The disposition of toxic wastes is primarily directed by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for solid wastes and hazardous wastes, by the Clean Water Act (CWA) if wastewater is discharged to a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) or surface water body, or by equivalent state laws (see Appendix C for more information). While most states follow the format of federal RCRA regulations, some, such as California, apply more stringent controls on wastes that are considered hazardous. Depending on the chemical and region involved, the movement of contaminated materials for their treatment, storage, and/or disposal, especially to other regions, may be challenging in the face of laws governing chemical transport. Determining the appropriate waste “category” of the released substance is important since the use of inappropriate waste management procedures can be costly. For example, many states regulate the use of in situ burns or chemical countermeasures.
More specifically, if wastewater or recovered decontamination fluids are to be discharged to a local POTW, the waste stream must meet the pretreatment requirements of the POTW and any other acceptance criteria in the POTW permit. As many POTWs sell sludge residues for land application in agricultural settings, the POTW must be contacted before any decontamination residues are discharged to ensure such discharges meet facility-specific waste acceptance criteria that may be predicated on subsequent uses for sludge. Discharges directly to a surface water body must meet requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Program (NPDES), which are site-specific, depending in part on the classification and criteria of the surface water body and characteristics of the wastewater.
The National Response Framework directs the EPA or USCG to respond to inland or coastal releases of hazardous materials, respectively, including chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals, in accordance with the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) and ESF #10 – Oil and Hazardous Materials Response Annex (see the Federal Preparedness, Response, and Recovery section of this document for more information). In emergency situations, the NCP facilitates streamlining processes to quickly address an incident, including relief from administratively burdensome permitting for processes such as onsite treatment of hazardous wastes removed from a contaminated facility, and relief from regulatory provisions determined to be impracticable during an urgent response to a chemical incident. The NCP also provides waivers to regulatory provisions under specific circumstances.
Footnotes
85. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2016, June). National Disaster Recovery Framework. 2nd ed.