Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Encyclopedia
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), enacted in 1976, is the principal Federal law
in the United States
governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste
.
enacted RCRA to address the increasing problems the nation faced from its growing volume of municipal and industrial waste. RCRA amended the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965. It set national goals for:
(EPA) has published waste management regulation
s, which are codified in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations
at parts 239 through 282. Regulations regarding management of hazardous waste begin in part 260. As noted below, most states
have enacted laws and created regulations that are at least as stringent as the federal regulations. Furthermore, the RCRA statute authorizes states to carry out many of the functions of the federal law through their own hazardous waste programs (as well as their state laws) if such programs have been approved by the EPA.
from industrial
and municipal
waste water facilities and drinking water treatment
plants.
The operation of underground storage tanks (USTs) became subject to the RCRA regulatory program with enactment of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA). At that time there were about 2.1 million tanks subject to federal regulation, and the EPA program led to closure and removal of most substandard tanks. As of 2009 there were approximately 600,000 active USTs at 223,000 sites subject to federal regulation.
Regulatory requirements
The federal UST regulations cover tanks storing petroleum
or listed hazardous substances, and define the types of tanks permitted. EPA established a tank notification system to keep track of UST status. UST regulatory programs are principally administered by state and U.S. territorial agencies.
The regulations set standards for:
The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986
(SARA) required owners and operators of USTs to ensure corrective action is completed when a tank is in need of repair, or removal, when it is necessary to protect human health and the environment. It is also recommended that above-ground storage tanks are used whenever possible.
, New Jersey
, Connecticut
, Rhode Island
) and Puerto Rico
, and expired on March 22, 1991. (See Medical Waste Tracking Act
.) If determined to be hazardous, medical waste is currently regulated by RCRA Subtitle C for hazardous wastes.
, as well as a trust fund for cleanup activities. In general CERCLA applies to contaminated sites, while RCRA's focus is on controlling the ongoing generation and management of particular waste streams. RCRA, like CERCLA, has provisions to require cleanup of contaminated sites that occurred in the past.
In 1984 Congress expanded the scope of RCRA with the enactment of HSWA. The amendments strengthened the law by covering small quantity generators of hazardous waste and establishing requirements for hazardous waste incinerators
, and the closing of substandard landfills.
In 1986, SARA addressed cleanup of leaking USTs and other leaking waste storage facilities. The amendments established a trust fund to pay for the cleanup of leaking UST sites where responsible parties cannot be identified.
The Land Disposal Program Flexibility Act of 1996 allowed some flexibility in the procedures for land disposal of certain wastes. For example, a waste is not subject to land disposal restrictions if it is sent to an industrial wastewater treatment
facility, a municipal sewage treatment
plant, or is treated in a "zero discharge" facility.
The permitting requirements for TSDFs appear in 40 CFR Parts 264 and 270. TSDFs manage (treat, store, or dispose) hazardous wastes in units that may include: container storage areas, tanks, surface impoundments, waste piles, land treatment units, landfills, incinerators, containment buildings, and/or drip pads. The unit-specific permitting and operational requirements are described in further detail in 40 CFR Part 264, Subparts J through DD.
Federal law
Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a group of political units, such as states or provinces join together in a federation, surrendering their individual sovereignty and many powers to the central government while...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste
Hazardous waste
A hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known...
.
History and Goals
CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
enacted RCRA to address the increasing problems the nation faced from its growing volume of municipal and industrial waste. RCRA amended the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965. It set national goals for:
- Protecting human health and the natural environmentNatural environmentThe natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
from the potential hazards of waste disposal. - Energy conservationEnergy conservationEnergy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources...
and natural resourceNatural resourceNatural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
s. - Reducing the amount of waste generated, through source reductionSource reductionSource reduction refers to any change in the design, manufacture, purchase, or use of materials or products to reduce their amount or toxicity before they become municipal solid waste.- Synonyms :...
and recyclingRecyclingRecycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse... - Ensuring the management of wasteWaste managementWaste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
in an environmentally sound manner.
