Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog

How Can Hazardous Wastes Be Treated?

Posted by Jon Elliott on Mon, Jan 26, 2015

After a facility determines it has generated hazardous waste, it must determine how to manage that waste in compliance with the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), regulations issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and their state equivalents. (I recently wrote about hazardous waste determination, here and here).

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Health & Safety, Environmental, EHS, EPA, Hazcom, RCRA

Waste Identification Part I: Is My Material A “Solid” “Waste”?

Posted by Jon Elliott on Mon, Dec 01, 2014

Federal and state laws govern “hazardous wastes”—the federal law is commonly called RCRA, after the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976. However, RCRA itself was enacted as an expansion of the prior Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) of 1965, and requirements for both solid and hazardous wastes have been revised many times in recent decades. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these requirements nationally, delegating many provisions to individual states that qualify for authorization to assume regulatory roles.

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Tags: Business & Legal, Health & Safety, Environmental risks, Environmental, EPA, Hazcom, RCRA

Environmental Compliance: EPA Adopts Hazardous Waste e-Manifests

Posted by Jon Elliott on Wed, Feb 26, 2014

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires you to document all shipments of regulated hazardous wastes. Domestic transportation is documented using Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifests, which are shipping documents prescribed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which revises Manifest forms occasionally—including major changes back in 2006. Now EPA has acted again, to create an electronic manifest (“e-Manifest”) option that will take force once EPA finishes the web-page data system required to receive and manage electronic filings.

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Tags: Health & Safety, Environmental risks, Environmental, EPA, Hazcom, RCRA

EPA Excludes Solvent-Contaminated Wipes From RCRA Regulation

Posted by Jon Elliott on Wed, Aug 14, 2013

All hazardous wastes are not created equal.  The basic model is that:

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Tags: Business & Legal, Employer Best Practices, Health & Safety, Environmental risks, Environmental, EHS, EPA, RCRA

EPA Revises Standards for Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials

Posted by STP Editorial Team on Tue, Jun 18, 2013

Traditionally, industrial facilities have used fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas as their main source of energy. Over the years, however, facilities have sought to replace some or all of their fossil fuel with less expensive and more efficient alternative fuels from secondary materials. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulated the combustion of such wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Under RCRA, some of these secondary materials are classified as ''hazardous wastes,'' while others are referred to as ''non-hazardous secondary materials.'' Facilities that combust ''solid waste'' as defined by EPA under RCRA must be regulated by emission standards issued by EPA under section 129 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

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Tags: Business & Legal, Health & Safety, EPA, RCRA, CAA