EPA Rule on Solid and Hazardous Waste: Enforcement and Compliance With 83 Fed. Reg. 24664

Navigating the Regulatory Framework for Hazardous Waste Recycling

Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A

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Conducted on Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Recorded event now available

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Course Materials

This CLE course will discuss the implications of the EPA's revised definition of "solid waste" and the regulatory framework for recycling hazardous secondary materials under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The panel will walk environmental lawyers through the changes contained in the final rule promulgated by the EPA in 2018, the underlying D.C. Circuit decision which gave rise to the rule change, recommendations for counsel in light of the shift, and the current state of enforcement and compliance actions.

Description

In 2018 EPA promulgated a final rule revising the definition of solid waste under the RCRA. The rule change accepted, without comment or public notice, the July 2017 and March 2018 orders issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in the matter of American Petroleum Institute v. EPA (D.C. Cir. No. 09-1038).

Under RCRA, the EPA and states partner to manage the treatment, storage, and disposal of solid and hazardous waste. The statute defines solid waste to include "discarded material." Waste that sidesteps the definition of "solid waste" because it is never discarded may not be regulated as hazardous waste.

As such, parsing out the meaning of "solid waste," and more specifically "discarded material" becomes critically important for companies in the business of waste recycling. The 2018 final rule not only significantly modifies the conditions for a key RCRA recycling exclusion, but also makes optional one of the four core factors defining "legitimate recycling"--whether the product of the recycling process is comparable to a legitimate final product.

Listen as our distinguished panel of environmental practitioners offers critical guidance on each of the changes delineated by the D.C. Circuit, the EPA's codifying of those issues, and the current status of enforcement at the state and federal level.

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Outline

  1. Regulatory background
    1. RCRA definition of solid waste
    2. Recycling categories and exclusions
  2. Overview of 2018 rule change
    1. Transfer-based reclamation exclusion
    2. Legitimate recycling factors
  3. Underlying litigation and appeal
    1. Facts and parties
    2. Procedural
    3. Holdings
  4. Current compliance and enforcement
    1. State
    2. Federal

Benefits

The panel will review these and other high priority issues:

  • How does the EPA's 2018 rule change compare to the 2015 RCRA updates?
  • How has the current rule impacted compliance at the state level?
  • Were there any implications for recyclers with multistate locations due to the 2018 EPA rule change?

Faculty

Bender, Rodd
Rodd W. Bender
Partner
Manko Gold Katcher & Fox

Mr. Bender has concentrated on brownfield transactions and compliance counseling across a variety of regulatory...  |  Read More

Keyes Fleming, Gwen
Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming
Partner
DLA Piper

Ms. Keyes Fleming focuses on environmental policy, enforcement defense litigation, and special investigations for...  |  Read More

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