PART 260 - HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: GENERAL

(a) This part provides definitions of terms, general standards, and overview information applicable to parts 260 through 265 and 268 of this chapter.

(b) In this part:

(a) Any information provided to EPA under parts 260 through 266 and 268 of this chapter will be made available to the public to the extent and in the manner authorized by the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. section 552, section 3007(b) of RCRA and EPA regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act and section 3007(b), and part 2 of this chapter, as applicable.

(b) Except as provided under paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, any person who submits information to EPA in accordance with parts 260 through 266 and 268 of this chapter may assert a claim of business confidentiality covering part or all of that information by following the procedures set forth in § 2.203(b) of this chapter. Information covered by such a claim will be disclosed by EPA only to the extent, and by means of the procedures, set forth in part 2, subpart B, of this chapter.

(c)

(d)

(a) Words in the masculine gender also include the feminine and neuter genders; and

(b) Words in the singular include the plural; and

(c) Words in the plural include the singular.

(a) In any case in which the state in which waste is generated, or the state in which waste will be transported to a designated facility, requires that the waste be regulated as a hazardous waste or otherwise be tracked through a hazardous waste manifest, the designated facility that receives the waste shall, regardless of the state in which the facility is located:

(a) For purposes of this section, “state-only regulated waste” means:

(b) In any case in which a state requires a RCRA manifest to be used under state law to track the shipment and transportation of a state-only regulated waste to a receiving facility, the facility receiving such a waste shipment for management shall:

Above ground tank means a device meeting the definition of “tank” in § 260.10 and that is situated in such a way that the entire surface area of the tank is completely above the plane of the adjacent surrounding surface and the entire surface area of the tank (including the tank bottom) is able to be visually inspected.

Act or RCRA means the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, 42 U.S.C. section 6901 et seq.

Active life of a facility means the period from the initial receipt of hazardous waste at the facility until the Regional Administrator receives certification of final closure.

Active portion means that portion of a facility where treatment, storage, or disposal operations are being or have been conducted after the effective date of part 261 of this chapter and which is not a closed portion. (See also “closed portion” and “inactive portion”.)

Acute hazardous waste means hazardous wastes that meet the listing criteria in § 261.11(a)(2) and therefore are either listed in § 261.31 of this chapter with the assigned hazard code of (H) or are listed in § 261.33(e) of this chapter.

Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, or his designee.

Aerosol can means a non-refillable receptacle containing a gas compressed, liquefied, or dissolved under pressure, the sole purpose of which is to expel a liquid, paste, or powder and fitted with a self-closing release device allowing the contents to be ejected by the gas.

AES filing compliance date means the date that EPA announces in the Federal Register, on or after which exporters of hazardous waste and exporters of cathode ray tubes for recycling are required to file EPA information in the Automated Export System or its successor system, under the International Trade Data System (ITDS) platform.

Airbag waste means any hazardous waste airbag modules or hazardous waste airbag inflators.

Airbag waste collection facility means any facility that receives airbag waste from airbag handlers subject to regulation under § 261.4(j) of this chapter, and accumulates the waste for more than ten days.

Airbag waste handler means any person, by site, who generates airbag waste that is subject to regulation under this chapter.

Ancillary equipment means any device including, but not limited to, such devices as piping, fittings, flanges, valves, and pumps, that is used to distribute, meter, or control the flow of hazardous waste from its point of generation to a storage or treatment tank(s), between hazardous waste storage and treatment tanks to a point of disposal onsite, or to a point of shipment for disposal off-site.

Aquifer means a geologic formation, group of formations, or part of a formation capable of yielding a significant amount of ground water to wells or springs.

Authorized representative means the person responsible for the overall operation of a facility or an operational unit (i.e., part of a facility), e.g., the plant manager, superintendent or person of equivalent responsibility.

Battery means a device consisting of one or more electrically connected electrochemical cells which is designed to receive, store, and deliver electric energy. An electrochemical cell is a system consisting of an anode, cathode, and an electrolyte, plus such connections (electrical and mechanical) as may be needed to allow the cell to deliver or receive electrical energy. The term battery also includes an intact, unbroken battery from which the electrolyte has been removed.

Boiler means an enclosed device using controlled flame combustion and having the following characteristics:

Carbon dioxide stream means carbon dioxide that has been captured from an emission source (e.g., power plant), plus incidental associated substances derived from the source materials and the capture process, and any substances added to the stream to enable or improve the injection process.

Carbon regeneration unit means any enclosed thermal treatment device used to regenerate spent activated carbon.

Cathode ray tube or CRT means a vacuum tube, composed primarily of glass, which is the visual or video display component of an electronic device. A used, intact CRT means a CRT whose vacuum has not been released. A used, broken CRT means glass removed from its housing or casing whose vacuum has been released.

Central accumulation area means any on-site hazardous waste accumulation area with hazardous waste accumulating in units subject to either § 262.16 (for small quantity generators) or § 262.17 of this chapter (for large quantity generators). A central accumulation area at an eligible academic entity that chooses to operate under 40 CFR part 262 subpart K is also subject to § 262.211 when accumulating unwanted material and/or hazardous waste.

Certification means a statement of professional opinion based upon knowledge and belief.

Closed portion means that portion of a facility which an owner or operator has closed in accordance with the approved facility closure plan and all applicable closure requirements. (See also “active portion” and “inactive portion”.)

Component means either the tank or ancillary equipment of a tank system.

Confined aquifer means an aquifer bounded above and below by impermeable beds or by beds of distinctly lower permeability than that of the aquifer itself; an aquifer containing confined ground water.

