Regulatory Focus: "California List" land disposal rules

Abstract

In December 1986 EPA published the second in a series of proposed regulations banning land-based disposal of untreated hazardous wastes, as mandated by the 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments to the 1976 Resource Recovery and Conservation Act (RCRA). This proposal covers liquid hazardous wastes on the California List; so called because it was originally developed by the California Department of Health Services to regulate liquid hazardous wastes disposed of in that state. The list includes liquid wastes that contain polychlorinated biphenyls, cyanides, or any of eight elemental metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, and thallium) above certain concentrations, or those that have a pH of less than 2. It also covers a new category: liquid and solid hazardous wastes that contain halogenated organic compounds (HOCs) above certain concentrations. This includes more than 300 compounds already listed as hazardous by RCRA's Appendix VIII. Much of this proposed rule will have little immediate effect because of previous RCRA-Mandated regulation had banned routine land disposal of liquid hazardous wastes. But sever important policies are clarified, including the connections among the identification of best demonstrated available technology, national variances, and statutory deadlines.