United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5305W)
EPA530-R-99-053
PB2000-101 893
February 2000
RCRA, Superfund & EPCRA
Hotline Training Module
Introduction to:
Land Disposal Restrictions
(40 CFR Part 268)
Updated October 1999
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DISCLAIMER
This document was developed by Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc. under contract 68-WO-0039 to EPA. It is
intended to be used as a training tool for Hotline specialists and does not represent a statement of EPA
policy.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or
policies. This document is used only in the capacity of the Hotline training and is not used as a reference
tool on Hotline calls. The Hotline revises and updates this document as regulatory program areas
change.
The information in this docume nt may not necessarily reflect the current position of the Agency. This
document is not intended and cannot be relied upon to create any rights, substantive or procedural,
RCRA, Superfund & EPCRA Hotline Phone Numbers:
National toll-free (outside of DC area) (800) 424-9346
Local number (within DC area) (703) 412-9810
National toll-free for the hearing impaired (TDD) (800) 553-7672
The Hotline is open from 9 am to 6 pm Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday, except for federal holidays.
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LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS
CONTENTS
1, Introduction . 1
2. Regulatory Summary 2
2.1 LDR and EPA's Groundwater Protection Strategy 2
2.2 Applicability 3
2.3 Treatment Standards 4
2.4 Alternative Treatment Standards 7
2.5 Variances, Extensions, and Exemptions 10
2.6 Other Prohibitions ...13
2.7 Tracking and Recordkeeping Requirements.... 14
2.8 Characteristic Hazardous Wastes 17
2.9 History of the LDR Program 19
2.10 Summary Table: Wastes Subject to Dilution Prohibition 22
3. Regulatory Developments.. 23
4. Special Issues.. 24
4.1 Point of Generation ..24
4.2 Dioxin-Containing Waste 24
4.3 TCv.EP .24
4.4 LDR Applicability and Remediation Wastes 25
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Land Disposal Restrictions - 1
1. INTRODUCTION
The primary goal of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C
program is to protect human health and the environment from the dangers associated
with generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste.
Disposal of hazardous waste on the land is a practice of particular concern to the RCRA
program. Land disposal units, such as landfills and surface impoundments, must
comply with stringent requirements for liners, leak detection systems, and
groundwater monitoring. The land disposal restrictions (LDR) provide a second
measure of protection from threats posed by hazardous waste disposal. LDR provides
that a hazardous waste cannot be placed on the land until the waste is treated (or meets
specific treatment standards) to reduce the mobility or toxicity of the hazardous
constituents in the waste. This training module presents an overview of the land
disposal restrictions program.
When you have completed this module, you will be able to describe the LDR
requirements. Specifically, you will be able to:
• Define the basic terms and describe the structure of the LDR regulations
• Identify the statutory basis for LDR
* Describe the applicability of LDR
• Explain how EPA sets treatment standards
* Identify treatment standards for wastes subject to land disposal restrictions and
cite the CFR section
« Describe and identify how extensions and variances from treatment
requirements are obtained, including Federal Register citations
• Define generator and treatment, storage, and disposal facility (TSDF)
requirements under the LDR program
* Summarize the schedule of existing restrictions and the plan for restricting
newly identified wastes.
Use this list of objectives to check your knowledge of this topic after you complete the
training session.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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2 - Land Disposal Restrictions
2. REGULATORY SUMMARY
The LDR program found at 40 CFR Part 268 requires waste handlers to treat hazardous
waste or meet specified levels for hazardous constituents before disposing of the waste
on the land. This is called the disposal prohibition. To ensure proper treatment, EPA
establishes for each type of hazardous waste a treatment standard; the Agency lists
these treatment standards in Part 268, Subpart D. The Agency expresses treatment
standards either as required treatment technologies that must be applied to the waste
or contaminant concentration levels that must be met, EPA bases treatment standards
on the performance of the best demonstrated available technology (BDAT) that is able
to substantially dimmish the toxicity of a waste or to reduce the mobility of the
hazardous constituents in a hazardous waste. Wastes that do not meet treatment
standards can not be land disposed unless EPA has granted a variance, extension, or
exclusion (or the waste is managed in a "no-migration unit"). In addition to the
disposal prohibition, there are prohibitions and limits in the LDR program regarding
the dilution and storage of wastes. The program also requires tracking and
recordkeeping to ensure proper management and safe land disposal of hazardous
wastes.
2.1 LDR AND EPA'S GROUNDWATER PROTECTION
STRATEGY
A large part of the hazardous waste management regulatory program, including the
LDR program, is designed to protect groundwater. Hazardous waste can pollute
groundwater through the process known as leaching, in which precipitation percolating
through the ground draws contaminants out of buried waste and carries them into
groundwater. Placing barriers between wastes and underground water sources is one
way to prevent migration of hazardous contaminants into groundwater. Thus, many
RCRA regulations focus on requiring hazardous waste containment. For example,
RCRA regulations require installation of impermeable liners beneath hazardous waste
landfills. Such barriers separate vulnerable groundwater from hazardous constituents
likely to leach from the buried wastes.
A different groundwater protection principle provides the basis for LDR. Instead of
requiring barriers between groundwater and hazardous wastes, LDR requires that
hazardous wastes undergo fundamental physical or chemical changes so that they pose
less of a threat to groundwater. For example, many of the chemicals capable of
contaminating groundwater are organic compounds. Incineration or burning can
destroy these organic compounds, usually breaking them down into less dangerous
by-products like carbon dioxide and water. Thus, incineration of organic-bearing
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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Land Disposal Restrictions - 3
hazardous wastes can protect groundwater by destroying organic contaminants before
they have a chance to enter underground water supplies. The obvious advantage of
such hazardous waste treatment is that it provides a more permanent and lasting form
of groundwater protection than does simple hazardous waste containment. Structural
barriers separating hazardous contaminants from groundwater can eventually break
down or leak. In contrast, treatment that destroys harmful contaminants or reduces a
waste's toxicity before it enters the environment is a permanent groundwater protection
solution.
Treatment, however, cannot destroy all types of contaminants found in hazardous
waste. In particular, metal elements, which are common toxic contaminants, cannot be
broken down through combustion. Treatment techniques other than incineration,
however, can be used for such wastes. For example, through a process called
stabilization or immobilization, metal contaminants can be chemically and physically
bound into the wastes that contain them. Although this process does not reduce the
overall concentration of toxic metals in a hazardous waste, it does immobilize these
constituents, making them less likely to leach from the waste. Reducing the mobility or
leaehability of hazardous constituents in a waste is another means of permanently
achieving LDR's groundwater protection goal.
