EPA changes regulatory requirements of hazardous waste program
EPA changes regulatory requirements of hazardous waste program
Keywords: Industrial wastes, Waste management
EPA is changing the regulatory requirements of the hazardous waste program to reduce the paperwork burden the requirements impose on the states, EPA, and the regulated community. EPA has estimated that the total annual hour savings under the final rule ranges from 22,000 to 37,500 hours per year. The rulemaking will streamline information collection requirements, ensuring that only the information that is actually needed and used to implement the hazardous waste program is collected.
As part of the hazardous waste regulations, EPA established recordkeeping and reporting requirements that allow the agency to enforce and ensure compliance with the regulations. Congress directs all federal agencies to become more responsible and publicly accountable for reducing the burden of federal paperwork on the public. Over the past five years, EPA has assessed and evaluated the need for the many recordkeeping and reporting requirements found in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste program. In the course of this effort, the agency identified numerous opportunities to eliminate or streamline RCRA requirements, while continuing to protect human health and the environment.
Based on the assessment, a new rule changes a number of the regulatory requirements found in 40 CFR parts 260 through 271. These changes will bring about burden reductions to both the regulated community and the regulators. According to EPA, the changes are a direct result of consultations with a number of state experts on potential burden reduction ideas, as well as public input through two Notices of Data Availability and a Proposed Rulemaking.
To effectively present the large number of regulatory changes, the agency divided the changes into the following categories or groups:
option to follow OSHA regulations for emergency training;
the amount of time records must be kept;
certification by a professional engineer;
option to follow the integrated contingency plan guidance;
elimination of selected recordkeeping and reporting requirements;
decreased inspection frequency for hazardous waste management units;
selected changes to the requirements for record retention and submittal of records;
changes to the requirements for document submittal; and
reduced frequency for report submittal.
The final rule was published in the April 4, 2006, Federal Register.
