Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

presentation by
Michael Vince
Environmental Scientist Administrator
Permits Division
Office of Environmental Assistance
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Baton Rouge, LA 70884-2178
mike_v@deq.state.la.us

Goals of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

• To protect human health and the environment from the hazards posed by waste disposal

• To conserve energy and natural resources through waste recycling and recovery

• To reduce or eliminate, as expeditiously as possible, the amount of waste generated, including hazardous waste

• To ensure that wastes are managed in a manner that is protective of human health and the environment

Evolution of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

• RCRA is a combination for the first federal statute concerning solid wastes and all subsequent acts and amendments. Examples are :

  • Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965

  • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976

  • Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984

  • Federal Facilities Compliance Act of 1992

  • Land Disposal Program Flexibility Act of 1996

• Following the several amendments, RCRA governs the management of :

  • Solid Waste (including household garbage)

  • Hazardous Waste

  • Underground Storage Tanks (including gasoline tanks at filling stations)

  • Three programs under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

• Solid Waste Program (Subtitle D)

  • Promotes and encourages the environmentally sound management of solid wastes

  • Includes minimum federal technical standards and guidelines for state solid waste plans

• Hazardous Waste Program (Subtitle C)

  • Establishes a management system that regulates hazardous waste from the time generated to ultimate disposal (frequently termed cradle to grave regulation)

• Underground Storage Tank Program (Subtitle I)

  • Regulates underground storage tanks containing petroleum or hazardous substances as defined under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

  • The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act – A Public Partnership

• Congress and the President set the direction

• The Environmental Protection Agency translates the direction into operating programs

• Individual states and the regional offices of the Environmental Protection Agency implement the programs

• Involvement of local governments and individual citizens through public participation

The Components of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

• The legislation as passed by Congress and signed by the President

  • The law describes the waste management programs that Congress wanted to establish

  • The law grants authority to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (or a designee) for  implementation of the programs included in the Act

• Regulations written by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support the Act

  • Provides a legal mechanism that establishes standards or imposes requirements as mandated by the Act

  • Standards and requirements promulgated by the EPA are published in the Federal Register and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations

• Guidance provided by the EPA to foster compliance with the Act

  • Documents issued by the EPA provide instructions for implementation of regulations

• Policy implemented by the EPA to support the Act

  • Statements developed by the EPA outlining a position on a topic or giving instructions on how a procedure should be conducted

  • Federal-State Partnerships Involved

• Congress envisioned successful natural program founded upon joint action of the federal and state governments

  • The EPA sets national goals and standards based on technical expertise

  • States are responsible for implementing policy

  • Program Authorization at the State Level

• Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality authorized to administer the programs under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

  • Wastes generated, transported, treated, stored, and/or disposed of in Louisiana are controlled by the state of Louisiana under the appropriate statutes of the State of Louisiana

  • Regulation of wastes done by authority granted to the Department of Natural Resources (hereinafter referred to as the Department) under Title 30 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes or its successor

Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ)/Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): A Partnership Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

• LDEQ and EPA (Region 6, Dallas, Texas) have a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) providing for cooperative efforts in the RCRA programs

• The Department has a grant form the EPA that provides funding for performance of activities under the RCRA. 

• The LDEQ and EPA do the following through the RCRA programs

  • Set goals to permit Treatment, Storage or Disposal facilities that are identified as “priority”

  • Adopt and promote programs emphasizing

    • Reduction or elimination of hazardous waste generation at the source

    • Hazardous waste minimization

    • Review and implementation of guidelines for combustion units

    • Assessment of human health and environmental risks

Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) – Purposes

• Improve the confidence of the American people in the capacity of the federal government

• Initiate reform in the performance of government programs

• Improve the effectiveness and public accountability of federal programs

• Help the managers of federal programs improve service delivery

• Improve congressional decision making

• Improve the internal management of federal government

GPRA Goals as they Relate to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

• The LDEQ and EPA participate in joint efforts to meet GPRA performance goals

• By 2005, 80 percent of existing hazardous waste management facilities will have approved controls in place to prevent releases of dangerous substances to air, soil and groundwater

Public Partnership under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

• The regulated community must understand and comply with RCRA regulations

• The general public provides input and comments -

  • During program development and implementation

  • Through participation in rulemaking

  • Comments concerning permits for Treatment, Storage, and/or Disposal facilities

Facilities in Louisiana regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

• Presently (2001), there are 71 facilities in Louisiana with RCRA permits, of which eight are commercial facilities (that is, they process hazardous wastes for a fee).

Facilities in Calcasieu Parish regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

• Nine facilities in Calcasieu Parish have RCRA permits. One of which is a commercial facility (that is, disposal of hazardous wastes). They are

Descriptions of Facilities in Calcasieu Parish Operating with RCRA Permits :

• Cecos is a noncommercial facility that operates a number of groundwater monitoring and recovery wells as well as rainwater collection areas. This rainwater is handled by underground injection. Wastes (mainly leachates) from other BFI/Cecos International facilities are handled by intercompany transfers and disposed of via underground injection. 

• Chemical Waste Management is a commercial waste disposal facility that occupies approximately 280 acres located approximately nine miles south of Sulphur, Louisiana. The permitted RCRA facility is involved in the storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes. 

• Citgo processes 330,000 barrels of oil per day (BPD) and operates a 10,000 BPD Lube and Wax Plant. The refinery is owned Citgo and the Lube and Wax plant is owned by both Citgo (65%) and Conoco (35%). In addition, the refinery produces benzene, xylene, toluene, and sulfuric acid, and the facility does propylene fractionation. 

• Conoco processes 230,000 barrels of oil per day. Products also include propane, butane, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, lube oil feedstocks, and petroleum coke. Conoco also recovers sulphur from the process and converts it to sulfuric acid.

• Georgia Gulf manufactures vinyl chloride monomer. The facility operates four hazardous waste storage units – two container storage areas, and two tanks.

• Lyondell is a chemical plant manufacturing facility that produces nitric acid, toluene di-isocyanate (TDI) and aliphatic di-isocyanates. The chemical plant also includes support facilities for maintenance, storage, shipping, and utilities. 

• Olin is a chemical manufacturing facility producing nitric acid, hydrazine, toluene di-isochanate, aliphatic di-isocyanate, and pesticide chemicals. The plant has supporting utility, maintenance, storage and shipping facilities. The only RCRA unit is a landfill that is in postclosure.

• PPG Industries is a heavy industrial chemical manufacturing facility producing both inorganic and halogenated organic compounds. PPG operates three RCRA incinerators, ten storage tanks, and three container storage areas. 

• Sasol (formerly Condea Vista) is comprised of the alcohol/alumina unit, the ethoxylate unit, the LPA solvent unit, the normal paraffin unit, and the linear alkylbenzene (LAB) unit. The facility manufactures ethylene, normal parafins, low polynuclear aromatic solvent, linear alcohols, alumina, ethoxylates, and linear alkylbenzene. There are four closed impoundments in postclosure care.