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

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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.

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