Contained means held in a unit (including a land-based unit as defined in this subpart) that meets the following criteria:

Container means any portable device in which a material is stored, transported, treated, disposed of, or otherwise handled.

Containment building means a hazardous waste management unit that is used to store or treat hazardous waste under the provisions of subpart DD of parts 264 or 265 of this chapter.

Contingency plan means a document setting out an organized, planned, and coordinated course of action to be followed in case of a fire, explosion, or release of hazardous waste or hazardous waste constituents which could threaten human health or the environment.

Corrosion expert means a person who, by reason of his knowledge of the physical sciences and the principles of engineering and mathematics, acquired by a professional education and related practical experience, is qualified to engage in the practice of corrosion control on buried or submerged metal piping systems and metal tanks. Such a person must be certified as being qualified by the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) or be a registered professional engineer who has certification or licensing that includes education and experience in corrosion control on buried or submerged metal piping systems and metal tanks.

CRT collector means a person who receives used, intact CRTs for recycling, repair, resale, or donation.

CRT exporter means any person in the United States who initiates a transaction to send used CRTs outside the United States or its territories for recycling or reuse, or any intermediary in the United States arranging for such export.

CRT glass manufacturer means an operation or part of an operation that uses a furnace to manufacture CRT glass.

CRT processing means conducting all of the following activities:

Designated facility means:

Destination facility means a facility that treats, disposes of, or recycles a particular category of universal waste, except those management activities described in paragraphs (a) and (c) of §§ 273.13 and 273.33 of this chapter. A facility at which a particular category of universal waste is only accumulated, is not a destination facility for purposes of managing that category of universal waste.

Dike means an embankment or ridge of either natural or man-made materials used to prevent the movement of liquids, sludges, solids, or other materials.

Dioxins and furans (D/F) means tetra, penta, hexa, hepta, and octa-chlorinated dibenzo dioxins and furans.

Discharge or hazardous waste discharge means the accidental or intentional spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, or dumping of hazardous waste into or on any land or water.

Disposal means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any solid waste or hazardous waste into or on any land or water so that such solid waste or hazardous waste or any constituent thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including ground waters.

Disposal facility means a facility or part of a facility at which hazardous waste is intentionally placed into or on any land or water, and at which waste will remain after closure. The term disposal facility does not include a corrective action management unit into which remediation wastes are placed.

Drip pad is an engineered structure consisting of a curbed, free-draining base, constructed of non-earthen materials and designed to convey preservative kick-back or drippage from treated wood, precipitation, and surface water run-on to an associated collection system at wood preserving plants.

Electronic import-export reporting compliance date means the date that EPA announces in the Federal Register, on or after which exporters, importers, and receiving facilities are required to submit certain export and import related documents to EPA using EPA's Waste Import Export Tracking System, or its successor system.

Electronic manifest (or e-Manifest) means the electronic format of the hazardous waste manifest that is obtained from EPA's national e-Manifest system and transmitted electronically to the system, and that is the legal equivalent of EPA Forms 8700-22 (Manifest) and 8700-22A (Continuation Sheet).

Electronic Manifest System (or e-Manifest System) means EPA's national information technology system through which the electronic manifest may be obtained, completed, transmitted, and distributed to users of the electronic manifest and to regulatory agencies.

Elementary neutralization unit means a device which:

EPA hazardous waste number means the number assigned by EPA to each hazardous waste listed in part 261, subpart D, of this chapter and to each characteristic identified in part 261, subpart C, of this chapter.

EPA identification number means the number assigned by EPA to each generator, transporter, and treatment, storage, or disposal facility.

EPA region means the states and territories found in any one of the following ten regions:

Equivalent method means any testing or analytical method approved by the Administrator under §§ 260.20 and 260.21.

Existing hazardous waste management (HWM) facility or existing facility means a facility which was in operation or for which construction commenced on or before November 19, 1980. A facility has commenced construction if:

Existing portion means that land surface area of an existing waste management unit, included in the original Part A permit application, on which wastes have been placed prior to the issuance of a permit.

Existing tank system or existing component means a tank system or component that is used for the storage or treatment of hazardous waste and that is in operation, or for which installation has commenced on or prior to July 14, 1986. Installation will be considered to have commenced if the owner or operator has obtained all Federal, State, and local approvals or permits necessary to begin physical construction of the site or installation of the tank system and if either

Explosives or munitions emergency means a situation involving the suspected or detected presence of unexploded ordnance (UXO), damaged or deteriorated explosives or munitions, an improvised explosive device (IED), other potentially explosive material or device, or other potentially harmful military chemical munitions or device, that creates an actual or potential imminent threat to human health, including safety, or the environment, including property, as determined by an explosives or munitions emergency response specialist. Such situations may require immediate and expeditious action by an explosives or munitions emergency response specialist to control, mitigate, or eliminate the threat.

Explosives or munitions emergency response means all immediate response activities by an explosives and munitions emergency response specialist to control, mitigate, or eliminate the actual or potential threat encountered during an explosives or munitions emergency. An explosives or munitions emergency response may include in-place render-safe procedures, treatment or destruction of the explosives or munitions and/or transporting those items to another location to be rendered safe, treated, or destroyed. Any reasonable delay in the completion of an explosives or munitions emergency response caused by a necessary, unforeseen, or uncontrollable circumstance will not terminate the explosives or munitions emergency. Explosives and munitions emergency responses can occur on either public or private lands and are not limited to responses at RCRA facilities.

