Hazardous Waste Generator Regulations Compendium
Volume 15: Spills and Releases of Hazardous Waste
January 2022
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery
Materials Recovery and Waste Management Division
United States
Environmental Protection
hI Agency
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Main Index
Volume 15: Spills and Releases of Hazardous Waste
Introduction
Resource View
Resources by Document Category
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) View Index
CFR View
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This document includes the following sections:
• Resource View - outlines the document types by which resources are organized.
• Resources by Document Category - lists resources for each document category outlined
in the Resource View.
• CFR View - provides relevant Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) language reformatted
for easy reading.
These three main sections are cross-referenced, i.e., each section includes hyperlinks to the other
sections. In addition, each section and its accompanying index include a hyperlink to the Main
Index that allows the user to easily navigate from one section to another.
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Introduction
Return to: Main Index
About the Compendium
The Hazardous Waste Generator Regulations Compendium serves as a user-friendly reference to
assist regulators, industrial facilities generating and managing solid and hazardous wastes, and
the general public in locating resources relevant to specific regulatory topics within the federal
hazardous waste generator program.
The objective of this document is to consolidate and streamline the various resources on a topic
into a user-friendly format, including references to relevant CFR language, Federal Register (FR)
notices, documents posted on RCRA Online (i.e., guidance in the form of memoranda issued by
EPA, Q&As, and other publications), and other resources, such as Frequent Questions webpages.
The Compendium has been divided into multiple volumes that are available here:
www.epa.gov/hwgenerators/hazardous-waste-generator-regulations-compendium.
This document does not change any of the existing solid or hazardous waste requirements, nor
does it offer an exhaustive list of relevant resources, as new resources may come into being or
older ones may be relevant to a specific issue, but not included. Certain available resources, such
as superseded RCRA Online documents, have not been referenced. Rather than including or
reproducing referenced resources, this document generally provides hyperlinks to individual
resources. As an exception, the Compendium does include relevant sections of the most current
CFR regulatory language (as of the date on the cover of the Compendium). The included CFR
language has been reformatted to make it easier to read, but it is not a substitute for the official
CFR itself, or for the requirements in the CFR. The Government Printing Office frequently
updates the e-CFR website; where appropriate, hyperlinks to the respective CFR section at the e-
CFR website are provided.
Most states are authorized to administer their own RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste program.
Therefore, states may have their own set of regulations that apply in lieu of federal regulations.
State regulations must be at least as stringent as the federal standards, but they can be more
stringent. Please visit the following website to determine if the state regulatory program is
different from the federal program: https://www.epa.gov/hwgenerators/links-hazardous-waste-
programs-and-us-state-environmental-agencies, and check with your state agency.
About the Spills and Releases of Hazardous Waste Volume
This volume of the Compendium lists resources pertaining to the spills and releases of hazardous
waste provisions that are found at 40 CFR Part 261 and 262. This section describes the generator
requirements pertaining to spills and releases of hazardous waste. For more information
regarding other topics that apply to facilities generating hazardous waste, refer to other volumes
of the Compendium and EPA's Hazardous Waste Generators Webpage.
Please note that the Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements rule of 2016 created new sections
in Part 262, which contains the regulations pertaining to generators. Accordingly, some citations
in the generator requirements in older resources in this Compendium are outdated, including
references to § 261.5, § 262.34, and others. Please see the preamble to the final Hazardous Waste
Generator Improvements rule for a discussion of the reorganization of the regulations (81 FR
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85735-85740, November 28, 2016). For a specific crosswalk of the regulation citation changes,
refer to www.epa.gov/hwgenerators/hazardous-waste-generator-regulations-crosswalk.
