2016-27429: Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule

Summary

With this action, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing revisions to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act's (RCRA) hazardous waste generator regulatory program proposed on September 25, 2015. There are several objectives to these revisions. They include reorganizing the hazardous waste generator regulations to make them more user-friendly and thus improve their usability by the regulated community; providing a better understanding of how the RCRA hazardous waste generator regulatory program works; addressing gaps in the existing regulations to strengthen environmental protection; providing greater flexibility for hazardous waste generators to manage their hazardous waste in a cost-effective and protective manner; and making technical corrections and conforming changes to address inadvertent errors and remove obsolete references to programs that no longer exist. This final rule responds to the comments of EPA stakeholders, taking into consideration the mission of EPA and the goals of RCRA.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 15 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 40 CFR 257 Criteria for Classification of Solid Waste Disposal Facilities and Practices
• 40 CFR 258 Criteria for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills
• 40 CFR 260 Hazardous Waste Management System: General
• 40 CFR 261 Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste
• 40 CFR 262 Standards Applicable to Generators of Hazardous Waste
• 40 CFR 263 Standards Applicable to Transporters of Hazardous Waste
• 40 CFR 264 Standards for Owners and Operators of Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities
• 40 CFR 265 Interim Status Standards for Owners and Operators of Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities
• 40 CFR 266 Standards for the Management of Specific Hazardous Wastes and Specific Types of Hazardous Waste Management Facilities
• 40 CFR 267 Standards for Owners and Operators of Hazardous Waste Facilities Operating Under a Standardized Permit
• 40 CFR 268 Land Disposal Restrictions
• 40 CFR 270 EPA Administered Permit Programs: the Hazardous Waste Permit Program
• 40 CFR 271 Requirements for Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Programs
• 40 CFR 273 Standards for Universal Waste Management
• 40 CFR 279 Standards for the Management of Used Oil