£EPA
The mission of the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is to protect
human health and safe-
guard the environment.
One way EPA helps fulfill
its mission is by regulat-
ing the management and
disposal of hazardous
wastes under the
Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA).
RCRA has the following
three general goals: To
protect human health and
the environment • Jo
reduce waste while con-
serving energy and natur-
al resources • To reduce
or eliminate the genera-
tion of hazardous waste.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(5306W)
EPA530-E-00-001C
October 2000
www.epa.gov/osw
How Does RCRA Work?
In its mission to protect human health and the environment, RCRA regulates the
management of hazardous waste using a "cradle-to-grave" approach. In other
words, a hazardous waste is regulated from the moment it is created to the time
of its final disposal. RCRA affects everyone who handles a hazardous waste
throughout this life cycle, including hazardous waste generators, transporters, and
the facilities that treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste. Under this system,
thousands of individuals and facilities, from your local dry cleaner to hazardous
waste incinerators, are regulated by RCRA.
Due to the scope and number of people
affected by RCRA, EPA faces an enor-
mous task in ensuring compliance with
the regulations. RCRA does include a
number of provisions, however, that
make its implementation more effective,
including:
• Keeping track of who is handling
waste and how it's being handled.
Issuing permits to facilities that treat,
store, or dispose of hazardous waste
to dictate how these facilities will
operate.
Enlisting the aid of states to help run
RCRA.
Penalizing those who are not in com-
pliance with RCRA.
Requiring cleanup of hazardous waste
releases to the environment.
Keeping Track of
Hazardous Waste
In order to ensure that waste is handled
properly from its generation to its dis-
posal, RCRA requires waste to be
tracked and monitored in various ways.
Identification Numbers
EPA assigns an identification number to
any person or company that handles
hazardous waste, including generators;
transporters; and treatment, storage,
i Printed on paper that contains at least 30 percent postconsumer fiber.
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and disposal facilities (TSDFs). To obtain an identifica-
tion number, facilities must submit EPA Form 8700-12,
which describes the location of the facility, its activities,
and the amount and kinds of waste it manages.
Manifests
EPA also keeps track of what happens to the waste
after it's generated. Shipments of hazardous waste
must be accompanied by a document called the
Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest (Form 8700-22).
The manifest follows the waste from the generator site
to the disposal site, creating a paper trail that will
reveal and record any problems during shipment.
Information in the manifest includes the type and
amount of waste being shipped, as well as the identity
of the transporter and the shipment's destination.
When the waste reaches the end of its journey, the
owner of the destination facility must return a signed
copy of the manifest to the generator, indicating that
the waste shipment was successfully completed. If a
problem occurs during shipping and the waste never
arrives at the destination facility, generators must notify
their regulatory agency so the problem can be investi-
gated and corrected.
The Permitting System
TSDFs, the last link in the "cradle-to-grave"
management sequence, are respon-
sible for the ultimate disposal
of hazardous waste. In light of
the risks associated with treat-
ing, storing, and disposing of
hazardous waste, TSDFs are
more heavily scrutinized and
regulated than hazardous waste generators or trans-
porters. To ensure TSDFs are designed and operated
safely, EPA has a rigorous approval process for facilities
attempting to obtain an operating permit. More than just
proof of EPA's permission, a facility's operating permit
details what types of waste it is allowed to handle and
what types of treatment, storage, or disposal activities it
may conduct. The permit also contains any site-specific
requirements necessary to protect human health and
the environment, such as plans to sample and analyze
incoming waste, security measures, inspections, person-
nel training, and ground-water monitoring, if applicable.
The permit application process can differ based on
whether a facility is new or already in existence when it
becomes subject to RCRA (e.g., a facility in operation
when RCRA was enacted or a facility that is newly sub-
ject to RCRA due to a change in regulations). Owners
and operators of new TSDFs must apply for and receive
a permit from EPA before they are allowed to treat,
store, or dispose of any hazardous waste. Facilities
already in operation may continue to function temporari-
ly while their permits are processed (these facilities
have what is called interim status).
To protect the rights of individuals, the RCRA permitting
process includes provisions that allow for citizen partici-
pation. The public must be notified when a TSDF
applies for a permit and they are kept informed of the
application's status as it is reviewed. Throughout the
application process, there are public meetings and
hearings, and time is allotted for public comment. In
addition, the public has the right to appeal EPA's final
permit decision. Once a facility receives an approved
permit, any modifications to that permit might require
public notification.
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State Authorization
States can apply to assume primary responsibility for
implementing their own RCRA hazardous waste program
with oversight from EPA. For a state to become autho-
rized, it must devise a hazardous waste management
program that is at least as stringent as RCRA. Once
EPA approves a proposed program, the state becomes
the agency that monitors and enforces proper haz-
ardous waste management within its borders. If neces-
sary, however, EPA may still help authorized states
enforce their programs. In this way, even though EPA
does not directly oversee regulation, it can continue to
ensure that federal standards are met.