Explosives or munitions emergency response specialist means an individual trained in chemical or conventional munitions or explosives handling, transportation, render-safe procedures, or destruction techniques. Explosives or munitions emergency response specialists include Department of Defense (DOD) emergency explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), technical escort unit (TEU), and DOD-certified civilian or contractor personnel; and other Federal, State, or local government, or civilian personnel similarly trained in explosives or munitions emergency responses.

Facility means:

Federal agency means any department, agency, or other instrumentality of the Federal Government, any independent agency or establishment of the Federal Government including any Government corporation, and the Government Printing Office.

Federal, State and local approvals or permits necessary to begin physical construction means permits and approvals required under Federal, State or local hazardous waste control statutes, regulations or ordinances.

Final closure means the closure of all hazardous waste management units at the facility in accordance with all applicable closure requirements so that hazardous waste management activities under parts 264 and 265 of this chapter are no longer conducted at the facility unless subject to the provisions in § 262.34.

Food-chain crops means tobacco, crops grown for human consumption, and crops grown for feed for animals whose products are consumed by humans.

Free liquids means liquids which readily separate from the solid portion of a waste under ambient temperature and pressure.

Freeboard means the vertical distance between the top of a tank or surface impoundment dike, and the surface of the waste contained therein.

Generator means any person, by site, whose act or process produces hazardous waste identified or listed in part 261 of this chapter or whose act first causes a hazardous waste to become subject to regulation.

Ground water means water below the land surface in a zone of saturation.

Hazardous secondary material means a secondary material (e.g., spent material, by-product, or sludge) that, when discarded, would be identified as hazardous waste under part 261 of this chapter.

Hazardous secondary material generator means any person whose act or process produces hazardous secondary materials at the generating facility. For purposes of this paragraph, “generating facility” means all contiguous property owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by the hazardous secondary material generator. For the purposes of § 261.2(a)(2)(ii) and § 261.4(a)(23), a facility that collects hazardous secondary materials from other persons is not the hazardous secondary material generator.

Hazardous waste means a hazardous waste as defined in § 261.3 of this chapter.

Hazardous waste constituent means a constituent that caused the Administrator to list the hazardous waste in part 261, subpart D, of this chapter, or a constituent listed in table 1 of § 261.24 of this chapter.

Hazardous waste management unit is a contiguous area of land on or in which hazardous waste is placed, or the largest area in which there is significant likelihood of mixing hazardous waste constituents in the same area. Examples of hazardous waste management units include a surface impoundment, a waste pile, a land treatment area, a landfill cell, an incinerator, a tank and its associated piping and underlying containment system and a container storage area. A container alone does not constitute a unit; the unit includes containers and the land or pad upon which they are placed.

In operation refers to a facility which is treating, storing, or disposing of hazardous waste.

Inactive portion means that portion of a facility which is not operated after the effective date of part 261 of this chapter. (See also “active portion” and “closed portion”.)

Incinerator means any enclosed device that:

Incompatible waste means a hazardous waste which is unsuitable for:

Individual generation site means the contiguous site at or on which one or more hazardous wastes are generated. An individual generation site, such as a large manufacturing plant, may have one or more sources of hazardous waste but is considered a single or individual generation site if the site or property is contiguous.

Industrial furnace means any of the following enclosed devices that are integral components of manufacturing processes and that use thermal treatment to accomplish recovery of materials or energy:

Infrared incinerator means any enclosed device that uses electric powered resistance heaters as a source of radiant heat followed by an afterburner using controlled flame combustion and which is not listed as an industrial furnace.

Inground tank means a device meeting the definition of “tank” in § 260.10 whereby a portion of the tank wall is situated to any degree within the ground, thereby preventing visual inspection of that external surface area of the tank that is in the ground.

Injection well means a well into which fluids are injected. (See also “underground injection”.)

Inner liner means a continuous layer of material placed inside a tank or container which protects the construction materials of the tank or container from the contained waste or reagents used to treat the waste.

Installation inspector means a person who, by reason of his knowledge of the physical sciences and the principles of engineering, acquired by a professional education and related practical experience, is qualified to supervise the installation of tank systems.

Intermediate facility means any facility that stores hazardous secondary materials for more than 10 days, other than a hazardous secondary material generator or reclaimer of such material.

International shipment means the transportation of hazardous waste into or out of the jurisdiction of the United States.

Lamp, also referred to as “universal waste lamp”, is defined as the bulb or tube portion of an electric lighting device. A lamp is specifically designed to produce radiant energy, most often in the ultraviolet, visible, and infra-red regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Examples of common universal waste electric lamps include, but are not limited to, fluorescent, high intensity discharge, neon, mercury vapor, high pressure sodium, and metal halide lamps.

Land-based unit means an area where hazardous secondary materials are placed in or on the land before recycling. This definition does not include land-based production units.

Landfill means a disposal facility or part of a facility where hazardous waste is placed in or on land and which is not a pile, a land treatment facility, a surface impoundment, an underground injection well, a salt dome formation, a salt bed formation, an underground mine, a cave, or a corrective action management unit.

Landfill cell means a discrete volume of a hazardous waste landfill which uses a liner to provide isolation of wastes from adjacent cells or wastes. Examples of landfill cells are trenches and pits.

Land treatment facility means a facility or part of a facility at which hazardous waste is applied onto or incorporated into the soil surface; such facilities are disposal facilities if the waste will remain after closure.

