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.
------- |