dept. 1000, 1007, 6 CCR 1007-3, pt. 262, app to Part 262
Statement of Basis and Purpose Part 262 - Generator Regulations
Purpose
The fundamental purpose of these regulations which are promulgated pursuant to CR.S. 1973, 25-15-302(2), is to establish the responsibilities of generators of hazardous waste in the handling and transportation of that waste in order to ensure protection of public health and safety and the environment.
Additionally, regulations concerning hazardous waste generators are a necessary and required component in conducting a hazardous waste management program; the State intends to obtain EPA authorization for a hazardous waste management program pursuant to C.R.S. 1973, 25-15-302. Such full state authorization to conduct the hazardous waste regulatory program can be granted only upon the determination that the State program is equivalent to that of the EPA.
Basis
These regulations are based upon a "cradle-to-grave" system of regulation of hazardous waste. Under this system, hazardous waste is tracked and regulated from the point of generation through storage and transportation to the point of treatment and/or disposal. In this manner, a major portion of the hazardous waste generated in the State is regulated and accounted for, thereby minimizing the potential for public health and environmental problems resulting from improper management, handling, transportation and disposal of these wastes. The great potential for public health and environmental problems, including hazards associated with fire, explosion, direct contact, and air, surface water and groundwater contamination resulting from inadequate management of hazardous wastes has been documented at hundreds of sites throughout the nation and has spurred the development of hazardous waste regulations pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976, Public Law 94-580.
These regulations are based, for the most part, on those developed by the EPA under Subtitle C of RCRA. This was done for the reasons discussed below. Because the Federal hazardous waste regulations are comprehensive and technically complex, it was felt that adopting the Federal format and amending specific sections to the needs of the State, as opposed to developing State regulations "from scratch", would save substantial amounts of time and financial resources. Also, it was felt that the process of determination of initial program equivalency would be greatly simplified through adoption of the Federal format. Further, because the Federal regulations are presently subject to frequent amendment, adoption of the Federal format greatly enhances maintaining equivalency of the State regulations to the Federal program.
As stated above, much of the scientific basis for these regulations was developed in the course of EPA research and investigations over a period of several years. Therefore, all information utilized by EPA in developing and proposing these regulations, including that referenced in the Federal Register Volume 45, Number 98, May 19, 1980 p. 33066 et seq. is hereby incorporated in this statement by reference.
The basis for these regulations was further developed through a series of twelve public meetings at which comments were received from interested parties. Accordingly, certain changes from the Federal regulations have been incorporated in these regulations where it was deemed advisable as a result of public comment and study of the issues, in order to tailor the regulations more to Colorado's needs. Such departures from the approach taken in the Federal regulations are discussed in this document under the pertinent topics.
The Regulations
Hazardous Waste Determination
Hazardous waste is defined in the regulations as a subset of the more encompassing definition of solid waste. Therefore, initially, a person who generates solid waste, as defined in § 261.2 of the regulations is required to determine if that waste is hazardous by following the steps outlined in § 262.11 of the regulations. This determination is essential in order to ensure that all hazardous wastes are included within the regulatory system and therefore managed and disposed in a manner which protects public health and the environment. Once the generator makes the determination that this waste is hazardous, he/she is required to notify the Department of this activity.
Notification
In order for hazardous waste to be tracked from point of origin through transportation to point of disposal, all parties must be identifiable within the tracking system. Therefore, the regulations require that generators who have not received an EPA identification number notify the Department and receive an EPA identification number prior to the treatment, storage, disposal, or transportation of hazardous waste. Accordingly, the generator is prevented from offering his/her hazardous waste to transporters or treatment, storage or disposal facilities without an EPA identification number.
Manifest System
The essential element in this hazardous waste tracking system is the manifest. The manifest contains pertinent information concerning the wastes which are being transported off-site. All the parties involved with a particular waste shipment are responsible for signing and dating the manifest.
The generator is specifically responsible for preparing the manifest. The generator must designate on the manifest the permitted facility to which his/her wastes will be delivered. Certain pertinent information must be included by the generator on the manifest including the following: (1) the names, addresses and EPA identification numbers of all parties involved with the waste; (2) the description of the waste(s) including proper shipping name, and (3) the total quantity of each waste and the type and number of containers. The information found on the manifest must enable emergency response personnel to determine the nature of the hazard and institute control measures to protect public health and safety.
