Container and waste pile standards for owners and operators of hazardous waste facilities: consolidated permit regulations--Environmental Protection Agency. Amendments to interim final rule

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is today promulgating amendments to the hazardous waste management regulations regarding the management of hazardous waste in containers and piles and associated permit regulations (40 CFR Part 264, Subparts I and L, and Part 122, Subpart B). These amendments better tailor the standards to the particular type of hazard posed by specific situations. The standards for containers are amended to waive the containment system requirements for wastes that do not contain free liquids, provided that the wastes are protected from contact with accumulated liquid. The standards for waste piles are amended to waive the containment system requirements for wastes that do not contain free liquids, provided that the pile is protected from precipitation by a structure and from surface water run-on and wind dispersal of the waste by the structure or some other means. The Agency believes these amendments believes these amendments will not reduce the level of protection of human health and the environment.     

Hazardous waste management system standards for owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities and EPA administered permit programs; hazardous waste permit program. Environmental Protection Agency. Interim final amendments to rule

On May 19, 1980, EPA promulgated regulations applicable to owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities which prohibited the landfill disposal of most containerized liquid waste or waste containing free liquid on and after November 19, 1981. Further on June 29, 1981, EPA amended its hazardous waste management regulations so as to extend the compliance date of the restriction on the landfill disposal of containerized liquid ignitable wastes to coincide with the compliance data of the general restriction on landfill disposal of liquids. The Agency is today extending the compliance date on both these requirements until May 26, 1982, and, in a separate action, is proposing amendments to these restrictions. This extension of compliance dates is provided for the sole purpose of allowing time to complete the rulemaking action on today's proposed amendments. The Agency is also today exempting from the requirements of the hazardous waste management regulations, the acts of adding absorbent material to hazardous waste in containers and adding hazardous waste to absorbent material in a container, at the time waste is first placed in the container, in order to reduce the free liquids in a container.     

Interim status standards for owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities--Environmental Protection Agency. Interim final rule and interim final amendments to rules and request for comments

The Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] has issued standards applicable to owners and operators of hazardous waste management facilities as required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act [RCRA]. One of these standards bans the disposal of most containerized liquid hazardous waste in landfills, effective November 19, 1981. As a result of reconsideration of this restriction, EPA is today promulgating an interim final rule to allow the disposal of small containers of liquid and solid hazardous waste in landfills provided that the wastes are placed in overpacked drums [lab packs] in the manner specified in today's rule. The purpose of today's rule is to provide an environmental sound disposal option for generators of small containers of hazardous wastes, such as laboratories.     

Hazardous waste management system; standards applicable to generators of hazardous waste; state program requirements. Environmental Protection Agency. Final rule

On February 26, 1980 and May 19, 1980, under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published regulations establishing a system to manage hazardous waste. Those regulations allowed hazardous waste generators to accumulate hazardous waste on-site without obtaining a permit or meeting financial responsibility requirements if they shipped the waste off-site within 90 days. On November 19, 1980, the Agency published an interim final rule which expanded the scope of the provision to include generators who treat, store or dispose of hazardous waste on-site. The final rule published today retains this change. As a result of public comments, the Agency is making several changes to the interim final rule. These changes (1) Clarify that the provision is applicable to all generators, including those who accumulate hazardous waste for the purpose of use, reuse, recycling and reclamation, (2) remove the requirement for use of DOT containers, (3) revise the labelling and marking requirements for wastes accumulated in containers and tanks; and (4) allow an extension to the 90-day accumulation limit in certain circumstances.     

The hazardous waste management system--Environmental Protection Agency. Interim final amendments to interim final and final rules

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires that EPA set regulatory standards for all facilities which treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste. In partial implementation of its requirement, on January 23, 1981, EPA set regulatory standards for incinerators that burn hazardous waste. These regulations were issued as "interim final," which means that, although they were issued in final form, the Agency invited public comment on them with a view to future amendment. Today, EPA is amending, on an interim final basis, certain of its regulations applicable to hazardous waste incineration facilities. Today's amendments include revisions to: the general standards for permitting hazardous waste incinerators (Part 264, Subpart O), published in the Federal Register on January 23, 1981; the interim status standards for hazardous waste incinerators (Part 265, Subpart O), revised on January 23, 1981; and the consolidated permit requirements for incinerators (Part 122), published on May 19, 1980 and January 23, 1981.U     

Hazardous waste management system; identification and listing of hazardous waste--EPA. Final rule and response to comments

On May 19, 1980, as part of its regulations implementing section 3001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA promulgated a series of criteria for listing wastes as hazardous. On July 19, 1991, the Agency proposed to conform the language of the regulation to reflect the Agency's intent and consistent interpretation of that regulation. Today's rule finalizes the proposed rule.     

