States and Industry Seek EPA Guidance on Long-Term Care of Landfills

Date: February 4, 2013

Source: News Room

States and Industry groups are asking EPA to develop a national policy on how to manage closed hazardous and solid waste landfills past the 30-year post-closure care (PCC) period mandated by the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA). It is becoming increasingly paramount for both regulators and site owners as landfills and other sites near the end of the PCC period. Both the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO) and the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) have issued reports calling for EPA guidance and saying states need criteria for determining when a site's PCC period should be extended or shortened, a possibility allowed for in RCRA regulation but which is not clearly defined. They say facility owners need to know what level of monitoring they should budget for during an extended PCC period, and also how to care for a site after the PCC period expires. Some states, including Minnesota and California, have developed their own approaches to the issue. That could result in a patchwork of inconsistent regulations which might not be scientifically grounded, the associations argue.

ASTSWMO has recently issued a position paper asking for guidance on whether PCC periods should be adjusted when permits are renewed, and if so, what criteria should be used for making that determination, and also what length extension is appropriate.

See also: "SWANA Seeks EPA Guidance for Long-Term Care of Landfills," (www.wasteinfo.com/news/wbj20110823C.htm), August 22, 2011.

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