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The proposed RCRA corrective action rule and its effect on remediation technologies
Author(s) -
Simon John A.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
remediation journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.762
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1520-6831
pISSN - 1051-5658
DOI - 10.1002/rem.3440010207
Subject(s) - resource conservation and recovery act , remedial action , hazardous waste , risk analysis (engineering) , action (physics) , remedial education , agency (philosophy) , computer science , operations management , engineering , business , environmental remediation , waste management , ecology , philosophy , physics , epistemology , quantum mechanics , contamination , biology , political science , law
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the Proposed Rule for Corrective Action for Solid Waste Management Units at Hazardous Waste Management Facilities in the July 27, 1990 Federal Register. The proposed rule sets forth mechanisms for implementing corrective actions under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA). To date, the EPA has had the authority to require corrective actions at hazardous waste facilities, but has not had a defined framework to follow when requiring corrective actions. The proposed rule identifies when corrective actions are necessary, procedures to follow when developing corrective measure studies for corrective actions, and methods for implementing corrective actions. This article focuses on the effect the proposed rule will have on the development and implementation of remediation technologies. It provides not an in‐depth interpretation of the proposed rule, but an analysis of the overall value of its framework for selecting remedial alternatives and the proposed action levels that are likely to drive cleanups. The article begins by presenting a brief background of the proposed rule, including how the rule fits into the overall RCRA regulation and what the major points of interest in the rule are. The article then discusses how corrective measure studies are to be performed. The development and the importance of the action levels in the proposed rule are also presented. This is followed by a description of EPA's regulatory impact analysis of the proposed rule.