United States Environmental Protection Agency Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OS-305) EP530- F-93-013 July 1993 Office of Solid Waste oEPA Environmental Fact Sheet Background On October 9, 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Issued regulations for municipal solid waste landfills. The federal requirements cover location restrictions, facility design and operations, ground-water monitoring, corrective action measures, conditions for closing and performing post-closure care, and provisions for assuring financial responsibility. Since October 1991, the Agency has received information describing difficulties many communities —particularly small ones—are experiencing in meeting some compliance dates. EPA continues to be concerned about the problems communities face in managing their solid waste, and proposes to amend certain effective dates in the federal regulations. In addition, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA) directed EPA to eliminate an exemption from ground-water monitoring for very small landfills in arid and remote locations. As a result, the Agency proposes to modify these requirements, along with their relevant compliance dates. Action EP£ proposes to allow certain small landfill owners/operators additional time to prepare for implementing the federal regulations. The proposal does not change the basic requirements for managing landfills. The standards continue to ensure the safe management of municipal solid waste. EPA proposes: To postpone the effective date of the federal standards, for existing, smaller landfills, from October 9, 1993 to April 9, 1994. This extension applies to landfills that: (1) accept 100 tons or less of waste per day; (2) are in a state that has submit- Proposed Extension of Some Effective Dates in Federal Landfill Regulations ------- ted an application to EPA for approval of its permit program by October 9, 1993; and (3) are not on the Superfund National Priorities List. Because of the recent court ruling, the Agency plans: • To delete the current exemption from the ground-water monitoring requirements, and to extend the effective date of the federal regulations to October 9, 1995, for those landfills that previously qualified for the exemption (see qualifications in 40 CFR 258.1(0). This additional time will give these small communities time to make practical, economic decisions about managing their solid waste. In addition, to the six-month extension for smaller landfills, the Agency proposes extensions regarding financial assurance and closure requirements for all existing landfills. This action proposes: • to delay the financial assurance requirements for one year, from, April 9, 1994 to April 9, 1995. This extra time should allow EPA to promulgate financial tests that provide significant cost savings to landfill owners and operators. • to extend the cover installation time for landfills that stop receiving waste before the effective date. These landfills may have until October 9, 1994, to install a cover that meets the federal requirements. Because the effective date of the federal regulations currently is set for October 9, 1993, the Agency needs to finalize this action as soon as possible. Comments on the proposal will be accepted only for 30 days following publication in the Federal Register. Interested parties are encouraged to provide comments on all aspects of this action. Contact For additional information or to order a copy of the Federal Register notice, contact the RCRA Hotline, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. EST. The national, toll-free number is (800) 424-9346; TDD (800) 553-7672 (hearing impaired); in Washington. D.C., the number is (703) 412-9810, TDD (703) 412-3323. Submit an original and two copies of comments to: RCRA Docket No. F-93-XMLP-FFFFF, U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste (OS-305), 401 M Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20460. The Docket Number must ap- pear on all correspondence. ------- |