Implementation
The U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyUnited States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) has published waste management regulation
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
s, which are codified in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations
Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations
Title 40 is a part of the United States Code of Federal Regulations. Title 40 arranges mainly environmental regulations that were promulgated by the US Environmental Protection Agency , based on the provisions of United States laws...
at parts 239 through 282. Regulations regarding management of hazardous waste begin in part 260. As noted below, most states
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
have enacted laws and created regulations that are at least as stringent as the federal regulations. Furthermore, the RCRA statute authorizes states to carry out many of the functions of the federal law through their own hazardous waste programs (as well as their state laws) if such programs have been approved by the EPA.
Subtitle A: General Provisions
- Congressional Findings; Objectives and National Policy
- Definitions
- Interstate Cooperation; Application of Act and Integration with Other Acts
- Financial Disclosure; Solid Waste Management Information and Guidelines
Subtitle B: Office of Solid Waste; Authorities of the Administrator
- Office of Solid Waste and Interagency Coordinating Committee
- Authorities of EPA Administrator
- Resource Recovery and Conservation Panels; Grants
- Annual Report; Office of Ombudsman
Subtitle C: "Cradle to Grave" requirements
While RCRA handles many regulatory functions of hazardous and non-hazardous waste, arguably its most notable provisions regard the Subtitle C program which tracks the progress of hazardous wastes from their point of generation, their transport, and their treatment and/or disposal. Due to the extensive tracking elements at all points of the life of the hazardous waste, the overall process has become known as the "cradle to grave" system. The program exacts stringent bookkeeping and reporting requirements on generators, transporters, and operators of treatment, storage and disposal facilities handling hazardous waste.Subtitle D: Non-hazardous Solid Wastes
Non-hazardous solid wastes include certain hazardous wastes which are exempted from the Subtitle C regulations, such as hazardous wastes from households and from conditionally-exempt small quantity generators. Subtitle D also includes garbage (e.g., food containers, coffee grounds), non-recycled household appliances, residue from incinerated automobile tires, refuse such as metal scrap, construction materials, and sludgeSludge
Sludge refers to the residual, semi-solid material left from industrial wastewater, or sewage treatment processes. It can also refer to the settled suspension obtained from conventional drinking water treatment, and numerous other industrial processes...
from industrial
Industrial wastewater treatment
Industrial wastewater treatment covers the mechanisms and processes used to treat waters that have been contaminated in some way by anthropogenic industrial or commercial activities prior to its release into the environment or its re-use....
and municipal
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
waste water facilities and drinking water treatment
Water purification
Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from contaminated water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose...
plants.
Subtitle E: Dept of Commerce Responsibilities
- Development of Specifications for Secondary Materials; Development of Markets for Recovered Materials
- Technology Promotion
Subtitle F: Federal Responsibilities
- Application of Federal, State and Local Law to Federal Facilities
- Federal Procurement
- Cooperation with EPA; Applicability of Solid Waste Disposal Guidelines to Executive Agencies
Subtitle G: Miscellaneous Provisions
- WhistleblowerWhistleblowerA whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
protection. Employees in the US who believe they were fired or suffered another adverse action related to enforcement of this law have 30 days to file a written complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health AdministrationOccupational Safety and Health AdministrationThe United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress of the United States under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970...
. - Citizen Suits; Imminent Hazard Suits
- Petition for Regulations; Public Participation
Subtitle H: Research, Development, Demonstration and Information
- Research, Demonstrations, Training; Special Studies
- Coordination, Collection, Dissemination of Information
Subtitle I: Underground Storage Tanks
BackgroundThe operation of underground storage tanks (USTs) became subject to the RCRA regulatory program with enactment of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA). At that time there were about 2.1 million tanks subject to federal regulation, and the EPA program led to closure and removal of most substandard tanks. As of 2009 there were approximately 600,000 active USTs at 223,000 sites subject to federal regulation.
Regulatory requirements
The federal UST regulations cover tanks storing petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
or listed hazardous substances, and define the types of tanks permitted. EPA established a tank notification system to keep track of UST status. UST regulatory programs are principally administered by state and U.S. territorial agencies.