Hazardous waste management system: standards applicable to generators of hazardous waste and standards applicable to owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities--Environmental Protection Agency. Proposed rule

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is today proposing amendments to its hazardous waste regulations under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These amendments would replace the annual reporting requirements for hazardous waste generators and owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, ad disposal (TSD) facilities with a biennial survey of representative samples of those populations. This approach will provide verifiable data on a wider range of topics, better serve EPA's long term regulatory needs under RCRA, and reduce significantly the information burden on the regulated community.     

Hazardous waste management system--Environmental Protection Agency. Notice of regulatory reform actions; request for comments

In response to Executive Order 12291 and the President's Task Force on Regulatory Relief, the Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing and reassessing the hazardous waste regulations developed under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). A variety of activities are underway that will simplify procedures and reduce paperwork, modify existing regulations to make them more workable and cost effective, and control new wastes and new processes. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of these activities and invite comments on the general approaches being taken.     

Interim status standards for owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities: Environmental Protection Agency. Proposed amendments to rule

On May 19, 1980, EPA promulgated regulations, applicable to owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities during interim status, which prohibited the landfill disposal of most containerized liquid waste or waste containing free liquid on and after November 19, 1981. As a result of issues raised by the regulated community with respect to this prohibition, the Agency is today proposing an amendment to this regulation to allow some containers holding free liquids to be disposed of in a landfill, in some circumstances. In a separate action in today's federal Register, EPA is providing a 90-day extension (from today's date) of the compliance date for the prohibition of landfill disposal of containerized liquid waste and the restrictions on the landfill disposal of liquid ignitable waste to allow time to complete this rulemaking action and to avoid immediately imposing requirements that might be changed as a result of this rulemaking action.     

Hazardous waste management; Environmental Protection Agency. Final rule

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended, provides for the development and implementation of a comprehensive program to protect human health and the environment from the improper management of hazardous waste. A fundamental premise of the statute is that human health and the environment will best be protected by careful management of the transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, in accordance with standards developed under the Act. In today's Federal Register, the Environmental Protection Agency is publishing several documents setting in motion a series of events which will culminate in full implementation of the hazardous waste control program. This document sets forth definitions of words and phrases which appear in the subsequent Parts as well as general guidance for the use of these regulations and provisions which are generally applicable to all Parts.     

Standards applicable to owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities: liability requirements. Environmental Protection Agency. Revised interim final rule

The Environmental Protection Agency is today revising regulations of January 12, 1981, on liability coverage requirements for hazardous waste facility owners or operators. Under these requirements, owners or operators must demonstrate liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage to third parties resulting from facility operations. The major revisions are: addition of the option of a financial test as a means of demonstrating liability coverage to satisfy the requirements; addition of the option of submitting a certificate of insurance as evidence of insurance; and changes in the requirements for the endorsement and certificate. In a future document, EPA will propose to delete two provisions of the January 12, 1981 regulations. These provisions are: the procedure to obtain a variance for liability coverage requirements; and the provision allowing an owner or operator to use State assumption of legal responsibility for liability coverage to satisfy the liability requirements. The January 12, 1981, regulations were issued under an accelerated schedule imposed by a court order. The revisions that are being made today are necessary to eliminate unworkable aspects of the previous regulations, improve their effectiveness, and allow reasonable flexibility in satisfying the requirements.     

The National Partnership for Environmental Priorities Program

The National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP) program was created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to reduce or eliminate the nation's production of hazardous wastes and products. The NPEP is a voluntary program that provides incentives to public, private, and federal organizations that minimize their use and generation of thirty-one priority chemicals. These chemicals are considered to be persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic in the environment and present health risks to human and ecological receptors. The USEPA estimates that 90 percent of priority chemicals are used or produced during manufacturing of various household and industrial products and, as a result, end up in municipal and industrial waste streams. Ultimately, these chemicals find their way back into the environment through wastewater discharges, incineration, or other disposal practices. The NPEP program supports the goals of the National Waste Minimalization Program by encouraging simple waste minimalization solutions such as recycling, replacement, or elimination of wastes or products that contain priority chemicals, and cradle-to-cradle management of waste. Although the USEPA does not limit waste minimalization practices to only the priority chemicals, the program has set specific goals to track the elimination of these thirty-one chemicals to the environment on an annual basis.     

