Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

• Author: Environmental Law Reporter
• Pages: 807-887

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

42 U.S.C. §§6901-6992k

Subchapter I—General Provisions

§6901.[RCRA §1001]

Congressional findings

(a) Solid waste

The Congress finds with respect to solid waste—

(1) that the continuing technological progress and improvement

in methods of manufacture, packaging, and marketing of consumer

products has resulted in an ever-mounting increase, and in a change

in the characteristics, of the mass material discarded by the pur-

chaser of such products;

(2) that the economic and population growth of our Nation, and

the improvements in the standard of living enjoyed by our popula-

tion, have required increased industrial production to meet our

needs, and have made necessary the demolition of old buildings, the

construction of new buildings, and the provision of highways and

other avenues of transportation, which, together with related indus-

trial, commercial, and agricultural operations, have resulted in a ris-

ing tide of scrap, discarded, and waste materials;

(3) that the continuing concentration of our population in ex-

panding metropolitan and other urban areas has presented these

communities with serious financial, management, intergovernmen-

tal, and technical problems in the disposal of solid wastes resulting

from the industrial, commercial, domestic, and other activities car-

ried on in such areas;

(4) that while the collection and disposal of solid wastes should

continue to be primarily the function of State, regional, and local

agencies, the problems of waste disposal as set forth above have be-

come a matter national in scope and in concern and necessitate Fed-

eral action through financial and technical assistance and leader-

ship in the development, demonstration, and application of new and

improved methods and processes to reduce the amount of waste and

unsalvageable materials and to provide for proper and economical

solid waste disposal practices.

(b) Environment and health

The Congress finds with respect to the environment and health,

that—

(1) although land is too valuable a national resource to be need-

lessly polluted by discarded materials, most solid waste is disposed

of on land in open dumps and sanitary landfills;

(2) disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste in or on the land

without careful planning and management can present a danger to

human health and the environment;

(3) as a result of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), the

Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), and other

Federal and State laws respecting public health and the environ-

ment, greater amounts of solid waste (in the form of sludge and

other pollution treatment residues) have been created. Similarly, in-

adequate and environmentally unsound practices for the disposal or

use of solid waste have created greater amounts of air and water pol-

lution and other problems for the environment and for health;

(4) open dumping is particularly harmful to health, contaminates

drinking water from underground and surface supplies, and pollutes

the air and the land;

(5) the placement of inadequate controls on hazardous waste

management will result in substantial risks to human health and the

environment;

(6) if hazardous waste management is improperly performed in

the first instance, corrective action is likely to be expensive, com-

plex, and time consuming;

(7) certain classes of land disposal facilities are not capable of as-

suring long-term containment of certain hazardous wastes, and to

avoid substantial risk to human health and the environment, reli-

ance on land disposal should be minimized or eliminated, and land

disposal, particularly landfill and surface impoundment, should be

the least favored method for managing hazardous wastes; and

(8) alternatives to existing methods of land disposal must be de-

veloped since many of the cities in the United States will be running

out of suitable solid waste disposal sites within five years unless im-

mediate action is taken.

(c) Materials

The Congress finds with respect to materials, that—

(1) millions of tons of recoverable material which could be used

are needlessly buried each year;

(2) methods are available to separate usable materials from solid

waste; and

(3) the recovery and conservation of such materials can reduce

the dependence of the United States on foreign resources and re-

duce the deficit in its balance of payments.

(d) Energy

The Congress finds with respect to energy, that—

(1) solid waste represents a potential source of solid fuel, oil, or

gas that can be converted into energy;

(2) the need exists to develop alternative energy sources for pub-

lic and private consumption in order to reduce our dependence on

such sources as petroleum products, natural gas, nuclear and hy-

droelectric generation; and

(3) technology exists to produce usable energy from solid waste.

(Pub. L. 89-272, title II, §1002, as added Pub. L. 94-580, §2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90

Stat. 2796, and amended Pub. L. 95-609, §7(a), Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3081;

Pub. L. 98-616, title I, §101(a), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3224.)

