United States            bono waste ana
                    Environmental Protection      Emergency Response         EPA530-F-92-002
                    Agency               (OS-305)                 February 1992

                    Office of Solid Waste
SEPA        Environmental
                    Fact  Sheet
                    EPA Issues Interim Final Regulations
                    on the "Mixture" and "Derived-from"
                    Rules
       Background

          On May 19, 1980, EPA published the final rules governing the
       management of hazardous waste. As part of these rules, EPA defined
       "hazardous wastes" to include waste resulting from mixing or otherwise
       managing hazardous waste.  These rules are known, respectively, as
       the "mixture" and "derived-from" rules. The Agency promulgated these
       rules to close a potentially major loophole in the hazardous waste
       management system. Without a "mixture" rule, generators of
       hazardous waste could perhaps evade regulatory requirements by
       mixing hazardous waste with non-hazardous waste and claiming that
       the mixture was no longer hazardous, even though it posed
       environmental hazards. Without the "derived-from" rule, owners and
       disposal facilities could perhaps evade regulation by minimally
       processing or managing a hazardous waste and claiming that the
       residue was no longer hazardous.

          On December 6, 1991, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals
       for the District of Columbia ruled that EPA had failed to give sufficient
       notice and opportunity for comment in promulgating the "mixture" and
       "derived-from" rules.  The court therefore vacated the rules and
       remanded them to the Agency. However, the court did not rule on the
       technical merits of the rules. In addition, the court also invited EPA to
       reenact the rules on an interim basis to avoid program disruption.

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Action

   On January 21, 1991, EPA requested the court to reconsider its
decision. The court has denied EPA's request. EPA is therefore
reinstating the "mixture11 and "derived-from" rules on an interim basis.
In a separate Federal Register notice, EPA is also requesting public
comment on these rules and on other approaches to the regulation of
waste mixtures and residues. This reinstatement will expire April 28,
1993, unless EPA promulgates  a new version of the rules before that
date.  EPA intends to issue a final rule before that deadline.

Contact

      For further information, or to order copies of the Federal Register
notices, please call the RCRA Hotline Monday through Friday, 8:30
a.m. to 7:30 p.m., EST.

           National Toll-Free:                      (800) 424-9346;
           For the Hearing Impaired:  flDD)         (800) 553-7672;
           Washington, DC area:                  (703) 920-9810;
           Washington, DC area: fTDD)            (703)486-3323;

      Please send all written requests to:

           RCRA Information Center (OS-305)
           US Environmental  Protection Agency
           401 M Street, SW
           Washington, DC 20460.

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