September 18, 2025

EPA Overhauls Haz Waste Cleanup Resources and Guidance

Hazardous waste cleanup and remediation activities require the close coordination of state and federal authorities with the regulated community. EPA recently reorganized its tools and resources available to assist stakeholders in those cleanup efforts. In addition to numerous training programs and seminars, more than 200 guidance documents have been compiled into a searchable database for all hazardous waste cleanup needs.

EPA’s technical hazardous waste cleanup training resources include the Environmental Response Training Program (ERTP) directed by the agency’s environmental response team, the Contaminated Site Cleanup Information (CLU-IN) ongoing series of internet seminars, and training webinars hosted by the Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council (ITRC). The ERTP acts as a virtual university to provide training courses focused on technical, health, and safety topics. The program is designed to train personnel from federal, state, tribal, and local government agencies in hazardous waste site investigation/remediation practices and procedures, as well as emergency responses. Course topics range from the foundational, like Superfund basics and remediation technologies, to the complex, like chemical warfare agents and toxicology. CLU-IN contains a list of more than 1000 webinar recordings on cleanup activities, many of which are multiple hours long. The ITRC partners with CLU-IN to host its own webinars, but also provides guidance documents on issues ranging from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to in-situ bioremediation.

For those looking for even more remediation assistance, EPA’s hazardous waste cleanups database provides guidance and policy documents dating back to the original May 19, 1980 RCRA final rule. These guidance documents can help facilities, whether they are conducting cleanup activites under the hazardous waste cleanup program (formerly known as corrective action) or CERCLA. Stakeholders seeking a RCRA-centric approach should familiarize themselves with EPA’s RCRA FIRST approach, which walks through the cleanup steps from RCRA facility investigations through remedy selection. For more updates on hazardous waste cleanup or other RCRA issues, you can sign up for EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery’s monthly newsletter.

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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.