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Managing Hazardous Waste — RCRA Subtitle C SECTION III SECTION III

Chapter 6: Land Disposal Restrictions

CHAPTER 6

LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS

In this chapter...

Overview........................................................... III-101

Applicability....................................................... III-102

LDR Prohibitions .............................................. III-103

- Disposal Prohibition ...................................... III-103

- Dilution Prohibition ........................................ III-109

- Storage Prohibition ........................................ III-109

History of LDR .................................................. III-109

Summary .......................................................... III-111

OVERVIEW

A common hazardous waste management

practice is to place hazardous waste in land-based

units (i.e., land treatment units, landfills, surface

impoundments, or waste piles). In 1995,

approximately 8.1 percent (22 million tons) of

hazardous waste generated under RCRA was

permanently disposed of on the land. The

permanent disposal of hazardous waste in landbased units has the potential to threaten human

health and the environment through ground water

contamination. As a result, the RCRA program

contains extensive technical requirements to

ensure that land-based units prevent hazardous

leachate from escaping into the environment. To

complement the unit-specific standards, which

alone do not fully protect human health and the

environment from the potential risks of land-based

hazardous waste management, RCRA contains the

LDR program.

The LDR program approaches ground water

protection differently from unit-specific technical

standards. This program does not mandate

physical barriers to protect ground water, but

instead requires that hazardous wastes undergo

fundamental physical or chemical changes so that

they pose less of a threat to ground water, surface

water, and air when disposed. The obvious

advantage of such hazardous waste treatment is

that it provides a longer lasting form of protection

than does simple hazardous waste containment.

While synthetic barriers designed to prevent the

migration of leachate can break down and fail

over time, physical and chemical changes to the

waste itself provide a more permanent type of

protection.
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 SECTION III SECTION III Managing Hazardous Waste — RCRA Subtitle C

Chapter 6: Land Disposal Restrictions

solid and hazardous waste, its disposal is not

regulated under the LDR program. Once a

generator identifies its waste as hazardous (either

listed, characteristic, or both), the waste is

assigned a waste code. When EPA establishes a

treatment standard for the waste code, the waste

will then become restricted (i.e., subject to the

LDR requirements). RCRA requires that EPA

establish treatment standards for hazardous wastes

within six months of promulgating a new listing or

characteristic. Until EPA establishes a treatment

standard for a waste, this newly identified or

newly listed waste (i.e., waste for which EPA has

yet to establish a treatment standard) can continue

to be land disposed without treatment. When

EPA promulgates a final treatment standard for a

waste, handlers of the waste must manage it in

accordance with all the LDR requirements and

cannot dispose of it on the land until it meets all

applicable treatment standards (see Figure III-19).

When directing EPA to establish the LDR

program, Congress called for regulations that

specified concentrations of hazardous constituents

or methods of treatment that would substantially

decrease the toxicity of hazardous waste or

decrease the likelihood that contaminants in such

wastes would leach. EPA responded to these

requirements by establishing waste-specific

treatment standards that dictate to what extent

waste must be treated. All hazardous wastes,

except under certain circumstances, must meet a

specific treatment standard before they can be

disposed.

APPLICABILITY

Wastes must be a RCRA hazardous waste in

order to be subject to the LDR program. In other

words, unless a waste meets the definition of a

Figure III-19: LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS APPLICABILITY

Is material a solid waste?

Is waste a listed or characteristic hazardous waste?

WASTE IS NOT SUBJECT 

TO LDR

Does waste have a treatment standard?

Is waste:

1) Generated by a CESQG; or

2) A pesticide/container residue disposed by a farmer on his own land; or

3) A low-volume release mixed with facility wastewater and discharged

 under CWA?

WASTE IS SUBJECT TO LDR

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

No
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Chapter 6: Land Disposal Restrictions

While the LDR program generally applies to all

persons who generate, transport, treat, store, or

dispose of restricted hazardous wastes, there are

exclusions from the LDR requirements. The

following wastes are not subject to the LDR

program:

• Waste generated by CESQGs

• Waste pesticides and container residues

disposed of by farmers on their own land

• Newly identified or newly listed hazardous

wastes for which EPA has yet to promulgate

treatment standards

• Certain waste releases that are mixed with a

facility’s wastewater and discharged pursuant

to CWA.

