends the regulations for ‘‘staging piles’’ to expressly allow for mixing, blending, and other similar physical operations intended to prepare wastes for subsequent management or treatment and adds a new provision allowing offsite placement of hazardous CAMU eligible waste in hazardous waste landfills, if they are treated to meet CAMU treatment standards (somewhat modified). Rule grants interim authorization for CAMU amendments to states that are authorized for the 1993 CAMU rule, and it expedites state authorization for the CAMU rule for states that are authorized for the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act corrective action program but not the 1993 CAMU rule.

Information Collection Request to solicit comments to:

1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the information will have practical utility.
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used.
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.
4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, this document announces that an Information Collection Request has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection that was scheduled to expire on September 30, 2005. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, requires EPA to establish a national regulatory program to ensure that hazardous wastes are managed in a manner protective of human health and the environment. Under this program (known as the RCRA Subtitle C program), EPA regulates newly generated hazardous wastes, as well as hazardous remediation wastes (i.e., hazardous wastes managed during cleanup). To facilitate prompt and protective treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous remediation wastes, EPA established three requirements for remediation waste management sites that are different from those for facilities managing newly generated hazardous waste:

• Performance standards for remediation waste management sites (40 CFR 264.1(j)).
• A provision excluding remediation waste management sites from requirements for facility-wide corrective action.
• A new form of RCRA permit for treating, storing, and disposing of hazardous remediation wastes (40 CFR part 270, subpart H). The new permit, a Remedial Action Plan (RAP), streamlines the permitting process for remediation waste management sites to allow cleanups to take place more quickly.

In addition, EPA created a new kind of unit called a ‘‘staging pile’’ (40 CFR 264.554) that allows more flexibility in storing remediation waste during cleanup.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, this document announces that an Information Collection Request has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection that was scheduled to expire on January 31, 2009. This notice describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, requires EPA to establish a national regulatory program to ensure that hazardous wastes are managed in a manner protective of human health and the environment. Under this program (known as the RCRA Subtitle C program), EPA regulates newly generated hazardous wastes, as well as hazardous remediation wastes (i.e., hazardous wastes managed during cleanup). To facilitate prompt and protective treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous remediation wastes, EPA established three requirements for remediation waste management sites that are different from those for facilities managing newly generated hazardous waste:

• Performance standards for remediation waste management sites (Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations section 264.1(j)).
• A provision excluding remediation waste management sites from requirements for facility-wide corrective action.
• A new form of RCRA permit for treating, storing, and disposing of hazardous remediation wastes (40 CFR part 270, subpart H). The new permit, a Remedial Action Plan, streamlines the permitting process for remediation waste management sites to allow cleanups to take place more quickly.

In addition, EPA created a new kind of unit called a ‘‘staging pile’’ (40 CFR Section 264.554) that allows more flexibility in storing remediation waste during cleanup.

Memoranda regarding RCRA permit waivers. In general, a State authorized to conduct the RCRA base permit program will have the authority to waive RCRA permit requirements for State Superfund actions as long as:

1. The State has the authority under its own statutes or regulations to grant permit waivers.
2. The State waiver authority is used in no less stringent a manner than allowed under Federal permit waiver authority.

This letter details Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Regulations for actions taken in immediate or emergency response to a discharge of hazardous waste, or an imminent and substantial threat of discharge of a hazardous waste. Transportation to a remote site is exempt from permitting, however, RCRA emergency permits (Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations section 270.61) can be used for destruction activities. These permits may only be issued when the Region or State finds that an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health or the environment exists, according to the requirements of 40 CFR section 270.61.

Read the discussion in this final rule on emergency permits on pages 33326 and 33327.

This letter discusses section 3008(h) orders and that they can be used to establish corrective action management units and other remedial units at facilities which lost interim status. Permits are not necessary if a Section 3008(h) order is in place, but public participation should occur.

This document consolidates existing guidance on the RCRA regulations and policies that most often affect remediation waste management. The associated chart summarizes the document and can be used to quickly identify possible remediation waste management strategies and to compare one remediation waste management approach to another.

