[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 25]
[Revised as of July 1, 2006]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR265.15]

[Page 492-493]
 
                   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 B_General Facility Standards
 
Sec.  265.15  General inspection requirements.

    (a) The owner or operator must inspect his facility for malfunctions 
and deterioration, operator errors, and discharges which may be 
causing--or may lead to: (1) Release of hazardous waste constituents to 
the environment or (2) a threat to human health. The owner or operator 
must conduct these in spec tions often enough to identify prob lems in 
time to correct them before they harm human health or the environment.
    (b)(1) The owner or operator must develop and follow a written 
schedule for inspecting all monitoring equip ment, safety and emergency 
equipment, security devices, and operating and structural equipment 
(such as dikes and sump pumps) that are import ant to preventing, 
detecting, or responding to environmental or human health hazards.
    (2) He must keep this schedule at the facility.
    (3) The schedule must identify the types of problems (e.g., 
malfunctions or deterioration) which are to be looked for during the 
inspection (e.g., inoperative sump pump, leaking fitting, eroding dike, 
etc.).
    (4) The frequency of inspection may vary for the items on the 
schedule. However, the frequency should be based on the rate of 
deterioration of the equipment and the probability of an environmental 
or human health incident if the deterioration, malfunction, or operator 
error goes undetected between inspections. Areas subject to spills, such 
as loading and unloading areas, must be inspected daily when in use, 
except for Performance Track member facilities, that must inspect at 
least once each month, upon approval by the Director, as described in 
paragraph (b)(5) of this section. At a minimum, the inspection schedule 
must include the items and frequencies called for in Sec. Sec.  265.174, 
265.193, 265.195, 265.226, 265.260, 265.278, 265.304, 265.347, 265.377, 
265.403, 265.1033, 265.1052, 265.1053, 265.1058, and 265.1084 through 
265.1090, where applicable.
    (5) Performance Track member facilities that choose to reduce 
inspection frequencies must:
    (i) Submit an application to the Director. The application must 
identify the facility as a member of the National Environmental 
Performance Track Program and identify the management units for reduced 
inspections and the proposed frequency of inspections. Inspections must 
be conducted at least once each month.
    (ii) Within 60 days, the Director will notify the Performance Track 
member facility, in writing, if the application is approved, denied, or 
if an extension to the 60-day deadline is needed. This notice must be 
placed in the facility's operating record. The Performance Track member 
facility should consider the application approved if the Director does 
not: (1) Deny the application; or (2) notify the Performance Track 
member facility of an extension to the 60-day deadline. In these 
situations, the Performance Track member facility must adhere to the 
revised inspection schedule outlined in its application and maintain a 
copy of the application in the facility's operating record.
    (iii) Any Performance Track member facility that discontinues its 
membership or is terminated from the program must immediately notify the 
Director of its change in status. The facility must place in its 
operating record a dated copy of this notification and revert back to 
the non-Performance Track inspection frequencies within seven calendar 
days.
    (c) The owner or operator must remedy any deterioration or 
malfunction of equipment or structures which the inspection reveals on a 
schedule which ensures that the problem does not lead to an 
environmental or human health hazard. Where a hazard is imminent or has 
already occurred, remedial action must be taken immediately.
    (d) The owner or operator must record inspections in an inspection 
log

[[Page 493]]

or summary. He must keep these records for at least three years from the 
date of inspection. At a minimum, these records must include the date 
and time of the inspection, the name of the inspector, a notation of the 
observations made, and the date and nature of any repairs or other 
remedial actions.

[45 FR 33232, May 19, 1980, as amended at 50 FR 4514, Jan. 31, 1985; 57 
FR 3491, Jan. 29, 1992; 59 FR 62935, Dec. 6, 1994; 62 FR 64661, Dec. 8, 
1997; 71 FR 16908, Apr. 4, 2006]