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PA EPA ISSUES REGULATIONS TO MAKE IT EASIER TO TREAT, STORE AND DISPOSE OF HAZARDOUS REMEDIATION WASTE

Release Date: 11/13/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1998
EPA ISSUES REGULATIONS TO MAKE IT EASIER TO TREAT, STORE AND DISPOSE OF HAZARDOUS REMEDIATION WASTE

EPA issued regulations that will make it easier to treat, store and disposal of hazardous remediation waste. The Hazardous Waste Identification Rule for Contaminated Media (also known as the HWIR-Media Rule) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is expected to eliminate many of the existing regulatory disincentives to remediation, making it faster and easier to cleanup hazardous waste sites. Specifically, the rule:
      •Makes it easier to obtain permits for treating, storing and disposing of cleanup wastes;
      •Provides that obtaining these permits will not subject owners and/or operators to facility-wide corrective action;
      •Creates a new kind of unit called the “staging pile” that allows more flexibility in temporarily storing remediation wastes during cleanup;
      •Excludes dredge material from RCRA hazardous waste requirements if the wastes are managed under an appropriate permit under the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act or the Clean Water Act;
      •Makes it faster and easier for states to receive authorization when they update their RCRA programs to incorporate revisions to the federal RCRA regulations.
The requirements of this rule are optional for authorized state RCRA programs to adopt because they are less stringent then the existing requirements. EPA decided not to pursue broad regulatory reform at this time and has chosen to retain the Corrective Action Management Units (CAMU) rule as it currently exists (see 40 CFR Section 264.552). The rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register next week. For further information, call the RCRA Hotline at 1-800-424-9346 or 703-412-9810.


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