CE 529 Hazardous Waste Management
Lecture 2 - Environmental Legislation – RCRA
2.0
S.K. Ong
Generator Standards (40 CFR Part 262)
Generator - is any person or entity whose act or process produces a hazardous waste or whose act first causes a
hazardous waste (HW) to be subject to regulation
Three categories:
LQG -
SQG CESQG -
large quantity generator - produces more than 1,000 kg of HW or 1 kg of acutely HW in a
calendar month
Generates in any single month or accumulates at any time, 1 kg of RCRA acute hazardous
waste
Generates or accumulates any time more than 100 kg of spill cleanup material
contaminated with RCRA acute hazardous waste
small quantity generator, sometimes known as medium quantity generator - 100 to 1,000
kg of HW or less than 1 kg of an acutely HW in a calendar month
conditionally exempt small quantity generator - no more than 100 kg of HW
Generator status is determined on a month by month basis. For example, a generator produces 90 kg of HW one
month is CESQG but if he produces 1,200 kg in the following month, the generator is subject to the full LQG
requirement
2.1
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2.2
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Large Generator Requirements
must properly store waste, have an emergency and contingency plan and training of personnel
must determine if the waste is a hazardous waste, conduct necessary analysis
obtain an EPA ID and should not offer waste to transporters or TSDFs which do not have an EPA ID
provide proper packaging, labeling, marking of packaged wastes to identify characteristics and dangers
associated with the waste
HW transported must be accompanied by a HW manifest that accompanies the waste from point of origin to
point of final disposal
Within 30 days of arrival of the HW with its manifest, the TSDF must send a copy of the manifest with all
appropriate signatures and information to the original generator. If manifest fails to arrive after 35 days, the
LQG must investigate and notify the EPA
copies of the manifest must be retained by the generator, transporter, or TSDFs for three years
must also keep records of all test results and waste analysis or any records made in accordance with the
hazardous waste determination
must prepare and submit a biennial report by March 1 of each even-numbered year - describing the quantity and
type of waste shipped-off site and a description of the efforts taken during the year to minimize the volume and
toxicity of waste generated
CESQGs are not subject to these record keeping
SQGs are subject to all record keeping requirements except for the biennial reporting requirements
Responsibilities of CESQGs include: identification of the waste, not to accumulate more than 999 kg of HW at
any time, treat and dispose of waste on site or sent to a permitted TSDF, municipal or industrial solid waste
facility or recycling facility
Transporters Requirements (40 CFR 263)
Transporters are regulated both by EPA and the US DOT through the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act
(P.L. 93-633 49 USC 1801 et seq.). DOT regulations are set forth in volume 40 CFR and cover shipment,
regulating container manufacturing, and transportation, including highway, railway, water and air.
Procedures are specific to the type of waste and the mode of transportation
transporters must obtain an EPA ID number
the transporter is responsible for following the manifest tracking system by not accepting waste without a
manifest, insuring that the manifest is signed by the accepting TSDF and retaining a copy for three years (49
CFR)
transporters are expected to prepare to handle an accidental discharge to reduce harm to human health or the
environment
• be prepared to accept responsibility for clean-up of contamination
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CESQG
SQG (or MQG)
LQG
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Quantity
< 100 kg/mo
100 - 1000 kg/month
1000 kg/month or greater
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EPA ID No.
not required
Required
Required
Management of
waste
State approved or
RCRA permitted
RCRA-permitted facility
RCRA-permitted facility
On site storage
May be accumulated up
to 999 kg
May accumulate up to 6,000
for up to 180 days (or 270
days if transport of waste to
TSDFs is over 200 miles)
May accumulate any
quantity up to 90 days
Storage
Requirements
None
Basic requirements with the
technical standards under Part
265 for containers or tanks
Full compliance with
technical standards under
Part 265 for containers
or tanks
Manifest
Not required*
Required
Required
Exception Report
Not required
Required after 60 days
Required after 45 days
Biennial Report
Not required
Not required
Required
Basic training required
Full training required
Personnel Training Not required
Emergency/
Not required
Basic plan required
Full plan required
Contingency plan
* although not required legally under RCRA, many transporters will not handle hazardous waste without these items
2.3
TSDFs Requirements (40 CFR 264 (final status) and 265 (interim status)
• any person who treats, stores or disposes of HW is considered as owner or operator of a treatment, storage, or
disposal facility (TSDF).