Large quantity generator is a generator who generates any of the following amounts in a calendar month:

Leachate means any liquid, including any suspended components in the liquid, that has percolated through or drained from hazardous waste.

Leak-detection system means a system capable of detecting the failure of either the primary or secondary containment structure or the presence of a release of hazardous waste or accumulated liquid in the secondary containment structure. Such a system must employ operational controls (e.g., daily visual inspections for releases into the secondary containment system of aboveground tanks) or consist of an interstitial monitoring device designed to detect continuously and automatically the failure of the primary or secondary containment structure or the presence of a release of hazardous waste into the secondary containment structure.

Liner means a continuous layer of natural or man-made materials, beneath or on the sides of a surface impoundment, landfill, or landfill cell, which restricts the downward or lateral escape of hazardous waste, hazardous waste constituents, or leachate.

Management or hazardous waste management means the systematic control of the collection, source separation, storage, transportation, processing, treatment, recovery, and disposal of hazardous waste.

Manifest means the shipping document EPA Form 8700-22 (including, if necessary, EPA Form 8700-22A), or the electronic manifest, originated and signed in accordance with the applicable requirements of parts 262 through 265 of this chapter.

Manifest tracking number means: The alphanumeric identification number (i.e., a unique three letter suffix preceded by nine numerical digits), which is pre-printed in Item 4 of the Manifest by a registered source.

Mercury-containing equipment means a device or part of a device (including thermostats, but excluding batteries and lamps) that contains elemental mercury integral to its function.

Military munitions means all ammunition products and components produced or used by or for the U.S. Department of Defense or the U.S. Armed Services for national defense and security, including military munitions under the control of the Department of Defense, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and National Guard personnel. The term military munitions includes: confined gaseous, liquid, and solid propellants, explosives, pyrotechnics, chemical and riot control agents, smokes, and incendiaries used by DOD components, including bulk explosives and chemical warfare agents, chemical munitions, rockets, guided and ballistic missiles, bombs, warheads, mortar rounds, artillery ammunition, small arms ammunition, grenades, mines, torpedoes, depth charges, cluster munitions and dispensers, demolition charges, and devices and components thereof. Military munitions do not include wholly inert items, improvised explosive devices, and nuclear weapons, nuclear devices, and nuclear components thereof. However, the term does include non-nuclear components of nuclear devices, managed under DOE's nuclear weapons program after all required sanitization operations under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, have been completed.

Mining overburden returned to the mine site means any material overlying an economic mineral deposit which is removed to gain access to that deposit and is then used for reclamation of a surface mine.

Miscellaneous unit means a hazardous waste management unit where hazardous waste is treated, stored, or disposed of and that is not a container, tank, surface impoundment, pile, land treatment unit, landfill, incinerator, boiler, industrial furnace, underground injection well with appropriate technical standards under part 146 of this chapter, containment building, corrective action management unit, unit eligible for a research, development, and demonstration permit under 40 CFR 270.65, or staging pile.

Movement means that hazardous waste transported to a facility in an individual vehicle.

New hazardous waste management facility or new facility means a facility which began operation, or for which construction commenced after November 19, 1980. (See also “Existing hazardous waste management facility”.)

New tank system or new tank component means a tank system or component that will be used for the storage or treatment of hazardous waste and for which installation has commenced after July 14, 1986; except, however, for purposes of § 264.193(g)(2) and § 265.193(g)(2), a new tank system is one for which construction commences after July 14, 1986. (See also “existing tank system.”)

No free liquids, as used in 40 CFR 261.4(a)(26) and 40 CFR 261.4(b)(18), means that solvent-contaminated wipes may not contain free liquids as determined by Method 9095B (Paint Filter Liquids Test), included in “Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods” (EPA Publication SW-846), which is incorporated by reference, and that there is no free liquid in the container holding the wipes. No free liquids may also be determined using another standard or test method as defined by an authorized state.

Non-acute hazardous waste means all hazardous wastes that are not acute hazardous waste, as defined in this section.

On ground tank means a device meeting the definition of “tank” in § 260.10 and that is situated in such a way that the bottom of the tank is on the same level as the adjacent surrounding surface so that the external tank bottom cannot be visually inspected.

On-site means the same or geographically contiguous property which may be divided by public or private right-of-way, provided the entrance and exit between the properties is at a cross-roads intersection, and access is by crossing as opposed to going along, the right-of-way. Non-contiguous properties owned by the same person but connected by a right-of-way which he controls and to which the public does not have access, is also considered on-site property.

Open burning means the combustion of any material without the following characteristics:

Operator means the person responsible for the overall operation of a facility.

Owner means the person who owns a facility or part of a facility.

Partial closure means the closure of a hazardous waste management unit in accordance with the applicable closure requirements of parts 264 and 265 of this chapter at a facility that contains other active hazardous waste management units. For example, partial closure may include the closure of a tank (including its associated piping and underlying containment systems), landfill cell, surface impoundment, waste pile, or other hazardous waste management unit, while other units of the same facility continue to operate.

Person means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, Federal Agency, corporation (including a government corporation), partnership, association, State, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a State, or any interstate body.

Personnel or facility personnel means all persons who work at, or oversee the operations of, a hazardous waste facility, and whose actions or failure to act may result in noncompliance with the requirements of part 264 or 265 of this chapter.

Pesticide means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest, or intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant, other than any article that:

Pile means any non-containerized accumulation of solid, nonflowing hazardous waste that is used for treatment or storage and that is not a containment building.

