United Slates	November
Environmental Protection Agency 1986
Washington DC 20460
•	Solvent waste which is a solvent-water
mixture containing less than one percent total
F001-F005 solvent constituents or containing
less than one percent total organic carbon.
•	Solvent waste which is a solvent-inorganic
sludge mixture or solvent-contaminated soil
(non-CEKCLA or RCKA corrective action)
containing less than one percent total
F001-F005 solvent constituents.
Spent solvent wastes not covered by the
two-year variance are restricted from land
disposal effective November 8. 1986.
Where can managers of hazardous waste
get further information and assistance?
A For answers to questions on the new
federal requirements or hazardous waste
regulations in general, managers may wish to
contact CPA's toll-free RCRA/Superfund
Hotline. (800) 424-9346 |in Washington. D C..
382-30001.
For information on specific aspects of the
land disposal restrictions, managers may
contact: Stephen R Weil. Office of Solid Waste
(WH-562B). U.S. Environmental Protection
Agencv. 401 M Street. SW.. Washington. DC
204l>0. (202) 382-4770.
EPA/630SW-8&057	
Questions and
Answers on
the Land
Disposal
Restrictions
Program

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In 1976, Congress enacted the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to
protect human Health and the environment
from improper waste management practices.
On November 8,1984, the Hazardous and
Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) were signed
into law, imposing substantial new
responsibilities on those who manage
hazardous waste. Among other things, the
amendments prohibit land disposal of
hazardous wastes beyond specified dates,
unless a petitioner demonstrates to the
Administrator of EPA that there will be no
migration of hazardous constituents from the
land disposal unit for as long as the waste
remains hazardous. The prohibitions are
intended to protect our environment from
contamination by land disposal.
Concurrently with the land disposal
prohibitions, HSWA directs EPA to develop
treatment standards for all hazardous wastes.
These treatment standards will substantially
reduce the toxicity of the waste or the
likelihood of migration of hazardous
constituents from the waste. Wastes that meet
these treatment standards are not subject to the
land disposal prohibitions.
The amendments restrict the land disposal of
various classes of hazardous wastes by certain
dates:
November 8, 1986:
DIOX1N-CONTAINJNG WASTES
(EPA Hazardous Waste Numbers:
F020, F021, F022, F023, F026, F027, F028)
SPENT SOLVENTS (EPA Hazardous Waste
Numbers: F001, F002, F003, F004, F005)
July 8, 1987:
SPECIFIED WASTES
(liquid hazardous wastes containing free
cyanides, PCBs, corrosives, or certain metals,
and hazardous wastes containing halogenated
organic compounds)
August 8, 1988:
AT LEAST ONE-THIRD OF ALL LISTED
HAZARDOUS WASTES
June 8. 1989:
AT LEAST TWU-THIRDS Of ALL LISTED
HAZARDOUS WAbTLS
May 8, 1990:
ALL REMAINING LISTED HAZARDOUS
WASTES AND ALL CHARACTERISTIC
HAZARDOUS WASTES
To implement the deadlines for "the thirds"
in 1988, 1989, and 1990, the amendments
required EPA to rank all listed hazardous
wastes so that wastes with high intrinsic
hazard and volume would be restricted from
land disposal first, and wastes with low
intrinsic hazard and volume would be dealt
with last. The amendments also required the
Agency to use this ranking to separate the list
of wastes into a schedule of thirds. EPA
published this schedule on May 28, 1986, in
the Federal Register (51 FR 19300).
The prohibitions for any particular waste
become effective on the applicable statutory
deadline, unless there is insufficient national
capacity for alternative treatment, recovery, or
disposal. If EPA determines that such a
shortage exists, the Agency may grant a
national extension to the effective date (not to
exceed two years beyond the statutory
deadline). The Agency may also grant
extensions to the effective date on a
case-by-case basis.
EPA has promulgated a final rule which
establishes a regulatory framework to
implement the land disposal prohibit This
framework includes procedures for setting
treatment standards for hazardous wastes: for
granting nationwide variances irom the
statutory effective dates; for granting
case-by-case extensions to the effective dates;
and for evaluating petitions that attempt to
demonstrate that continued land disposal is
protective of human health and the
environment. In addition, the rule also
establishes treatment standards and effective
dates for the first class of hazardous wastes to
be prohibited: certain dioxin-contalning wastes
and spent solvent wastes.
The following are answers to some basic
questions concerning the restrictions.

