Page 52 - Solid Waste Analysis and Minimization a Systems Approach

30 BACKGROUND AND FUNDAMENTALS OF SOLID WASTE ANALYSIS AND MINIMIZATION

problems the nation faced from the growing volume of municipal and industrial waste.
RCRA, which amended the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, set national goals for

■ Protecting human health and the environment from the potential hazards of waste
disposal.
■ Conserving energy and natural resources.
■ Reducing the amount of waste generated.
■ Ensuring that wastes are managed in an environmentally sound manner.

RCRA also included directives that the EPA establishes regulations to control solid
waste disposal. To achieve these goals, RCRA established three distinct, yet interre-
lated, programs:

1 The solid waste program under RCRA Subtitle D encourages states to develop
comprehensive plans to manage nonhazardous industrial solid waste and municipal
solid waste, sets criteria for municipal solid waste landfills and other solid waste
disposal facilities, and prohibits the open dumping of solid waste.
2 The hazardous waste program under RCRA Subtitle C establishes a system for con-
trolling hazardous waste from the time it is generated until its ultimate disposal—in
effect, from cradle to grave.
3 The underground storage tank (UST) program under RCRA Subtitle I regulates
underground storage tanks containing hazardous substances and petroleum products.

RCRA banned all open dumping of waste, encouraged source reduction and recy-
cling, and promoted the safe disposal of municipal waste. RCRA also mandated strict
controls over the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. The first RCRA
regulations, “Hazardous Waste and Consolidated Permit Regulations,” published in the
Federal Register on May 19, 1980 (45 FR 33066; May 19, 1980), established the basic
cradle-to-grave approach to hazardous waste management that exists today. RCRA
focuses only on active and future facilities and does not address abandoned or histori-
cal sites which are managed under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)—commonly known as Superfund.

2.3.6 THE HAZARDOUS AND SOLID WASTE
AMENDMENT OF 1984

RCRA was amended and strengthened by Congress in November 1984 with the pass-
ing of the federal Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA). These amend-
ments to RCRA required phasing out land disposal of hazardous waste. Some of the
other mandates of this strict law include increased enforcement authority for EPA,
more stringent hazardous waste management standards, and a comprehensive under-
ground storage tank program. Key points from the HSWA are

■ Direct the EPA to revise criteria for landfills that receive hazardous household
waste or small quantities of industrial hazardous waste.