Congress understood that hazardous waste could be made less dangerous to
groundwater in two main ways: by reducing a waste's toxicity through destruction or
removal of harmful contaminants, or by reducing a waste's leachability by
immobilizing hazardous contaminants. When directing EPA to establish the LDR
program in RCRA §3004(m), Congress specified that EPA should "promulgate
regulations specifying those levels or methods of treatment, if any, which substantially
diminish the toxicity of the waste or substantially reduce the likelihood of migration of
hazardous constituents from the waste." To implement that goal, Congress gave EPA
very specific directions for establishing the LDR program. In particular, Congress
required that EPA specify how hazardous wastes should be treated to satisfy LDR's
goal of groundwater protection. The rules EPA promulgated governing how different
hazardous wastes must be treated are known as treatment standards. Treatment
standards are simply instructions on how a hazardous waste should be treated. This
module will explain how to identify the treatment standard applicable to a hazardous
waste and the methodology EPA used to develop treatment standards.
2.2 APPLICABILITY
To be subject to the land disposal restrictions, a waste must first be a RCRA hazardous
waste. Unless a waste meets the definition of a solid and hazardous waste, its disposal
will not be subject to the LDR program.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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4 - Land Disposal Restrictions
Once listed or identified, a hazardous waste becomes restricted, or subject to LDR,
\vhen the Agency establishes treatment standards that the waste must meet before it can
be land disposed. RCRA §3Q04(g) requires that EPA restrict hazardous wastes from
land disposal within six months of promulgating a new listing or characteristic. Until
the Agency establishes a treatment level, newly listed or identified wastes are not
subject to LDR and they may continue to be land disposed. Once EPA promulgates
final treatment requirements specifically restricting a waste, however, waste handlers
must manage it in accordance with all the requirements of Part 268 and cannot land
dispose the waste until it meets the treatment level.
EXCLUSIONS
While the LDR program generally applies to all persons who generate, transport, treat,
store, or dispose of a restricted hazardous waste, EPA excludes certain wastes from the
applicability of Part 268. The following hazardous wastes are not subject to the
requirements of LDR (§268.1(e)):
* Waste generated by conditionally exempt small quantity generators as defined
at §261.5
* Waste pesticide and container residues disposed of by farmers on their own
land pursuant to §262.70
* Newly identified or listed hazardous wastes for which EPA has yet to
promulgate land disposal treatment standards
* Certain low volume releases, known as de minimis losses, and laboratory wastes
that are mixed with a facility's wastewater and are discharged to the facility's
wastewater treatment or pretreatment facility.
Waste handlers may continue to land dispose wastes meeting any of these descriptions
without being subject to the LDR program. They must manage other restricted
hazardous wastes in compliance with the requirements of Part 268 unless explicitly
exempted by another part of the RCRA program.
2.3 TREATMENT STANDARDS
LDR requires waste handlers to fundamentally change the threat posed by hazardous
waste before it is land disposed. Waste-specific restrictions are manifested as
thresholds for adequate treatment, known as treatment standards. EPA expresses these
treatment standards as either numeric concentration levels for hazardous constituents,
or as a required technology. Once EPA restricts a waste and issues a treatment
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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Land Disposal Restrictions - 5
standard, the waste may be land disposed only after it meets the appropriate treatment
standard.
ESTABLISHMENT OF TREATMENT STANDARDS
Section 3004(m) of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments requires EPA to
promulgate treatment standards that reduce the toxicity or mobility of hazardous
constituents to minimize the short and long-term threats to human health and the
environment. To implement this mandate, EPA chose to base treatment standards on
technical practicability instead of risk assessment. To this end, EPA conducts research
into available treatment technologies. Of all the proven, available technologies, EPA
designates the ones that best minimize the mobility and/or toxicity of hazardous
constituents as the Best Demonstrated Available Technology (BDAT) for that waste.
The Agency then establishes a waste code-specific treatment standard based on the
performance of BDAT, incorporating any existing constituent treatment levels specified
as universal treatment standards (UTS), discussed later in this section. EPA expresses
these treatment standards as either concentration levels or required technologies.
When EPA sets treatment standards as concentration levels, they do not limit the
allowable method of treatment to BDAT used to establish the treatment standard;
instead, the Agency uses BDAT to determine what is the appropriate level of treatment
for each hazardous constituent commonly found in the waste. The regulated
community may then use any method or technology (except for impermissible
dilution) to meet the treatment standard. The generator or facility treating the waste
must analyze the waste or apply their knowledge to determine that the waste meets the
applicable concentration-based standards in §268.40,
When a treatment standard is a required technology, the generator or facility treating
the waste must use that technology, unless they can demonstrate that an alternative
method can achieve a level of performance equivalent to the required technology
(discussed in Section 2.4). Whenever possible, EPA prefers to use numeric treatment
standards in order to stimulate innovation and development of alternative treatment
technologies.
Since the physical and chemical composition of a waste significantly impacts the
effectiveness of a given treatment technology, EPA divides the treatment standard for
each waste code into two categories: wastewaters and nonwastewaters. The Agency
defines these two categories based on the percentages of total organic carbon (TOC)
and total suspended solids (TSS) present in a waste, since these factors commonly
impact the effectiveness of treatment methods. Wastewaters contain less than 1 percent
TOC by weight and less than 1 percent TSS by weight (§268.2). Nonwastewaters
include wastes that do not meet the definition of wastewater.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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6 - Land Disposal Restrictions
EPA also set alternative treatment standards for soil, debris, and lab pack wastes. The
alternative treatment standards will be discussed in the "Alternative Treatment
Standards" section of this module.
CONSOLIDATED TABLE OF TREATMENT STANDARDS
EPA originally presented the treatment standards for hazardous wastes in multiple
tables, but replaced these with a single consolidated table for wastewaters and
nonwastewaters. If EPA restricts a hazardous waste from land disposal, the treatment
standard for both wastewaters and nonwastewaters appears in §268.40. Section 268.40
expresses treatment standards in three ways:
• Constituent concentrations in mg/kg of the waste
» Constituent concentrations in an extract of the waste expressed in rng/1
* Treatment standards expressed as specified technologies and represented by a
five-letter code (described in §268.42).
EPA commonly expresses numeric standards in mg/kg when BDAT is a destruction or
extraction technology such as incineration. Waste handlers measure compliance with
these treatment standards by analyzing a representative sample of the waste for the
total concentration of each hazardous constituent identified in the treatment standard,
and comparing it to the level given for the waste code.
EPA also expresses concentration-based treatment standards in mg/1. For wastewaters,
waste handlers demonstrate compliance by comparing the concentration of hazardous
constituents found in a composite sample of the waste with the regulatory level. For
nonwastewaters, the waste handler prepares an extract that reflects the potential of
hazardous constituents to leach from the waste. The waste meets the treatment
standard if the concentration of regulated constituents in the liquid extract fall below
the regulatory levels given for the waste code. EPA requires the use of the Toxicity
Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) to obtain the waste extract. (The older and
less sensitive Extraction Procedure (EP) was available for use until August 24,1998.)
