Environmental Engineering FOURTH EDITION

Solid and Hazardous Waste Law 349

RCRA also places requirements onfacilities that treat, store, or dispose of hazardous
waste:

1. The owner of the facility must apply for an operator’s permit and supply data
   on the proposed site and waste to be handed. This permit will spell out the terms of
   compliance: construction and operating schedules, as well as monitoring and record-
   keeping procedures.


2. As permits are granted by the appropriate federal or state agency, minimum
   operating standards will be placed on the facility. Design and engineering standards
   for containing, neutralizing, and destroying the wastes are addressed in these permits,
   as are safety and emergency measures in the event of an accident. Personnel training
   is included in each permit’s requirements.


3. The financial responsibility of the facility is defined, and a trust fund generally
   must be established at site closure. This fund enables the monitoring of groundwater
   and surface discharges to continue after the site is closed, and enables the executor of
   the trust to maintain the site for years to come.

The responsibilities for administering RCRA are passed from the EPA to state agencies
as these agencies show they have the authority and expertise to regulate hazardous
waste effectively.
In addition to the CERCLA and RCRA control of hazardous waste, the Toxic
Substances Control Act (TOSCA) regulates hazardous substances before they become
hazardous waste. Under one facet of this regulatory program, the Premufacturing
Notification (PMN) System, all manufacturers must notify the EPA before marketing
any substance not included in the EPA’s 1979 inventory of toxic substances. In this
notification, the manufacturer must analyze the predicted effect of the substance on
workers, on the environment, and on consumers. This analysis must be based on test
data and all relevant literature. A compliance checklist is presented in Table 17-1 in

Table 17-1. Checklist to Comply with TOSCA’s PMN System

Step Requirement

1.

2.

3.

4.

Inspect EPA inventory of toxic substances to see whether the new product

is listed.

Assess EPArules for testing procedures to determine whether substances not

listed by the EPA are, in fact, “toxic.”

Prepare and submit the PMN form at least 90 days before manufacture.

Obtain one of the following EPA rulings:

0 No ruling:

0 EPAorder:

0 EPAruling:

Manufacturing may begin at the end of the 90 days.

An EPA order for more data requires a response before

manufacturing may proceed.

EPA may prohibit or limit the proposed manufacturing,

processing, use, or disposal of the substance.