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IPC met last week with EPA senior staff to discuss our concerns with the recently published Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule and the February 24 petition for review filed with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals by IPC and eight other trade associations.
Although EPA’s rule includes some common-sense updates that will bring greater efficiency and clarity to the Hazardous Waste Generator regulatory program, other aspects of the rule are quite draconian. IPC and the other associations are especially concerned about a provision that will change the criteria under which a generator of hazardous waste can be treated as operating a RCRA Treatment, Storage and Disposal (TSDF) facility that is operating without a required permit. Under the new rule, failure to meet any one of EPA’s long list of ‘conditions for exemption’ could subject a generator to multiple violations and substantial penalties. Even a minor deviation in compliance would cause a generator to now be considered an illegal TSDF.
The meeting was held to elevate the issue with the new EPA transition team and to discuss options moving forward, including an agreement to put the petition for review lawsuit in abeyance while EPA and IPC discuss the possibility of EPA proposing changes to the rule.
