The employees (aka: personnel) of a large quantity generator of hazardous waste (LQG) must successfully complete initial training with an annual review. Regulations of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) mandate such training be provided in order for the LQG to maintain its exemption from regulation as a treatment, storage, or disposal facility (TSDF) of hazardous waste.
The purpose of this article is to explain the Federal regulations of the USEPA at 40 CFR 262.17(a)(7) for training of personnel at a large quantity generator of hazardous waste.
Before we begin…
Two changes were made to these regulations by the Generator Improvements Rule:
- The location of the regulations – along with many others – were changed. Whereas the training requirements for LQGs used to be found at 40 CFR 265.16, referenced by §262.34(a)(4), they are now found entirely at §262.17(a)(7).
- USEPA acknowledged existing practices by LQGs and now specifically allows the training to be “online”. There will be more explanation of this later in the article.
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Scope and Applicability:
- This article will only address the Federal regulations of the USEPA for management of hazardous waste. A state with an authorized hazardous waste program may have more stringent requirements.
- Your state may not yet have adopted the Generator Improvements Rule. If it has not, the option to provide online training may not yet be available in your state.
- This training requirement is applicable solely to LQGs and TSDFs.
- The conditions for exemption applicable to a small quantity generator of hazardous waste (SQG) at §262.16(b)(9)(iii) require the SQG to ensure all employees are thoroughly familiar with how to handle hazardous waste and how to respond to a hazardous waste emergency. It does not specify training as a requirement to achieve this.
Read: The Hazardous Waste Personnel Training Requirement for a Small Quantity Generator of Hazardous Waste
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- A very small quantity generator of hazardous waste (VSQG) is exempt from all training requirements per §262.14.
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- A hazardous waste transporter does not have a training requirement specified in Part 263 of the USEPA regulations. However, as the transporter of a hazardous waste it will be subject to the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration within the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT/PHMSA). The HMR requires persons with a direct affect on the safe transportation of hazardous materials (HazMat) to receive HazMat Employee training. Drivers may require an additional component of Driver Training.
- Treatment, storage, and disposal facilities for hazardous waste (TSDFs) have personnel training requirements very similar to those of LQGs. Those training requirements will not be addressed in this article.
- Training is required for personnel who manage hazardous waste in a central accumulation area (CAA) but not those whose sole hazardous waste management responsibilities are in a satellite accumulation area (SAA). However, if personnel will move the hazardous waste from the SAA to the CAA they must be trained. (RO 14703, FAQ #8)
- These regulations are applicable solely to hazardous waste.
- Handlers of universal waste are not subject to these regulations. The universal waste regulations of Part 273 have a less stringent training requirement for universal waste handlers.
- A generator of used oil is not subject to any training regulations at all.
- A state may have more stringent regulations that require training for what USEPA identifies as a non-hazardous waste.
40 CFR 262.17(a)(7):
(7) Personnel training. (i)(A) Facility personnel must successfully complete a program of classroom instruction, online training (e.g., computer-based or electronic), or on-the-job training that teaches them to perform their duties in a way that ensures compliance with this part. The large quantity generator must ensure that this program includes all the elements described in the document required under paragraph (a)(7)(iv) of this section.
(B) This program must be directed by a person trained in hazardous waste management procedures, and must include instruction which teaches facility personnel hazardous waste management procedures (including contingency plan implementation) relevant to the positions in which they are employed.
(C) At a minimum, the training program must be designed to ensure that facility personnel are able to respond effectively to emergencies by familiarizing them with emergency procedures, emergency equipment, and emergency systems, including where applicable:
(1) Procedures for using, inspecting, repairing, and replacing facility emergency and monitoring equipment;
(2) Key parameters for automatic waste feed cut-off systems;
(3) Communications or alarm systems;
(4) Response to fires or explosions;
(5) Response to ground-water contamination incidents; and
(6) Shutdown of operations.
(D) For facility employees that receive emergency response training pursuant to Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations 29 CFR 1910.120(p)(8) and 1910.120(q), the large quantity generator is not required to provide separate emergency response training pursuant to this section, provided that the overall facility training meets all the conditions of exemption in this section.
(ii) Facility personnel must successfully complete the program required in paragraph (a)(7)(i) of this section within six months after the date of their employment or assignment to the facility, or to a new position at the facility, whichever is later. Employees must not work in unsupervised positions until they have completed the training standards of paragraph (a)(7)(i) of this section.
(iii) Facility personnel must take part in an annual review of the initial training required in paragraph (a)(7)(i) of this section.
