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February 15, 2024
This e-newsletter delivers announcements from EPA's Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery on rulemakings, guidance documents, reports, research, upcoming webinars, and more.
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EPA Proposes to List Nine Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Compounds as Hazardous Constituents
On February 8, 2024, EPA proposed to add nine specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, their salts, and structural isomers to its list of hazardous constituents. To be listed as a hazardous constituent under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, scientific studies must show that the chemical has toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, or teratogenic effects on humans or other life forms. EPA examined major toxicity and epidemiology research for these chemicals and determined that these nine PFAS compounds fulfill the requirements for hazardous constituent listing.
With this proposal, EPA is acting to protect communities by strengthening the ability to clean up PFAS contamination. EPA expects that this proposal would facilitate and result in additional cleanups to address releases of specific PFAS listed as RCRA hazardous constituents.
In June 2021, the Governor of New Mexico petitioned EPA to list PFAS as a hazardous waste under RCRA. This proposed rule is in part a response to this petition and two others asking EPA to regulate PFAS under RCRA. Listing as a hazardous constituent is a necessary building block for future work to regulate PFAS as a listed hazardous waste.
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EPA Proposes to Amend the Definition of Hazardous Waste Applicable to Corrective Action at Solid Waste Management Units
On February 8, 2024, EPA issued a proposed rule that would modify the regulations to clarify the definition of hazardous waste as it applies to corrective action to address releases from solid waste management units at Resource Conservation and Recovery Act permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. With this proposal, EPA would have clear regulatory authority to address emerging contaminants that might not be included under the current regulatory definition of hazardous waste. The proposed rule would provide clear regulatory authority to fully implement EPA’s statutory authority to require corrective action to address releases not only of substances identified as hazardous waste in the regulations, but of any substance that meets the statutory definition of hazardous waste.
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EPA Finalizes Memorandum Integrating Climate Change Adaptation Considerations into the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Corrective Action Process
On February 6, 2024, EPA finalized a memorandum with recommendations for U.S. EPA regions and RCRA authorized states with recommendations on how to work with RCRA facility owners and operators to integrate climate change adaptation considerations into the RCRA corrective action process. This integration will help protect human health and the environment by ensuring that RCRA corrective action cleanups remain effective and prevent the migration of hazardous waste or constituents.
We accepted comments on the draft memorandum through November 17, 2023. We received a few comments and made some changes to the memo in response to those comments. Read the final memorandum.
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