General Facility Standards

• Author: Susan M. McMichael
• Pages: 183-222

Page 183

Chapter 7

General Facility Standards

7.0 Introduction

General faci lity sta ndards, a lso referred to “RCRA’s Achil les’ heel,” are a mix of performance-based, speci c

design, and operational standards.1 ese genera l standa rds are mandated by RCRA §3004, a nd range from

bureaucratic paperwork requirements, i.e., recordkeeping, to more complex requirements such as waste analysis

plans and groundwater monitoring (see Box 7.1). Also included are potential standards that can be overlooked,

such as compliance history, exposure information for landlls and surface impoundments, and considerations

under federal law. ese standards are sometimes referred to as sleepers, because they can be overlooked, and

signicantly impact a na l permit decision.

is chapter discusses these standards, in addition to EPA’s eorts to streamline RCRA’s paperwork require-

ments under the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest system and Burden Reduction Initiative (which elim-

inated approximately one-third of the 334 dierent t ypes of EPA notications, reports, certications, and

other requirements).2 In addition, EPA eliminated redundant emergency training requirements for workers

that meet Occupational Safety

and Health Administrat ion

(OSHA) training standards.

Special focus in this chapter is

provided on the use of “accept-

able knowledge” to meet waste

analysis requirements, as well

as considerations for facilities

that manage radioactive mi xed

waste. To assist the reader, the

chapter provides checklists

that address potentia l issues

and deciencies to consider

when reviewing a Part B per-

mit application, permit renew-

als, modication requests, a nd

the ve-year permit review.

7.1 Identication

Number and Notices

All persons who generate,

transport, rec ycle, treat, store, or dispose haz ardous waste must obtain an EPA ID number, unless t heir solid

1. 4 W H. R J., R’ E L H W  S §7.15, at 148 (West, 1992) (describing RCRA’s

administrative requirements as RCRA’s Achilles’ heel—notices, plans, and paper trails that represent the law’s response to land pollution).

2. U.S. EPA, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Burden Reduction Initiative; Final Rule, 71 Fed. Reg. 16862 (Apr. 4, 2006).

Box 7.1

Genera l Facil ity S tandards

Des crip tion of R egul atory C itat ion

Facility Desi gn an d Ope ration §264.3 1

Genera l Waste Analysi s §264.1 32

Securi ty §264.1 4

Genera l Ins pection Require ments §264.1 5

Conting ency Plan Subpar t D (§§26 4.50-.56)

Recordk eeping and Reportin g Subpar t E (§§26 4.70-.77)

Personne l Trainin g §264.1 6

Require d Not ices §264.1 2

Specia l Provi sions for I gnitable,

Reacti ve, or Inco mpatible Waste §2 64.17

Locatio n Stan dards §264.1 8

Prepared ness and Pre vention Subpar t C (§§26 4.30-.37)

Manifes t Sys tem Subpar t E (§§26 4.70-.77)

Genera l Clos ure/Post-Cl osure Subp art G (§§ 264.110-.1 19)

Cost Estimate s §§264. 142/264.147

Financia l Res ponsibilit y §§264. 143/264.145 and .147

Page 184 RCRA Permitting Deskbook

waste is exempt from regulation (see Chapter 2). An EPA ID number is used by the agency to track hazardous

wastes “cradle-to-grave,” from the point of generation to the  nal d isposal site. e EPA ID number is site-

specic and assigned to a specic physical location, and does not transfer with the owner or operator should

they relocate. W hen a business, located at a site where a RCRA ID number exists, moves to another location

(even within the same state or town) the ID number must be deactivated at the former location and a new ID

number requested at the new location. EPA describes its polic y as “one RCRA site equates to one RCRA EPA

ID number.”3 To obta in a n EPA identication number, the facility must le the Notication of Regulated

Waste Activity (EPA Form 8700-12). EPA has developed comprehensive instructions on how to complete this

form, and issued guidance on an assortment of issues that may arise with EPA ID numbers, e.g., when a busi-

ness moves, ownership changes, t ype of regulated waste changes (see note 4).4 Facilities should contact the

appropriate state regulatory oces to ensure that state requirements are followed.

7.1.1 Notices

EPA and state-equivalent rules at §§264/265.12 contain three types of required notices intended to oversee the

transportation and management of hazardous waste. First, a facility that seeks to receive hazardous waste from

a foreign source must provide written notice to the EPA regional administrator “at least four weeks in advance

of the date the waste is expected to arrive at the facility.” Second, an operator or owner that seeks to transfer its

RCRA responsibilities must provide written notice to the new owner or operator to avoid the possibility t hat

an unsuspecting buyer purchases a facility without knowledge of its responsibilities (see Chapter 6.7.1, “Permit

Transfers”).5  ird, a facility that receives o-site wa ste must notify the generator in writing that it has the

appropriate permits for, and will accept, the waste shipment. is notice is necessary for proper functioning of

the manifest s ystem, and avoids the potential problem of a generator designating a facility that ha s not agreed

to accept the waste.

7.2 Facility Siting and Description

Hazardous waste management facilities cannot be located on

certain types of land that may pose an increased hazard to

human health and the environment. e Part B permit appli-

cation must contain detailed information to demonstrate that

the facility meets specic siting criteria under §270.14(b)(1), as

well as other informational requirements such as the specic

units to be permitted, a topographic map, and trac patterns

(see Box 7.2). For a checklist concerning t hese requirements,

refer to Sidebar 7.2. [Note: state law should be reviewed to

determine if more stringent or broader requirements apply.]