References In Text

The Clean Air Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), is act July 14, 1955, ch. 360, 69

Stat.322, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 85 (Sec. 7401 et seq.)

of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note

set out under section 7401 of this title and Tables.

The Water Pollution Control Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), is act June 30,

1948, ch. 758, as amended generally by Pub. L. 92-500, Sec. 2, Oct. 18, 1972, 86

Stat. 816, which is classified generally to chapter 26 (Sec. 1251 et seq.) of Title 33,

Navigation and Navigable Waters. For complete classification of this Act to the

Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1251 of Title 33 and Tables.

Codification

The statutory system governing the disposal of solid wastes set out in this chapter is

found in Pub. L. 89-272, title II, as amended in its entirety and completely revised by

section2 of Pub. L. 94-580, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2795. See Short Title note below.

The act, as set out in this chapter,carries a statutory credit showing the sections as

having been added by Pub. L. 94-580, without reference to amendments to the act

between its original enactment in 1965 and its complete revision in 1976. The act, as

originallyenacted in 1965, was classified to section 3251 et seq. of this title. For a re-

capitulation of the provisions of the act as originally enacted, see notes in chapter 39

(Sec. 3251 et seq.) of this title where the act was originally set out.

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those comprising this section were contained in section

3251 of this title prior to the complete revision of the Solid WasteDisposal Act

by Pub. L. 94-580.

Short Title of 1996 Amendments

Pub. L. 104-119, §1, Mar. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 830, provided that: “This Act

[amending sections 6921, 6924, 6925, 6947, and 6949a of this title, and enacting

provisions set out as a note under section 6949a of this title] may be cited as the

‘Land Disposal Program Flexibility Act of 1996’.”

Short Title of 1992 Amendments

Pub. L. 102-386, sec. 101, Oct. 6, 1992, 106 Stat. 1505, provided that: “This title

may be cited as the ‘Federal Facility Compliance Act of 1992’.”

Short Title of 1988 Amendment

Pub. L. 100-582, Sec. 1, Nov. 1, 1988, 102 Stat. 2950, provided that: “This Act

(enacting sections 6992 to 6992k of this title and section 3063 of Title 18, Crimes

and Criminal Procedure, and amending section 6903 of this title) may be cited as the

‘Medical Waste TrackingAct of 1988’.”

Short Title of 1984 Amendment

Section 1 of Pub. L. 98-616 provided that: “This Act (enacting sections 6917,

6936 to 6939a, 6949a, 6979a, 6979b, and 6991 to 6991i of this title, amending sec-

tions 6901, 6902, 6905, 6912, 6915, 6916, 6921 to 6933, 6935, 6941 to 6945, 6948,

6956,6962, 6972, 6973, 6976, 6982 and 6984 of this title and enacting provisions set

RCRA §1001 RESOURCE CONSERVATIONAND RECOVERYACT 42 U.S.C. §6901

807

out as notes under sections 6905, 6921 and 6926 of this title) may be cited as ‘The

Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984’.”

Short Title of 1980 Amendments

Pub. L. 96-482, Sec. 1, Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2334, provided:

“This Act (enacting sections 6933, 6934, 6941a, 6955, and 6956 of this title, amending sec-

tions 6903, 6905, 6911, 6912, 6916, 6921, 6922, 6924, 6925, 6927 to 6931, 6941 to 6943,

6945, 6946, 6948, 6949, 6952, 6953, 6962, 6963, 6964, 6971, 6973, 6974, 6976, 6979, and

6982 of this title; and enacting and repealing provisions set out as a note under section 6981 of

this title) may be cited as the ‘Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendments of 1980’.”

Pub. L. 96-463, Sec. 1, Oct. 15, 1980, 94 Stat. 2055, provided:

“ThisAct (enacting sections 6901a, 6914a and 6932 of this title,amending sections

6903, 6943 and 6948 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under sec-

tions 6363 and 6932 of this title) may be cited as the ‘Used Oil Recycling Act of

1980’.”

Short Title Of 1976 Amendments

Section 1 of Pub. L. 94-580 provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter and

provisions set out as notes under this section and section 6981 of this title] may be

cited as the ‘Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976’.”