Plasma arc incinerator means any enclosed device using a high intensity electrical discharge or arc as a source of heat followed by an afterburner using controlled flame combustion and which is not listed as an industrial furnace.

Point source means any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including, but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not include return flows from irrigated agriculture.

Publicly owned treatment works or POTW means any device or system used in the treatment (including recycling and reclamation) of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature which is owned by a “State” or “municipality” (as defined by section 502(4) of the CWA). This definition includes sewers, pipes, or other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW providing treatment.

Qualified Ground-Water Scientist means a scientist or engineer who has received a baccalaureate or post-graduate degree in the natural sciences or engineering, and has sufficient training and experience in ground-water hydrology and related fields as may be demonstrated by state registration, professional certifications, or completion of accredited university courses that enable that individual to make sound professional judgements regarding ground-water monitoring and contaminant fate and transport.

Recognized trader means a person domiciled in the United States, by site of business, who acts to arrange and facilitate transboundary movements of wastes destined for recovery or disposal operations, either by purchasing from and subsequently selling to United States and foreign facilities, or by acting under arrangements with a United States waste facility to arrange for the export or import of the wastes.

Regional Administrator means the Regional Administrator for the EPA Region in which the facility is located, or his designee.

Remanufacturing means processing a higher-value hazardous secondary material in order to manufacture a product that serves a similar functional purpose as the original commercial-grade material. For the purpose of this definition, a hazardous secondary material is considered higher-value if it was generated from the use of a commercial-grade material in a manufacturing process and can be remanufactured into a similar commercial-grade material.

Remediation waste means all solid and hazardous wastes, and all media (including ground water, surface water, soils, and sediments) and debris, that are managed for implementing cleanup.

Remediation waste management site means a facility where an owner or operator is or will be treating, storing or disposing of hazardous remediation wastes. A remediation waste management site is not a facility that is subject to corrective action under 40 CFR 264.101, but is subject to corrective action requirements if the site is located in such a facility.

Replacement unit means a landfill, surface impoundment, or waste pile unit

Representative sample means a sample of a universe or whole (e.g., waste pile, lagoon, ground water) which can be expected to exhibit the average properties of the universe or whole.

Run-off means any rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that drains over land from any part of a facility.

Run-on means any rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that drains over land onto any part of a facility.

Saturated zone or zone of saturation means that part of the earth's crust in which all voids are filled with water.

Sludge means any solid, semi-solid, or liquid waste generated from a municipal, commercial, or industrial wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility exclusive of the treated effluent from a wastewater treatment plant.

Sludge dryer means any enclosed thermal treatment device that is used to dehydrate sludge and that has a maximum total thermal input, excluding the heating value of the sludge itself, of 2,500 Btu/lb of sludge treated on a wet-weight basis.

Small quantity generator is a generator who generates the following amounts in a calendar month:

Solid waste means a solid waste as defined in § 261.2 of this chapter.

Solvent-contaminated wipe means—

Sorbent means a material that is used to soak up free liquids by either adsorption or absorption, or both. Sorb means to either adsorb or absorb, or both.

Staging pile means an accumulation of solid, non-flowing remediation waste (as defined in this section) that is not a containment building and that is used only during remedial operations for temporary storage at a facility. Staging piles must be designated by the Director according to the requirements of 40 CFR 264.554.

State means any of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Storage means the holding of hazardous waste for a temporary period, at the end of which the hazardous waste is treated, disposed of, or stored elsewhere.

Sump means any pit or reservoir that meets the definition of tank and those troughs/trenches connected to it that serve to collect hazardous waste for transport to hazardous waste storage, treatment, or disposal facilities; except that as used in the landfill, surface impoundment, and waste pile rules, “sump” means any lined pit or reservoir that serves to collect liquids drained from a leachate collection and removal system or leak detection system for subsequent removal from the system.

Surface impoundment or impoundment means a facility or part of a facility which is a natural topographic depression, man-made excavation, or diked area formed primarily of earthen materials (although it may be lined with man-made materials), which is designed to hold an accumulation of liquid wastes or wastes containing free liquids, and which is not an injection well. Examples of surface impoundments are holding, storage, settling, and aeration pits, ponds, and lagoons.

Tank means a stationary device, designed to contain an accumulation of hazardous waste which is constructed primarily of non-earthen materials (e.g., wood, concrete, steel, plastic) which provide structural support.

Tank system means a hazardous waste storage or treatment tank and its associated ancillary equipment and containment system.

TEQ means toxicity equivalence, the international method of relating the toxicity of various dioxin/furan congeners to the toxicity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

Thermal treatment means the treatment of hazardous waste in a device which uses elevated temperatures as the primary means to change the chemical, physical, or biological character or composition of the hazardous waste. Examples of thermal treatment processes are incineration, molten salt, pyrolysis, calcination, wet air oxidation, and microwave discharge. (See also “incinerator” and “open burning”.)

Thermostat means a temperature control device that contains metallic mercury in an ampule attached to a bimetal sensing element, and mercury-containing ampules that have been removed from these temperature control devices in compliance with the requirements of 40 CFR 273.13(c)(2) or 273.33(c)(2).

Totally enclosed treatment facility means a facility for the treatment of hazardous waste which is directly connected to an industrial production process and which is constructed and operated in a manner which prevents the release of any hazardous waste or any constituent thereof into the environment during treatment. An example is a pipe in which waste acid is neutralized.

Transfer facility means any transportation-related facility, including loading docks, parking areas, storage areas and other similar areas where shipments of hazardous waste or hazardous secondary materials are held during the normal course of transportation.