• Facilities classified as TSDFs include landfills, above ground tank systems, surface impoundments, waste piles,
land treatment, incinerators, other thermal treatment units, chemical, physical and biological treatment units and
underground injection wells. Technical requirements for the above facilities are covered under subpart J to X of
40 CFR 264.
• On the effective date of RCRA regulation (Nov. 19, 1980) all treatment, storage or disposal of HW was
prohibited unless the operations were authorized by a RCRA permit or excluded.
• However, this would create a disastrous situation for the existing HW management program. Therefore,
Congress established an interim status provision whereby facilities existing on or before Nov. 18, 1980 are
eligible for interim status until a final application is filed and approved.
• The application process for TSDFs include a Part A and a Part B application.
Part A includes administrative information while Part B of the application is specific to the type of the facility
and includes technical information on the facilities. Interim status facilities are covered by 40 CFR 265.
• All existing TSDFs if they would like to continue operations after Nov. 19, 1980 would be required to submit
Part A application . This must then be followed by the Part B in which EPA will determine whether a final
permit should be granted.
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for new facilities established after Nov. 18, 1980, must submit final Part A and B application
simultaneously, must meet 40 CFR 264 technical standards. After application is approved, draft permit
is prepared. EPA then solicit written public comments and hold public hearings for 45 days. Following
comment period, EPA will issue the RCRA permit decision. If approved, usually a 10-year permit is issued.
2.3.1
Exemptions (40 CFR 264.1)
• facilities that are state-approved to exclusively handle SQG wastes
• operation of a facility managing recyclable materials
• farmer disposing of waste pesticides in compliance with 40 CFR 262.51
• total enclosed treatment facility as defined in 40 CFR 260.10. Exemption is for the unit itself, not the effluent.
• operations that accumulate waste on site for 90 days or less
• operations of an elementary neutralization unit or a wastewater treatment unit
• transporter storing manifested HW in containers for less than 10 days
• operations that engaged in treatment or containment activities during immediate response for a HW spill or
discharge
• the addition of adsorbent material to waste or the addition of waste to adsorbent material
2.3.2
Requirements of a TSDFs
• need an EPA Identification number
• personnel must be properly trained in handling of waste and health and safety
• develop a communication and alarm system
• develop a security system to prevent unauthorized entry
• must be in compliance with local, state and federal standards
• must maintain complete and accurate records of its operation
• provide adequate ground water monitoring throughout the life of the facility.
• during period of closure, TSDF must completely process all on-site waste and place a final cover over the
landfill
• Following closure, for landfills, land treatment, surface impoundments and certain waste piles, a 30 year post
closure period commences during which the TSDF facility must continue to monitor the groundwater and
conduct any maintenance activities
• must provide adequate liability coverage to compensate third parties for injury or property damage.
2.4 Land Disposal Restrictions
2.4.1
General description
• In 1984, Congress amended RCRA to tighten restrictions on the disposal of hazardous waste in land disposal
facilities, such as landfills, surface impoundments, waste piles, land farming areas, injection wells, salt dome or
salt bed formation, underground mine or cave, or concrete vault or bunker. (See 40 CFR Part 264 and Part 148
for underground injection wells).
• Intentions of the land ban restrictions are to substantially reduce the toxicity of the wastes; reduce the likelihood
that hazardous constituents of the wastes will migrate from a land disposal unit; and to promote waste
minimization and recycling; and to prevent TSDFs from becoming future CERCLA (Superfund) sites.
• The amendments immediately banned the placement of certain types of HW in land disposal units and set forth
a time schedule for banning the remainder of HW from land disposal, unless the HW had first been treated with
the best demonstrated available technologies (BDAT) as identified in the regulations.
• As of August 2, 1990, all hazardous waste as identified in 40 CFR are land banned unless treated to meet BDAT
standards.
• Also land banned wastes may not be stored at a facility for more than one year.
