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What is RCRA?
RCRA stands for the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act of 1976. Congress outlined four major programs in
RCRA, including:
- Solid Waste (Subtitle D): Focuses on traditional non
hazardous solid waste, such as municipal garbage and industrial
waste that is not classified as hazardous waste;
- Hazardous Waste (Subtitle C): Requires EPA to develop
and manage a nationwide program that identifies wastes
that are hazardous and set standards for safely managing this waste from
the moment it is generated, through storage, transportation,
recycling, treatment, and ultimate disposal. Other components
of the hazardous waste program are described here;
- Medical Waste (Subtitle J): Lays out a two year pilot
program to track the generation and management path of
infectious waste;
- Underground Storage Tanks (UST--Subtitle I): Requires
EPA to establish standards for the design and operation
of USTs to prevent leaks into the ground.
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Amount of Waste Generated per Month
Determines Generator Status
Question: An individual generates 75 kg
of non-acutely hazardous waste each month from January to
November. Instead of shipping this waste off site for disposal,
the generator accumulates the waste on site in containers. In December,
the generator produces an additional 75 kg of non- acutely hazardous waste
and hires a transporter to ship a total of 900 kg off site
for treatment and disposal. Is this generator subject to
the conditionally exempt small quantity generator (CESQG)
requirements or the small quantity generator (SQG) regulations
during the month of December?
Answer: This generator is subject to the
CESQG regulations during the month of December because it
generated no more than 100 kg of non-acutely hazardous waste in
that month and accumulated no more than 1,000 kg of non-acutely
hazardous waste on site at any one time (40 CFR §261.5).
Generator status is based upon the amount of waste generated per
calendar month and the total amount accumulated on site at any one time.
The amount of waste shipped off site at any one time does
not affect generator status, provided the waste is shipped
off site prior to exceeding accumulation limits. If the generator
accumulates more than a total of 1,000 kg of hazardous waste
on site at any one time, then it would be subject to all
provisions applicable to SQGs, including the § 262.34(d)
accumulation standards.
In addition, this individual can generate 1 kg or less of
acutely hazardous waste per calendar month and remain subject
to the reduced CESQG regulations for the acutely hazardous
waste, provided that no more than 1 kg of acutely hazardous
waste is accumulated on site at any one time. If the amount
generated or accumulated on site exceeds these thresholds,
then all of the acutely hazardous waste would be subject
to full regulation as applicable to large quantity generators
(§261.5(e)).
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Recordkeeping Requirements for Owners or
Operators Assuming Generator Responsibilities
Scenario: An individual operates a dry cleaning business
that has been generating hazardous waste since 1980. A new owner buys
the facility in June 2003 and assumes the generator responsibilities,
which includes keeping records of hazardous waste activities
(e.g., signed manifests) for at least three years from the
time the waste was first sent off site (40 CFR Section 262.40).
Question: Must the new owner or operator keep the records
from the previous generator's activities for a period of three years or does
the new owner or operator begin the recordkeeping process
on the date the individual becomes the generator (i.e., June
1, 2003)?
Answer: The new owner or operator must
maintain records from the previous three years of activities
at the site, not three years from the date on which the individual
assumes the generator responsibilities. The requirement to have generators
retain records of previous site activity for three years is not
an unreasonable burden since most generators opt to keep
copies for their own records. These records may demonstrate
proper management of the waste by the generator should there
be a problem in subsequent transportation, handling, or disposal
(51 FR 10146, 10159; March 24, 1986). Therefore, in this
scenario, records of hazardous waste sent off site from this
facility in March 2002, prior to the ownership change, should
remain in the new owner's records until March 2005.
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What is Waste Minimization?
Waste Minimization is EPA's preferred approach to protecting
the environment. It refers to the use of source reduction
and/or environmentally sound recycling methods prior to treating or
disposing of hazardous wastes. Waste minimization includes:
source reduction practices that reduce or eliminate
waste generation at the source and environmentally sound recycling practices
where source reduction is not economically practical.
Waste minimization does not include waste treatment, i.e., any
process designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character
or composition of a hazardous waste, or waste disposal.
For example, compacting, neutralizing, diluting, or incineration
are not waste minimization practices.
Source reduction includes any practice that reduces
the quantity and/or toxicity of pollutants entering
a waste stream prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal. Examples include:
equipment or technology modifications, reformulation
or redesign of products, substitution of less toxic raw materials, improvements
in work practices, maintenance, worker training, and better inventory control.
Recycling includes the use, reuse and/or reclamation
of waste residuals (that may be designated as a hazardous
waste) or materials in a hazardous waste. A material is "used or
reused" if it is used as an ingredient in an industrial
process to make a product or if it is used as an effective
substitute for a commercial product. A material is "reclaimed" if
it is processed to recover a usable product, or if it is regenerated.
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What are the Benefits of Waste Minimization?
