July 17, 2023

RCRA Public Participation Manual

RCRA permitted facilities have requirements to incorporate public participation during their permitting process and corrective action. In 2016, EPA published Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Public Participation Manual. This manual has five chapters, and each is summarized below.

Chapter 1 is an overview of the history of RCRA public participation and how it has changed since the 1970s. This chapter also describes the goals of public participation and the community benefits stemming from this requirement.
Chapter 2 reviews strategies and methods that can lead to successful public participation for RCRA-permitted facilities and regulatory agencies, specifically, strategies in communication and creating public participation plans. A public participation plan is essentially a schedule the agency uses to identify where public participation is needed during permitting, corrective action, or other permitting activities. The agency will then propose activities for public outreach and participation during the RCRA process based on the public participation plan. For the public, EPA elaborates on the importance of environmental justice and provides links to additional resources like cleanups in my community and how to submit comments.
Chapter 3 describes the RCRA permitting process and in what parts public participation is required. The RCRA permitting process is broken into 4 distinct stages. Each of these stages has its own associated public participation requirements and considerations. The four stages of permitting are:

Pre-application stage
Application stage
Preparation of draft permit stage
Final permit design stage

Sometimes a permitted facility will need to make changes to its permit, requiring a permit modification. Permit modifications are broken into three classes, and the level of public participation required depends on the class of permit modification. Tables and flowcharts to assist permitted facilities with permit modifications are provided in the manual.

Chapter 4 addresses the corrective action process and highlights when public participation is involved at each step. The corrective action process can take several years, sometimes decades, to complete, and the public is able to submit comments throughout the entire process. RCRA-permitted facilities undergoing corrective action must know when public notices are required, provide avenues for public comments, and hold public hearings.
Chapter 5 dives deeper into creating public participation plans. A community assessment helps the permitting agency determine the level of public interest in the RCRA processes and identifies affected communities. This chapter provides recommended methods to complete a community assessment. Community assessments should help RCRA-permitted facilities, agencies, and public interest groups determine the appropriate public participation activities. Also provided are tables breaking down all the required and optional public participation activities.

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Disclaimer

Considerable care has been exercised in preparing this document; however, McCoy and Associates, Inc. makes no representation, warranty, or guarantee in connection with the publication of this information. McCoy and Associates, Inc. expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting from its use or for the violation of any federal, state, or municipal law or regulation with which this information may conflict. McCoy and Associates, Inc. does not undertake any duty to ensure the continued accuracy of this information.

This document addresses issues of a general nature related to the federal environmental regulations. Persons evaluating specific circumstances dealing with the environmental regulations should review state and local laws and regulations, which may be more stringent than federal requirements. In addition, the assistance of a qualified professional should be enlisted to address any site-specific circumstances.