• Generators shipping RCRA HW to TSDFs or recyclers do not need to meet treatment standard criteria
• A waste disposed of prior to an applicable effective date does not have to be removed for treatment. However,
if the waste is removed from the unit after the effective date, it must meet all applicable treatment standards
before subsequent placement in or on land
• Land ban regulations do not apply to small quantity generators ( i.e., generators of less than 100 kg/month of
HW or 1 kg/month of acutely HW).
In HSWA, Congress require EPA to set a schedule to develop treatment standards for HW. For each hazardous
waste, EPA established a treatment standard that is protective of human health and the environment when the wastes
are land disposed.
The treatment standards either:
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require the use of one or more specified treatment technologies, or
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they require wastes to be treated to meet certain concentration limits on hazardous constituents. When
concentration limits are used, EPA assumes that a waste will be treated with the BDAT. Although
such wastes can be treated by any technology, the concentration of hazardous constituents in any
treatment residues cannot be higher than those obtained using BDAT. Concentration limit can be
expressed as a concentration in the waste extract (TCLP) or as a total concentration of the constituents
in the waste. Treatment Standard criteria are given in 40 CFR 268.41. 268.42 or 268.43.
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Congress divided HW into six groups as follows:
Groups
Solvents and Dioxins
California List Wastes
First Third of Listed Wastes+
Second Third of Listed Wastes+
Third Third of Listed Wastes & Characteristics Wastes+
Newly identified wastes
Publication Date of Final Rules
Nov. 8, 1986
July 8, 1987
Aug 8, 1988
June 8, 1989
May 8, 1990
Within 6 months of
identification as a HW
+ Listed wastes were divided up into high volume - high hazard and low volume - low hazard wastes.
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Storage Prohibition - Storage of restricted waste is prohibited except to accumulate sufficient quantities to
facilitate proper treatment, recovery, or disposal. (40 CFR 268.50). For the first year of storage EPA bears the
burden of demonstrating that wastes are being stored unnecessarily. After one year, the burden shifts to the
waste owner to demonstrate the necessity for longer storage.
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Dilution Prohibition - (40 CFR 268.3) - the general rule that EPA applies is that if a listed and characteristic
waste is placed in a land disposal unit, the dilution prohibition applies between the point of generation to the
point of disposal. However, there are exceptions to this rule.
2.5
Corrective Action Process
In HSWA, release of HW at RCRA facilities are regulated through the corrective action process.
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Section 3004 (u) allows EPA to require corrective action for all releases of HW or constituents from " waste
management units" regardless of when the waste was placed in the units, i.e., including releases by previous
owners or operators
Section 3004 (v) authorizes EPA to impose corrective action requirements for releases which migrate beyond
facility boundaries
Section 3004 (h) authorizes EPA to impose corrective action whenever there is or has been a release of
hazardous waste from an interim status RCRA facility - regardless of the time at which waste was placed in the
facility and regardless of whether the current owner/operator was responsible for the release. (40 CFR 264
Subpart F outline regulations for corrective actions for releases to ground water from regulated units)
EPA has estimated that approximately 2,000 TSDFs may require some form of corrective action (note that these
are generally facilities established before Nov. 19, 1980).
Cost estimates by EPA are:
Immediate Cleanup to Background
$490 billion
Immediate Cleanup to Health-based Standards
$ 41.8 billion
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Corrective actions requirements are imposed through permits or enforcement orders.
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Several definitions are provided under the corrective action process:
(a) a regulated unit is defined as any surface impoundments, waste piles, land treatment units or landfill that
received waste after July 26, 1982.
(b) a solid waste management unit (SWMU) is defined as any waste management unit from which HW or
constituents may migrate even if the unit was not intended for the management of HW. This include any areas
that become contaminated as a result of routine systematic releases from process/industrial discharges.