EPA also expresses treatment standards in §268.40 as specified technologies for certain
wastes. Waste handlers must treat these wastes using the specified technology. Table
1 in §268.42 provides full descriptions of the technologies represented by the five letter
codes used in §268.40. Examples include incineration (INCIN), fuel substitution
(FSUBS), and mercury retorting (RMERC). In most cases, once treated by the required
technology, wastes can be land disposed without being tested. There are, however,
some exceptions. For example, all F024 wastes must be incinerated. Following
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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Land Disposal Restrictions - 7
incineration, the remaining residues must then also meet the concentration levels
specified in §268.40.
UNIVERSAL TREATMENT STANDARDS
Use of BOAT to set treatment standards for hazardous wastes gave rise to an
unintended consequence: the numeric treatment standard applied to an individual
hazardous constituent, like benzene, could vary depending on the performance of
BOAT on each listed or characteristic wastestream that EPA evaluated. For example,
nonwastewater forms of the listed wastes F005 and U019 both require treatment for
benzene; however, the treatment standard originally set for benzene in the spent
solvent was 3.7 mg/kg, while the standard originally set for unused, discarded
benzene was 36 rng/kg.
To simplify the LDR program and eliminate this lack of consistency between standards,
the Agency examined the range of numeric standards applied to each hazardous
constituent found in restricted hazardous wastes. Based on the range, EPA assigned a
single numeric value to each constituent for its respective wastewater and
nonwastewater forms. A consolidated list of each constituent and its treatment
standards (wastewater and nonwastewater) appears in §268.48 and is known as the UTS
table. EPA used the values assigned to hazardous constituents in UTS to adjust
numeric levels found in the treatment standards table of §268.40. Applying these
universal treatment standards has not changed the hazardous constituents that waste
handlers must treat in a particular waste, as EPA only amended the numeric standards.
As a result, a common constituent found in multiple, different wastes will nonetheless
carry the same numeric treatment level. The treatment standards found in §268.40 for
F005 and U019 nonwastewaters, therefore, continue to address benzene, but EPA has
adjusted the level for each to 10 mg/kg.
Creation of UTS significantly simplifies the process of assigning treatment standards to
wastes that are newly identified or listed in the future. When a new waste contains
hazardous constituents that EPA has already addressed in UTS, the Agency will apply
the existing BDAT-based numeric standards for those particular constituents. EPA can
evaluate individually constituents not already included in UTS and add them to
§268.48.
2.4 ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT STANDARDS
In addition to these waste code or site-specific exception procedures, the Agency also
created a number of broad alternative treatment standards that facilities may choose to
use in lieu of meeting the waste code-specific treatment standards. These alternative
treatment standards are only available for certain forms of restricted wastes.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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8 - Land Disposal Restrictions
TREATMENT STANDARDS FOR CONTAMINATED SOIL
Remediation of hazardous waste sites will often produce contaminated soil that the
generator must handle as hazardous waste if it contains a listed hazardous waste or if it
exhibits a characteristic of hazardous waste. These remediation wastes, due to either
their large volume or unique properties, are not always amenable to the treatment
standards for hazardous wastewater and nonwastewater. Because of this, EPA
designated soil as a unique treatability group and promulgated alternative soil-specific
treatment standards in the Phase IV Final Rule (63 FR 28556; May 26,1998). As with
hazardous waste, RCRA prohibits the land disposal of hazardous soil until the soil has
been treated to meet LDR standards.
A facility may treat contaminated soil to meet the waste-specific treatment standard in
§268.40, i.e., the same standard the waste would have to meet if it was newly generated
rather than found in soil, or to meet the soil-specific standards in §268.49. The soil
standards mandate reduction of hazardous constituents by 90 percent, capped at ten
times UTS. This means that if 90 percent reduction of a particular constituent would
bring the constituent concentration to below ten times the UTS level, treatment can stop
once the soil reaches ten times UTS for that constituent. If the 90 percent reduction is
higher than ten times UTS, treatment can stop at 90 percent reduction. For example, a
contaminated soil contains 400 mg/1 nickel. Reducing this by 90 percent would mean
treating the waste to 40 mg/1. However, the UTS for nickel is 11 mg/1, so ten times UTS
would be 110 mg/1. Therefore, this soil would only require treatment to 110 rng/1 to
meet the LDR soil treatment standards.
Waste handlers may treat soils that exhibit a characteristic of hazardous waste to these
soil standards. Following treatment, the soil may still exhibit a characteristic of
hazardous waste, since the ten times UTS level is sometimes above the hazardous
waste characteristic level (e.g., ten times UTS for lead is 7.5 mg/1 while the
characteristic level is 5 mg/1). Because these soils would still be hazardous wastes,
they would require disposal in a Subtitle C facility. Soils that are no longer
characteristic may be sent to a Subtitle D facility. Soils contaminated with listed wastes
carry the listed code and must be managed in Subtitle C facilities even after meeting the
LDR treatment standards, unless the facility gets a site-specific ruling from their
implementing agency. Because of the site-specific nature of remediation activities,
facilities should work with their implementing agency to facilitate the cleanup process.
Like all LDR treatment standards, the soil treatment standards are promulgated
pursuant to the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA). Because
the soil treatment standards are generally less stringent than current federal
requirements, they will not go into effect in authorized states until the states adopt and
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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Land Disposal Restrictions - 9
become authorized for them - even though the soil treatment standards are
promulgated pursuant to HSWA,
If a state is authorized to implement the LDR treatment standards for any given waste
or constituent, and that waste or constituent is contained in contaminated soil that is
subject to LDR, generally the more stringent treatment standard for the as-generated
industrial waste or constituent applies to contaminated soil until the state adopts and
becomes authorized for the soil treatment standards. This would not be the case if the
state implements state waiver authorities or other state laws to allow compliance with
the soil treatment standards in advance of adoption or authorization, (See EPA
guidance memorandum from J. Winston Porter to EPA Regional Administrators,
"RCRA Permit Requirements for State Superfund Actions," November 16,1987, OSWER
Directive 9522.00-2.) Similarly, if a state has adopted, under state law, an authorization
for the requirement, and that waste or constituent is contained in contaminated soil that
is subject to LDRs, the more stringent state requirement continues to apply until the
state adopts, under state law, the soil treatment standards. Once again, the state may
implement state waiver authorities or other state laws to allow compliance with the soil
treatment standards in advance of adoption or authorization. Therefore, it would be
wise to contact the state regulatory agency before undertaking soil remediation to see if
the alternative treatment standards are available in your state,
DEBRIS
Section 268.45 contains alternate treatment standards for manufactured items and
environmental media of a certain size that are contaminated with hazardous waste.
EPA developed these alternative standards because materials such as rocks, bricks, and
industrial equipment (known genetically as debris) contaminated with hazardous
waste may not be amenable to the waste code-specific treatment standards in §268.40.