Transport vehicle means a motor vehicle or rail car used for the transportation of cargo by any mode. Each cargo-carrying body (trailer, railroad freight car, etc.) is a separate transport vehicle.

Transportation means the movement of hazardous waste by air, rail, highway, or water.

Transporter means a person engaged in the offsite transportation of hazardous waste by air, rail, highway, or water.

Treatability study means a study in which a hazardous waste is subjected to a treatment process to determine:

Treatment means any method, technique, or process, including neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition of any hazardous waste so as to neutralize such waste, or so as to recover energy or material resources from the waste, or so as to render such waste non-hazardous, or less hazardous; safer to transport, store, or dispose of; or amenable for recovery, amenable for storage, or reduced in volume.

Treatment zone means a soil area of the unsaturated zone of a land treatment unit within which hazardous constituents are degraded, transformed, or immobilized.

Underground injection means the subsurface emplacement of fluids through a bored, drilled or driven well; or through a dug well, where the depth of the dug well is greater than the largest surface dimension. (See also “injection well”.)

Underground tank means a device meeting the definition of “tank” in § 260.10 whose entire surface area is totally below the surface of and covered by the ground.

Unfit-for use tank system means a tank system that has been determined through an integrity assessment or other inspection to be no longer capable of storing or treating hazardous waste without posing a threat of release of hazardous waste to the environment.

United States means the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Universal waste means any of the following hazardous wastes that are managed under the universal waste requirements of part 273 of this chapter:

Universal waste handler:

Universal waste transporter means a person engaged in the off-site transportation of universal waste by air, rail, highway, or water.

Unsaturated zone or zone of aeration means the zone between the land surface and the water table.

Uppermost aquifer means the geologic formation nearest the natural ground surface that is an aquifer, as well as lower aquifers that are hydraulically interconnected with this aquifer within the facility's property boundary.

Used oil means any oil that has been refined from crude oil, or any synthetic oil, that has been used and as a result of such use is contaminated by physical or chemical impurities.

User of the electronic manifest system means a hazardous waste generator, a hazardous waste transporter, an owner or operator of a hazardous waste treatment, storage, recycling, or disposal facility, or any other person that:

Very small quantity generator is a generator who generates less than or equal to the following amounts in a calendar month:

Vessel includes every description of watercraft, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on the water.

Wastewater treatment unit means a device which:

Water (bulk shipment) means the bulk transportation of hazardous waste which is loaded or carried on board a vessel without containers or labels.

Well means any shaft or pit dug or bored into the earth, generally of a cylindrical form, and often walled with bricks or tubing to prevent the earth from caving in.

Well injection: (See “underground injection”.)

Zone of engineering control means an area under the control of the owner/operator that, upon detection of a hazardous waste release, can be readily cleaned up prior to the release of hazardous waste or hazardous constituents to ground water or surface water.

Wipe means a woven or non-woven shop towel, rag, pad, or swab made of wood pulp, fabric, cotton, polyester blends, or other material.

(a) American Petroleum Institute (API). 1220 L Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20005, (855) 999-9870, www.api.org.

(b) ASTM International (ASTM). 100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, (877) 909-ASTM, www.astm.org.

(c) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Material cited in paragraphs (d)(1) through (3) is available from: National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161; the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, (202) 512-1800; EPA's National Service Center for Environmental Publications at https://www.epa.gov/nscep. Material cited in paragraph (d)(4) of this section is available at https://www.epa.gov/hw-sw846.

(d) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). 1 Batterymarch Park, P.O. Box 9101, Quincy, MA 02269-9101, (800) 344-3555, www.nfpa.org/.

(e) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Economic Cooperation and Development, Environment Directorate, 2 rue André Pascal, F-75775 Paris Cedex 16, France, owww.oecd-ilibrary.org/.

(a) Any person may petition the Administrator to modify or revoke any provision in parts 260 through 266, 268 and 273 of this chapter. This section sets forth general requirements which apply to all such petitions. Section 260.21 sets forth additional requirements for petitions to add a testing or analytical method to part 261, 264 or 265 of this chapter. Section 260.22 sets forth additional requirements for petitions to exclude a waste or waste-derived material at a particular facility from § 261.3 of this chapter or the lists of hazardous wastes in subpart D of part 261 of this chapter. Section 260.23 sets forth additional requirements for petitions to amend part 273 of this chapter to include additional hazardous wastes or categories of hazardous waste as universal waste.

(b) Each petition must be submitted to the Administrator by certified mail and must include:

(c) The Administrator will make a tentative decision to grant or deny a petition and will publish notice of such tentative decision, either in the form of an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, a proposed rule, or a tentative determination to deny the petition, in the Federal Register for written public comment.

(d) Upon the written request of any interested person, the Administrator may, at his discretion, hold an informal public hearing to consider oral comments on the tentative decision. A person requesting a hearing must state the issues to be raised and explain why written comments would not suffice to communicate the person's views. The Administrator may in any case decide on his own motion to hold an informal public hearing.

(e) After evaluating all public comments the Administrator will make a final decision by publishing in the Federal Register a regulatory amendment or a denial of the petition.

(a) Any person seeking to add a testing or analytical method to part 261, 264, or 265 of this chapter may petition for a regulatory amendment under this section and § 260.20. To be successful, the person must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Administrator that the proposed method is equal to or superior to the corresponding method prescribed in part 261, 264, or 265 of this chapter, in terms of its sensitivity, accuracy, and precision (i.e., reproducibility).

