Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

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Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

Full title	Solid Waste Disposal Act
Acronym / colloquial name	RCRA
Enacted by the	94th United States Congress
Citations
Public Law	P.L. 94-580
Codification
Act(s) amended	Solid Waste Disposal Act
Title(s) amended	42 (Public Health)
U.S.C. sections created	42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 2150; H.R. 14496 by Jennings Randolph; Fred B. Rooney on July 21, 1975; June 22, 1976 Committee consideration by: Senate Public Works Committee; House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee Passed the Senate on June 30, 1976 () Passed the House on September 27, 1976 () Reported by the joint conference committee on ; agreed to by the Senate on September 30, 1976 () and by the on () Signed into law by President Gerald Ford on October 21, 1976
Major amendments
Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984

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.^[1]

History and Goals

Congress enacted RCRA to address the increasing problems the nation faced from its growing volume of municipal and industrial waste. RCRA, which amended the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, set national goals for:

• Protecting human health and the environment from the potential hazards of waste disposal.
• Conserving energy and natural resources.
• Reducing the amount of waste generated.
• Ensuring that wastes are managed in an environmentally-sound manner.

Implementation

EPA waste management regulations are codified at 40 C.F.R. pts. 239-282. Regulations regarding management of hazardous waste begins at 40 C.F.R. pt. 260. As noted below, most states have enacted laws and promulgated regulations that are at least as stringent as the federal regulations. Furthermore, the statute authorizes states to carry out many of the functions of RCRA through their own hazardous waste programs (and state laws), if such programs have been approved (authorized) by the EPA.

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.

Amendments and related legislation

In 1984 Congress expanded the law with the Hazardous and Solid Wastes Amendments of 1984.^[2] 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, the law was expanded further to regulate underground storage tanks and other leaking waste storage facilities.

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 liability, as well as a trust fund for cleanup activities.^[3] 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.

Treatment, storage and disposal facility permits

This section requires expansion.

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.

Other provisions

Whistleblower protection

RCRA contains a provision for whistleblower 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 Administration.

See also

• Clean Water Act
• Hazardous waste in the United States

References

External links

• RCRA Online: database of documents covering a wide range of RCRA issues and topics
• TSDF permitting
• Collected Papers of William Sanjour, a retired EPA employee and whistleblower
• Information on the Act
• Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
• Government Accountability Project
• National Whistleblower Center
• Workplace Fairness FAQ for environmental whistleblowers
• Tate & Renner article on whistleblowers under US federal law
• Whistleblower Employee Protection Website
• U.S. Department of Labor Whistleblower Program & information