Section 268.45 allows a waste handler to choose among several types of treatment
technologies, based on the type of debris and the waste with which it is contaminated.
EPA divided the alternative treatment standards for debris into three categories:
extraction, destruction, and immobilization technologies. When using an alternate
debris treatment standard, the waste handler must ensure that the treatment process
meets the design and operating requirements established in §268.45, and that he or she
treats for each contaminant, or hazardous constituent, subject to treatment, as defined in
§268.45(b). In order to be eligible for land disposal, the debris must meet the specified
performance standards in Table 1 of §268.45. For example, a contaminated boulder that
is sandblasted to remove surface contamination must be treated to a "clean debris
surface" and at least 0.6 centimeters of the surface layer of the boulder must be
removed.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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10 - Land Disposal Restrictions
Once the waste handler has treated hazardous debris according to the specification of
one of these technologies, it may be land disposed. If treated hazardous debris does
not exhibit any characteristic following treatment with an extraction (e.g., sandblasting)
or destruction (e.g., incineration) technology, it is eligible for land disposal and can be
disposed of as nonhazardous or simply returned to the environment (§261.3(f)).
Hazardous debris treated with an immobilization technology (e.g.,
macroencapsulation), that is no longer characteristic can be disposed of as
nonhazardous only after a determination from the Regional Administrator (§261.3(f)(2)).
LAB PACK WASTES
Laboratories commonly generate small volumes of many different listed and
characteristic wastes. Rather than manage all these disparate wastes individually,
laboratories commonly take advantage of regulatory provisions that allow them to
overpack many small containers of hazardous waste into a larger drum. These
containers are known as lab packs. EPA has assigned them an alternative treatment
standard, incineration, that allows generators to apply one treatment standard for the
entire lab pack rather than applying the treatment standard for each individual waste
code contained within the lab pack (§268.42(c)). The primary condition for application
of this alternative, however, is that the lab pack may not contain any of the heavy metal-
bearing waste codes identified in Part 268, Appendix IV.
2.5 VARIANCES, EXTENSIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS
If a restricted waste does not meet the appropriate treatment standard, it is ineligible
for land disposal. Restricted wastes that waste handlers cannot land dispose because
they do not yet meet their treatment standards are termed "prohibited" wastes.
Although most prohibited wastes become eligible for land disposal through treatment
to the appropriate standards, this may not be possible in all cases. As a result, EPA
created procedures that allow waste handlers to land dispose otherwise prohibited
wastes under special circumstances. The following exemptions, variances, and
extensions established under Part 268 allow wastes for which treatment standards have
been promulgated to be land disposed without meeting treatment standards, or to be
treated to a less stringent level or by a different technology:
* National capacity variance (§3004(h)(2))
* Case-by-case extension to an effective date (§268.5)
• No-migration variance (§268.6)
• Variance from a treatment standard (§268.44)
• Equivalent treatment method variance (§268.42(b))
• Surface impoundment treatment exemption (§268.4).
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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Land Disposal Restrictions - 11
While wastes subject to any of these provisions continue to be restricted under LDR,
they are not prohibited from land disposal under these limited conditions.
NATIONAL CAPACITY VARIANCE
When developing a treatment standard, EPA reviews treatment, recovery, and disposal
capacity to see if it is adequate for current and future waste management needs. If
there is inadequate capacity for certain waste codes, EPA may grant a nationwide
extension of the prohibition deadline for up to two years (RCRA §3004(h)(2)). This
extension is known as a national capacity variance. To make capacity determinations,
EPA compares the quantity of the restricted waste generated with the nationally
available treatment, recovery, or protective disposal capacity at permitted and interim
status facilities which will be in operation by the effective date. If there is a significant
shortage of capacity, EPA will establish an alternative effective date based on the
earliest date such capacity will be available. Waste handlers can land dispose waste
that benefits from a national capacity variance without meeting the treatment standards.
However, if they dispose of the waste in a landfill or surface impoundment, the
disposal unit must be in compliance with the minimum technological requirements of
RCRA §3004(o).
CASE-BY-CASE EXTENSION
Regional or local conditions may create a lack of adequate treatment capacity in a
particular area. In this situation, EPA may extend the effective date of a treatment
standard on a case-by-case basis. EPA grants case-by-case extensions for one year, when
waste handlers appropriately demonstrate need as enumerated in §268.5, and can
renew these extensions for an additional year. Individual extensions cannot exceed a
total of 24 months (RCRA §3004(h)(3)).
If waste handlers dispose of hazardous wastes benefiting from a case-by-case extension
to an effective date in landfills or surface impoundments, these disposal units must
meet the minimum technological requirements for liners and leak-detection and be in
compliance with groundwater monitoring requirements (RCRA §3004(o)).
Although case-by-case extensions usually apply to only the waste generated at the
individual facility that sought an extension, EPA has, at times, granted "generic" case-
by-case extensions with broad applicability. The last of these generic case-by-case
extensions to an LDR effective date, a limited extension for the disposal of hazardous
debris, expired May 8,1994.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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12 - Land Disposal Restrictions
NO-MIGRATION VARIANCE
Waste handlers can land dispose hazardous wastes subject to LDR in a land-based unit
without meeting treatment standards, if a petitioner can demonstrate that there will be
no migration of hazardous constituents from the unit for as long as the waste remains
hazardous (§268.6). EPA interprets "no migration" to mean that constituents will not
leave the unit boundary at concentrations above Agency-approved health-based levels.
EPA may grant a no-migration variance for up to 10 years, but may not extend the
variance beyond the term of the particular disposal unit's RCRA permit.
No-migration petitions must include a site description, waste characterization, and
monitoring plans for evaluation by the Agency. The regulated community must also
submit for review long-term modeling estimates of concentrations in the ground's
unsaturated zone and the air pathway.
EPA has granted the majority of no-migration petitions to underground wells that inject
hazardous waste deep beneath the surface. A notable exception is the conditional no-
migration variance granted for the U.S. Department of Energy's Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. This variance permits DOE to dispose of untreated
mixed radioactive and hazardous wastes in an underground salt dome for the duration
of a test period.
VARIANCE FROM A TREATMENT STANDARD
Under certain circumstances, generators or TSDFs may petition the Agency for a
variance from using a required technology or from meeting a concentration-based
treatment standard. EPA established this variance from a treatment standard to account
for those wastes for which applicable treatment standards are unachievable or
inappropriate (§268.44). In most cases, petitioners must demonstrate that the waste is
significantly different from the wastes evaluated by EPA when developing the codified
treatment standard or that such method or standard is unachievable or inappropriate
for the waste. A treatability variance may apply generically to all waste meeting a
certain description or it may be narrower in scope, applying only to a specific waste
generated at a particular site (55 FR 22526; June 1,1990).