Short Title

Section 1521 of Pub. L. 109-58 provided that: “This subtitle may be cited as the

‘Underground Storage TankCompliance Act’.”

Section 1 of Pub. L. 94-580 provided that: “This Act (enacting this chapter and

provisions set out as notes under this section and section 6981 of this title) may be

cited as the ‘Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976’.”

Section1001 of Pub. L. 89-272, as added Pub. L. 94-580, Sec. 2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90

Stat.2795, provided in part that title II of Pub. L. 89-272 (enacting this chapter) may

be cited as the “Solid Waste Disposal Act”.

Federal Compliance With Pollution Control Standards

For provisions relating to the responsibility of the head of each Executive agency

for compliance with applicable pollution control standards, see Ex. Ord. No. 12088,

Oct. 13, 1978, 43 F.R. 47707, set out as a note under section 4321 of this title.

National Commission on Materials Policy

Pub. L. 91-512, title II, Sec. 201-206, Oct. 26, 1970, 84 Stat. 1234, known as the

“National Materials Policy Act of 1970”, provided for the establishment of the Na-

tional Commission on Materials Policy to make a full investigation and study for the

purpose of developing a national materials policy to utilize present resources and

technology more efficiently and to anticipate the future materials requirements of

the Nation and the world, the Commission to submit to the President and Congress a

report on its findings and recommendations no later than June 30, 1973, ninety days

after the submission of which it should cease to exist.

§6901a.[RCRA §1002]

Congressional findings: used oil recycling

The Congress finds and declares that—

(1) used oil is a valuable source of increasingly scarce energy and

materials;

(2) technology exists to re-refine, reprocess, reclaim, and other-

wise recycle used oil;

(3) used oil constitutes a threat to public health and the environ-

ment when reused or disposed of improperly; and

that, therefore, it is in the national interest to recycle used oil in a man-

ner which does not constitute a threat to public health and the environ-

ment and which conserves energy and materials.

(Pub. L. 96-463, §2, Oct. 15, 1980, 94 Stat. 2055.)

Codification

Section was enacted as part of the Used Oil Recycling Act of 1980, and not as part

of the Solid Waste Disposal Act which comprises this chapter.

§6902.[RCRA §1003]

Objectives and national policy

(a) Objectives

The objectives of this chapter are to promote the protection of

health and the environment and to conserve valuable material and en-

ergy resources by—

(1) providing technical and financial assistance to State and local

governments and interstate agencies for the development of solid

waste management plans (including resource recovery and re-

source conservation systems) which will promote improved solid

waste management techniques (including more effective organiza-

tional arrangements), new and improved methods of collection,

separation, and recovery of solid waste, and the environmentally

safe disposal of nonrecoverable residues;

(2) providing training grants in occupations involving the design,

operation, and maintenance of solid waste disposal systems;

(3) prohibiting future open dumping on the land and requiring the

conversion of existing open dumps to facilities which do not pose a

danger to the environment or to health;

(4) assuring that hazardous waste management practices are con-

ducted in a manner which protects human health and the environment;

(5) requiring that hazardous waste be properly managed in the

first instance thereby reducing the need for corrective action at a fu-

ture date;

(6) minimizing the generation of hazardous waste and the land

disposal of hazardous waste by encouraging process substitution,

materials recovery, properly conducted recycling and reuse, and

treatment;

(7) establishing a viable Federal-State partnership to carry out

the purposes of this chapter and insuring that the Administrator

will, in carrying out the provisions of subchapter III of this chapter,

give a high priority to assisting and cooperating with States in ob-

taining full authorization of State programs under subchapter III of

this chapter;

(8) providing for the promulgation of guidelines for solid waste

collection, transport, separation, recovery, and disposal practices

and systems;

(9) promoting a national research and development program for

improved solid waste management and resource conservation tech-

niques, more effective organizational arrangements, and new and

improved methods of collection, separation, and recovery, and re-

cycling of solid wastes and environmentally safe disposal of nonre-

coverable residues;

(10) promoting the demonstration, construction, and application

of solid waste management, resource recovery, and resource con-

servation systems which preserve and enhance the quality of air,

water, and land resources; and

(11) establishing a cooperative effort among the Federal, State,

and local governments and private enterprise in order to recover

valuable materials and energy from solid waste.