The regulations set standards for:
- GroundwaterGroundwaterGroundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
monitoring - Double liners
- Release detection, prevention and correction
- Spill control
- Overfill control (for petroleum products)
- Restrictions on land disposalLand disposal unitA land disposal unit, or LDU, is a site in which hazardous waste is remedied through natural and man-made processes.Types of LDUs for hazardous waste disposal :* Landfill* Surface impoundment* Waste pile* Land treatment unit...
of untreatable hazardous waste products.
The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
(SARA) required owners and operators of USTs to ensure corrective action is completed when a tank is in need of repair, or removal, when it is necessary to protect human health and the environment. It is also recommended that above-ground storage tanks are used whenever possible.
Subtitle J: Medical Waste (expired)
RCRA Subtitle J regulated medical waste in four states (New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
) and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, and expired on March 22, 1991. (See Medical Waste Tracking Act
Medical Waste Tracking Act
The Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988 is a United States federal law that addressed the handling and disposal of medical waste in coastal areas...
.) If determined to be hazardous, medical waste is currently regulated by RCRA Subtitle C for hazardous wastes.
Amendments and related legislation
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as "Superfund," was enacted in 1980 to address the problem of remediating abandoned hazardous waste sites, by establishing legal liabilityLegal liability
Legal liability is the legal bound obligation to pay debts.* In law a person is said to be legally liable when they are financially and legally responsible for something. Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law. See Strict liability. Under English law, with the passing of the Theft...
, as well as a trust fund for cleanup activities. In general CERCLA applies to contaminated sites, while RCRA's focus is on controlling the ongoing generation and management of particular waste streams. RCRA, like CERCLA, has provisions to require cleanup of contaminated sites that occurred in the past.
In 1984 Congress expanded the scope of RCRA with the enactment of HSWA. The amendments strengthened the law by covering small quantity generators of hazardous waste and establishing requirements for hazardous waste incinerators
Incineration
Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials. Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment systems are described as "thermal treatment". Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas, and...
, and the closing of substandard landfills.
In 1986, SARA addressed cleanup of leaking USTs and other leaking waste storage facilities. The amendments established a trust fund to pay for the cleanup of leaking UST sites where responsible parties cannot be identified.
The Land Disposal Program Flexibility Act of 1996 allowed some flexibility in the procedures for land disposal of certain wastes. For example, a waste is not subject to land disposal restrictions if it is sent to an industrial wastewater treatment
Industrial wastewater treatment
Industrial wastewater treatment covers the mechanisms and processes used to treat waters that have been contaminated in some way by anthropogenic industrial or commercial activities prior to its release into the environment or its re-use....
facility, a municipal sewage treatment
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
plant, or is treated in a "zero discharge" facility.
Treatment, storage and disposal facility permits
Treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) manage hazardous wastes under RCRA Subtitle C and generally must have a permit in order to operate. While most facilities have RCRA permits, some continue to operate under what is called "interim status." Interim status requirements appear in 40 CFR Part 265.The permitting requirements for TSDFs appear in 40 CFR Parts 264 and 270. TSDFs manage (treat, store, or dispose) hazardous wastes in units that may include: container storage areas, tanks, surface impoundments, waste piles, land treatment units, landfills, incinerators, containment buildings, and/or drip pads. The unit-specific permitting and operational requirements are described in further detail in 40 CFR Part 264, Subparts J through DD.
See also
- Solid waste policy in the United StatesSolid waste policy in the United StatesSolid waste policy in the United States is aimed at developing and implementing proper mechanisms to effectively manage solid waste. For solid waste policy to be effective, inputs should come from stakeholders, including citizens, businesses, community based organizations, non governmental...
- Clean Water ActClean Water ActThe Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that...
- Formerly Used Defense SitesFormerly Used Defense SitesFormerly Used Defense Sites is a U.S. military program which is responsible for environmental restoration of all properties that were owned by, leased to, or otherwise possessed by the United States and under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense. There are over 9,800 sites in the United...
- Hazardous waste in the United StatesHazardous waste in the United StatesUnder United States environmental policy, a hazardous waste is a waste that has the potential to:*cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible illness; or*pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human...
External links
- RCRA Online: database of documents covering a wide range of RCRA issues and topics
- "Hazardous Waste Permitting Process: A Citizens Guide" - EPA
- Collected Papers of William Sanjour, a retired EPA employee and whistleblower