Wastes meeting any of these descriptions may

continue to be land disposed without being

subject to the LDR program.

The LDR requirements attach to a hazardous

waste at its point of generation. In other words,

once a waste has been generated, identified, and

assigned a waste code, it must be treated in

accordance with LDR requirements before being

disposed. As a general principle, a hazardous

waste must meet all applicable treatment

standards to be eligible for land disposal. For

purposes of the LDR program, a generator of a

listed hazardous waste must determine if the

waste also exhibits any hazardous waste

characteristics. If it does, then the treatment

standard for all waste codes must be met before

land disposal.

LDR PROHIBITIONS

The LDR program consists of three main

components: the disposal prohibition, the dilution

prohibition, and the storage prohibition. This

series of prohibitions restricts how wastes subject

to LDR requirements are handled. The most

visible aspect of the LDR program is the disposal

prohibition, which includes treatment standards,

variances, alternative treatment standards, and

notification requirements. Land disposal means

placement in or on the land, except in a corrective

action unit, and includes, but is not limited to,

placement in a landfill, surface impoundment,

waste pile, injection well, land treatment facility,

salt dome formation, salt bed formation,

underground mine or cave, or placement in a

concrete vault, or bunker intended for disposal

purposes. The other two components work in

tandem with the disposal prohibition to guide the

regulated community in proper hazardous waste

management. The dilution prohibition ensures

that wastes are properly treated, and the storage

prohibition ensures that waste will not be stored

indefinitely to avoid treatment.

■ Disposal Prohibition

The first component of the LDR program, the

disposal prohibition, prohibits the land disposal

of hazardous waste that has not been adequately

treated to reduce the threat posed by such waste.

The criteria that hazardous wastes must meet

before being disposed of are known as treatment

standards. These treatment standards can be

either concentration levels for hazardous

constituents that the waste must meet or

treatment technologies that must be performed on

the waste before it can be disposed.

EPA bases the LDR treatment standards on the

performance of available technologies. EPA

conducts extensive research into available

treatment

technologies to

determine which

proven, available

technology is the

best at treating the

waste in question.

The technology that

DISPOSAL PROHIBITION

The disposal prohibition

prohibits the land disposal

of hazardous waste that

has not been adequately

treated to reduce the threat

posed by such waste.
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 SECTION III SECTION III Managing Hazardous Waste — RCRA Subtitle C

Chapter 6: Land Disposal Restrictions

best minimizes the mobility or toxicity (or both) of

the hazardous constituents is designated as the

Best Demonstrated Available Technology

(BDAT) for that waste. The treatment standards

are based on the performance of this BDAT.

When treatment standards are set as

concentration levels, the regulated community

may use any method or technology (except

dilution, as discussed later in this chapter) to meet

that concentration level. The concentration level

is based on the performance of the BDAT, but the

regulated community does not need to use this

technology to meet the treatment standard. EPA

prefers to use concentration-based standards

because they stimulate innovation and the

development of alternative treatment

technologies. However, when EPA feels that the

waste will only be effectively treated by the BDAT

or when there is no way to measure hazardous

constituent levels, the Agency will designate the

BDAT as the treatment standard. This means that

the regulated community must treat the waste

with that specific technology in order to meet the

treatment standard.

The treatment standards are found in the

regulations in a table arranged by hazardous waste

code (40 CFR §268.40). Concentration-based

treatment standards appear in the table as

numeric values. The few treatment standards that

require the use of a specific technology are

expressed as a five-letter code representing the

technology (see Figure III-20). There are 30 such

codes representing specific technology-based

standards. Descriptions of these codes and the

technologies that they require are found in the

regulations in a separate table in 40 CFR §268.42

(see Figure III-21).

