[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 23]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR264.1]

[Page 205-208]
 
                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
 
         CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 264--STANDARDS FOR OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT, 
STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL FACILITIES--Table of Contents
 
                           Subpart A--General
 
Sec. 264.1  Purpose, scope and applicability.


    (a) The purpose of this part is to establish minimum national 
standards which define the acceptable management of hazardous waste.
    (b) The standards in this part apply to owners and operators of all 
facilities which treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste, except as 
specifically provided otherwise in this part or part 261 of this 
chapter.
    (c) The requirements of this part apply to a person disposing of 
hazardous waste by means of ocean disposal subject to a permit issued 
under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act only to the 
extent they are included in a RCRA permit by rule granted to such a 
person under part 270 of this chapter.

[Comment: These part 264 regulations do apply to the treatment or 
storage of hazardous waste before it is loaded onto an ocean vessel for 
incineration or disposal at sea.]

    (d) The requirements of this part apply to a person disposing of 
hazardous waste by means of underground injection subject to a permit 
issued under an Underground Injection Control (UIC) program approved or 
promulgated under the Safe Drinking Water Act only to the extent they 
are required by Sec. 144.14 of this chapter.

[Comment: These part 264 regulations do apply to the above-ground 
treatment or storage of hazardous waste before it is injected 
underground.]

    (e) The requirements of this part apply to the owner or operator of 
a POTW which treats, stores, or disposes of hazardous waste only to the 
extent they are included in a RCRA permit by rule granted to such a 
person under part 270 of this chapter.
    (f) The requirements of this part do not apply to a person who 
treats, stores, or disposes of hazardous waste in a State with a RCRA 
hazardous waste program authorized under subpart A of part 271 of this 
chapter, or in a State authorized under subpart B of part 271 of this 
chapter for the component or components of Phase II interim 
authorization which correspond to the person's treatment, storage or 
disposal processes; except that this part will apply:
    (1) As stated in paragraph (d) of this section, if the authorized 
State RCRA program does not cover disposal of hazardous waste by means 
of underground injection; and
    (2) To a person who treats, stores or disposes of hazardous waste in 
a State authorized under subpart A of part 271 of this chapter, at a 
facility which was not covered by standards under this part when the 
State obtained authorization, and for which EPA promulgates standards 
under this part after the State is authorized. This paragraph will only 
apply until the State is authorized to permit such facilities under 
subpart A of part 271 of this chapter.
    (3) To a person who treats, stores, or disposes of hazardous waste 
in a State which is authorized under subpart A or B of part 271 of this 
chapter if the State has not been authorized to carry out the 
requirements and prohibitions applicable to the treatment, storage, or 
disposal of hazardous waste at his facility which are imposed pursuant 
to the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984. The requirements 
and prohibitions that are applicable until a State receives 
authorization to carry them out include all Federal program requirements 
identified in Sec. 271.1(j).
    (g) The requirements of this part do not apply to:
    (1) The owner or operator of a facility permitted, licensed, or 
registered by a