7.2.1 Facility Location

EPA and state-equivalent rules restrict the location of facili-

ties in active fault zones, oodplains, underground caves,

mines, and salt domes (§270.14(b)(11) and §264.18). Facili-

ties may also be prevented from locating on certain land

based on considerations of federal law (§270.3), such as coastal high-haza rd areas subject to hurricane surge

and shoreline erosion, recharge zones of sole source aquifers, wetlands, a nd critical habitats of endangered and

threatened species. State law ca n impose additional siting criteria for new a nd existing facilities to protect sur-

3. EPA describes its policy on the web in numerous locations, see www.epa.gov/region/waste/epanums.html.

4. See U.S. EPA, Notication of Regulated Waste Activity, Form 8700-12 (periodically updated and available at www.epa.gov/osw/inforesources/

data/form8700/forms.htm).

5. U.S. EPA, Hazardous Waste Management System, Standards for Owners and Operators of Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal

Facilities, 45 Fed. Reg. 33156, 33179 (May 19, 1980) [hereinafter 1980 Preamble].

Box 7.2

Faci lity S itin g a nd Des crip tion

Siting crite ria

active faul t zone s

floodp lains

Topographi c map

locatio n of all units

surfa ce wat er fea tures

communi ty l and u se

sole source aquife rs

wetland s and crit ical habitat for

endang ered s pecies

protect ed cu ltural resources

Traffic patter ns

General Facility Standards Page 185

face and groundwater, and to prevent adverse environmental impacts. To meet EPA’s siting criteria, the permit

application must contain the information discussed below.

• Seismic Considerations (§264.18(a))

New facilities cannot be located, w ith certain exceptions, within 200 feet of a fault that ha s moved within the

Holocene period, i.e., the last 11,000 years, because damage to a facility during a serious earthquake cannot be

prevented with practicable engineering means. To determine the seismic standard, the facility must identify the

political jurisdiction, e.g., county, township, or election district, in which the facility is proposed to be located.

A facility located within the fault zone as determined by the applicable seismic standard may be required to pro-

vide a geologic analysis demonstrating that no Holocene faults pass within 200 feet of any unit to be permitted.

• Seismic location standards are not applicable to all new facilities, but only those located in certain politi-

cal jurisdictions in the western United States as identied in Appendix VI to part 264.6 Facilities not

located in specically identied political jurisdictions are presumed to be in compliance w ith §264.18.7

• Seismic standards do not apply to existing facilities operating under interim status. EPA made this deci-

sion based on the following considerations: (1) the relatively low potential for an earthquake at an existing

facility before the facility closes, due to the relative infrequency of seismic activity; (2) the impracticality

of moving existing facilities; and (3) the impact of possible facility closure on hazardous waste capacit y.8

• Floodplains (§264.18(b))

Facilities cannot be located within a 100-year oodplain unless designed, constructed, operated, and main-

tained to prevent washouts of any hazardous waste from such a ood. A 100-year oodplain is dened as any

land area that is subject to a 1% or greater chance of ooding in any given year from any source, and a 100-year

ood is a ood that has 1% chanc e of being equaled or exceeded in any g iven yea r.9 Facilities ca n comply

with this requirement if they demonstrate that the y have procedure s to remove wastes to a sa fe location that

is authorized to accept haza rdous wa stes before ood waters reach t he faci lity. A demonstration is required

that a washout will not cause any adverse eects on human health and the environment a s required under

§264.18(b)(1)(i). At least one court has reviewed a challenge to facility siting based on whether engineered

structures would protect the facilit y against ooding in a 100-year oodplain.10

Note that unlike seismic restrictions, the 100-year oodplain standard applies to existing and new facilities.

For existing facil ities, permitting agencies ca n issue a schedule of compliance to al low the f acility to retrot

or close.11

• Underground (§264.18(c))

Noncontainerized or bulk liquids cannot be placed in any salt dome formation, salt bed formation, under-

ground mine, or cave, except at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). e WIPP is exempt from these loca-

tion requirements under RCRA §3004(b) and EPA rules.12

7.2.2 Trac Patterns

e permit application must provide a detailed description of trac patterns (§270.14(b)(10)). Detailed descrip-

tions must address trac volume, control, stacking lanes (if appropriate), trac control measures, e.g., lights,

6. Appendix VI identies 12 political jurisdictions in western states, including California and Nevada. See also U.S. EPA, Standards Applicable to

Owners and Operators of Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities, 46Fed.Reg.57284 (Nov. 23, 1981).

7. EPA limited the requirement to political jurisdictions located west of the front range of the Rocky Mountains based on evidence indicating that

the presence of Holocene faults is unlikely. See46Fed. Reg. 57284 (Nov. 23, 1981).

8. U.S. EPA, Standards Applicable to Owners and Operators of Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities; Consolidated Permit

Regulations, 46 Fed. Reg. 2802, 2813 (Jan. 12, 1981).

9. 40 C.F.R. §264.18(b)(2).

10. See Smith v. Houston, 872 S.W.2d 252 (Tx. Ct. App. 1994) (upholding the holding that facility that had boundaries corresponding to a 100-year

oodplain adequately demonstrated that it could prevent adverse eects and prevent washout of hazardous waste by a 100-year ood event through

17-foot contour above mean sea level and dykes).

11. 46 Fed. Reg. 2802, 2815.

12. 40 C.F.R. §§264/265.18.