hazardous waste accumulation

The Determination of Hazardous Waste Generator Status Based on the Accumulation of Hazardous Waste

This will be the last in a trio of articles looking closely at the process of determining your hazardous waste generator status. The preceding two were:

And now this one:  The Determination of Hazardous Waste Generator Status Based on the Amount of Hazardous Waste Accumulated Onsite.

Keep in mind that this article is meant to assist in determining compliance with the Federal regulations of the US EPA.  Your State, if it has an authorized hazardous waste program, may have its own method for determining hazardous waste generator status that differs greatly from the US EPA.  As always, be sure to check with your State Environmental Agency in order to ensure compliance.

The most common method of determining your hazardous waste generator status is to consider the amount of hazardous waste generated.  However, there are two situations where the amount of hazardous waste accumulated onsite can make a change – in one situation, a drastic change – to your hazardous waste generator status.

We’ll start at the top.  The Large Quantity Generator (LQG) status of hazardous waste generator is based solely on the amount of hazardous waste (≥1,000 kg/mo) or acute hazardous waste (>1 kg/mo or >100 kg/mo spill residue) generated.  An LQG has no upper limit on the amount of hazardous waste or acute hazardous waste it may generate or accumulate.  There is however a limit to how long an LQG may accumulate hazardous waste onsite (≤90 days).

Next is the Small Quantity Generator (SQG) status, which may be determined by the amount of hazardous waste generated (>100 kg/mo but <1,000 kg/mo) or by the amount accumulated onsite.  The accumulation of hazardous waste is a factor if a Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG) accumulates ≥1,000 kg of hazardous waste at any one time.  If the threshold of 1,000 kg of hazardous waste is met or exceeded by a CESQG, the hazardous waste immediately becomes subject to all the regulations of an SQG [40 CFR 261.5(g)(2)].

An SQG must also watch the amount of hazardous waste it accumulates.  If at any time a Small Quantity Generator exceeds 6,000 kg of hazardous accumulated onsite the SQG catapults over the LQG status where you might expect it to land and finds itself in the realm of a storage facility “…subject to the requirements of 40 CFR parts 264, 265 and 267, and the permit requirements of 40 CFR part 270…”[§262.34(f)].  The hazard presented by this threshold of 6,000 kg cannot be over-stated.  There can be very stiff fines associated with operating a hazardous waste storage facility without a permit.  For this reason, an SQG must keep a close watch on the amount of hazardous waste accumulated onsite.  An SQG also has an onsite accumulation time limit of no more than 180 days for its hazardous waste.

Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG) status, similar to LQG status, is based solely on the amount of hazardous waste (≤100 kg/mo) and acute hazardous waste generated (≤1 kg/mo or ≤100 kg/mo spill residue).  However, as noted above, if a CESQG accumulates onsite at any one time an amount of hazardous waste ≥1,000 kg, then that hazardous waste immediately becomes subject to the regulations applicable to a Small Quantity Generator of hazardous waste.

The big take away from this article is that both SQG’s and CESQG’s must keep a close eye on the amount of hazardous waste they accumulate onsite while monitoring the amount of hazardous waste they generate, and – in the case of the SQG – the length of time the hazardous waste is accumulated onsite.

The determination of your hazardous waste generator status is an important step in maintaining your compliance with the regulations, but it’s not the only one.  Once your status is determine with confidence you must then focus on complying with the regulations applicable to your hazardous waste generator status.  That takes knowledge of the regulations and – depending on your status – may require training.

I provide training required by the US EPA, and your State, for Hazardous Waste Personnel and that required by the US DOT for Hazmat Employees.  Contact me to discuss your training needs.

An Extension to the Hazardous Waste On-Site Accumulation Limits for Large Quantity Generators of Hazardous Waste that Generate F006 Wastewater Treatement Sludge from Electroplating Operations

As a Large Quantity Generator (LQG) of hazardous waste, you are aware that hazardous waste may not accumulate at your site for longer than 90 days unless it is managed in a satellite accumulation area pursuant to 40 CFR 262.34(c)(1).  However, did you know that an extension of the on-site accumulation time limit from ≤90 days to≤180 days exists for a specific type of hazardous waste?   F006 electroplating wastewater treatment sludge destined for recycling may be accumulated on-site for up to 180 days without a permit or interim status pursuant to 40 CFR 262.34(g-I).  This extension is not granted to any other hazardous waste the facility may generate.  Nor is the extension allowed if the F006 waste is destined for any disposal option other than “legitimately recycled through metals recovery” per 40 CFR 262.34(g)(2).

The one great restriction on the use of this extension is the requirement that the F006 hazardous waste be “legitimately recycled through metals recovery”.  If the wastewater treatment sludge from your electroplating operations is destined for landfill or other treatment instead of metals recovery recycling, you will not be able to take advantage of this extension.  The limiting factors in recycling this type of waste are the value of the metals to be recovered and their concentration in the sludge.  Sludge with low-value metals such as zinc or tin will have a harder time finding recycling options than a sludge containing higher concentrations of copper, nickel, or chrome.  This is something every generator must determine for itself.

If you are able to take advantage of the extension, the requirements of the US EPA are relatively simple; they include:

  1. Implement pollution prevention practices to reduce the hazards of the F006 waste [40 CFR 262.34(g)(1)].
  2. Ensure the F006 waste is legitimately recycled through metals recovery [40 CFR 262.34(g)(2)].
  3. Accumulate no more than 20,000 kg of F006 waste on-site at any one time [40 CFR 262.34(g)(3)].
  4. Comply with the regulations applicable to LQG’s who manage hazardous waste in containers, tanks, or containment buildings [40 CFR 262.34(g)(4)(i-v)].

If the recycling facility to which you ship the F006 waste is at a distance of ≥200 miles, then you may accumulate the waste on-site for up to 270 days without a permit and without special permission from US EPA [40 CFR 262.34(h)].

Unless an extension to the 180/270 day time limit or an exception to the 20,000 kg on-site accumulation limit has been granted by the Regional Administrator of the US EPA, an exceedence of either of these limits subjects the facility to the US EPA regulations of a storage facility and the requirements of 40 CFR 264,265, and 267 and the permit requirements of 40 CFR 270.

Unless you generate an F006 listed hazardous waste from the on-site treatment of electroplating wastewaters, this extension in on-site accumulation times will not be of any benefit to you.  Further, if you generate this type of waste but do not have a recycling disposal option available, you will not be able to avail yourself of the increased on-site accumulation time limits.  However, if you meet the required criteria, it may be of great benefit to you to take advantage of this limited extension of the on-site accumulation limits.