For more information on these regulations and any other questions or comments concerning this
document, please contact EPA's Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery:
Kathy Lett
lett.kathy@epa.gov
Mary Beth Sheridan
sheridan.marybeth@epa.gov
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (MC: 5304T)
Washington, DC 20460
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Resource View
Return to: Main Index
Spills and Releases of Hazardous Waste
Resource Index:
• Resource Type:
o EPA Memoranda
o Questions and Answers (O&As)
o Federal Register Notices
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Resources by Document Category
Return to: Main Index
RCRA
Document Online/ Document
Category Resource Resource Title Date Key word(s) Notes
Memoranda
12016
Program
Implementation
Guidance on
Issuance of
Provisional EPA
I.D. Numbers
11/26/1980
EPA ID Numbers
12298
Tanks Used for
Emergency
Containment
09/06/1984
Tanks; Secondary
Containment
11087
Accumulation of
Secondary
Material -
Abandoned vs.
Disposed of
07/01/1985
Abandoned Waste;
Secondary Material;
Speculative
Accumulation;
Recycling
11161
Request for
Comment on
Memorandum
Concerning the
Cleanup of
Residues of
Commercial
Chemical Products
Within a
Warehouse
Storage Area
06/03/1986
Pesticides; Immediate
Response; Level of
Cleanup
12748
Responses to
Accidental Spills
of Listed or
Characteristic
Hazardous Wastes
09/29/1986
Discharges;
Contingency Plan; On-
Site Treatment;
Transportation; Cleanup;
Immediate Response
11291
Materials
Contaminated with
Pesticide Products
09/09/1987
Pesticide Spill; Normal
Use; Disposal; Delisting
11348
Chlordane and
Heptachlor
Pesticide Waste
05/03/1988
P-Waste; U-Waste;
Pesticides; Abandoned
Waste
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RCRA
Document Online/ Document
Category Resource Resource Title Date Key word(s) Notes
11398
Regulatory Status
of Solvent,
"Ultima-Gold"
02/22/1989
P-Waste; U-Waste;
Commercial Chemical
Product (CCP); Spill
Residue
In addition to
instructions
specific to
Ultima-Gold,
this resource
also includes
information
applicable to
any CCP.
11492
End-Users of
Chlordimeform
Exemption
02/14/1990
Exemption; End-Users;
Abandoned Waste; Solid
Wastes
13513
Concurrence on
the Use of Section
7003 to Compel
the Clean-up of an
Oil Spill
11/07/1991
Disposal; RCRA 7003
authority; Characteristic
Hazardous Waste; Oil
Pollution Act (OPA)
13568
Regulatory Status
of Soils
Contaminated
from Releases of
Commercial
Chemical Products
10/15/1992
Commercial Chemical
Products; Contaminated
Soil; Contained-In
Policy
11713
Regulatory Status
of Recovered
Petroleum Product
11/25/1992
"Free Product"; Solid
Waste; Recycling
14095
Regulatory
Determination on
the Status of
Certain
Manufacturing
Wastes
07/24/1997
Dissolution Laboratory
Waste; Washdown
Water; Integrity Testing;
Protective Equipment;
Wastewater; Ventilation
System Air Filters
14650
Regulatory Status
of Gasoline Spills
02/02/1998
Gasoline; Solid Waste;
Level of Cleanup; Non-
Listed Chemical
Products
14503
Regulatory Status
of Petroleum
Product Contained
In Absorbent Pads
02/19/1999
Absorbent Pads,
Petroleum Product,
Commercial Chemical
Products, Reclamation
14547
Land Disposal
Restriction
Requirements for
Characteristic
Wastes
05/15/2001
Characteristic
Hazardous Waste;
Prompt Cleanup;
Immediate Response;
Illegal Dilution
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Document
Category
RCRA
Online/
Resource
Resource Title
Document
Date
Keyword(s)
Notes
14826
Closed Container
Guidance:
Questions and
Answers
11/13/2011
Spill Prevention; Closed
Containers; Best
Management Practices
14921
Letter to the
Honorable
Katherine
Hammack from
Mathy Stanislaus
04/30/2012
Abandoned Waste;
Pesticides
14837
Checklist to Assist
in Evaluating
Whether
Commercial
Products are Solid
and Hazardous
Waste Under the
Resource
Conservation and
Recovery Act
05/14/2013
Abandoned Wastes;
Commercial Chemical
Product (CCP)
14892
Safe Handling,
Storage, and
Treatment of
Waste Fireworks
07/06/2017
Inspections; Personnel
Training; Preparedness
and Prevention;
Maintenance; Spills
Q&As
12489
Solvent Mixture
Rule
11/01/1985
Mixed Waste;
Characteristic
Hazardous Waste
13743
Solid Waste
Determination for
Spilled
Commercial
Chemical Products
05/01/1995
Commercial Chemical
Products; Spill Residue;
Legitimate Recycling
13335
40 CFR Section
261.33: Spills of
Commercial
Chemical Products
11/01/1998
Spill Residues;
Contaminated Soils;
Commercial Chemical
Products
14560
Universal Waste
Release Response
06/01/2001
Definition of Universal
Waste Pesticide; Spilled
Pesticide; Cleanup
Residue
Federal
Register
Notices
45 FR
76626
Hazardous Waste
Management
System
11/19/1980
Definition of Spill; Spill
Response; Immediate
Response
See preamble
discussion on
page 76629
and
regulatory
language on
page 76630.