With the establishment of soil-specific standards, EPA promulgated an additional
provision in §268.44 for contaminated soil. Under §268.44(h)(3), variances from
otherwise applicable LDR treatment standards may be approved if it is determined that
compliance with the treatment standard would result in treatment beyond the point at
which short- and long-term threats to human health and the environment are
minimized. This allows a site-specific, risk-based determination to supersede the
technology-based LDR treatment standards under certain circumstances, allowing
regulators to align cleanup levels and treatment levels. Alternative LDR treatment
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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Land Disposal Restrictions - 13
standards established through site-specific risk-based variances should be within the
range of values the Agency generally finds acceptable for risk-based cleanup levels.
Decisions to grant or deny these variances will be made by EPA Regions or authorized
states.
EQUIVALENT TREATMENT METHOD VARIANCE
Generally, waste handlers must treat waste to which EPA has assigned a technology-
based treatment standard in §268.40 using that method of treatment prior to disposal.
A person may, however, submit an application to the Regional Administrator
demonstrating that an alternate treatment method can achieve a performance
equivalent to that of the specified treatment standard and can protect human health and
the environment (§268.42(b)). If EPA approves the petition, they grant an equivalent
method variance, and the alternate method may be used in lieu of the specified
technology.
SURFACE IMPOUNDMENT TREATMENT EXEMPTION
The management of liquid wastes in surface impoundments often serves as a means of
treatment. Typically, partkulates suspended in liquid wastes settle to the bottom of
impoundments, forming sludges in which contaminants concentrate. This precipitation
process may result in the generation of sludges that are hazardous wastes. Since
management of wastes in surface impoundments is considered land disposal, even
though the waste is not permanently disposed in the unit, such generation and
placement of hazardous sludges on the land without prior treatment would normally
be inconsistent with LDR's disposal prohibition. Section 268.4 allows this practice,
however, by providing an exemption for wastes treated in surface impoundments.
Waste handlers may treat hazardous waste in surface impoundments without first
meeting treatment standards provided that (1) the surface impoundment meets certain
technological requirements, (2) the treatment residues that do not meet applicable
standards are removed from the impoundment annually, and (3) the removed residues
are not managed in another surface impoundment.
2.6 OTHER PROHIBITIONS
In addition to prohibiting the land disposal of wastes that do not meet treatment
standards, the LDR program includes two other important prohibitions. One forbids
the storage of wastes as a substitute for meeting the required treatment standards. The
other prohibits the dilution of wastes as a substitute for legitimate treatment. Like the
prohibition on land disposal, these prohibitions no longer apply once a waste meets its
waste code-specific treatment standard.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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14 - Land Disposal Restrictions
STORAGE PROHIBITION
EPA promulgated the storage prohibition in order to prevent waste handlers from
storing hazardous waste in lieu of proper treatment (§268.50). EPA forbids the storage
of waste subject to a treatment standard unless the waste is being stored in order to
accumulate such quantities as are necessary to facilitate proper recycling, treatment, or
disposal. During the first year of storage, EPA bears the burden of proving that the
waste handlers is storing in order to avoid meeting treatment standards rather than to
facilitate legitimate recycling, treatment, or disposal. There is no strict time limit on
legitimate waste storage; however, after the first year of storage, the burden of proof for
showing that waste is indeed being legally accumulated to facilitate proper future
management shifts from EPA to the waste handler.
Generators accumulating waste on-site in accordance with §262.34 and transporters
storing waste at a transfer facility for 10 days or less are exempt from the storage
prohibition. The storage prohibition also does not apply to wastes which qualify for an
exemption from a treatment standard such as a case-by-case extension under §268.5, a
no-migration petition under §268.6, a national capacity variance, or to wastes that were
placed in storage prior to the effective date of a prohibition on land disposal.
DILUTION PROHIBITION
EPA generally prohibits dilution of wastes as a substitute for appropriate treatment
(§268.3). For example, a waste handler may not, in most cases, achieve compliance with
a numeric treatment standard by simply mixing hazardous waste with another material
that fails to reduce the mobility or toxicity of the hazardous constituents in the waste.
Similarly, EPA may consider waste to be impermissibly diluted when a waste handler
treats with an inappropriate technology. For example, it is often impermissible to
incinerate metal-bearing, inorganic wastes because incineration fails to destroy or
immobilize the hazardous metal constituents.
There are, however, certain cases where EPA permits dilution. Dilution is inherent in
some types of legitimate waste handling, such as the aggregation of similar wastes to
facilitate subsequent treatment. As a general rule, if aggregated wastes are all
legitimately amenable to the same treatment, the aggregation step does not constitute
impermissible dilution. In addition, waste handlers may dilute certain characteristic
wastes that are managed in Clean Water Act-regulated treatment systems (§268.3(b)).
As well, certain characteristic wastes may be diluted to render them nonhazardous
before disposal in a deep injection well regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act
(§268.19(c)(3)). The table found in Section 2.10 may be used to determine if a particular
waste is subject to a prohibition against dilution when handled in a particular manner.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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Land Disposal Restrictions - 15
2.7 TRACKING AND RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS
EPA requires generators and TSDFs managing wastes that are subject to LDR (restricted
wastes) to meet certain notification, certification, waste analysis, and recordkeeping
requirements under §268.7, Much like a hazardous waste manifest, the LDR
notification and certification paperwork helps hazardous waste handlers and EPA
enforcers ensure that wastes are properly managed. A notification accompanies the
initial shipment of each waste that is subject to LDR and includes such information as
the waste code(s), the hazardous constituents present in the waste, and waste analysis
data. EPA requires subsequent notification only when the waste or the receiving
facility changes. Additionally, if a waste can be land disposed without further
treatment, a certification to that effect must accompany the notification. EPA requires
waste handlers to retain such paperwork in order to track wastes that are subject to
LDR and to ensure that those wastes receive proper treatment prior to disposal.
Section 268.7(a) contains the tracking requirements for generators, §268.7(b) specifies
the requirements for treatment facilities, §268.7(c) contains the regulations applicable to
disposal facilities, and §268.7(d) contains special notification and certification
requirements that apply to hazardous debris, and §268.7(e) contains special notification
requirements for contaminated soil.
GENERATORS
Generators must determine if their hazardous waste is subject to LDR at the point of
generation. They may make this determination by testing or applying knowledge. If a
waste is subject to LDR and does not meet applicable treatment standards, generators
must notify the treatment facility in writing (§268.7(a)(2)). This notice accompanies the
manifest and must include the following information:
• EPA hazardous waste code(s)
• Identification of the waste as a wastewater or nonwastewater
* Manifest number associated with the waste shipment
* Waste analysis data (if available)
• For characteristic wastes, any additional hazardous constituents present
* When hazardous debris is to be treated by an alternative technology under
§268.45, a statement to that effect and the contaminants subject to treatment
* For contaminated soil, a list of the constituents subject to treatment and a
statement that the soil does or does not meet LDR standards.