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State to manage municipal or industrial solid waste, if the only 
hazardous waste the facility treats, stores, or disposes of is excluded 
from regulation under this part by Sec. 261.5 of this chapter;
    (2) The owner or operator of a facility managing recyclable 
materials described in Sec. 261.6 (a)(2), (3), and (4) of this chapter 
(except to the extent they are referred to in part 279 or subparts C, D, 
F, or G of part 266 of this chapter).
    (3) A generator accumulating waste on-site in compliance with Sec. 
262.34 of this chapter;
    (4) A farmer disposing of waste pesticides from his own use in 
compliance with Sec. 262.70 of this chapter; or
    (5) The owner or operator of a totally enclosed treatment facility, 
as defined in Sec. 260.10.
    (6) The owner or operator of an elementary neutralization unit or a 
wastewater treatment unit as defined in Sec. 260.10 of this chapter, 
provided that if the owner or operator is diluting hazardous ignitable 
(D001) wastes (other than the D001 High TOC Subcategory defined in Sec. 
268.40 of this chapter, Table Treatment Standards for Hazardous Wastes), 
or reactive (D003) waste, to remove the characteristic before land 
disposal, the owner/operator must comply with the requirements set out 
in Sec. 264.17(b).
    (7) [Reserved]
    (8)(i) Except as provided in paragraph (g)(8)(ii) of this section, a 
person engaged in treatment or containment activities during immediate 
response to any of the following situations:
    (A) A discharge of a hazardous waste;
    (B) An imminent and substantial threat of a discharge of hazardous 
waste;
    (C) A discharge of a material which, when discharged, becomes a 
hazardous waste.
    (D) An immediate threat to human health, public safety, property, or 
the environment, from the known or suspected presence of military 
munitions, other explosive material, or an explosive device, as 
determined by an explosive or munitions emergency response specialist as 
defined in 40 CFR 260.10.
    (ii) An owner or operator of a facility otherwise regulated by this 
part must comply with all applicable requirements of subparts C and D.
    (iii) Any person who is covered by paragraph (g)(8)(i) of this 
section and who continues or initiates hazardous waste treatment or 
containment activities after the immediate response is over is subject 
to all applicable requirements of this part and parts 122 through 124 of 
this chapter for those activities.
    (iv) In the case of an explosives or munitions emergency response, 
if a Federal, State, Tribal or local official acting within the scope of 
his or her official responsibilities, or an explosives or munitions 
emergency response specialist, determines that immediate removal of the 
material or waste is necessary to protect human health or the 
environment, that official or specialist may authorize the removal of 
the material or waste by transporters who do not have EPA identification 
numbers and without the preparation of a manifest. In the case of 
emergencies involving military munitions, the responding military 
emergency response specialist's organizational unit must retain records 
for three years identifying the dates of the response, the responsible 
persons responding, the type and description of material addressed, and 
its disposition.
    (9) A transporter storing manifested shipments of hazardous waste in 
containers meeting the requirements of 40 CFR 262.30 at a transfer 
facility for a period of ten days or less.
    (10) The addition of absorbent material to waste in a container (as 
defined in Sec. 260.10 of this chapter) or the addition of waste to 
absorbent material in a container, provided that these actions occur at 
the time waste is first placed in the container; and Secs. 264.17(b), 
264.171, and 264.172 are complied with.
    (11) Universal waste handlers and universal waste transporters (as 
defined in 40 CFR 260.10) handling the wastes listed below. These 
handlers are subject to regulation under 40 CFR part 273, when handling 
the below listed universal wastes.
    (i) Batteries as described in 40 CFR 273.2;
    (ii) Pesticides as described in Sec. 273.3 of this chapter;

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    (iii) Thermostats as described in Sec. 273.4 of this chapter; and
    (iv) Lamps as described in Sec. 273.5 of this chapter.
    (12) A New York State Utility central collection facility 
consolidating hazardous waste in accordance with 40 CFR 262.90.
    (h) The requirements of this part apply to owners or operators of 
all facilities which treat, store, or dispose of hazardous wastes 
referred to in part 268.
    (i) Section 266.205 of this chapter identifies when the requirements 
of this part apply to the storage of military munitions classified as 
solid waste under Sec. 266.202 of this chapter. The treatment and disposal 
of hazardous waste military munitions are subject to the applicable 
permitting, procedural, and technical standards in 40 CFR parts 260 
through 270.
    (j) The requirements of subparts B, C, and D of this part and Sec. 
264.101 do not apply to remediation waste management sites. (However, 
some remediation waste management sites may be a part of a facility that 
is subject to a traditional RCRA permit because the facility is also 
treating, storing or disposing of hazardous wastes that are not 
remediation wastes. In these cases, Subparts B, C, and D of this part, 
and Sec. 264.101 do apply to the facility subject to the traditional RCRA 
permit.) Instead of the requirements of subparts B, C, and D of this 
part, owners or operators of remediation waste management sites must:
    (1) Obtain an EPA identification number by applying to the 
Administrator using EPA Form 8700-12;
    (2) Obtain a detailed chemical and physical analysis of a 
representative sample of the hazardous remediation wastes to be managed 
at the site. At a minimum, the analysis must contain all of the 
information which must be known to treat, store or dispose of the waste 
according to this part and part 268 of this chapter, and must be kept 
accurate and up to date;
    (3) Prevent people who are unaware of the danger from entering, and 
minimize the possibility for unauthorized people or livestock to enter 
onto the active portion of the remediation waste management site, unless 
the owner or operator can demonstrate to the Director that:
    (i) Physical contact with the waste, structures, or equipment within 
the active portion of the remediation waste management site will not 
injure people or livestock who may enter the active portion of the 
remediation waste management site; and
    (ii) Disturbance of the waste or equipment by people or livestock 
who enter onto the active portion of the remediation waste management 
site, will not cause a violation of the requirements of this part;
    (4) Inspect the remediation waste management site for malfunctions, 
deterioration, operator errors, and discharges that may be causing, or 
may lead to, a release of hazardous waste constituents to the 
environment, or a threat to human health. The owner or operator must 
conduct these inspections often enough to identify problems in time to 
correct them before they harm human health or the environment, and must 
remedy the problem before it leads to a human health or environmental 
hazard. Where a hazard is imminent or has already occurred, the owner/
operator must take remedial action immediately;
    (5) Provide personnel with classroom or on-the-job training on how 
to perform their duties in a way that ensures the remediation waste 
management site complies with the requirements of this part, and on how 
to respond effectively to emergencies;
    (6) Take precautions to prevent accidental ignition or reaction of 
ignitable or reactive waste, and prevent threats to human health and the 
environment from ignitable, reactive and incompatible waste;
    (7) For remediation waste management sites subject to regulation 
under subparts I through O and subpart X of this part, the owner/
operator must design, construct, operate, and maintain a unit within a 
100-year floodplain to prevent washout of any hazardous waste by a 100-
year flood, unless the owner/operator can meet the demonstration of Sec. 
264.18(b);
    (8) Not place any non-containerized or bulk liquid hazardous waste 
in any salt dome formation, salt bed formation, underground mine or 
cave;

