RCRABrownflelils
Applying RCRA
Cleanup Reforms to
RCRA
•i
What Are RCRABrownfieldsP
EPA defines brownfields as real property, the expansion, redevelopment or reuse of
which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous
substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Brownfields can be located in urban, suburban, or
rural areas. Brownfields may be subject to regulation or cleanup under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) if the facilities actively managed material
that is defined as hazardous waste in the regulations. Examples of these facilities
include metal finishing, auto body and repair, dry cleaning, chemical manufacturers,
foundries, locomotive and railcar maintenance operations, steelworks, and other types of
facilities that, for example, treated hazardous waste to reduce its volume or remove its
hazardous characteristics, stored the waste in drums or tanks for over 90 days, or
disposed of it in on-site landfills or surface impoundments.
Contaminants present at these properties also may be subject to regulation or cleanup
under other statutes, including Superfund or the Toxic Substances Control Act. In
such instances, property owners/operators may have to comply directly with cleanup
requirements imposed by these programs. What makes the RCRA brownfields
effort unique is that it links the Brownfields Program with the RCRA Cleanup
Reforms to help local communities deal with contaminated, blighted properties that
may stand in the way of economic viability of the property, and, on occasion, the
community.
The RCRA Cleanup Reforms
To expedite RCRA corrective action, EPA initiated two rounds of RCRA Cleanup
Reforms. The Reforms build upon actions taken by EPA and the states in recent
years to accelerate cleanups by establishing an environment for program
implementors to be innovative and results-oriented. Specifically, the 1999 Reforms
were designed to achieve faster, focused, and more flexible cleanups. The 2001
Reforms built upon the 1999 Reforms and were designed to foster creative solutions
to cleanups. The intent of the reforms is to expedite cleanups at RCRA facilities,
including brownfields, while ensuring protection of human health and the environment.
Implementation of the reforms includes:
• issuing program guidance and tools;
• piloting innovative approaches to corrective action;
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Brownfields
may be subject
to regulation
or cleanup
under RCRA
if the facilities
actively
managed
hazardous
waste, as
defined in the
RCRA
regulations.
• developing training and outreach for program implementors, the regulated
community, and other stakeholders;
• providing more effective public access to cleanup information;
• enhancing opportunities for public involvement in cleanup and reuse and
redevelopment decisions; and
• capitalizing on redevelopment potential to expedite cleanups by supporting
RCRA Brownfields Prevention projects.
A fact sheet on these reforms can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/
hazwaste/ca/reforms .htm
Who Are the RCRA PlayersP
Developers
Lenders
(Communities)
RCRA
Owners/
Operators
What Are Some of the Products of the RCRA Reforms?
Results-Based Approaches to Corrective Action (draft), available at: http://
www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/ca/resource/guidance/gen_ca/results.htm.
Handbook of Groundwater Policies for RCRA Corrective Action (draft),
available at: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/ca/resource/guidance/gw/
gwhandbk/gwhndbk.htm.
Corrective Action Completion Guidance
correctiveaction/complete .pdf.
iraft), available at: http://www.epa.gov/
Management of Remediation Waste under RCRA (1998), available at http://
www.epa.gov/correctiveaction/resource.htm, summarizes guidance and policy on the
management of remediation waste. It discusses many of the rules and approaches
used to expedite the brownfields cleanup and redevelopment process.
"Comfort/Status " Letters. Developers and potential purchasers of RCRA properties
often seek reassurances that the facility has been successfully addressed and that
EPA does not intend to pursue additional corrective action at the facility. EPA is
working with states to identify methods of providing letters indicating the information
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5303W)
EPA 530-F-02-001
October 2002
www.epa.gov/osw/cleanup.htm
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known about a facility and outlining the state's or EPA's expected intent based upon
current knowledge. While it is understood that these letters do not act as a release from
liability in the event that additional information indicates there is a problem, they do
provide some useful information and a level of comfort. EPA has examples of letters
that have been used to spur cleanup and redevelopment at Superfund facilities and has
developed some generic drafts of letters as models for use at RCRA facilities.
What Are Some of the Flexibilities in RCRA Regulations
That Could Re Used at Rrownf ields SitesP
HWIR Media Rule (Hazardous Waste Identification Rule for Contaminated
Media) November 30, 1998 (63 FR 65874) http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/
id/hwirmdia.htm:
• makes it faster and easier for facilities to obtain permits for treating, storing, and
disposing of remediation wastes;
• provides that obtaining a permit at cleanup-only facilities will not subject the
owner/operator to facility-wide corrective action;
• creates a unit called a "staging pile" that allows more flexibility in temporarily
storing remediation waste during cleanup;
• excludes dredged materials from RCRA Subtitle C if they are managed under an
appropriate permit under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act
or the Clean Water Act; and
• makes it faster and easier for states to receive authorization when they update
their RCRA programs to incorporate revisions to the federal RCRA regulations.
CAMU rule (Corrective Action Management Unit and Temporary Unit
regulations) February 16, 1993 (55 FR 8658):
• creates two units designed to increase flexibility in the way remediation wastes
are managed; and
• EPA and authorized states may develop and impose site-specific design, operat-
ing, closure, and post-closure requirements for land-based CAMUs.
• Amendments to this rule were published in the Federal Register on January 22,
2002, and provide a more structured process for approving a CAMU and provide
more standards for the design and performance of the CAMU.
LDR rule (Land Disposal Restrictions Phase W rule) May 26, 1998 (63 FR
28556):
• amends the LDR treatment standards for soil contaminated with hazardous
waste and creates standards that are more technically and environmentally
appropriate to contaminated soils than those which currently apply.
Area of Contamination (AOC) approach (National Contingency Plan preamble)
March 8, 1990 (55 FR 8758-8760):
• allows contiguous areas of generally dispersed contamination to be considered
RCRA units (usually landfills);
• allows wastes to be consolidated or treated in situ within an AOC without
triggering land disposal restrictions or minimum technology requirements;
RCRA
Cleanup
Reforms
foster creative
solutions to
achieve faster,
focused, and
more flexible
cleanups.
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RCRABrownfields
• applies to any hazardous remediation waste (including non-media wastes) that
is in or on contiguous parcels;
• covers only consolidation and other in situ waste management techniques
carried out within an AOC; and
• ex situ waste management or the transfer of wastes from one area of con-
tamination to another may be addressed under CAMU provisions, above, or the
generator provisions found under 40 CFR 262.34.
Treatability variance approach promulgated August 17, 1988 (53 FR 31199)
and clarified December 5, 1997 (62 FR 64504):
• Regulations for site-specific LDR treatment variances allow EPA and autho-
rized states to establish a site-specific LDR treatment standard on a case-by-
case basis when a nationally applicable treatment standard is not achievable or
is inappropriate;
• Provides for public notice and a reasonable opportunity for public comment
before granting or denying a site-specific LDR treatment variance; and
• Since 1996, EPA has encouraged states to become authorized to approve
variances.
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