If a generator's waste already meets applicable treatment standards, the generator, in
accordance with §268.7(a)(3), must submit a signed certification stating that the waste
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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16 - Land Disposal Restrictions
meets the applicable treatment standards. This certification accompanies a copy of the
notification statement described above.
If a generator's waste qualifies for an exemption from a treatment standard, such as a
national capacity variance, case-by-case extension, or no-migration exemption, the
generator must submit to the disposal facility a notification similar to that given in
§268.7(a)(2), except that it must also identify the date that the waste will become subject
to LDR prohibitions (§268.7(a)(4)).
Generators may treat hazardous waste in accumulation tanks, containers, or
containment buildings provided the units are in compliance with certain standards
applicable to TSDFs (§262.34). EPA believes that generators should have the same
recordkeeping and documentation responsibilities that apply to TSDFs when treating
wastes to meet LDR treatment standards. Therefore, §268.7(a)(5) requires generators to
prepare a waste analysis plan (WAP) when treating wastes to meet LDR. The WAP
must justify the'frequency of testing based on a detailed analysis of a representative
sample of the waste. The plan must contain all information necessary for proper
treatment of the waste in accordance with Part 268, and must be retained in the facility's
records (55 FR 22670; June 1,1990). Generators conducting treatment in exempt units,
such as wastewater treatment units (WWTUs), elementary neutralization units (ENUs),
or totally-enclosed treatment units (TETUs) must also prepare WAPs. Generators who
are conducting partial treatment, but not treating to meet treatment standards are not
required to have a WAP.
TREATMENT FACILITIES
The tracking and recordkeeping requirements that apply to treatment facilities are
found at §268.7(b). EPA requites hazardous waste treaters to test treated waste to
ensure that all applicable treatment standards are met. The TSDF must perform these
tests as specified in their WAP (all TSDFs must have WAPs under §§264/265.13). If a
facility ships treated waste off-site for disposal, a notification similar to the generator's
notice must accompany the initial shipment of the waste to the disposal facility. The
treater's notice must include relevant waste codes, additional hazardous constituents
present, manifest information, and waste analysis data (§268.7(b)(3)). The treater must
also include a certification that the shipment of waste meets treatment standards
(§268.7(b)(4)). If the waste or a residue of the waste will be sent for further treatment or
storage at another facility, the treater must comply with the notification and certification
requirements for a generator.
LAND DISPOSAL FACILITIES
Section 268.7(c) enumerates the paperwork requirements that apply to the final link in
the cradle-to-grave management of hazardous waste, the land disposal facilities.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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Land Disposal Restrictions -17
Hazardous waste disposers must ensure that incoming wastes or residues meet the
applicable treatment standards by testing the waste in accordance with their facility's
WAP. Additionally, disposers must maintain records on site of all notifications and
certifications received from generators and treatment facilities.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR TREATED DEBRIS
Generators or treaters of hazardous debris who claim that their hazardous debris is
excluded from the definition of hazardous waste under §261.3(f) are required to comply
with certain notification and certification requirements (§268.7(d)). Since these wastes
are no longer hazardous, the paperwork will not be sent to the disposal facility.
Instead, relevant notices and certifications are submitted to EPA and retained on site by
the original generator or treater on a one-time basis.
2.8 CHARACTERISTIC HAZARDOUS WASTES
Just like listed wastes, restricted characteristic wastes must also meet treatment
standards before they are eligible for land disposal. Since the land disposal restrictions
attach at the point of generation, waste handlers cannot circumvent treatment standards
applicable to characteristic wastes by simply removing the characteristic. Once a waste
handler both decharacterizes and treats the waste to meet the treatment standard that
applied at the point of generation, however, the waste may be land disposed in a
nonhazardous, RCRA Subtitle D landfill.
TREATMENT STANDARDS
EPA established special requirements for wastes that exhibit a characteristic (§268.9).
As a general principle, a hazardous waste must meet all applicable treatment standards
before land disposal. For purposes of LDR, a generator with a listed hazardous waste
must determine if the waste also exhibits any hazardous waste characteristics
(§262.11(c)). If a listed waste also exhibits a characteristic of hazardous waste, the waste
must meet the treatment standard for both waste codes. An exception occurs, however,
when the treatment standard for the listed waste specifically includes a standard for the
constituent that causes the waste to exhibit the characteristic. In this case, compliance
with the treatment standard for the listed waste will satisfy both requirements, as the
standard for the listed waste will operate in lieu of the treatment standard for the
characteristic waste code.
PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS
While characteristic wastes are subject to the standard notification requirements of
§268.7, EPA subjects wastes from which the characteristic has been removed to special
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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18 - Land Disposal Restrictions
provisions. When these wastes meet treatment standards and no longer exhibit any
characteristic, LDR notification and certification paperwork need not accompany the
shipment to a Subtitle D facility. Instead, §268.9(d) requires the waste handler to file a
one-time notice and certification with the implementing agency and maintain a copy on
site. Subsequent shipments of similar waste require additional notice except on an
annual basis, or if the process or recipient facility changes.
DILUTION OF CHARACTERISTIC WASTES AND TREATMENT OF
UNDERLYING HAZARDOUS CONSTITUENTS
When EPA first promulgated treatment standards for characteristic wastes, they
initially determined that removal of the hazardous waste characteristic alone would
adequately protect human health and the environment. Thus, the treatment standards
for these wastes appeared as the specified technology, "DEACT," or deactivation.
While Part 268, Appendix VI, recommends particular methods of treatment to
accomplish deactivation, simple dilution with soil or water was an acceptable means to
achieve compliance. Dilution of this kind was not considered impermissible under
§268.3, since it was performed as part of a specified technology.
However, in the case, Chemical Waste Management, Inc., et al. v. EPA, the plaintiffs won a
judgment against the Agency alleging, among other things, that deactivation via
dilution failed to meet the statutory mandates of RCRA §3004(m) because dilution does
not reduce the mobility or toxicity of the hazardous constituents present in the wastes.
On September 25,1992, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals immediately vacated the
treatment standards for ignitable (D001) and corrosive (D002) wastes, and remanded the
treatment standards applicable to many other characteristic wastes.
In response to the court decision, EPA published revised treatment standards for D001
and D002 wastes in the May 24,1993, Federal Register (58 FR 29860). These revised
standards require that certain ignitable and corrosive wastes not only be deactivated to
remove the hazardous characteristic, but that they also be legitimately treated to meet
numeric concentration levels for any constituents also present in the wastes above the
UTS levels. These constituents are known as "underlying hazardous constituents"
because they require treatment to meet LDR standards, but nonetheless do not cause
the waste to exhibit a characteristic.
