EPA Urged to Abandon Efforts to Increase RCRA Exempt Haz Wastes

Date: March 28, 2008

Source: News Room

Environmental groups including Earthjustice have sent letters to lawmakers urging that the EPA relinquish its plan to increase the number of hazardous wastes that can be burned as fuel outside of Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations. The effort follows the EPA's recent denial of a request by 25 House members, primarily Democrats, that the agency assess the potential environmental problems that could stem from the proposed rule change. The groups want an environmental compliance assessment of facilities affected by the rulemaking, but EPA waste chief Susan Bodine said it would be "unnecessary and not relevant," even though she acknowledges that 31 of 86 of facilities affected by the rulemaking have had "significant noncompliance" issues relative to RCRA regulations. Environmentalists oppose the changes because they fear it sets a low bar for what wastes can be considered recyclable and therefore not subject to RCRA regulations.

Earthjustice: www.earthjustice.org.

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