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Document
Category
RCRA
Online/
Resource
Resource Title
Document
Date
Keyword(s)
Notes
55 FR
Land Disposal
06/01/1990
Spill Residues;
See preamble
22520
Restrictions for
Commercial Chemical
discussion on
Third
Products; Legitimate
page 22671.
Third Scheduled
Recycling
Wastes
81 FR
85732
Hazardous Waste
Generator
Improvements
Rule
11/28/2016
Spills; Releases;
Abandoned Waste;
Small Quantity
Generators (SQGs);
Large Quantity
Generators (LQGs)
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CFR View Index
Return to: Main Index
CFR Location
Title/Topic
261.2(b) &
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CFR View
Return to: Main Index
NOTE: The CFR language may have been excerpted, reformatted and appended with
subheadings and explanations/terms in brackets. The most relevant language has been
highlighted for the reader's convenience.
§ 261.2(b) & (g) Definition of Solid Waste
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(b) Materials are solid waste if they are abandoned by being:
(1) Disposed of; or
(2) Burned or incinerated; or
(3) Accumulated, stored, or treated (but not recycled) before or in lieu of being
abandoned by being disposed of, burned or incinerated; or
(4) [Sham recycled, as explained in paragraph (g)]
(g) Sham recycling. A hazardous secondary material found to be sham recycled is
considered discarded and a solid waste. Sham recycling is recycling that is not legitimate
recycling as defined in § 260.43.
§ 260.43 Legitimate Recycling of Hazardous Secondary Materials
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(a) Recycling of hazardous secondary materials for the purpose of the exclusions or
exemptions from the hazardous waste regulations must be legitimate. Hazardous secondary
material that is not legitimately recycled is discarded material and is a solid waste. In
determining if their recycling is legitimate, persons must address all the requirements of
this paragraph and must consider the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section.
(1) Legitimate recycling must involve a hazardous secondary material that provides
a useful contribution to the recycling process or to a product or intermediate of the
recycling process. The hazardous secondary material provides a useful contribution
if it:
(i) Contributes valuable ingredients to a product or intermediate; or
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(ii) Replaces a catalyst or carrier in the recycling process; or
(iii) Is the source of a valuable constituent recovered in the recycling
process; or
(iv) Is recovered or regenerated by the recycling process; or
(v) Is used as an effective substitute for a commercial product.
(2) The recycling process must produce a valuable product or intermediate. The
product or intermediate is valuable if it is:
(i) Sold to a third party; or
(ii) Used by the recycler or the generator as an effective substitute for a
commercial product or as an ingredient or intermediate in an industrial
process.
(3) The generator and the recycler must manage the hazardous secondary material
as a valuable commodity when it is under their control. Where there is an analogous
raw material, the hazardous secondary material must be managed, at a minimum,
in a manner consistent with the management of the raw material or in an equally
protective manner. Where there is no analogous raw material, the hazardous
secondary material must be contained. Hazardous secondary materials that are
released to the environment and are not recovered immediately are discarded.
