Chapter 13, Land Disposal Restrictions, (from our current edition of McCoy's RCRA Unraveled) examines in detail the complicated LDR requirements imposed by RCRA. Starting from a discussion of the basic intent of the program, this chapter takes the reader through all of the LDR topics. It includes 89 questions and answers from EPA guidance, 12 case studies, 21 figures, and 3 tables to provide information you can quickly use to understand the regs. The following excerpt is from the section on LDR paperwork requirements.

 

13.12 LDR paperwork requirements

Paperwork and recordkeeping are extremely important components of the LDR program. In many cases, the only way that regulators can determine if a facility is in compliance with LDR requirements is by examining the various forms and data required by the regulations. In other words, if a facility’s LDR paperwork is in order, the likelihood that they will encounter LDR enforcement problems is greatly reduced.

The basic intent of LDR paperwork is illustrated in Figure 13-17. In this case, a generator sends his/her waste offsite to a treatment or storage facility that will have the responsibility of treating the waste to meet LDR standards. The treatment facility then sends the treated waste (which meets LDR standards) to a disposal facility.

 

Whenever a generator sends a hazardous waste offsite, the initial shipment of the waste must be accompanied by an LDR notification. The purpose of the notification is to inform the receiving facility that the waste is subject to LDR requirements. In some cases, this notification also informs the receiving facility of the specific chemicals (e.g., UHCs) that are subject to treatment. The paperwork requirements applicable to generators are found in §268.7(a).

An April 4, 2006 final rule [71 FR 16862] allows generators to choose not to determine if their hazardous waste requires treatment prior to land disposal. [§268.7(a)] If the generator chooses this approach, he/she must manifest the waste to a RCRA-permitted hazardous waste treatment facility who will have the responsibility for determining if treatment is required. In this case, the LDR notification sent with the waste will include only 1) the waste code(s), 2) the manifest tracking number of the first shipment, and 3) the following statement: “This hazardous waste may or may not be subject to the LDR treatment standards. The treatment facility must make the determination.”

Using information contained in the generator’s notification (e.g., waste codes and identified UHCs), the treatment facility treats the waste to meet the appropriate treatment standard and then sends the treated waste to an offsite disposal facility. The initial shipment of this waste is accompanied by a notification/certification. The notification informs the disposal facility that the waste is subject to LDR treatment standards and the certification stipulates that the standards have been met. This certification (along with confirmatory testing by the disposal facility) is the paperwork that allows the waste to be land disposed. [RO 13181] The paperwork requirements applicable to treatment facilities are found in §268.7(b).

In the case where a generator has not made the determination of whether the hazardous waste requires treatment to meet LDR treatment standards, the treatment facility must make this determination. If the treatment facility determines that the waste, as received, meets LDR standards, no treatment is requried; conversely, if the waste needs treatment to meet LDR standards, the treatment facility will provide it. The paperwork required to accompany the treated waste from the treatment to disposal facility will be as described just above.

The disposal facility generally doesn’t have to prepare any LDR paperwork. Instead, they must be sure that the paperwork provided by others is in order before they dispose the waste. [§268.7(c)] The disposal facility must also test the waste in accordance with its waste analysis plan to confirm that the waste meets the treatment standards.

The notifications/certifications described above are not standardized forms. Instead, EPA simply specifies the information that must be included in the paperwork. In most cases, the source of the forms used to complete the paperwork is the offsite facility that will receive the waste. These facilities typically require forms to be filled out that are part of their waste acceptance procedures; the information required by the LDR program is often included on these forms. In a few situations (to be described later) no outside source of forms for paperwork will be available, and the documents will have to be prepared by the facility managing the waste.

13.12.1 Figuring out what forms to use

Unfortunately, the most difficult aspect of complying with the LDR program involves figuring out what the exact paperwork requirements are for a given waste. The difficulty derives from the fact that §268.7, which specifies paperwork requirements, is very poorly written and difficult to follow. Additionally, not all paperwork requirements appear in this section; §268.9(d) also specifies important paperwork associated with characteristic wastes.

To make the paperwork identification process easier, we have prepared a series of logic diagrams that may be used by generators and treatment/recycling facilities. Figure 13-18 and Figure 13-19 apply to generators; Figure 13-20 applies to treatment and recycling facilities. For convenience in using these figures, we reproduced the Generator Paperwork Requirements Table from §268.7(a)(4) as Table 13-2 and the Treatment Facility Paperwork Requirements Table from §268.7(b)(3) as Table 13-3.