(b) Each petition must include, in addition to the information required by § 260.20(b):

(c) After receiving a petition for an equivalent method, the Administrator may request any additional information on the proposed method which he may reasonably require to evaluate the method.

(d) If the Administrator amends the regulations to permit use of a new testing method, the method will be incorporated by reference in § 260.11 and added to “Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods,” EPA Publication SW-846, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Washington, DC 20460.

(a) Any person seeking to exclude a waste at a particular generating facility from the lists in subpart D of part 261 may petition for a regulatory amendment under this section and § 260.20. To be successful:

(b) The procedures in this Section and § 260.20 may also be used to petition the Administrator for a regulatory amendment to exclude from § 261.3(a)(2)(ii) or (c), a waste which is described in these Sections and is either a waste listed in subpart D, or is derived from a waste listed in subpart D. This exclusion may only be issued for a particular generating, storage, treatment, or disposal facility. The petitioner must make the same demonstration as required by paragraph (a) of this section. Where the waste is a mixture of solid waste and one or more listed hazardous wastes or is derived from one or more hazardous wastes, his demonstration must be made with respect to the waste mixture as a whole; analyses must be conducted for not only those constituents for which the listed waste contained in the mixture was listed as hazardous, but also for factors (including additional constituents) that could cause the waste mixture to be a hazardous waste. A waste which is so excluded may still be a hazardous waste by operation of subpart C of part 261.

(c) If the waste is listed with codes “I”, “C”, “R”, or “E”, in subpart D,

(d) If the waste is listed with code “T” in subpart D,

(e) If the waste is listed with the code “H” in subpart D,

(f) [Reserved for listing radioactive wastes.]

(g) [Reserved for listing infectious wastes.]

(h) Demonstration samples must consist of enough representative samples, but in no case less than four samples, taken over a period of time sufficient to represent the variability or the uniformity of the waste.

(i) Each petition must include, in addition to the information required by § 260.20(b):

(j) After receiving a petition for an exclusion, the Administrator may request any additional information which he may reasonably require to evaluate the petition.

(k) An exclusion will only apply to the waste generated at the individual facility covered by the demonstration and will not apply to waste from any other facility.

(l) The Administrator may exclude only part of the waste for which the demonstration is submitted where he has reason to believe that variability of the waste justifies a partial exclusion.

(a) Any person seeking to add a hazardous waste or a category of hazardous waste to the universal waste regulations of part 273 of this chapter may petition for a regulatory amendment under this section, 40 CFR 260.20, and subpart G of 40 CFR part 273.

(b) To be successful, the petitioner must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Administrator that regulation under the universal waste regulations of 40 CFR part 273: Is appropriate for the waste or category of waste; will improve management practices for the waste or category of waste; and will improve implementation of the hazardous waste program. The petition must include the information required by 40 CFR 260.20(b). The petition should also address as many of the factors listed in 40 CFR 273.81 as are appropriate for the waste or category of waste addressed in the petition.

(c) The Administrator will grant or deny a petition using the factors listed in 40 CFR 273.81. The decision will be based on the weight of evidence showing that regulation under 40 CFR part 273 is appropriate for the waste or category of waste, will improve management practices for the waste or category of waste, and will improve implementation of the hazardous waste program.

(d) The Administrator may request additional information needed to evaluate the merits of the petition.

(a) Materials that are accumulated speculatively without sufficient amounts being recycled (as defined in § 261.1(c)(8) of this chapter);

(b) Materials that are reclaimed and then reused within the original production process in which they were generated;

(c) Materials that have been reclaimed but must be reclaimed further before the materials are completely recovered.

(d) Hazardous secondary materials that are reclaimed in a continuous industrial process; and

(e) Hazardous secondary materials that are indistinguishable in all relevant aspects from a product or intermediate.

(a) The Administrator may grant requests for a variance from classifying as a solid waste those materials that are accumulated speculatively without sufficient amounts being recycled if the applicant demonstrates that sufficient amounts of the material will be recycled or transferred for recycling in the following year. If a variance is granted, it is valid only for the following year, but can be renewed, on an annual basis, by filing a new application. The Administrator's decision will be based on the following criteria:

(b) The Administrator may grant requests for a variance from classifying as a solid waste those materials that are reclaimed and then reused as feedstock within the original production process in which the materials were generated if the reclamation operation is an essential part of the production process. This determination will be based on the following criteria:

(c) The Administrator may grant requests for a variance from classifying as a solid waste those hazardous secondary materials that have been partially reclaimed, but must be reclaimed further before recovery is completed, if the partial reclamation has produced a commodity-like material. A determination that a partially-reclaimed material for which the variance is sought is commodity-like will be based on whether the hazardous secondary material is legitimately recycled as specified in § 260.43 of this part and on whether all of the following decision criteria are satisfied:

(a) The extent to which the unit has provisions for recovering and exporting thermal energy in the form of steam, heated fluids, or heated gases; and

(b) The extent to which the combustion chamber and energy recovery equipment are of integral design; and

(c) The efficiency of energy recovery, calculated in terms of the recovered energy compared with the thermal value of the fuel; and

(d) The extent to which exported energy is utilized; and

(e) The extent to which the device is in common and customary use as a “boiler” functioning primarily to produce steam, heated fluids, or heated gases; and

(f) Other factors, as appropriate.

(a) The applicant must apply to the Administrator for the variance or non-waste determination. The application must address the relevant criteria contained in § 260.31, § 260.32, or § 260.34, as applicable.