(b) The following factor must be considered in making a determination as to the overall
legitimacy of a specific recycling activity.
(1) The product of the recycling process does not:
(i) Contain significant concentrations of any hazardous constituents found
in appendix VIII of part 261 that are not found in analogous products; or
(ii) Contain concentrations of hazardous constituents found in appendix
VIII of part 261 at levels that are significantly elevated from those found in
analogous products, or
(iii) Exhibit a hazardous characteristic (as defined in part 261 subpart C)
that analogous products do not exhibit.
(2) In making a determination that a hazardous secondary material is legitimately
recycled, persons must evaluate all factors and consider legitimacy as a whole. If,
after careful evaluation of these considerations, the factor in this paragraph is not
met, then this fact may be an indication that the material is not legitimately
recycled. However, the factor in this paragraph does not have to be met for the
recycling to be considered legitimate. In evaluating the extent to which this factor
is met and in determining whether a process that does not meet this factor is still
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legitimate, persons can consider exposure from toxics in the product, the
bioavailability of the toxics in the product and other relevant considerations.
§ 262.16(b)(9) Emergency Procedures
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(9) The small quantity generator complies with the following conditions for those areas of
the generator facility where hazardous waste is generated and accumulated:
(i) At all times there must be at least one employee either on the premises or on call
(i.e., available to respond to an emergency by reaching the facility within a short period of
time) with the responsibility for coordinating all emergency response measures specified
in paragraph (b)(9)(iv) of this section. This employee is the emergency coordinator.
(ii) The small quantity generator must post the following information next to telephones or
in areas directly involved in the generation and accumulation of hazardous waste:
(A) The name and emergency telephone number of the emergency coordinator;
(B) Location of fire extinguishers and spill control material, and, if present, fire alarm;
and
(C) The telephone number of the fire department, unless the facility has a direct alarm.
(iii) The small quantity generator must ensure that all employees are thoroughly familiar
with proper waste handling and emergency procedures, relevant to their responsibilities
during normal facility operations and emergencies;
(iv) The emergency coordinator or his designee must respond to any emergencies that arise.
The applicable responses are as follows:
(A) In the event of a fire, call the fire department or attempt to extinguish it using a fire
extinguisher;
(B) In the event of a spill, the small quantity generator is responsible for containing the
flow of hazardous waste to the extent possible, and as soon as is practicable, cleaning up
the hazardous waste and any contaminated materials or soil. Such containment and
cleanup can be conducted either by the small quantity generator or by a contractor on
behalf of the small quantity generator;
(C) In the event of a fire, explosion, or other release that could threaten human health
outside the facility or when the small quantity generator has knowledge that a spill has
reached surface water, the small quantity generator must immediately notify the National
Response Center (using their 24-hour toll free number 800/424-8802). The report must
include the following information:
(1) The name, address, and U.S. EPA identification number of the small quantity
generator;
(2) Date, time, and type of incident (e.g., spill or fire);
(3) Quantity and type of hazardous waste involved in the incident;
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(4) Extent of injuries, if any; and
(5) Estimated quantity and disposition of recovered materials, if any.
§ 262.17(a)(6) Emergency Procedures
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(6) The large quantity generator complies with the standards in subpart M of this part,
Preparedness, Prevention and Emergency Procedures for Large Quantity Generators.
§ 262.260 Purpose and Implementation of Contingency Plan
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(a) A large quantity generator must have a contingency plan for the facility. The
contingency plan must be designed to minimize hazards to human health or the
environment from fires, explosions, or any unplanned sudden or non-sudden release of
hazardous waste or hazardous waste constituents to air, soil, or surface water.
(b) The provisions of the plan must be carried out immediately whenever there is a fire,
explosion, or release of hazardous waste or hazardous waste constituents which could
threaten human health or the environment.
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