United States Solid Waste and EPA530-F-99-044
Environmental Protection Emergency Response November 1999
Agency (5305W) http://www.epa.gov
Office of Solid Waste
Environmental
Municipal Solid Waste Landfill
Standards Available for Comment
Background
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requires federal agencies to assess a
proposed regulation's impact on small businesses, small organizations, and small
governmental jurisdictions. Section 610 of that law also requires these agencies to
conduct periodic reviews of codified regulations that have significant economic
impacts on small entities. This review, commonly called a "610 Review," must be
conducted by a rule's tenth anniversary. The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) provides public notice of 610 Reviews in its Regulatory Agenda, which is
published twice a year in the Federal Register.
Action
EPA is conducting a 610 Review of the Solid Waste Disposal Facility Criteria,
which were issued on October 9, 1991. Codified at 40 CFR Part 258, these Criteria
set standards for municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLFs) to ensure the safe
management of municipal solid waste (MSW). These standards address the
design, operation, and closure of MSW landfills. They impose restrictions for
locating landfills, and they require ground-water monitoring and corrective action
if ground water becomes contaminated. While considerable flexibility is provided
to all MSWLFs, special exemptions from design and ground-water monitoring
requirements are given to certain small MSWLFs. Small MSWLFs are those that
dispose of less than 20 tons of municipal solid waste daily.
In accordance with Section 610, EPA solicits comments on the following.
The continued need for the MSWLF Criteria;
The nature of complaints or comments received concerning the rule from
the public since promulgation;
! The complexity of the rule;
! The extent to which the rule overlaps, duplicates, or conflicts with other
federal rules, and, to the extent feasible, with state and local governmental
rules; and
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! The length of time since the rule has been evaluated or the degree to which
technology, economic conditions, or other factors have changed in the areas
affected by the rule.
The Agency believes there is a continued need for federal standards. If
possible, this review aims to improve the Criteria as well as to further reduce
regulatory burdens. EPA welcomes such suggestions and comments.
Commenters must send an original and two copies to: RCRA Information
Center (RIG), Office of Solid Waste (5305G), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Headquarters (EPA, HQ), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460.
Comments may also be submitted electronically to: rcra-docket@epa.gov. All
comments must be identified by the docket number F-1999-MLFN-FFFFF.
Electronic comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of
special characters and any form of encryption.
For More Information
The Federal Register notice and this fact sheet are available on the Internet at
. For additional
information or to order paper copies of any documents, 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 operates weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00
p.m. Send written requests to the RIG at the above addresses.
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