State involvement helps EPA manage RCRA more effec-
tively because it alleviates some of the burden involved
in administering and monitoring hazardous waste man-
agement across the nation. In addition, when RCRA is
managed by individual states, it is run by people who
are familiar with local issues and understand the inter-
ests of the regulated community.
Most states have chosen to become authorized by EPA
to run their own RCRA programs. As EPA passes new
national waste management laws, these states must
update their programs and enforce current standards.
In the few states and territories that do not have
authorized programs, RCRA is implemented by EPA's
regional offices.
Enforcing RCRA
Some individuals and companies might not be in com-
pliance with RCRA, either by accident, by misinterpreting
or being unaware of regulations, or by deliberately con-
ducting illegal waste management practices. RCRA
gives EPA or an authorized state the authority to con-
duct inspections to make sure that individual facilities
are in compliance with regulations.
If a violation is discovered during an inspection, EPA or
the authorized state may pursue enforcement action,
ranging from informal letters and phone calls notifying
the errant facility, to civil and criminal penalties that
may include fines and/or imprisonment. Fines for the
worst recurrent transgressions can exceed $27,500 per
RCRA—Superfund:
What Is the Difference?
Years ago, people did not understand the risk to
human health and the environment posed by cer-
tain wastes. Many hazardous wastes were
dumped on the ground or in rivers, or left out in
the open. As a result, thousands of abandoned
hazardous waste sites were created. In response
to growing concern over the risks posed by these
sites, Congress established the Superfund
Program in 1980. Superfund gives EPA the
authority to order responsible parties to clean up
contaminated sites, or to have those parties
reimburse EPA for any expenses EPA incurs
during cleanup.
How do the efforts under the Superfund program
differ from the cleanups mandated under RCRA?
RCRA mainly regulates how wastes should be
managed to prevent contamination. In contrast,
Superfund was designed to clean up previously
existing, abandoned hazardous waste sites.
Cleanups under RCRA are more likely to happen
at currently active TSDFs, whereas the Superfund
program is usually implemented at abandoned
sites where the responsible party is unable or
unwilling to pay for cleanup, or cannot be identi-
fied. The goal of the RCRA and Superfund pro-
grams, however, is essentially the same: to
ensure that human health and the environment
are protected from the risks of hazardous waste
contamination.
day for each uncorrected violation. If the violation is
judged to be deliberate, the violator may receive up to
15 years in prison and be required to pay up to a
$250,000 fine.
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Such severe penalties, however, might not always be
the most appropriate response to an unintentional or
minor violation. EPA has a number of more efficient,
less expensive ways of encouraging a facility to main-
tain compliance. EPA offers incentives, for example,
in the form of reduced violation penalties to those
facilities that perform self-audits, voluntarily report
violations, and promptly take actions to rectify their
problems and reestablish compliance.
Cleaning Up Releases
Despite the safeguards of RCRA's regulations, releas-
es of hazardous waste to the environment from TSDFs
might still occur from either accidents, spills, or conta-
mination persisting from past mismanagement of
waste. Under RCRA, owners and operators of haz-
ardous waste facilities must clean up the contamina-
tion caused by their activities. This is commonly
known as corrective action. EPA may require corrective
action for any releases of hazardous waste or con-
stituents at permitted or interim status TSDFs. In addi-
tion, RCRA allows EPA to require cleanup of any waste
management facility, including generator sites, if the
Agency deems the release an imminent and substan-
tial threat to human health and the environment.
Would You Like More Information?
RCRA, Superfund, and EPCRA Hotline
Call 800 424-9346 or 703 412-9810 in the
Washington, DC area. For the hearing impaired, the
number is TDD 800 553-7672.
You also can access information via the hotline's
Internet site at .
Additional Documents
These additional documents can help you learn
more about the requirements for hazardous waste
handlers. These documents are free and can be
ordered from the RCRA Hotline. Reference the EPA
document number (EPA530...) when ordering.
Understanding the Hazardous Waste Rules: A
Handbook for Small Businesses—1996 Update,
(EPA530-K-95-001).
The Hazardous Waste Facility Permitting Process,
(EPA530-F-96-007).
RCRA: Reducing Risk From Waste,
(EPA530-K-97-004).
RCRA Orientation Manual: 1998 Edition,
(EPA530-R-98-004).
Contact Your State
Although EPA's federal regulations set the national
standard for compliance, individual states often
have regulations
that are more strin-
gent than the feder-
al regulations. You
should contact your
state about its spe-
cific regulations.
State environmen-
tal contacts are
available from the
RCRA, Superfund,
and EPCRA Hotline.
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