TREATMENT STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS WASTES

WASTE

CODE

WASTE DESCRIPTION

AND 

TREATMENT/

REGULATORY

SUBCATEGORY

REGULATED HAZARDOUS

CONSTITUENT WASTEWATERS NONWASTEWATERS

Common

Name

CAS

Number

Concentration in

mg/l; or

Technology Code

Concentration in mg/kg

unless notes as “mg/l TCLP”;

or Technology Code

K009

Distillation bottoms from 

the production of 

acetaldehyde from 

ethylene

Chloroform 67-66-3 0.046 6.0

K026

Stripping still tails from 

the production

of methyl ethyl pyridines

NA NA CMBST CMBST

Concentration-Based

Standard

Technology-Based

Standard

Figure III-20: EXCERPTS FROM THE 40 CFR §268.40 TREATMENT STANDARDS TABLE
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Chapter 6: Land Disposal Restrictions

Figure III-21: EXCERPTS FROM THE 40 CFR §268.42 TECHNOLOGY-BASED STANDARDS TABLE

Characteristic Hazardous Wastes

Both listed and characteristic hazardous

wastes must meet the LDR treatment standards

before they are eligible for land disposal. There

are, however, some unique situations that arise

when dealing with characteristic wastes under the

LDR program.

The treatment standards for most

characteristic hazardous wastes entail rendering

the waste nonhazardous (i.e., decharacterizing the

waste or removing the characteristic). However,

some characteristic waste treatment standards

have additional requirements. The regulated

community must examine these wastes for

underlying hazardous constituents. These

constituents are not what causes the waste to

exhibit a characteristic, but they can pose hazards

nonetheless. The underlying hazardous

constituents must be treated in order to meet

contaminant-specific levels. These levels are

referred to as the universal treatment standards

(UTS), and are listed in a table in the RCRA

regulations (40 CFR §268.48). This is why some

characteristic wastes that no longer exhibit a

characteristic must still be treated to meet

additional LDR requirements. Once such

characteristic hazardous wastes have been

decharacterized and treated for underlying

constituents, they can be disposed of in a

nonhazardous waste landfill.

Description

Biodegradation uses microorganisms to break down organic compounds

to make a waste less toxic.

 Chemical reduction converts metal and inorganic constituents in 

 wastewater into insoluble precipitates that are later settled out of the 

 wastewater, leaving a lower concentration of metals and inorganics in the

 wastewater.

Combustion destroys organic wastes or makes them less hazardous

through burning in boilers, industrial furnaces, or incinerators.

Deactivation is treatment of a waste to remove the characteristic of

ignitability, corrosivity, or reactivity. Deactivation can be achieved using

many of the treatment technologies in 40 CFR §268.42, Table 1. Part 268, 

Appendix VI recommends technologies that can be used to deactivate

specific wastestreams.

Macroencapsulation is the application of a surface coating material to 

seal hazardous constituents in place and prevent them from leaching or

escaping.

Neutralization makes certain wastes less acidic or certain substances 

less alkaline.

Precipitation removes metal and inorganic solids from liquid wastes to

allow the safe disposal of the hazardous solid portion.

Recovery of organics uses direct physical removal methods to extract 

metal or inorganic constituents from a waste.

Recovery of organics uses direct physical removal methods (e.g., 

distillation, steam stripping) to extract organic constituents from a waste.

Stabilization (also referred to as solidification) involves the addition of 

stabilizing agents (e.g., Portland cement) to a waste to reduce the 

leachability of metal constituents.

Code

BIODG

CHRED

CMBST

DEACT

MACRO

NEUTR

PRECP

REMTL

RORGS

STABL

Technology

Biodegradation

Chemical reduction

Combustion

Deactivation

Macroencapsulation

Neutralization

Precipitation

Recovery of Metals

Recovery of Organics

Stabilization
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Chapter 6: Land Disposal Restrictions

Variances, Extensions, and Exemptions

If a restricted waste does not meet its

applicable treatment standard, it is prohibited

from land disposal. Although most wastes become

eligible for disposal by meeting the treatment

standards, in some instances this may not be

possible. For example, there may not be enough

treatment capacity to treat a waste, or the

concentration level may not be achievable. To

address these situations, EPA established

procedures that allow wastes to be disposed of

under special circumstances. The following

exemptions, variances, and extensions allow

wastes to be disposed of without meeting their

respective treatment standards, or to be treated to

a different standard:

• National capacity variances

• Case-by-case extensions

• No-migration variances

• Variances from a treatment standard

• Equivalent treatment method variances

• Surface impoundment treatment exemptions.

