United States Solid Waste and Environmental Protection Emergency Response EPA530-F-95-012 Agency (5305) May1995 Office of Solid Waste x°/EPA Environmental Fact Sheet Proposed Standards for Nonmunicipal SolidWaste Facilities As a result of a lawsuit requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to fulfill its statutory mandate, the Agency is proposing regulations for disposal facilities that may receive hazardous waste from conditionally exempt small quantity generators (CESQG). Because these facilities pose comparatively small risks, EPA intends to impose less costly requirements that are adequately protective of human health and the environment. Background Section 4010(c) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires EPA to revise standards for nonmunicipal solid waste facilities that may receive CESQG or household hazardous waste. On October 9, 1991, EPA promulgated Criteria (Part 258) that apply to municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLFs) that receive household hazardous waste and CESQG hazardous waste; nonmunicipal solid waste disposal facilities were not covered by these Criteria. EPA elected to regulate municipal solid waste landfills first because they present higher environmental risks than nonmunicipal solid waste disposal facilities that receive CESQG waste. Although these facilities pose comparatively small risks, the Agency is taking regulatory action to satisfy the conditions of a lawsuit. Action EPA is proposing that any existing nonmunicipal solid waste disposal facility that receives CESQG hazardous waste comply with new technical standards. Facilities that receive CESQG hazardous waste will be subject to location restrictions, ground-water monitoring requirements, and corrective action standards being proposed in Section 257.5. The proposed rule also will permit disposal of CESQG waste in MSWLFs when such landfills meet the federal Criteria. Reuse or recycling facilities remain an option for managing CESQG hazardous waste. Implementation of these requirements will be the responsibility of state agencies. Generally, three types of facilities that receive CESQG hazardous waste may be affected by this proposal: ------- • Off-site commercial industrial facilities, which generally are designed and monitored; so it is likely that they already meet these proposed requirements. • Industrial facilities that may be co-disposing of CESQG waste with solid waste on-site, which are apt to discontinue this practice due to the potential cost. Instead, they will send their CESQG waste to an appropriate off-site facility. • Construction and demolition waste facilities that receive CESQG hazardous waste are likely to be affected the most by this proposal. Minima!!}1, these facilities will have to comply with the new technical standards in Section 257.5. This proposal uses the Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Criteria as a baseline for the technical standards. The Criteria are effective standards that can be applied at rionmunicipal solid waste disposal facilities that receive CESQG waste in order to protect human health and the environment. They incorporate substantial flexibility for EPA-approved states to apply the standards on a site-specific basis. An alternative regulatory approach using general performance standards that would provide more flexibility also is proposed. More Information The Federal Register notice and this fact sheet are available in electronic format on the Internet System through the EPA Public Access Server at gopher.epa.gov. For the text of the FR notice, choose: Rules, Regulations, and Legislation; then, Waste Programs/EPA Waste Information- GPO; finally, Year/Month/Day. This fact sheet and other background documents are available under: ERA Offices and Regions/Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) /Office of Solid Waste/ Nonhazardous Waste/Municipal Solid Waste/Industrial Waste. For additional information or to order paper copies of the Federal Register notice, call the RCRA Hotline st 1-800 424-9346 or TDD 1-800- 553-7672 (hearing impaired). Copies of documents applicable to this rule may be obtained by writing: RCRA Information Center (RIC), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste (5305), 401 M Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20460. ------- |