United States
                        Environmental Protection
                        Agency
                          Solid Waste and
                          Emergency Response
                          (5305W)
EPA53O-F-96-OO8
     March 1996
                        Off ice.of Solid Waste
vvEPA
Environmental
Fact  Sheet
                        EPA PUBLISHES LAND DISPOSAL
                        RESTRICTIONS TREATMENT STANDARDS
                          The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing innovative
                        compliance options that bridge the requirements of the Clean Water Act
                        (CWA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for
                        treating hazardous waste: While safeguarding human health and. the
        •'"•'             environment, this rule simplifies permit requirements and eases
                      .  compliance by eliminating potential confusion about applicable regulatory
                        requirements of the Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) program.
         :••   .           x  EPA recognizes that some of the treatment standards in this regulation
                        are affected by legislation that has been passed by Congress. The Agency
                        is required both by statute and a legally binding settlement agreement to
        :                .promulgate these standards now..Once this legislation is\ in effect, EPA .
                        will initiate appropriate action on the rule.

     Background
      The statutory schedule for LDR rules .covered by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments
     was completed on May 8, 1990.  However, a number of wastes have been brought into the system
     since 1984 and LDR treatment standards must also be promulgated for these "newly listed"
     wastes. The schedule for establishing LDR treatment standards for these wastes in this rulemaking
    . is part of a consent decree EPA entered into with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
      In addition, much of what is promulgated in this rule, including treatment standards for charac-
     teristic wastes managed in Clean Water Act and CWA-equivalent wastewater treatment systems,
     and Class I nonhazardous waste Underground Injection Control (UIC) Wells, addresses issues
     arising from the D.C. Circuit Court's opinion on the Third Third treatment standards for  ignitable,
     corrosive, and reactive characteristic wastes (CWM V. EPA, 976 F. 2d s).  In that opinion, the
     Court held that the treatment standards for ignitable and corrosive wastes did not fully comply with
     RCRA because the standards could be achieved by dilution, and dilution fails to destroy or remove
     the hazardous constituents that can be present in the wastes.  By proposing treatment standards for
     characteristic wastes that  require treatment rather than allowing dilution for hazardous constituents
     in the waste, EPA is satisfying the requirements of a settlement agreement between EPA, the
     Environmental Technology Council, and a number of environmental groups including the Natural
     Resources Defense Council.

     Action
      This rule establishes concentration-based treatment standards for underlying hazardous constitu-
     ents found in igriitable, corrosive, reactive, and TC wastes managed in CWA and CWA-equivalent
     wastewater treatment systems or injected into UIC Class I injection wells regulated under the Safe
     Drinking Water Act.

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  In addition,.the rule promulgates treatment standards for two categories of newly listed hazardous
waste: spent aluminum potiiners and carbamate wastes.  This rule also codifies an existing LDR
policy that because combustion normally does not represent effective treatment of inorganic metal-
bearing wastes, such burning can be considered impermissible dilution,  and thus, illegal.  Further-
more, as part of EPA's effort to simplify its regulatory programs, the Phase III rule adds more
constituents and levels to the list of Universal Treatment Standards which will provide consistency
and eliminate confusion about applicable requirements.
  The rule also promulgates alternative approaches for meeting certain treatment standards that
should allow the regulated community to achieve cleaner and cheaper environmental results.
Finally, EPA has looked for streamlined recordkeeping and reporting  alternatives for aggressive
biological treatment.            .                                   ..•••'      "            ,

More Information
  The Federal Register (FR) notice and this fact sheet are available in electronic format on the
Internet System through EPA Public Access Server at gopher.epa.gov. For .the text of the FR
.notice, choose:  Rules, Regulations,  and Legislation; then FR-Waste; finally, Year/Month/Day. This
fact sheet is available under: EPA Offices and Regions/Office of Solid  Waste and Emergency
Response (OSWER)/Office of Solid Waste/Hazardous Waste-Subtitle C/Land Disposal Restrictions.
  For additional information or to order paper copies of the F.R, notice, call the RCRA Hotline.
Callers within the Washington,  Metropolitan Area must dial 703-412-9810 or TDD 703-412-3323
(hearing impaired).  Long-distance callers may call 1-800-424-9346 or TDD 1-800-553-7672.
The RCRA Hotline is open Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
  Copies of documents applicable to this rule may be obtained by writing: RCRA Information
Center (RIG), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste (5305W), 401 M
Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20460.

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