(b) National policy

The Congress hereby declares it to be the national policy of the

United States that, wherever feasible, the generation of hazardous

waste is to be reduced or eliminated as expeditiously as possible.

Waste that is nevertheless generated should be treated, stored, or dis-

posed of so as to minimize the present and future threat to human

health and the environment.

(Pub. L. 89-272, title II, §1003, as added Pub. L. 94-580, §2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat.

2798, and amended Pub. L. 98-616, title I, §101(b), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3224.)

Prior Provisions

Provisionssimilar to those comprising this section were contained in section 3251

of this title, prior to the complete revision of the Solid WasteDisposal Act by Pub. L.

94-580.

§6903.[RCRA §1004]

Definitions

As used in this chapter:

(1) The term “Administrator” means the Administrator of the En-

vironmental Protection Agency.

(2) The term “construction,” with respect to any project of con-

struction under this chapter, means (A) the erection or building of

new structures and acquisition of lands or interests therein, or the

acquisition, replacement, expansion, remodeling, alteration, mod-

ernization, or extension of existing structures, and (B) the acquisi-

tion and installation of initial equipment of, or required in connec-

tion with, new or newly acquired structures or the expanded, re-

modeled, altered, modernized or extended part of existing struc-

tures (including trucks and other motor vehicles, and tractors,

cranes, and other machinery) necessary for the proper utilization

and operation of the facility after completion of the project; and in-

cludes preliminary planning to determine the economic and engi-

neering feasibility and the public health and safety aspects of the

project, the engineering, architectural, legal, fiscal, and economic

investigations and studies, and any surveys, designs, plans, work-

ing drawings, specifications, and other action necessary for the car-

rying out of the project, and (C) the inspection and supervision of

the process of carrying out the project to completion.

42 U.S.C. §6901a ENVIRONMENTALLAW DESKBOOK RCRA §1002

808

(2A) The term “demonstration” means the initial exhibition of a

new technology process or practice or a significantly new combina-

tion or use of technologies, processes or practices, subsequent to the

development stage, for the purpose of proving technological feasi-

bility and cost effectiveness.

(3) The term “disposal” means the discharge, deposit, injection,

dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any solid waste or hazard-

ous waste into or on any land or water so that such solid waste or

hazardous waste or any constituent thereof may enter the environ-

ment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, includ-

ing ground waters.

(4) The term “Federal agency” means any department, agency, or

other instrumentality of the Federal Government, any independent

agency or establishment of the Federal Government including any

Government corporation, and the Government Printing Office.

(5) The term “hazardous waste” means a solid waste, or combina-

tion of solid wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration, or

physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may—

(A) cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortal-

ity or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating re-

versible, illness; or

(B) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human

health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, trans-

ported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed.

(6) The term “hazardous waste generation” means the act or pro-

cess of producing hazardous waste.

(7) The term “hazardous waste management” means the system-

atic control of the collection, source separation, storage, transporta-

tion, processing, treatment, recovery, and disposal of hazardous

wastes.

(8) For purposes of Federal financial assistance (other than rural

communities assistance), the term “implementation” does not in-

clude the acquisition, leasing, construction, or modification of fa-

cilities or equipment or the acquisition, leasing, or improvement of

land.

(9) The term “intermunicipal agency” means an agency estab-

lished by two or more municipalities with responsibility for plan-

ning or administration of solid waste.

(10) The term “interstate agency” means an agency of two or

more municipalities in different States, or an agency established by

two or more States, with authority to provide for the management of

solid wastes and serving two or more municipalities located in dif-

ferent States.

(11) The term “long-term contract” means, when used in relation

to solid waste supply, a contract of sufficient duration to assure the

viability of a resource recovery facility (to the extent that such vi-

ability depends upon solid waste supply).

