Many waste materials can be dangerous to human health and the environment if they are not properly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed. These hazardous wastes can cause fires and explosions, corrode metals, and can expose people to toxic chemicals, causing illness, injury, or death.

To eliminate, or at least minimize these threats, Congress enacted a law designed to ensure that hazardous waste is properly managed from the time it is created to the time it is disposed of. This law, enacted in 1976, is called the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act" (RCRA). RCRA establishes a set of rules for dealing with hazardous wastes. These rules define which hazardous wastes are subject to regulation and identify responsibilities for anyone who generates, transports, stores, treats, disposes of, or otherwise manages these wastes.

Does The RCRA Program Apply to Your Community?

Yes. Many of the activities of local governments generate hazardous waste. Vehicle maintenance shops often use solvents, corrosives and materials containing heavy metals such as chromium, cadmium, and lead, all of which are regulated under RCRA. Left-over paints, paint thinners, and other chemical-containing wastes from maintenance, grounds-keeping, and other local government activities all may fall under the scope of RCRA. Virtually anything you use or discard may be subject to RCRA regulation, so it is important for you to know how to identify hazardous waste, and know how to treat or dispose of it.

Actions Your Community Should Be Taking

In order to ensure that your community complies with the RCRA hazardous waste requirements, you must:

1. Be able to identify what is considered to be hazardous waste under RCRA, and
2. Know how to comply with all applicable RCRA regulations.

Identifying Hazardous Wastes

In order to know if you are subject to the RCRA hazardous waste requirements, you must first determine whether your waste actually meets the definition of "hazardous" waste. There are two ways in which wastes are considered hazardous; either:

1. they have a hazardous characteristic; or
2. they have been specifically listed as hazardous.

Wastes have a hazardous characteristic if they are ignitable, corrosive, reactive, or toxic. Wastes not exhibiting a hazardous characteristic may still be considered hazardous if specifically "listed" as hazardous by EPA. Several hundred chemicals, substances, and specific process wastes have been listed as hazardous by EPA.

Currently, if your community disposes of any quantity of a listed or a characteristic hazardous waste you must comply with all applicable RCRA regulations. Of listed hazardous waste, however, if EPA's new Hazardous Waste Identification Rule (HWIR) becomes final, you may be able to escape RCRA regulation if the quantities of listed waste you generate are small enough.

Complying With RCRA Regulations

Once you have established that you are managing a hazardous waste, you must then determine what RCRA regulations you are subject to. This determination rests largely on your role in the management of the waste: are you generating the waste, transporting it, or treating, storing, and/or disposing of it?

If you are a generator, the extent of your regulation depends on the volume of waste you generate.

• Large quantity generators, facilities that generate more than 1,000 kilograms (five 55 gallon drums) per month of any hazardous waste or more than one kilogram (approximate1y 2.2 pounds) of any "acute" hazardous waste (e.g., arsenic trioxide, or copper cyanides), are subject to all RCRA requirements.
• Small quantity generators, facilities that generate between 100 and 1,000 kilograms per month of hazardous waste, are subject to only some of the RCRA restrictions.
• Conditionally exempt small quantity generators, facilities that generate under 100 kilograms of hazardous waste per month, are exempt from virtually all RCRA requirements.

It is important to note that some states regulate all generators of hazardous waste equally, regardless of the volume of waste they generate per month, and some states classify generators by waste type, rather than by volume. Check with your state hazardous waste office to determine what regulations apply to you.

Your community is also likely to encounter RCRA regulations if it operates a trash collection system and/or a landfill. Normally, because household wastes are exempt from the hazardous waste regulations, your landfill would be regulated under a program referred to as the "Subtitle D Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Criteria" (for more information on the regulations that apply to Municipal Solid Waste Landfills, please refer to page 54 of this Guide). However, if your landfill accepts any commercial waste materials collected and/or co?disposed with the household materials, the entire facility must be treated as a hazardous waste disposal facility, and you will be subject to all of the RCRA hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal (TSD) facility requirements. Check with your state or the RCRA Hotline listed below for more information.

Generally speaking, if you manage hazardous wastes in any capacity, you should:

• Notify EPA and/or the state hazardous waste office and receive an "EPA RCRA identification number."
• Ensure you are handling hazardous materials properly and are meeting all applicable RCRA requirements.
• Try to minimize your compliance requirements under RCRA by identifying ways to reduce or recycle chemicals that are generating hazardous waste, finding non-toxic substitute products for hazardous chemicals, and avoiding purchasing and housing excess stores of regulated chemicals.
• Become familiar with any industrial facilities in or near your community in order to understand how they are managing their hazardous wastes.

Additional Information

The RCRA regulations are published in Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 260 through Part 272. Part 261 defines what materials are hazardous waste and therefore subject to the RCRA requirements. The proposed HWIR is published at 60 Federal Register 66343.

Many states have been authorized by EPA to apply and enforce the federal RCRA hazardous waste requirements. You may wish to contact your state environmental agency to get more information on how your state offices are involved.

EPA has established a toll free RCRA Hotline to answer questions regarding the applicability or interpretation of the RCRA regulations.

Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. EST, Monday-Friday. Telephone: 1/800/424-9346 TDD (hearing impaired): 1/800/553-7672 Washington metro area: 703/920-9810 TDD: 703/486-3323

(See Resource Section for hazardous waste contacts)