This memo provides three categories of information: information on regulations and policies that apply to all remediation waste; information on regulations and policies that apply only to contaminated media; and information on regulations and policies that apply only to contaminated debris.

Background on the Development of the 2002 Amendments to the Corrective Action Management Unit Rule (pdf) (144.01 KB)

If you are involved with RCRA Corrective Action as an EPA or State regulator, member of the public, or representative of a facility, this fact sheet can help you understand:

• The difference between an “interim” and “final” remedy.
• The three performance standards that EPA believes all final remedies should achieve.
• How to identify the “best” remedy when one or more alternatives appear to be capable of achieving the three performance standards.
• EPA’s expectations for how thorough the evaluation of remedial alternatives needs to be.
• The roles and responsibilities in evaluating and selecting a final remedy.

This report provides simplified simulation examples to illustrate graphically how subsurface conditions and building-specific characteristics determine:

1. The distribution of vapor-forming chemicals in the subsurface.
2. The indoor air concentration relative to a source concentration.

It was prepared to help environmental practitioners gain insights into the processes and variables involved in the vapor intrusion pathway and to provide a theoretical framework with which to draw inferences about and better understand the complex vapor fate and transport conditions typically encountered at actual, non-idealized contaminated sites.

Superfund Institutional Controls: Guidance and Policy

On this webpage, you will find guidance and policy information related to Institutional Controls.

A fact sheet that provides Superfund and RCRA CA site managers with an overview of Institutional Controls commonly used and factors to consider when selecting ICs as part of the remedy.

The purpose of this guidance is to provide managers of contaminated sites, site attorneys,1 and other interested parties with information and recommendations that should be useful for planning, implementing, maintaining, and enforcing institutional controls for Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or Superfund); Brownfields; federal facility; underground storage tank; and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act site cleanups.

This manual provides introductory information on the solid and hazardous waste management programs under RCRA. Designed for EPA and state staff, members of the regulated community, and the general public who wish to better understand RCRA, this document constitutes a review of the RCRA program and is not a substitute for RCRA or its implementing regulations.

This document is a Federal Register notice regarding closure requirements for hazardous waste management facilities. EPA amended regulations under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in two areas. First, EPA modified the requirements for a post-closure permit, to allow EPA and the authorized States to use a variety of authorities to impose requirements on non-permitted land disposal units requiring post-closure care. Second, for all facilities, the EPA amended the regulations governing closure of land-based units that have released hazardous constituents, to allow certain units to be addressed through the Corrective Action Program.

The guidance assists EPA and state officials in documenting and reporting measures and indicators for RCRA Corrective Action facilities.

The guidance assists EPA and state officials in documenting and reporting measures and indicators for RCRA Corrective Action facilities.

The RCRAInfo Data Element Dictionary defines the basic organization associated with the RCRAInfo Database. The dictionary consists of the following primary topics:

• Flat File / CSV Specifications - shows the format of the flat files and/or csv files of the data that may be downloaded.
• Data Element Dictionary - describes the data element as well as providing the Oracle Column Name and the Oracle Table in which the element may be found.
• Nationally-Defined Values - shows the nationally-defined values for various data elements.

Improved Procedures for Facility/Site Transfers between RCRA Hazardous Waste and CERCLA Cleanup Authorities (pdf) (404.13 KB)

This memo and the attached appendix titled “Improved Procedures for Facility/Site Transfers Between RCRA [Resource Conservation and Recovery Adt] Hazardous Waste and CERCLA Cleanup Authorities,” describe updated procedures for processing program transfers of facilities/sites between the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Hazardous Waste Cleanup Program (formerly known as the Corrective Action Program) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Program. The updated procedures, which include documenting and tracking transfer-related information in both RCRAInfo and the Superfund Enterprise and Management System (SEMS), will help ensure that facilities/sites transferred between these programs follow a consistent and complete process. The updated process will enable program managers to accurately identify a facility/site’s administrative program management lead, transfer status in real time and improve overall program management at the state, regional, and national levels.

Appendix to the memo "Improved Procedures for Facility/Site Transfers between RCRA Hazardous Waste and CERCLA Cleanup Authorities (pdf) (367.39 KB)