On September 19,1994, when EPA promulgated treatment standards for the newly
identified toxicity characteristic (TC) organic wastes (D018-D043) and revised the
standards for some previously restricted characteristic wastes (D012-D017), the Agency
also required treatment for underlying hazardous constituents beyond that necessary
for removal of the characteristic. When EPA promulgated revised treatment standards
for metal wastes on May 26,1998, the new metal standards also required waste
handlers to treat for underlying hazardous constituents (63 FR 28556). The creation of
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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Land Disposal Restrictions -19
the UTS in §268.48 gave the Agency an easy source for the list of constituents and
appropriate treatment levels. Wastes requiring treatment for underlying hazardous
constituents must meet the numeric treatment levels enumerated in the UTS to be
eligible for land disposal. Wastes subject to treatment for underlying hazardous
constituents are easily identified since their treatment standards in §268.40 require that
they comply with the characteristic level "and meet §268.48 standards."
Part of the settlement agreement and consent decree with Chemical Waste
Management, Inc. et al., required EPA to ensure that waste handlers effectively treat
characteristic wastewaters that are managed in certain CWA and SDWA systems; to
merely decharacterize or dilute these wastes would not satisfy Congress's mandate to
substantially diminish the toxieity of hazardous waste. As a result, on April 8,1996 (61
FR 15566), EPA finalized treatment standards for characteristic wastes injected into
deep SDWA wells, managed in non-hazardous surface impoundments prior to CWA
discharge, or discharged to land following CWA-equivalent management. Specifically,
these regulations would have required that such wastes undergo RCRA-equivalent
treatment not only to remove the characteristic, but also to destroy or immobilize
underlying hazardous constituents.
Despite the finalization of these treatment standards for characteristic wastewaters
managed in certain CWA- and SDWA-systems, these provisions were immediately
affected by the Land Disposal Program Flexibility Act of 1996. The new law removed
the requirement that characteristic wastewaters be treated to remove, destroy, or
immobilize hazardous constituents. As a result, characteristic wastewaters managed in
certain CWA or SDWA-systems need only be decharacterized before land disposal, and
dilution may be used to satisfy this requirement. Consequently, the Agency published,
in the same Federal Register that contained the new treatment standards, a notice to
rescind those regulations, and require only decharacterization for characteristic
wastewaters in accordance with the provisions of the new Land Disposal Program
Flexibility Act (61 FR 15661). See additional discussion of the statutorily mandated
study of decharacterized waste disposed of in surface impoundments in Section 3 of
this module, entitled "Regulatory Developments."
2.9 HISTORY OF THE LDR PROGRAM
The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA) established EPA's
authority for the LDR program. Due to the large number of hazardous waste codes that
existed prior to HSWA, EPA developed LDR treatment standards were in stages. In
HSWA, Congress set a time frame for the implementation of treatment standards for all
wastes listed or identified as hazardous on or before November 8,1984. Congress set
specific prohibition dates for certain high-risk and high-volume wastes and established
a three-part schedule with specific deadlines for EPA to develop treatment standards
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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20 - Land Disposal Restrictions
for the remaining listed and characteristic wastes. Wastes identified subsequent to
HSWA are considered newly identified or listed. Additional rulemakings,
promulgated in "phases/' have since begun to address these new wastes. This section
highlights some especially pertinent parts of those rulemakings and identifies and
explains certain complex areas.
SOLVENT AND DIOXIN-CONTAINING WASTE
EPA first addressed under the LDR program solvent and dioxin-containing wastes.
Congress set a statutory deadline for EPA to establish treatment standards for these
wastes because they are generated either in high volumes (solvent wastes), or are
considered highly toxic (dioxin-containing wastes). EPA published a final rule on
November 7,1986 (51 FR 40572), establishing effective dates and treatment standards for
F001-F005 solvent wastes (§268.30) and F020-F023 and F026-F028 dioxin-containing
wastes (§268.31). The November 7,1986, final rule also established the basic framework
for the land disposal restrictions program.
CALIFORNIA LIST WASTE
A second group of hazardous wastes for which Congress set a specific LDR deadline is
known as the California list. This list was compiled from a program established by
California's Department of Health Services. The California list, which became effective
July 8,1987, prohibited the land disposal of liquid hazardous wastes containing certain
toxic constituents or exhibiting certain properties unless subjected to prior treatment
(52 FR 25760; July 8,1987). The targets of the list included cyanides, polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs), halogenated organic compounds (HOCs), and metals. Certain HOC-
containing wastes were also prohibited even when in solid form.
Waste code-specific treatment standards addressing the constituent (or property) of
concern have superseded the California list prohibitions. For example, the treatment
standard for toxicity characteristic (D008) supersedes the California list prohibition on
liquid hazardous wastes containing lead. In the May 12,1997, Federal Register (62 FR
25998), EPA removed all references to California list wastes because all the treatment
standards for these wastes had been superseded by more specific treatment standards.
THIRDS
HSWA §3004(g)(4) required EPA to prepare a plan by November 8,1986, to meet the
Congressionally mandated schedule for establishing treatment standards for all
hazardous wastes identified or listed on or before November 8,1984. When
developing the plan, EPA was required to rank the listed wastes from high to low
priority, based on the wastes' intrinsic hazard and volume generated. The Agency
scheduled high-volume, high-intrinsic hazard wastes first, while low-volume, lower-
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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Land Disposal Restrictions - 21
hazard wastes (including characteristic wastes) were to have treatment standards
established last. Wastes with treatment standards promulgated in the first portion of
the three-part schedule are known as First Third wastes (53 FR 31138; August 17,1988),
wastes addressed in the second portion of the schedule are known as Second Third
wastes (54 FR 26594; June 23,1989), and wastes in the third category are known as Third
Third wastes (55 FR 22520; June 1,1990).
TREATMENT STANDARDS FOR NEWLY IDENTIFIED OR LISTED WASTES
HSWA also requires EPA to establish treatment standards for all hazardous wastes
listed or identified after November 8,1984. EPA developed treatment standards for
these wastes in phases. EPA published the first of these rulemakings, termed Phase I,
in the Federal Register on August 18,1992 (57 FR 37194). In addition to promulgating
restrictions for certain new wastes, Phase I finalized the alternative treatment standards
for hazardous debris.
EPA finalized the Phase II Rule in the Federal Register on September 19,1994 (59 FR
47982). This final rule consolidated the existing treatment standards into §268.40,
created the UTS, and promulgated treatment standards for TC organic wastes, coke by-
products, and chlorotoluenes.
EPA finalized the Phase III Rule and subsequent partial rescission in the Federal
Register on April 8,1996 (61 FR 15566 and 15660). These final rules modified treatment
standards for reactive wastes and decharacterized wastewaters (see Section 2.8 for a
complete discussion on the status of wastewaters), and promulgated new treatment
standards for carbamate wastes and spent aluminum potliners. Even though Phase III
promulgated treatment standards for these newly-identified carbamate wastes, in the
case, Dithiocarmbamate Task Force v. EPA, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals vacated
several carbamate hazardous waste listings, thus nullifying their corresponding LDR
treatment standards (62 FR 32974; June 17,1997).
