Environmental guidance regulatory bulletin

In the July 19, 1988, Federal Register [52 FR 27290] the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule that conditionally exempted waste samples used in small-scale treatability studies from regulation under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The final rule was intended to promote the development of new technologies for the treatment of hazardous wastes. However, in order to minimize danger to human health and the environment, it also imposed limitations and conditions on the amount of wastes that may be exempted from RCRA Subtitle C regulations for use in treatability studies. On July 7, 1993, EPA proposed amendments to the existing regulations that would increase the quantity limits for certain types of waste. In addition, EPA proposed to extend the period of time for which laboratories may conduct treatability studies involving bioremediation technologies from 1 year to 2 years. This bulletin summarizes the provisions of the revised rule