(iv) The large quantity generator must maintain the following documents and records at the facility:
(A) The job title for each position at the facility related to hazardous waste management, and the name of the employee filling each job;
(B) A written job description for each position listed under paragraph (a)(7)(iv)(A) of this section. This description may be consistent in its degree of specificity with descriptions for other similar positions in the same company location or bargaining unit, but must include the requisite skill, education, or other qualifications, and duties of facility personnel assigned to each position;
(C) A written description of the type and amount of both introductory and continuing training that will be given to each person filling a position listed under paragraph (a)(7)(iv)(A) of this section;
(D) Records that document that the training or job experience, required under paragraphs (a)(7)(i), (ii), and (iii) of this section, has been given to, and completed by, facility personnel.
(v) Training records on current personnel must be kept until closure of the facility. Training records on former employees must be kept for at least three years from the date the employee last worked at the facility. Personnel training records may accompany personnel transferred within the same company.
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Who – or what – are personnel or facility personnel? i.e., who needs this training?
Don’t expect an easy answer. In the regulation’s first sentence at §262.17(a)(7)(i)(A) it indicates the training requirement is for “facility personnel”. The term personnel or facility personnel is defined at §260.10:
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.
Taken literally, this doesn’t apply to the personnel of a LQG since it refers to a “hazardous waste facility” which could be interpreted as a TSDF, and it also refers to parts 264 or 265 which apply solely to permitted or interim status TSDFs.
Read: What’s the Difference Between Parts 264 and 265 of 40 CFR?
However, despite the unclear definition of personnel or facility personnel, its placement in the conditions for exemption of §262.17 make it clear it includes the employees of a LQG. But just what employees? Various USEPA guidance documents indicate the personnel of a LQG that perform any of the following functions require training:
- Complete weekly inspections of hazardous waste containers or daily inspections of hazardous waste tanks in CAA.
- Prepare, review, or sign the uniform hazardous waste manifest.
- Move hazardous waste from the SAA to the CAA.
- Plan or respond to a hazardous waste emergency.
- Directly manage hazardous waste.
- Work in or near areas where hazardous wastes are generated, handled, or stored but do not handle hazardous waste. (May only require training on emergency procedures).
- Clerical staff that manage hazardous waste documents; e.g., manifests, land disposal restrictions, inspection logs, training records, &etc.
Facility personnel includes:
- Both supervisory and non-supervisory.
- Part-time or temporary employees.
- Contractors working at LQG sites.
At a minimum, all employees of a LQG must be familiar with the facility’s contingency plan and their role in an emergency even if it is solely to evacuate the facility.
What is meant by a “program”?
Program is not defined by USEPA. It’s dictionary definition sheds some light on what USEPA wants from LQGs at §262.17(a)(7):
Program is a set of related measures or activities with a particular long-term aim.
By using the word program throughout §262.17(a)(7), USEPA indicates it is looking for more than just once-and-done training. It wants the LQG to provide a set of related measures or activities with a particular long-term aim.
What training content is required?
USEPA indicates three times in §262.17(a)(7) what training content is required for facility personnel of a LQG. The first two statements are vague, the third is much more precise.
- At §262.17(a)(7)(i)(A) USEPA states training must teach facility personnel to perform their duties in a way that ensures compliance with the hazardous waste regulations for a LQG. So, training must include the job-specific hazardous waste management functions performed by facility personnel.
- §262.17(a)(7)(i)(B) states the training must include instruction which teaches facility personnel hazardous waste management procedures relevant to their position. This must include contingency plan implementation. Here again, the training must teach facility personnel how to manage hazardous waste per their job description. It must also include their responsibilities as described in the contingency plan.
- And finally, §262.17(a)(7)(i)(C) gets specific: At a minimum, training for facility personnel must ensure they are able to respond effectively to an emergency. If applicable, training must include:
- Procedures for using, inspecting, repairing, and replacing facility emergency and monitoring equipment.
- Key parameters for automatic waste feed cut-off systems.
- Communications or alarm systems.
- Response to fires or explosions.
- Response to ground-water contamination incidents.
- Shutdown of operations.
Q: I don’t have automatic waste feed cut-off systems! How in the world can I include it in my training?
A: You don’t. §262.17(a)(7)(i)(C) indicates the above must be included in facility personnel training, “…where applicable.” If any of the above is not applicable to your operations, then you don’t need to include it in your training. I suggest your training documents indicate the content of §262.17(a)(7)(i)(C) that was not applicable and not included in the training.
From the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE):
Hazardous Waste Training / Large Quantity Generators / Reviewed/Revised January 2021
Examples of topics that may be included in a LQG’s hazardous waste training program include:
- Hazardous waste identification and determination.