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Q What is meant by land disposal?
A For purposes of the restrictions. Congress
defined land disposal under RCRA section
3004(k) to include, but not be limited to, any
placement of hazardous waste in a landfill,
surface impoundment, waste pile, injection
well, land treatment facility, salt dome or salt
bed formation, or underground mine or cave.
As a result of the inclusion of the phrase "any
placement" in the definition, the restrictions
extend beyond what is often considered "land
disposal." For example, under this definition
the restrictions also apply to treatment and
storage surface impoundments.
Q How is EPA going to implement the land
disposal prohibitions?
A By each statutory deadline, EPA will
promulgate treatment standards for the
applicable hazardous wastes. Wastes that meet
these treatment standards may be directly land
disposed. Wastes that do not meet these
standards must be treated before they are
placed in a land disposal unit. The treatment
standards are expressed as performance
standards and are based on the best
demonstrated available technologies (BDAT).
Treatment technologies that may result in
greater risk than direct land disposal of
untreated wastes will not be considered in
establishing the treatment standards.
Q Is there any way out of the treatment
requirements?
A An applicant, usually the owner/operator
of a treatment, storage, or disposal facility, may
petition EPA to allow land disposal of a
specific waste at a specific site. The applicant
must prove thflt the waste can be contained
safely in a particular type of disposal unit, so
that no migration of any hazardous
constituents occurs from the unit for as long as
the waste remains hazardous. If EPA grants the
petition, the waste is no longer prohibited from
land disposal in that particular type of unit.
Q Will the wastes still be restricted if there
is not enough alternative capacity?
A If there is insufficient capacity nationwide
of alternative treatment, recovery, or disposal
technologies for a particular waste or group of
wastes, EPA may grant a nationwide extension
to the effective date of the restriction. The
purpose of the extension is to allow time for
the development of capacity. This extension
may not exceed two years beyond the
applicable statutory deadline for the waste.
In addition, if Individuals managing a
restricted waste find that there is insufficient
capacity for that waste, they may apply for a
case-by-case extension to the effective date.
Among other requirements, applicants must
demonstrate that they have entered into a
binding contractual commitment to construct
or otherwise provide the alternative capacity. If
the application is approved. EPA may allow up
to a one-year extension (renewable once).
During the period of the extension, the waste is
not subject to the land disposal restrictions.
Q What if a waste cannot be treated lo meet
the standard?
A In some situations, due to unique
physical and/or chemical characteristics, it may
not be possible to treat a restricted waste to the
levels or by the methods specified in the
treatment standard. Persons managing such
unique wastes can submit a rulemaking
petition under 40 CFR Part 260.20 requesting a
variance from the treatment standard. If the
variance is granted, EPA will establish a
treatment standard specific to the
characteristics of that waste. Until such time,
the waste may not be land disposed.

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Q Can a restricted waste be stored?
.A. Storage is allowed for restricted wastes
solely for the purpose of accumulating
sufficient quantities of waste to allow for
proper treatment, recovery, and disposal. EPA
generally will assume that storage of less than
one year is necessary for such purposes.
However, an owner/operator storing for longer
than one year must be prepared to demonstrate
that such storage is necessary. (EPA is
establishing a presumption that storage for over
one year is not for the purpose of facilitating
Eroper treatment, recovery, or disposal.) The
nutation on storage applies only to restricted
wastes. Therefore, wastes that meet the
treatment standards, or are granted an
approved petition or extension, are not subject
to the storage restriction.
Q When does open detonation and open
burning constitute land disposal?
A Open burning and open detonation
generally are used to manage those wastes that
are hazardous because they exhibit the
characteristic of reactivity. The Agency
believes open burning and open detonation of
explosive waste generally constitutes treatment
that should result in non-reactive residuals.
The land disposal restrictions apply only in
those instances when the residual produced
continues to exhibit the characteristic of
reactivity and, therefore, continues to be a
hazardous waste. Treatment standards for
characteristic wastes will be established by the
May 1990 statutory deadline.
SHow will the November 8,1986, final
o affect managers of hazardous wastes?
A It will affect them immediately in that it
sets treatment standards and effective dates for
the spent solvent wastes and certain
Gioxin-containing wastes. In addition, as noted
above, it also establishes a framework for
making future decisions implementing the land
disposal restrictions for all hazardous wastes.
The treatment standards for solvents are
based on data from the following technologies:
incineration, biological treatment, steam
stripping, and activated carbon adsorption. The
standards range from 0.05 mg/l (milligrams per
liter) to 12.7 mg/l for wastewaters containing
spent solvents and from 0.05 mg/l to 5.0 mg/l
for all other spent solvent wastes. The
treatment standards for dioxin-containing
wastes are based on data from the incineration,
of these wastes at 99.9999-percent destruction
removal efficiency (DRE). The standards for the
dioxin wastes require that the wastes be treated
to a level below detection (currently one part
per billion).
All treatment standards are expressed as
concentrations in the leachate of the waste.
The leachate is obtained by use of the toxicity
characteristic leaching procedure.
EPA is granting a nationwide two-year
variance to the effective date for all dioxin
wastes and for certain solvent wastes due to
capacity shortfalls. The solvent wastes which
have been granted the variance are:
•	Solvent waste generated by a small quantity
generator of 100-1000 kilograms of hazardous
waste per month.
•	Solvent waste generated from any remedial
or response action taken under the
Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980
(GERCLA) or any corrective action taken under
the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of
1976 (RCRA), except where the waste is
contaminated soil or debris. HSWA specifies
that contaminated soil and debris are not
subject to the restrictions until November 8,
1988.

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