The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is the principal US law governing solid and hazardous waste disposal. Enacted in 1976, RCRA aims to protect human health and the environment from waste hazards by regulating waste from "cradle to grave", including generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal. RCRA addresses both hazardous and non-hazardous waste, and gives the EPA authority to implement regulations around waste management. RCRA has been amended over time to expand its scope and strengthen protections.

1. Resource Conservationand Recovery Act
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), enacted in 1976, is the
principal federal law in the United States governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous
waste.
History and goals:
Congress enacted RCRA to address the increasing problems the nation faced from its growing
volume of municipal and industrial waste. RCRA amended the Solid Waste Disposal Act of
1965. It set national goals for:
 Protecting human health and the natural environment from the potential hazards of waste
disposal.
 Energy conservation and natural resources.
 Reducing the amount of waste generated, through source reduction and recycling
 Ensuring the management of waste in an environmentally sound manner.
It is now most widely known for the regulations promulgated under RCRA that set standards for
the treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous waste in the United States.
Implementation:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published waste management regulations,
which are codified in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations at parts 239 through 282.
Regulations regarding management of hazardous waste begin in part 260. As noted below,
most states have enacted laws and created regulations that are at least as stringent as the federal
regulations. Furthermore, the RCRA statute authorizes states to carry out many of the functions
of the federal law through their own hazardous waste programs (as well as their state laws) if
such programs have been approved by the EPA.
Provisions:
A: General Provisions

2.  Congressional Findings; Objectives and National Policy
 Definitions
 Interstate Cooperation; Application of Act and Integration with Other Acts
 Financial Disclosure; Solid Waste Management Information and Guidelines
B: Office of Solid Waste; Authorities of the Administrator
 Office of Solid Waste and Interagency Coordinating Committee
 Authorities of EPA Administrator
 Resource Recovery and Conservation Panels; Grants
 Annual Report; Office of Ombudsman
C: "Cradle to Grave" requirements
Arguably the most notable provisions of the RCRA statute are included in Subtitle C, which
directs EPA to establish controls on the management of hazardous wastes from their point of
generation, through their transportation and treatment, storage and/or disposal. Because RCRA
requires controls on hazardous waste generators (i.e., sites that generate hazardous waste),
transporters, and treatment, storage and disposal facilities (i.e., facilities that ultimately
treat/dispose of or recycle the hazardous waste), the overall regulatory framework has become
known as the "cradle to grave" system. The program imposes stringent recordkeeping and
reporting requirements on generators, transporters, and operators of treatment, storage and
disposal facilities handling hazardous waste.
D: Non-hazardous Solid Wastes
Non-hazardous solid wastes include certain hazardous wastes which are exempted from the
Subtitle C regulations, such as hazardous wastes from households and from conditionally exempt
small quantity generators. Oil and gas exploration and production wastes, such as drill cuttings,
produced water, and drilling fluids are categorized as "special wastes" and are also exempt from
Subtitle C. Subtitle D also includes garbage (e.g., food containers, coffee grounds), non-recycled
household appliances, residue from incinerated automobile tires, refuse such as metal scrap,
construction materials, and sludge from industrial and municipal waste water facilities
and drinking water treatment plants.
E: Department of Commerce responsibilities

3.  Development of Specifications for secondary materials; Development of markets for
recovered material.
 Technology promotion
F: Federal responsibilities
 Application of Federal, State and Local Law to Federal Facilities
 Federal procurement
 Cooperation with EPA; Applicability of solid waste disposal guidelines to executive
agencies
G: Miscellaneous provisions
 Whistleblower protection. Employees in the United States who believe they were fired or
suffered another adverse action related to enforcement of this law have 30 days to file a
written complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
 Citizen Suits; Imminent Hazard suits
 Petition for regulations; Public participation
H: Research, Development, Demonstration and Information
 Research, Demonstrations, Training; Special Studies
 Coordination, collection, dissemination of information
I: Underground Storage Tanks
Background
The operation of underground storage tanks (USTs) became subject to the RCRA regulatory
program with enactment of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984(HSWA). At
that time there were about 2.1 million tanks subject to federal regulation, and the EPA program
led to closure and removal of most substandard tanks. As of 2009 there were approximately
600,000 active USTs at 223,000 sites subject to federal regulation.
Regulatory requirements
The federal UST regulations cover tanks storing petroleum or listed hazardous substances, and
define the types of tanks permitted. EPA established a tank notification system to track UST

4. status. UST regulatory programs are principally administered by state and U.S. territorial
agencies.
The regulations set standards for:
 Groundwater monitoring
 Double liners
 Release detection, prevention and correction
 Spill control
 Overfill control (for petroleum products)
 Restrictions on land disposal of untreatable hazardous waste products.
The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA) required owners and
operators of USTs to ensure corrective action is completed when a tank is in need of repair, or
removal, when it is necessary to protect human health and the environment. It is also
recommended that above-ground storage tanks are used whenever possible.
J: Medical Waste (expired)
RCRA Subtitle J regulated medical waste in four states (New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island) and Puerto Rico, and expired on March 22,
1991.(See Medical Waste Tracking Act.) If determined to be hazardous, medical waste is
currently regulated by RCRA Subtitle C for hazardous wastes.
Amendments and related legislation:
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also
known as "Superfund," was enacted in 1980 to address the problem of remediating abandoned
hazardous waste sites, by establishing legal liability, as well as a trust fund for cleanup activities.
In general CERCLA applies to contaminated sites, while RCRA's focus is on controlling the
ongoing generation and management of particular waste streams. RCRA, like CERCLA, has
provisions to require cleanup of contaminated sites that occurred in the past.
In 1984 Congress expanded the scope of RCRA with the enactment of Hazardous and Solid
Waste Amendments (HSWA). The amendments strengthened the law by covering small quantity

5. generators of hazardous waste and establishing requirements for hazardous waste incinerators,
and the closing of substandard landfills.
In 1986, SARA addressed cleanup of leaking USTs and other leaking waste storage
facilities. The amendments established a trust fund to pay for the cleanup of leaking UST sites
where responsible parties cannot be identified.
The Land Disposal Program Flexibility Act of 1996 allowed some flexibility in the procedures
for land disposal of certain wastes. For example, a waste is not subject to land disposal
restrictions if it is sent to an industrial wastewater treatment facility, a municipal sewage
treatment plant, or is treated in a "zero discharge" facility.
The bill Reducing Excessive Deadline Obligations Act of 2013 (H.R. 2279; 113th Congress),
which made it to the House floor in January 2014, would amend this law "to remove a
requirement that the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
review and revise regulations declared under such Act at least every three years."
Treatment, storage, and disposal facility permits:
Treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) manage hazardous waste under RCRA
Subtitle C and generally must have a permit in order to operate. While most facilities have
RCRA permits, some continue to operate under what is called "interim status." Interim status
requirements appear in 40 CFR Part 265.
The permitting requirements for TSDFs appear in 40 CFR Parts 264 and 270. TSDFs manage
(treat, store, or dispose) hazardous waste in units that may include: container storage areas, tanks,
surface impoundments, waste piles, land treatment units, landfills, incinerators, containment
buildings, and/or drip pads.