- “Cradle-to-grave” responsibility (i.e., from the moment it is generated at your facility until its
ultimate disposal). - Hazardous waste accumulation area quantity/time limits (central / satellite).
- Hazardous waste container and tank management.
- Proper labeling of hazardous waste containers and tanks.
- Aisle space.
- Hazardous waste compatibility.
- Hazardous waste inspections.
- Hazardous waste manifest requirements.
- Land disposal restriction (LDR) forms.
- Hazardous waste generator recordkeeping requirements.
- Used Oil labeling and management.
- Contingency plan implementation.
- Emergency coordinator contact information.
- Emergency coordinator phone postings.
- Emergency response procedures, including alarms and evacuation routes.
- Use of emergency response equipment.
- Spill cleanup.
- Arrangements with local emergency response authorities (e.g. fire department, police department, local health department, local hospitals and emergency response teams).
What about other emergency response training?
Clearly, knowing how to respond to a hazardous waste emergency is a USEPA priority for facility personnel training at a LQG. But what if your facility personnel have already received all of the emergency response training they need through the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations of 29 CFR 1910.120(p)(8) and §1910.120(q)? Is the LQG required to provide similar content again under these regulations? The answer is no. Per §262.17(a)(7)(i)(D), if facility personnel have already received emergency response training under either of the above OSHA regulations, the LQG is not required to provide separate emergency response training so long as the overall training requirements of §262.17(a)(7) are met.
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When must facility personnel training be provided?
Initial Training:
Per §262.17(a)(7)(ii), training must be provided initially within six (6) months of employment or assignment to the facility or of a new job responsibility subject to training. It is important to note that untrained facility personnel may perform a regulated function, e.g., conduct weekly inspections of hazardous waste containers in a CAA, but only if they are supervised by trained and knowledgeable facility personnel.
Annual Review:
Per §262.17(a)(7)(iii), facility personnel must receive an annual review of the initial training. It is important to note the regulations do not require full training annually. Instead, an annual review of the initial training content will suffice. Whereas initial training may take several hours, it is possible that subsequent annual reviews are completed in a fraction of the time required for initial training.
Who can provide facility personnel training at a LQG?
The regulations do not specify the credentials for the training provider. §262.17(a)(7)(i)(B) states the program must be directed by a person that has been trained in waste management procedures. Notice: the requirement for training does not specifically identify the training provider but rather the person that directs the training program (see earlier in this article for definition of “program”). The person in charge of the training program may not be the same person who provides the training. However, it is strongly advised that anyone involved in providing training to facility personnel of a LQG are themselves trained and knowledgeable in the relevant hazardous waste management regulations. Many LQGs that provide training to their facility personnel send their trainers and training program directors to outside training and then return with their knowledge to guide their facility personnel through their training program.
Read: Nine Questions to ask your RCRA Training Provider
How can facility personnel training at a LQG be provided?
§262.17(a)(7)(i)(A) allows for three (3) options to provide both initial and annual review facility personnel training:
- Classroom instruction.
- Online training, either computer-based or electronic. This option was added by the Generator Improvements Rule.
- On-the-job training. Remember that on-the-job training must meet the other requirements of §262.17(a)(7). So, the person who directs the training program must be trained and knowledgeable.
Any one or some combination of the above options may be utilized to meet the training requirements.
What record of the training is to be kept?
§262.17(a)(7)(iv) requires the LQG to maintain the following documents and records at the facility:
- The job title for each position at the facility related to hazardous waste management, and the name of the employee filling each job. These job titles are not required to match those used elsewhere in your company. For example, your HR Department may refer to a position as, “Ebrasure Technician’s Assistant, Grade 1” but for the purpose of your facility personnel training program it may be, “Hazardous Waste Handler”.
- A written job description for each position related to hazardous waste management. This description must include the requisite skill, education, or other qualifications, and duties of facility personnel assigned to each position. The purpose of this information is to ensure the LQG has identified its facility personnel that require training and that each has received the required type of training.
- A written description of the type and amount training – initial and annual review – that will be given to facility personnel.
- Records that document the required training has been completed by facility personnel.
And finally, a record of the training must be kept for current facility personnel until facility closure. Training records on former employees must be kept for at least three years from their last date of employment per §262.17(a)(7)(v).
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Conclusion:
The purpose of facility personnel training at a LQG is to ensure that those persons whose job function has an impact on hazardous waste management understand their regulatory responsibilities. Also, it is very important that all persons who may find themselves at a LQG site are aware of the emergency response procedures that will keep them safe. It’s frequency – initial with an annual review – is meant to ensure the information is retained. Make certain your facility personnel training meets and exceeds all of the regulatory requirements for content, frequency, and recordkeeping.