Burning of hazardous waste in boilers and industrial furnaces--EPA. Final rule: corrections; technical amendments

On February 21, 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule to regulate air emissions from the burning of hazardous waste in boilers and industrial furnaces (56 FR 7134). Today's notice corrects typographical and editorial errors that appeared in the regulatory text, including corrections to appendices II and III, and adds two appendices, appendix IX and appendix X, to part 266. Appendices IX and X were not ready at the time of publication; therefore, a note was placed in the appropriate location in the rule to inform readers that these appendices were to be published at a later date. Copies of these appendices were, however, made available to the public through the RCRA Docket maintained at EPA and through the National Technical Information Service (NTIS).     

Hazardous waste management program: phase I interim authorization for Nebraska--Environmental Protection Agency, region VII. Phase I interim authorization

The State of Nebraska has applied for interim authorization of its hazardous waste program under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and EPA guidelines for the approval of State hazardous waste programs [40 CFR Part 123]. EPA has determined that the State's program meets all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements and is granting Phase I interim authorization to Nebraska to operate in its jurisdiction a hazardous waste program in lieu of Phase I of the Federal hazardous waste program.     

Consolidated permit regulations and hazardous waste management system: Environmental Protection Agency. Notice of issuance of regulation interpretation memorandum

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing today a Regulation Interpretation Memorandum (RIM) which provides official interpretation of the issue of whether a generator who accumulates hazardous waste pursuant to 40 CFR 262.34, may qualify for interim status after November 19, 1980. This issue arose when the requirements for submitting a Part A permit application (one of the prerequisites to qualifying for interim status) were amended on November 19, 1980. The provisions interpreted today are part of the Consolidated Permit Regulations promulgated under Subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended (RCRA).     

Acid Rain Program: general provisions and permits, allowance system, continuous emissions monitoring, excess emissions and administrative appeals--EPA. Final rule

Title IV of the Clean Air Act (the Act), as amended November 15, 1990, requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) to establish an Acid Rain Program to reduce the adverse effects of acidic deposition. To implement this statutory mandate, the Acid Rain Program requirements will be codified in seven regulations. This action delineates all or portions of five final regulations that were initially proposed December 3, 1991: General Provisions and Permits; the Allowance System; Continuous Emissions Monitoring; Excess Emissions Penalties; and Administrative Appeals. (The administrative appeals procedures were originally proposed as a subpart of the permits rule; EPA has decided to remove it from part 72 and place it in a separate part 78.) In addition to the final rules, this action includes a brief overview of the acid rain problem, summaries of major provisions of the proposed rules, the public's comments on these proposals, and summaries of the major changes that have been made in this final rule. DATES: These rules become effective February 10, 1993. The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the regulations is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of February 10, 1993.     

The traffic in garbage and hazardous wastes: an overview

The traffic in garbage and hazardous wastes is a huge illicit transnational business that involves a wide array of criminals, including private entities, corrupt public officials, and organized crime groups. The traffic in CFCs and radioactive materials and the chemical by-products of illicit crop cultivation and production are related problems with significant negative environmental and social consequences. Inelastic demand, price differentials among industrialized and developing nations, corruption, incongruent international regulations, a lack of political will, and the emergence of waste brokers are all factors that drive the illegal trade and inhibit law enforcement. While regulatory and criminal justice efforts have been mostly ineffective, technological innovations that reduce waste and the costs of safe disposal may limit opportunities for waste traffickers. The right mix of subsidies and taxation as well as monitoring and compliance at the local level could make legal disposal more attractive, and thus further inhibit criminal opportunities.     

Hazardous waste management programs; Florida: authorization for interim authorization phase I--Environmental Protection Agency. Notice of final determination

The State of Florida has applied for interim Authorization Phase I. EPA has reviewed Florida's application for Phase I and has determined that Florida's hazardous waste program is substantially equivalent to the Federal program covered by Phase I. The State of Florida is, hereby, granted Interim Authorization for Phase I to operate the State 's hazardous waste program, in lieu of the Federal program.     

State hazardous waste programs; procedures for revision of state RCRA programs--EPA. Proposed rule

EPA is today proposing to amend its requirements under 40 CFR 271.21(e) (formerly Section 123.13(e)) for the approval and revision of authorized state hazardous waste programs. One purpose is to ensure that states applying for final authorization under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, (RCRA) do not have to revise their programs and applications to respond to federal regulatory changes occurring while the states' applications are being prepared or processed. The second purpose is to provide all authorized states with one full year (or two years, if there is a need for state legislative action) from the effective date of amended federal regulations to make the revisions in their programs required by such federal amendments. This action would provide the state with an additional six months since the existing regulation requires that program revisions be made within one year (or two years) after the promulgation of amended federal regulations.