After signing the manifest, the generator must obtain the signature of the initial transporter and date of acceptance. One copy of the manifest is retained by the generator while the remaining copies are given to the transporter. The transporter then obtains the signature of the owner or operator of the designated treatment, storage, or disposal facility, retains one copy and the designated facility receives the remaining copies. The designated facility retains one copy of the manifest and returns one copy to the generator. This enables the generator to show, through the initial retained copy and the copy returned by the facility, that the waste which he/she shipped was received by the designated facility. In this manner, each party has a record of the transaction and the generated wastes can be accounted for in transport and disposal. This manifest accounting system greatly decreases the opportunity and likelihood for illegal dumping and release to the environment at any of the stages of handling these wastes and so protects the public from potential exposure to these wastes.
Those federal standards applicable to water (bulk shipment) transporters have been deleted, due to the impossibility of such transportation in Colorado. In addition to generally applicable manifest requirements, rail transporters are also referred to following transporter regulation § 263.20(f) for special provisions.
Pre-Transport Requirements
The generator regulations include certain hazardous material regulations which have been adopted from the Department of Transportation (DOT). These regulations concern packaging, labeling, marking, and placarding. These regulations have been adopted in order to protect the health and safety of those individuals responsible for managing, handling, transporting and disposing of hazardous wastes, to protect those individuals responding to the scene of an incident involving hazardous wastes and to protect, in general, public health and safety in the management of hazardous waste.
The Board's adoption of these pre-transport regulations ensures consistency with the requirements of DOT. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has assumed jurisdiction over state transportation of hazardous materials from the DOT, and is currently in the process of promulgating regulations concerning the transportation of hazardous wastes. Efforts are being made to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding concerning enforcement of applicable hazardous waste transportation regulations between the Department and the PUC.
Most generators accumulate waste on-site until the time of transportation for practical and economic reasons. Paperwork associated with manifests is commensurate with the number of waste shipments. Also, in most cases it is more economical to ship an entire truckload of waste rather than just a few drums. There are safety and health concerns, however, which lead to placing limits on the accumulation time allowed to a generator who does not have interim status or a hazardous waste storage permit. Hazards associated with fire are increased with large accumulations of material, and the likelihood that a container will leak also increases with time. Therefore, provisions are made in the regulations for generators to accumulate hazardous waste that has been generated on-site for as long as 90 days without a permit provided certain requirements are met. These special requirements concern containers, tanks, preparedness and prevention, personnel training, contingency planning and emergency procedures. A generator who accumulates hazardous waste for more than 90 days must have a permit unless an extension of up to 30 days is granted by the Department.
Recordkeeping And Reporting
Records are an essential part of the hazardous waste tracking system. There must be tangible evidence of transactions involving hazardous waste in order to assure the generators compliance with these regulations. This is necessary to ensure that all hazardous waste is managed in a manner which protects public health and the environment. Accordingly, copies of each manifest, annual report, and test results (in accordance with § 262.11) must be kept for at least 3 years by the generator.
Due to the lack of an adequate data base concerning hazardous waste generation and disposal in Colorado, the submittal of an annual report by generators may be required, at the discretion of the Director. This enables the Department to gather a data base and update it periodically, while generators are not burdened with submitting the information unless the Department determines that it is needed.
In order to ensure that all hazardous waste shipped by generators is accounted for, a generator must contact the transporter and/or the owner or operator of the designated treatment, storage, or disposal facility if he/she does not receive a signed copy of the manifest from the designated facility within 35 days of the date the waste was initially accepted. If, after 45 days, the generator has still not received a copy of the manifest, he/she must submit an exception report to the Department.
In order to determine compliance with these regulations, the Department may require generators to furnish additional reports concerning quantities and disposition of hazardous wastes.
Special Conditions
The notification requirement for international shipments will not be delegated to the State by EPA. Therefore, all generators shipping waste outside the United States must notify the Administrator of EPA as required in § 262.50 of the regulations.
A Farmer disposing of his/her own waste pesticides is not required to comply with the generator or treatment, storage or disposal facility standards provided precautions outlined in § 262.51 are met These requirements provide protection of public health and the environment while serving to lessen the regulatory burden upon farmers.
dept. 1000, 1007, 6 CCR 1007-3, pt. 262, app to Part 262