United States
                       Environmental Protection
                       Agency
                          Office of Sold West*
                          and Emergency Respon
                          Washington, DC 20460
                                                          1980; rev. ed.
                                                          October 1981
 vvEPA
                       Solid Waste
Hazardous Waste  Information
                       FACILITY  PERMITS
RULES FOR OBTAINING
A PERMIT FROM EPA
TO OPERATE A HAZARDOUS
WASTE FACILITY
         On May 19, 1980, regulations to establish a national
     system to identify and control waste deemed "hazardous" were
     promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
     EPA was directed by Congress to develop and implement this
     system under the Resource  Conservation and Recovery Act of
     1976 (RCRA), Public Law 94-580, as amended.  The regulations
     appear in the Code of Federal Regulations under Parts 260
     through 267 and 122 through 124.
                                The goal of the program is control of hazardous waste
                           from point of generation through transportation, treatment,
                           storage, and ultimate disposal.   Those who handle hazardous
                           waste — generators, transporters,  treaters, storers, or
                           disposers — must have an EPA identification number.  New
                           handlers of hazardous waste must obtain such a  number from
                           EPA for their activities.
Who Needs a Permit?
Consolidated Permit
Program
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         Owners and operators of facilities that treat, store,
    or dispose of hazardous waste are required to obtain a per-
    mit for their operations (unless they fall within an exemp-
    tion) either from EPA or from a State that has received EPA
    approval to operate its own hazardous waste program.  Data
    required on the application for a permit are set forth in
    Part 122, Title 40, of the Code of Federal Regulations.

         EPA issues  permits for controlling environmental problems
    under a. number of laws.  To simplify  the process of obtain-
    ing different types of permits, the Agency consolidated its
    permit programs.  Owners or operators of facilities are not
    required to combine their permit applications; they are,
    however, encouraged to do so.

         The EPA permit programs covered  by the consolidated per-
    mit regulations  include:

         o  the Hazardous  Waste Management Program under the
            Resource Conservation and Recovery Act;
         o  the Underground Injection Control Program under the
            Safe Drinking  Water Act;
         o  the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
            under the Clean Water Act;
         o  the Dredge or  Fill (Section 404) Program under the
            Clean Water Act;
         o  the Prevention of Significant Deteriorate
          Bunder the Clean Air Act,  where this pro*
          "operated by EPA.

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Permits by Rule
Interim Status and
Final Permits
Applying for a Permit
     A facility seeking more than one permit is encouraged
to consolidate Its application.

     Under the consolidated permit regulations, certain
facilities that have been issued permits under one of these
programs may be issued a permit by rule for their hazardous
waste operations.  These Include:

     o  barges or vessels that 'dispose of hazardous waste
        in the ocean;
     o  underground injection wells that manage hazardous
        waste;
     o  publicly owned treatment works.

     To be eligible for a permit by rule, certain conditions
(such as compliance with the manifest system and recordkeep-
ing requirements) must be met.
                           •
     In recognition that all facilities could not be per-
mitted simultaneously, RCRA provides that they may receive
"interim status."  To qualify for interim status, a facility
must have been in existence on November 19, 1980, have noti-
fied EPA of its activities, and have submitted Part A of
the permit application to EPA.

     Interim status—the period between applying for a permit
and Issuance of a final permit—allows facilities to continue
operations while administrative action on the final permit
is under way.  During this time, facilities must comply with
the interim status requirements listed in Part 265.

     Not all States will employ the two-part permitting
approach of the Federal system.  State agencies operating
approved hazardous waste permit programs may require their
own type of permit application.

     EPA's permit application consists of two parts:
Part A, which provides such data as design capacities, types
and quantities of hazardous wastes handled, and proximity to
drinking water wells; and Part B, which includes more detailed
technical information.
Facilities That Do
Not Need a Permit
     Certain facilities that handle hazardous waste are
explicitly excluded from the system.  These include:

     o  generators that accumulate hazardous waste onsite
        for less than 90 days;
     o  farmers who dispose of hazardous waste from
        pesticides on their own property;
     o  facilities in which hazardous waste is being
        beneficially used or reused or legitimately
        recycled or reclaimed (a permit is required for
        storage of hazardous waste at these facilities);
     o  totally enclosed treatment facilities.

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Procedures for                   The permit application is submitted  to  the EPA
Issuing Permits             Regional Administrator in States where EPA is operating the
                            hazardous waste permit program.  The Regional Administrator
 ^                           reviews the application and prepares a draft permit.
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7                        -       The permit is subject to public notice, public  comment,
                            and, when warranted, public hearings.  Following this  pro-
                            cess, EPA issues a final decision on the  permit.

                                 Public comments, EPA's response to those comments, and
                            any additional supporting materials become part of the admin-
                            istrative record for the final permit decision.

                                 Appeals to the final decision of the Regional Administra-
                            tor may be made within 30 days.

Emergency Permits                Where an immediate hazard to health  or  the environment
                            exists, the regulation provides for the issuance of  an
                            emergency permit.  It may be issued -for a period up  to 90
                            days, and the public must be notified of  the emergency
                            authorization.
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