(b) The Administrator will evaluate the application and issue a draft notice tentatively granting or denying the application. Notification of this tentative decision will be provided by newspaper advertisement or radio broadcast in the locality where the recycler is located. The Administrator will accept comment on the tentative decision for 30 days, and may also hold a public hearing upon request or at his discretion. The Administrator will issue a final decision after receipt of comments and after the hearing (if any).

(c) In the event of a change in circumstances that affect how a hazardous secondary material meets the relevant criteria contained in § 260.31, § 260.32, or § 260.34 upon which a variance or non-waste determination has been based, the applicant must send a description of the change in circumstances to the Administrator. The Administrator may issue a determination that the hazardous secondary material continues to meet the relevant criteria of the variance or non-waste determination or may require the facility to re-apply for the variance or non-waste determination.

(d) Variances and non-waste determinations shall be effective for a fixed term not to exceed ten years. No later than six months prior to the end of this term, facilities must re-apply for a variance or non-waste determination. If a facility re-applies for a variance or non-waste determination within six months, the facility may continue to operate under an expired variance or non-waste determination until receiving a decision on their re-application from the Administrator.

(e) Facilities receiving a variance or non-waste determination must provide notification as required by § 260.42 of this chapter.

(a) An applicant may apply to the Administrator for a formal determination that a hazardous secondary material is not discarded and therefore not a solid waste. The determinations will be based on the criteria contained in paragraphs (b) or (c) of this section, as applicable. If an application is denied, the hazardous secondary material might still be eligible for a solid waste variance or exclusion (for example, one of the solid waste variances under § 260.31). Determinations may also be granted by the State if the State is either authorized for this provision or if the following conditions are met:

(b) The Administrator may grant a non-waste determination for hazardous secondary material which is reclaimed in a continuous industrial process if the applicant demonstrates that the hazardous secondary material is a part of the production process and is not discarded. The determination will be based on whether the hazardous secondary material is legitimately recycled as specified in § 260.43 and on the following criteria:

(c) The Administrator may grant a non-waste determination for hazardous secondary material which is indistinguishable in all relevant aspects from a product or intermediate if the applicant demonstrates that the hazardous secondary material is comparable to a product or intermediate and is not discarded. The determination will be based on whether the hazardous secondary material is legitimately recycled as specified in § 260.43 and on the following criteria:

(a) The Regional Administrator may decide on a case-by-case basis that persons accumulating or storing the recyclable materials described in § 261.6(a)(2)(iii) of this chapter should be regulated under § 261.6 (b) and (c) of this chapter. The basis for this decision is that the materials are being accumulated or stored in a manner that does not protect human health and the environment because the materials or their toxic constituents have not been adequately contained, or because the materials being accumulated or stored together are incompatible. In making this decision, the Regional Administrator will consider the following factors:

(b) [Reserved]

(a) If a generator is accumulating the waste, the Regional Administrator will issue a notice setting forth the factual basis for the decision and stating that the person must comply with the applicable requirements of subparts A, C, D, and E of part 262 of this chapter. The notice will become final within 30 days, unless the person served requests a public hearing to challenge the decision. Upon receiving such a request, the Regional Administrator will hold a public hearing. The Regional Administrator will provide notice of the hearing to the public and allow public participation at the hearing. The Regional Administrator will issue a final order after the hearing stating whether or not compliance with part 262 is required. The order becomes effective 30 days after service of the decision unless the Regional Administrator specifies a later date or unless review by the Administrator is requested. The order may be appealed to the Administrator by any person who participated in the public hearing. The Administrator may choose to grant or to deny the appeal. Final Agency action occurs when a final order is issued and Agency review procedures are exhausted.

(b) If the person is accumulating the recyclable material as a storage facility, the notice will state that the person must obtain a permit in accordance with all applicable provisions of parts 270 and 124 of this chapter. The owner or operator of the facility must apply for a permit within no less than 60 days and no more than six months of notice, as specified in the notice. If the owner or operator of the facility wishes to challenge the Regional Administrator's decision, he may do so in his permit application, in a public hearing held on the draft permit, or in comments filed on the draft permit or on the notice of intent to deny the permit. The fact sheet accompanying the permit will specify the reasons for the Agency's determination. The question of whether the Regional Administrator's decision was proper will remain open for consideration during the public comment period discussed under § 124.11 of this chapter and in any subsequent hearing.

(a) Facilities managing hazardous secondary materials under §§ 260.30, 261.4(a)(23), 261.4(a)(24), 261.4(a)(25), or 261.4(a)(27) must send a notification prior to operating under the regulatory provision and by March 1 of each even-numbered year thereafter to the Regional Administrator using EPA Form 8700-12 that includes the following information:

(b) If a facility managing hazardous secondary materials has submitted a notification, but then subsequently stops managing hazardous secondary materials in accordance with the regulation(s) listed above, the facility must notify the Regional Administrator within thirty (30) days using EPA Form 8700-12. For purposes of this section, a facility has stopped managing hazardous secondary materials if the facility no longer generates, manages and/or reclaims hazardous secondary materials under the regulation(s) above and does not expect to manage any amount of hazardous secondary materials for at least 1 year.

(a) Recycling of hazardous secondary materials for the purpose of the exclusions or exemptions from the hazardous waste regulations must be legitimate. Hazardous secondary material that is not legitimately recycled is discarded material and is a solid waste. In determining if their recycling is legitimate, persons must address all the requirements of this paragraph and must consider the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) The following factor must be considered in making a determination as to the overall legitimacy of a specific recycling activity.

(c) [Reserved]