(12) The term “manifest” means the form used for identifying the

quantity, composition, and the origin, routing, and destination of

hazardous waste during its transportation from the point of genera-

tion to the point of disposal, treatment, or storage.

(13) The term “municipality” (A) means a city, town, borough,

county, parish, district, or other public body created by or pursuant

to State law, with responsibility for the planning or administration

of solid waste management, or an Indian tribe or authorized tribal

organization or Alaska Native village or organization, and (B) in-

cludes any rural community or unincorporated town or village or

any other public entity for which an application for assistance is

made by a State or political subdivision thereof.

(14) The term “open dump” means any facility or site where solid

waste is disposed of which is not a sanitary landfill which meets the

criteria promulgated under section 6944 of this title and which is not

a facility for disposal of hazardous waste.

(15) The term “person” means an individual, trust, firm, joint

stock company, corporation (including a government corpora-

tion), partnership, association, State, municipality, commission,

political subdivision of a State, or any interstate body and shall in-

clude each department, agency, and instrumentality of the United

States.

(16) The term “procurement item” means any device, good, sub-

stance, material, product, or other item whether real or personal

property which is the subject of any purchase, barter, or other ex-

change made to procure such item.

(17) The term “procuring agency” means any Federal agency, or

any State agency or agency of a political subdivision of a State

which is using appropriated Federal funds for such procurement, or

any person contracting with any such agency with respect to work

performed under such contract.

(18) The term “recoverable” refers to the capability and likeli-

hood of being recovered from solid waste for a commercial or in-

dustrial use.

(19) The term “recovered material” means waste material and

byproducts which have been recovered or diverted from solid

waste, but such term does not include those materials and byprod-

ucts generated from, and commonly reused within, an original

manufacturing process.

(20) The term “recovered resources” means material or energy

recovered from solid waste.

(21) The term “resource conservation” means reduction of the

amounts of solid waste that are generated, reduction of overall re-

source consumption, and utilization of recovered resources.

(22) The term “resource recovery” means the recovery of mate-

rial or energy from solid waste.

(23) The term “resource recovery system” means a solid waste

management system which provides for collection, separation, re-

cycling, and recovery of solid wastes, including disposal of nonre-

coverable waste residues.

(24) The term “resource recovery facility” means any facility at

which solid waste is processed for the purpose of extracting, con-

verting to energy, or otherwise separating and preparing solid waste

for reuse.

(25) The term “regional authority” means the authority estab-

lished or designated under section 6946 of this title.

(26) The term “sanitary landfill” means a facility for the disposal

of solid waste which meets the criteria published under section

6944 of this title.

(26A) The term “sludge” means any solid, semisolid or liquid

waste generated from a municipal, commercial, or industrial waste-

water treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution

control facility or any other such waste having similar characteris-

tics and effects.

(27) The term “solid waste” means any garbage, refuse, sludge

from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air

pollution control facility and other discarded material, including

solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting

from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations,

and from community activities, but does not include solid or dis-

solved material in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials

in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point

sources subject to permits under section 1342 of title 33, or source,

special nuclear, or byproduct material as defined by the Atomic En-

ergy Act of 1954, as amended (68 Stat. 923) (42 U.S.C. 2011 et

seq.).

(28) The term “solid waste management” means the systematic

administration of activities which provide for the collection, source

separation, storage, transportation, transfer, processing, treatment,

and disposal of solid waste.

(29) The term “solid waste management facility” includes—

(A) any resource recovery system or component thereof,

(B) any system, program, or facility for resource conservation,

and

(C) any facility for the collection, source separation, storage,

transportation, transfer, processing, treatment or disposal of

solid wastes, including hazardous wastes, whether such facility

is associated with facilities generating such wastes or otherwise.

(30) The terms “solid waste planning”, “solid waste manage-

ment”, and “comprehensive planning” include planning or man-

agement respecting resource recovery and resource conservation.

(31) The term “State” means any of the several States, the Dis-

trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is-

lands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the

Northern Mariana Islands.

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