United States Environmental Protection Agency Solid Waste and Emergency Response Office of Solid Waste (5305W) Note: Office of Solid Waste, OSW, was renamed Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, ORCR, on January 18, 2009 EPA530-F-99-044 November 1999 Environmental Fact Sheet: Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Standards Available for Comment Background The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requires federal agencies to assess a proposed regulation's impact on small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions. Section 610 of that law also requires these agencies to conduct periodic reviews of codified regulations that have significant economic impacts on small entities. This review, commonly called a "610 Review," must be conducted by a rule's tenth anniversary. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides public notice of 610 Reviews in its Regulatory Agenda, which is published twice a year in the Federal Register. Action EPA is conducting a 610 Review of the Solid Waste Disposal Facility Criteria, which were issued on October 9, 1991. Codified at 40 CFR Part 258, these Criteria set standards for municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLFs) to ensure the safe management of municipal solid waste (MSW). These standards address the design, operation, and closure of MSW landfills. They impose restrictions for locating landfills, and they require ground-water monitoring and corrective action if ground water becomes contaminated. While considerable flexibility is provided to all MSWLFs, special exemptions from design and ground-water monitoring requirements are given to certain small MSWLFs. Small MSWLFs are those that dispose of less than 20 tons of municipal solid waste daily. In accordance with Section 610, EPA solicits comments on the following. - The continued need for the MSWLF Criteria; - The nature of complaints or comments received concerning the rule from the public since promulgation; - The complexity of the rule; - The extent to which the rule overlaps, duplicates, or conflicts with other federal rules, and, to the extent feasible, with state and local governmental rules; and - The length of time since the rule has been evaluated or the degree to which technology, economic conditions, or other factors have changed in the areas affected by the rule. The Agency believes there is a continued need for federal standards. If possible, this review aims to improve the Criteria as well as to further reduce regulatory burdens. EPA welcomes such suggestions and comments. Commenters must send an original and two copies to: RCRA Information Center (RIC), Office of Solid Waste (5305G), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters (EPA, HQ), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460. Comments may also be submitted electronically to: rcra-docket@epa.gov. All comments must be identified by the docket number F-1999-MLFN-FFFFF. Electronic comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. Note: Office of Solid Waste, OSW, was renamed Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, ORCR, on January 18, 2009 For More Information The Federal Register notice and this fact sheet are available on the Internet at . For additional information or to order paper copies of any documents, call the RCRA Hotline. Callers within the Washington Metropolitan Area must dial 703-412-9810 or TDD 703-412-3323 (hearing impaired). Long-distance callers may call 1-800-424-9346 or TDD 1-800-553-7672. The RCRA Hotline operates weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Send written requests to the RIC at the above addresses.