Note : a regulated unit is a subset of SWMUs
(c) a corrective action management unit (CAMU) means a contiguous area within a facility as designated by the
regional administrator for the purpose of implementing corrective action requirements which is contaminated by
HW
2.5.1
Components of Corrective Action Process
The corrective action process consists of four main components:
1. RCRA Facility
• preliminary investigation to identify SWMUs and Assessment (RFA) collect existing
information and identify contaminant releases that needs further investigation
• a visual site inspection and sampling visit
• The following decisions will be made:
(a) no further action
(b) A RCRA facility Investigation (RFI) is required
(c) Interim corrective measures by owner or operator to protect human health and the
environment
2. RFI
• may range from an examination of a small specific activity to a complex multimedia
study
• needs to verify any releases, characterize the release and interpret against health and
environmental criteria to determine whether a corrective measure study (CMS) is
necessary
• Identify and implementation of interim corrective measures may also be conducted
during the RFI
3. CMS
• owner or operator will identify and recommend specific measures that will correct the
release
• examine effectiveness in achieving adequate control of sources and cleanup
• assessment of time and costs required to implement remedies
4. Remedy Selection
(RS)
• remedies selected based on the following:
(i) protective of human health and the environment
(ii) attain media cleanup standards
(iii) control sources of releases to reduce or eliminate threats
(iv) comply with applicable HW management regulations
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• includes designing, construction, operating, maintenance and
monitoring selected corrective measures
• financial assurances must be demonstrated prior to implementation
• requires a cleanup to satisfactory standards according to EPA
CMI (Corrective
Measures
Implementation)
2.5.2
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Cleanup Requirements for Corrective Actions
EPA has not established national uniform standards for cleanup per se.
EPA-recommended limits or factors for closure of TSDFs are usually used as cleanup levels.
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These factors are health-based levels and for carcinogens must be clean up until the risk range is of 10 -4 to 10-6
exists.
Clean Closure Cleanup Levels
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Media
EPA recommended limits or factors
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Groundwater
MCLs*, if nonexistent, oral RfDs* for oral noncarcinogenic constituents, and CSFs*
for carcinogens. Carcinogens must be in the risk range of 10-4 to 10-6
If above limits or factors are nonexistent, can use either natural background levels or
conduct testing in compliance with TSCA to develop a health-based standard. if the
background levels are elevated, may use detection limit.
Surface Water
If surface water is used as a drinking water source, use MCLs, if nonexistent, use
RfDs and CSFs. Use Ambient Water Quality Criteria (WQC) to determine if
protective of the environment (aquatic species).
Soil
Use oral RfDs and CSFd
Air
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQs); if nonexistent, use inhalation
RfDs and CSFs.
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MCL - Maximum contaminant level; RfD - reference dose; CSF - carcinogenic slope factor
2.6
RCRA Subtitle I - Underground Storage Tanks (USTs)
USTs are regulated under HSWA Subtitle I. USTs regulations are found in 40 CFR 280.
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An estimate by EPA shows that there are approximately 2 million UST systems at 700,000 facilities in the US.
About 25% are leaking. USTs are considered to be one of the major sources of groundwater contamination in
the country.
Unlike the purpose of RCRA, these regulations apply to USTs for storage of useful materials and in addition to
those used for wastes
UST is defined as "any one or combination of tanks (including underground pipes connected thereto) which is
used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances and the volume of which.is ten percent or more beneath
the surface of the ground.
Excluded are home heating oil tanks, septic tanks. USTs on farms or residential homes with less than 1,100
gallons capacity which are used for non commercial purposes
UST regulations mandate all tanks and piping to have corrosion protection. leak detection system, spill/overfill
prevention system
UST regulations distinguish between "new" and "old" tanks. Existing tanks are those which were installed
prior to Dec. 22, 1988. All new tanks must meet proper installation requirements
Depending on the age and condition of the existing tank, some requirements such as leak detection systems and
cathodic protection must be met by 1998.
Owners and operators must comply with reporting and record-keeping requirements.
Owners must report releases, take immediate action to prevent further release, and identify and
mitigate any further hazards -- some actions that are needed include a corrective action plan, site
characterization, free product removal, soil and groundwater investigations
owners must show sufficient funds to cleanup leaks and to compensate third parties for damage suffered as a
result of a leak. For most owners, this means that they must have at least $1 million per occurrence insurance
coverage (Part 280.93)