EPA finalized the first half of the Phase IV Rule on May 12,1997 (62 FR 25998). This
final rule promulgated treatment standards for the wood preserving wastes and
streamlined the LDR notification requirements. EPA promulgated part two of the
Phase IV Rule on May 26,1998 (63 FR 28556). This rule finalized treatment standards
for several metal wastes and certain newly-identified mineral processing wastes, and
revised the universal treatment standards for twelve metal constituents. The rule also
created a new treatability group, soil, and established soil-specific alternative treatment
standards.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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22 - Land Disposal Restrictions
2.10 SUMMARY TABLE: WASTES SUBJECT TO DILUTION
PROHIBITION
Type of Waste
Characteristic Wastes Managed in Clean Water Act-Regulated
Treatment Systems (§268.3(b))
Characteristic Wastes Disposed of in Safe Drinking Water Act
Underground Injection Control Wells (§268.1(c)(3))
Wastes Subject to a National Capacity Variance (§3004(h)(2))
Wastes Disposed of in a Unit With a No-Migration Variance
(§268.6)
Wastes Subject to a Case-by-Case Extension to an Effective Date
(§268.5)
Newly Identified or Listed Wastes for Which EPA Has Not Yet
Established a Treatment Standard (§268.1(e)(3))
Wastes that Meet All Applicable Treatment Standards and
Prohibition Levels
Metal-Bearing Hazardous Wastes That Are Incinerated (§268.3(c))
Waste Managed in a Corrective Action Management Unit
(CAMU) or Temporary Unit (TU) l
Wastes from Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generators
Regulated Under §261.5 2 (§268.1 (e)(l))
Farmers Disposing of Waste On Their Own Land Under
§262.70 2 (§268.1(e)(2))
Yes
^
No
^
y
^
^
^
y
^
S
S
^
For more information about these provisions, see the module entitled RCRA Corrective Action.
For more information about these provisions, see the module entitled Generators.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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Land Disposal Restrictions - 23
3. REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
With the completion of the "Thirds," EPA had addressed all hazardous wastes that
were identified or listed before November 8,1984. Similarly, with the completion of
Phase IV, EPA addressed all hazardous wastes that were newly-identified or listed
after November 8,1984. Since EPA has fulfilled its requirements to establish treatment
standards for all hazardous wastes through the Thirds and the Phases (as required by
the Statute), in the future, the Agency will propose LDR treatment standards when
hazardous wastes are proposed for listing. On November 20,1995, EPA began this
process by proposing LDR treatment standards for petroleum refining process wastes
in the same rule that proposed to list such wastes as hazardous (60 FR 57747). The
petroleum listings and their LDR treatment standards were finalized August 6,1998 (63
FIR 42110). All future waste treatment standards will be promulgated with the waste
listing,
EPA is also in the process of gathering information on existing portions of the LDR
regulations. On May 28,1999, EPA announced in an advanced notice of proposed
rulemaking (ANPRM) a comprehensive review of the LDR treatment standards for
mercury-bearing hazardous wastes (64 FR 28949). EPA sought comments and available
data on potential impacts of reducing the number of mercury-bearing wastes requiring
incineration, the comparative impacts of retorting versus disposal, and source
reduction options.
Additionally, Section 3004(g)(10) of the RCRA Statute, as amended by the Land
Disposal Program Flexibility Act of 1996, requires EPA to characterize the risks
associated with managing nonhazardous and decharacterized wastewaters in surface
impoundments. EPA has selected study participants and will collect data to determine
whether the existing regulations adequately address risks that may be present. EPA
will estimate the potential human health and ecological risks by using mathematical
models to represent the transport and transformation of chemicals introduced into
these systems.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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24 - Land Disposal Restrictions
4. SPECIAL ISSUES
The following four points discuss LDR issues of special note or concern.
4.1 POINT OF GENERATION
Generators are required to classify their solid wastes as soon as they are subject to
regulation in order to ensure that hazardous wastes will always be safely managed.
Since LDR applies additional limits to the ways in which waste may be managed, it is
also necessary to immediately determine if a hazardous waste is subject to LDR.
Generators must, therefore, fully characterize their wastes at the point of generation to
determine if their hazardous waste is subject to LDR (§262.11). If a waste is restricted at
the point of generation, all Part 268 requirements continue to apply to the waste, even if
it is subsequently de-characterized or excluded from the definition of hazardous or
solid waste.
4.2 DIOXIN-CONTAINING WASTE
EPA bases the §268.40 treatment standards for dioxin-containing wastes on a BDAT of
incineration. While any technology short of dilution is permissible for achieving the
required contaminant levels, only incineration has been able to achieve them. Currently
there is only one commercial facility in the United States permitted to burn dioxin-
containing wastes and thus there is likely to be a shortfall in capacity. In the interim,
these listed wastes must be exported or stored until treatment capacity becomes
available.
4.3 TC V. EP
When the TC superseded the EP, it added the organic constituents (D018-D043). Since
the TC is more sensitive than the EP, it also increased the number of wastes considered
characteristically hazardous for metals (D004-D011) and pesticides (D012-D017).
Wastes that exhibited the TC for the new organic constituents, and wastes that exhibited
the TC for D004-D017 but did not also fail the EP, were both considered newly
identified since the TC rule was promulgated after November 8,1984. While HSWA
requires EPA to set treatment standards for any newly identified or listed waste within
six months of the identification of the waste, there is no statutory provision that
automatically prohibits land disposal if EPA fails to set treatment standards within the
Congressionally mandated time frame. With the Phase II Rule, EPA promulgated
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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Land Disposal Restrictions - 25
treatment standards for the newly identified TC organics and pesticides (59 FR 47982;
September 19,1994). In the second part of the Phase IV Rule, EPA promulgated
treatment standards for TC metals (D004-D011).
4.4 LDR APPLICABILITY AND REMEDIATION WASTES
In order to ensure that site cleanups and remediation are conducted in a timely and
cost-effective fashion, EPA has designed special standards for the management of
certain remediation wastes. In the February 16,1993, Federal Register (58 FR 8658),
EPA promulgated regulations on the use of corrective action management units
(CAMUs) and temporary units (TUs) to manage remediation waste generated during a
site cleanup. To facilitate the cleanup process, these regulations effectively waive the
requirement that wastes managed in CAMUs or TUs meet LDR prior to storage or
disposal on the land. Additionally, on November 30,1998, EPA finalized standards for
a new type of unit, called a staging pile, into which a waste handler can place solid,
non-flowing remediation waste without meeting LDR (63 FR 65874; 65916; §264.554).
(See also the module entitled RCRA Corrective Action).
The Information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Hotline training purposes.
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