CALL CENTER QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
RCRA
1. Regulatory Status of
Environmental Media that Has
Entered a Leaking Underground
Storage Tank
Petroleum-contaminated media and
debris generated from petroleum
underground storage tank (UST) corrective
action activities that exhibit the toxicity
characteristic for waste codes DO 18 through
D043 only, are excludedfrom the definition
of hazardous waste (40 CFR §261.4(b)(10)).
Does this exclusion apply to environmental
media contaminated as a result of migration
into a petroleum UST?
Environmental media contaminated as a
result of migration into a petroleum UST are
not eligible for the exclusion in
§261.4(b)(10). The exclusion applies to all
contaminated media and debris generated in
response to known or suspected releases
from petroleum UST systems. The term
contaminated media includes naturally-
occurring substances such as soil,
groundwater, surface water, and air (58 FR
8504, 8505; February 12,1993). The term
debris means solid material exceeding a 60
nam (2.5 inch) particle size that is intended
for disposal and that is a manufactured
object, plant or animal matter, or natural
geologic material (§268.2(g)).
Contamination of media or debris entering a
UST is not due to a petroleum release from
the tank system; rather, the contamination
results from the petroleum contents within
the UST. Therefore, contaminated media or
debris inside the UST would not qualify for
the exclusion and should be managed as
hazardous waste if it exhibits any
characteristics of hazardous waste.
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