While national capacity variances, when

needed, are automatically granted to all affected

hazardous waste management facilities, the other

five exemptions, variances, and extensions require

a facility to specifically petition the Agency.

National Capacity Variances

When developing a treatment standard, EPA

examines the available treatment capacity to

determine whether it is sufficient to handle

current and future waste management needs. If

the Agency determines that nationally there is not

enough capacity to treat a waste, EPA can

automatically extend the effective date of the

waste’s treatment standard. Such an extension to

the effective date is intended to give the waste

treatment industry more time to develop the

capacity to handle the waste. Wastes under a

national capacity variance can be disposed of,

without meeting the treatment standards, in

landfills and surface impoundments that meet

minimum technical requirements (e.g., liners,

leachate collection and removal systems, and leak

detection systems). (These technical requirements

are fully discussed in Section III, Chapter 5.)

Case-by-Case Extensions

A facility may petition EPA for a case-by-case

extension to delay the effective date of a waste’s

treatment standard, upon showing that capacity

does not exist for that particular waste. Similar to

national capacity variances, wastes granted caseby-case extensions can be disposed of without

meeting the treatment standards in landfills and

surface impoundments that meet minimum

technical requirements.

CASE STUDY: DECHARACTERIZED WASTES AND THE REQUIREMENT TO TREAT

FOR UNDERLYING HAZARDOUS CONSTITUENTS

A facility generates an industrial nonwastewater that contains benzene, acetone, and methanol. The generator

determines that their waste is not listed based on its origin, but upon testing the waste, determines that it fails the

TCLP for benzene. As a result, the waste is identified as D018. According to the LDR treatment standard for D018,

the benzene in the waste must be treated to a standard of 10 mg/kg, and the waste must also be treated for

acetone and methanol underlying hazardous constituents. The generator decides to treat the waste in containers

at the facility. After treatment, the benzene meets the 10 mg/kg standard and no longer exhibits a characteristic.

Although the waste is technically no longer a hazardous waste, it must be treated for the acetone and methanol

underlying hazardous constituents before it can be land disposed.
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No-Migration Variances

No-migration variances differ from capacity

variances in that they apply to the disposal unit

instead of to the waste, and allow wastes to be

disposed of in the unit without meeting the

treatment standards. To obtain a no-migration

variance for a disposal unit, a facility must petition

EPA and demonstrate that there will be no

migration of hazardous constituents from the unit

(i.e., the waste will not leak or escape from the

unit) for as long as the wastes remain hazardous.

Variances from a Treatment Standard

Variances from a treatment standard allow the

regulated community to petition EPA and show

that the required LDR treatment standard is not

appropriate for their waste, or that the treatment

standard is not achievable. If a variance is

granted, EPA will specify an alternative standard to

meet.

Equivalent Treatment Method Variances

Equivalent treatment method variances allow

the regulated community to petition EPA and

demonstrate that a technology different from the

required LDR treatment technology can achieve

the same results. If approved, the applicant can

use the alternative technology in place of the

required technology.

Surface Impoundment Treatment

Exemptions

Surface impoundment treatment exemptions

allow the regulated community to petition EPA for

permission to treat hazardous waste in surface

impoundments (surface impoundments are fully

discussed in Section III, Chapter 5). Under normal

circumstances, owners and operators cannot place

untreated hazardous waste on the land, even if it

is in a land-based unit for treatment. Since many

facilities use surface impoundments as a means of

treating waste, the surface impoundment

treatment exemption allows owners and operators

to conduct such treatment under certain

conditions. Surface impoundments treating waste

under this exemption must comply with double

liner and minimum technical requirements, and

provisions for the removal of sludges and

treatment residues.

Alternative Treatment Standards

In establishing treatment standards, the

Agency applied the BDAT methodology to the

typical forms of waste generated by industry.

Some forms of hazardous waste are unique and

were not taken into account by the BDAT process

when treatment standards were established. As a

result, EPA created a number of broad, alternative

treatment standards for special types of waste.

