RCRA and UIC obligations attendant to closing a facility

Abstract

AbstractThe current competitive global business environment, coupled with the considerations brought about by the existing regulatory regime, might yield the conclusion that a particular facility is too expensive to operate, and that placing it in cold standby or shuttering it altogether is the more cost‐effective course. Even in this analysis, cost is an important consideration, particularly the cost of complying with the myriad environmental obligations that will govern a facility's placement in cold standby or closure, because numerous environmental requirements attach to closing a plant. Two of the most important sources of those requirements for facilities that manage hazardous waste and injection‐well facilities are the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Plants must hold a RCRA permit to operate hazardous waste storage units, hazardous waste landfills, and hazardous waste container storage areas, which must also be closed in accord with that statute, especially the unit‐specific requirements for landfills and surface impoundments. The SDWA governs plants with underground injection wells, which must have an Underground Injection Control permit to operate. This permit governs closure and postclosure activities for the underground injection wells. Finally, other agreements, such as Consent Decrees, may attach closure, postclosure, and interim obligations. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.