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    (9) Develop and maintain a construction quality assurance program 
for all surface impoundments, waste piles and landfill units that are 
required to comply with Secs. 264.221(c) and (d), 264.251(c) and (d), 
and 264.301(c) and (d) at the remediation waste management site, 
according to the requirements of Sec. 264.19;
    (10) Develop and maintain procedures to prevent accidents and a 
contingency and emergency plan to control accidents that occur. These 
procedures must address proper design, construction, maintenance, and 
operation of remediation waste management units at the site. The goal of 
the plan must be to minimize the possibility of, and the hazards from a 
fire, explosion, or any unplanned sudden or non-sudden release of 
hazardous waste or hazardous waste constituents to air, soil, or surface 
water that could threaten human health or the environment. The plan must 
explain specifically how to treat, store and dispose of the hazardous 
remediation waste in question, and must be implemented immediately 
whenever a fire, explosion, or release of hazardous waste or hazardous 
waste constituents which could threaten human health or the environment;
    (11) Designate at least one employee, either on the facility 
premises or on call (that is, available to respond to an emergency by 
reaching the facility quickly), to coordinate all emergency response 
measures. This emergency coordinator must be thoroughly familiar with 
all aspects of the facility's contingency plan, all operations and 
activities at the facility, the location and characteristics of waste 
handled, the location of all records within the facility, and the 
facility layout. In addition, this person must have the authority to 
commit the resources needed to carry out the contingency plan;
    (12) Develop, maintain and implement a plan to meet the requirements 
in paragraphs (j)(2) through (j)(6) and (j)(9) through (j)(10) of this 
section; and
    (13) Maintain records documenting compliance with paragraphs (j)(1) 
through (j)(12) of this section.

[45 FR 33221, May 19, 1980, as amended at 45 FR 76075, Nov. 17, 1980; 45 
FR 86968, Dec. 31, 1980; 46 FR 27480, May 20, 1981; 47 FR 8306, Feb. 25, 
1982; 47 FR 32384, July 26, 1982; 48 FR 2511, Jan. 19, 1983; 48 FR 
14294, Apr. 1, 1983; 50 FR 665, Jan. 4, 1985; 50 FR 28746, July 15, 
1985; 52 FR 21016, June 4, 1987; 53 FR 27165, July 19, 1988; 58 FR 
26424, May 3, 1993; 58 FR 29884, May 24, 1993; 59 FR 48042, Sept. 19, 
1994; 60 FR 25542, May 11, 1995; 62 FR 6651, Feb. 12, 1997; 63 FR 65938, 
Nov. 30, 1998; 64 FR 36487, July 6, 1999; 64 FR 37638, July 12, 1999]