United States             Office of Solid Waste            CDA/C™ QW Q< noo
                     Environmental Protection      and Emergency Response        EPA/530-SW-91-088
                     Agency                Washington DC 20460           January 1992

                     Office of Solid Waste	
&EPA         Environmental
                     Fact  Sheet
                     EPA Releases Final Rule on Liners
                     and Leak Detection Systems

                     EPA has released a final rule instituting minimum standards for double liners,
                     leachate collection and removal systems, leak detection systems, and construction
                     quality assurance programs at hazardous waste surface impoundments, landfills, and
                     waste piles. These standards will decrease the risk of contaminant release to the
                     environment.
       Background

             Subtitle C of the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
       (RCRA) creates a comprehensive program for the safe management of
       hazardous waste. In 1984, Congress passed the Hazardous and Solid
       Waste Amendments (HSWA), which mandated even stricter standards
       for the regulation of hazardous waste.

             In 1982 and 1985, EPA issued standards for the design and
       operation of hazardous waste landfills, surface impoundments, and waste
       piles. These rules required use of liners and leachate collection systems at
       hazardous waste land disposal units.  In some cases, units were required
       to have two liners.

             On March 28, 1986, EPA proposed amendments to the standards
       for liner system designs. On May 29, 1987, EPA proposed new require-
       ments for leak detection systems at certain hazardous waste land disposal
       units. The proposed rule also created requirements for reporting and
       responding to leaks.

       Action

             This rule finalizes requirements mandated by HSWA and proposed
       in the March 28, 1986 and May 29, 1987 Federal Registers.  The new
       requirements  are summarized as follows:

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(1)   The final rule requires that new hazardous waste surface impound-
     ments  landfills, waste piles, and lateral expansions and replace-
     ments of existing units have a double liner that includes a composite
     bottom consisting of a synthetic liner (e.g. rubber or plastic) over a
     soil/clay layer, and a leachate collection and removal system
     between the liners. Waste piles and landfills must also have a
     leachate collection and removal system above the liners.

(2)   The rule adds technical design and performance standards to the
     leachate collection and removal system between the liners to ensure
     that it also functions as a leak detection system to detect leaks in
     the top liner at the earliest practicable time. Owners and operators
     may obtain a variance for an alternative system based on site-
     specific conditions.

(3)   EPA is establishing an action leakage rate that will trigger specific
     response actions.  Owners and operators must describe their
     intended response actions in a response action plan.

(4)   Finally, this rule requires owners and operators to prepare and
      implement a construction quality assurance (CQA) program.
      Sound CQA has proven to be effective for improving the perform-
      ance of land disposal units.


For Further Information

   For further information, or to order a copy of the Federal Register
notice, please contact the RCRA/Superfund Hotline, Monday through
Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST. The national toll-free number is
(800) 424-9346, or TDD (800) 553-7672 for the hearing impaired. In
the Washington, D.C., area, the number is (703) 920-9810 or
TDD (703) 486-3323.

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