Waste minimization not only protects the environment;
it also makes good economic and business sense. For
example, reducing waste generation through waste minimization has helped
some companies change their RCRA regulatory status from large quantity
generators (1000 or more kilograms of hazardous waste generated
per month) to small quantity generator (between 100 and 1000 kg of
hazardous waste generated per month), or to conditionally
exempt small quantity generators (up to 100 kg of hazardous
waste generated per month). Some have managed to eliminate
the generation of hazardous waste and avoid RCRA regulatory
requirements altogether.
Source reduction and/or environmentally sound recycling,
reuse, and reclamation practices have helped many organizations
reduce:
- The quantity and toxicity of hazardous and solid waste generation;
- Raw material and product losses;
- Raw material purchase costs;
- Waste management recordkeeping and paperwork burden;
- Waste management costs;
- Workplace accidents and worker exposure;
- Compliance violations; and
- Environmental liability.
At the same time, waste minimization can improve:
- Production efficiency;
- Profits;
- Good neighbor image;
- Product quality; and
- Environmental performance.
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What is Pollution Prevention (P2)?
Pollution Prevention, often called P2, means source reduction,
or preventing pollution at its source, before it is generated.
It includes any practice that reduces the quantity and/or
toxicity of pollutants entering a waste stream prior to
recycling, treatment, or disposal. Examples include equipment
or technology modifications, reformulation or redesign
of products, substitution of less toxic raw materials,
improvements in work practices, maintenance, worker training,
and better inventory control.
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What is the difference between Waste Minimization
and Pollution Prevention?
Waste Minimization is a term found in the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA) that refers to source reduction and
environmentally sound recycling of RCRA hazardous waste.
Pollution Prevention is a term found in the Pollution Prevention
Act of 1990 that refers to source reduction of all toxic
wastes, including those released to air, water and land resources.
Source reduction includes any practice that reduces the quantity
and/or toxicity of pollutants entering a waste stream prior
to recycling, treatment, or disposal. Examples include equipment
or technology modifications, reformulation or redesign of
products, substitution of less toxic raw materials, improvements
in work practices, maintenance, worker training, and better
inventory control.
Environmentally sound recycling includes the use, reuse and/or
reclamation of residuals that may be designated as a hazardous
waste, or materials in a hazardous waste. A material is "used
or reused" if it is used as an ingredient in an industrial
process to make a product or, or if it is used as an effective
substitute for a commercial product. A material is "reclaimed" if
it is processed to recover a usable product, or if it is
regenerated.
Is Waste Minimization required by law?
In 1984, amendments to RCRA established the following national
policy, making waste minimization the nation's preferred
hazardous waste management practice: "the generation
of hazardous waste is to be reduced or eliminated as expeditiously
as possible. Waste that is nevertheless generated should
be treated, stored, or disposed of so as to minimize the
present and future threat to human health and the environment." (RCRA
Sec.1003[b], 1984.)
RCRA requires facilities that generate or manage hazardous
waste to certify that they have a waste minimization program
in place that reduces the quantity and toxicity of hazardous
waste generated to the extent economically practicable.
In 1990, passage of the Pollution Prevention Act expanded
the nation's waste prevention policy beyond a RCRA-only framework,
to minimizing or eliminating toxic releases to all environmental
media and natural resources: "The Congress hereby declares
it to be the national policy of the United States that pollution
should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever feasible;
pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled in
an environmentally safe manner, whenever feasible; pollution
that cannot be prevented or recycled should be treated in
an environmentally safe manner whenever feasible; and disposal
or other release into the environment should be employed
only as a last resort and should be conducted in an environmentally
safe manner." (PPA, Section 6602[b].)
The Pollution Prevention Act has encouraged many organizations
to expand their focus from RCRA-only to a multimedia pollution
prevention focus. EPA offers a variety of information sources
on multimedia pollution prevention.
Many states have also enacted laws that require facilities
to complete certain waste minimization activities. Most
of these states require facilities to complete a waste
minimization
plan.
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Air
How do I know if an air permit is required from the AQMD
for my business?
Normally, a business which emits 2 pounds or more per day
of “criteria” air pollutants or 1 pound per day
or more of “toxic” air pollutants will require
a permit to operate. Different types of air pollution control
devices are also required for different processes depending
upon the size of the operation for compliance with the AQMD
regulations. Applications may be obtained by downloading
from the District Health Department Web site. For further
information, please contact one of our environmental engineers
who will help you with the necessary information for application
submittal.
What are the local asbestos regulations
for commercial buildings?
The local asbestos regulations essentially mirrors the federal
requirements. If you own a commercial building and want to
do some remodeling, an asbestos survey will need to be completed
by a certified consultant to determine the presence or absence
of any asbestos materials. If present, a certified abatement
contractor will need to remove the asbestos before the project
can proceed. In addition, the property owner will need to
obtain an “asbestos acknowledgment” form from
the AQMD prior to obtaining a building permit from the local
building departments. For further information, please call
(775) 784-7200.
How do I register an air pollution complaint?
Just call (775)784-7200 (24 hours per day) and your complaint
will be logged onto an official AQMD complaint form. After
that, an air quality specialist will immediately investigate your concerns and
determine if there is a violation of the AQMD regulations. If a violation exists,
the person or business will be required to correct the problem.
A Notice of Violation may also be issued.
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