Lab Packs

Laboratories commonly generate small

volumes of many different listed hazardous

wastes. Rather than manage all these

wastes separately,

labs often

consolidate these

small containers into

lab packs. Trying to

meet the individual

treatment standards

for every waste

contained in a lab

pack would be impractical.

To ease the compliance burden, EPA established

an alternative treatment standard for lab packs

that allows the whole lab pack to be incinerated,

followed by treatment for any metal in the

residues. Treatment using this alternative standard

satisfies the LDR requirements for all individual

wastes in the lab pack.
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Chapter 6: Land Disposal Restrictions

Debris

Debris can become contaminated with

hazardous waste accidental releases or spills.

While such contaminated debris is typically

regulated under the contained-in policy (as

discussed in Section III, Chapter 1), it may also be

subject to LDR treatment standards. The physical

characteristics of such debris may make it difficult

to meet the LDR treatment standard for the waste

that is contaminating it. For example, incinerating

a solvent-saturated brick wall is not necessarily

going to destroy the solvent constituents that are

safely nestled in between the pieces of brick.

Instead of requiring debris to meet these

sometimes inappropriate and difficult standards,

EPA established a set of alternative standards that

can be used to treat hazardous debris (40 CFR

§268.45, Table 1). The alternative standards range

from removing all contaminants with high pressure

washing, to encapsulating

the debris in order to

prevent hazardous

constituents from leaching.

Debris treated with these

alternative treatment

standards meets the LDR

requirements, and in many

cases, can be disposed of as

nonhazardous waste.

Soil

Accidental spills of hazardous waste or spills of

product chemicals can also contaminate soil.

While such contaminated media is also typically

regulated under the contained-in policy (as

discussed in Section III, Chapter 1), it may also be

subject to LDR treatment standards. Because EPA

established LDR treatment standards by applying

the BDAT process for wastes, and soil is not

considered a “waste,” the established LDR

treatment standards might not automatically be

appropriate for contaminated soil. As a result, EPA

promulgated alternative treatment standards for

contaminated soil in 1998.

Notification, Certification, and Recordkeeping

In order to properly track the hazardous waste

that is generated, transported, treated, stored, and

disposed of, EPA imposes certain LDR notification,

certification, and recordkeeping requirements on

generators and TSDFs. LDR notifications inform

the next waste handler how the waste must be

treated to meet the treatment standard or if it can

be disposed of without treatment. When wastes

do not need to meet a treatment

standard, or already meet the

standard, EPA requires the

handler to sign a statement

certifying such a claim.

Generators must send a

notification with the initial

shipment of every waste. If the

waste, process, or receiving

facility changes, another

notification is required. The

information that the notification must include

varies according to the status of the waste. For

example, the notification requirements will differ

slightly if the waste meets its treatment standard or

is subject to a national capacity variance.

Treatment facilities have to send similar

notifications along with the shipment of treated

wastes to disposal facilities. A certification

normally accompanies this notification stating that

the waste meets its treatment standards and may

be land disposed. Disposal facilities are the final

link in the waste management chain. As a result,

they have to test the waste residue that they

receive to ensure that it meets the treatment

standards.

Each hazardous waste handler must comply

with certain recordkeeping requirements for LDR

notifications and paperwork. Generators,

treatment facilities, and disposal facilities must

keep copies of all LDR paperwork associated with

the waste they ship or receive in their facility files

for three years.
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Managing Hazardous Waste — RCRA Subtitle C SECTION III SECTION III

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Characteristic wastes that are decharacterized

subsequent to the point of generation (i.e., they

become nonhazardous) are handled differently.

Once a waste is decharacterized and has met its

full LDR treatment standards, it can go to a RCRA

Subtitle D nonhazardous waste facility. These

LDR notifications and certifications are sent to the

EPA Region or authorized state rather than to the

receiving Subtitle D facility. This is intended to

protect Subtitle D facilities from the burden of

hazardous waste paperwork.

■ Dilution Prohibition

The second component of the LDR program is

the dilution prohibition. When a waste’s

treatment standard is expressed as a numeric

concentration level, it is often easier and less

expensive to dilute the waste in water or soil in

order to reduce the concentration of the

hazardous constituents. This type of activity does

not reduce the overall or mass load of toxic

chemicals that could be released to the

environment, and is inconsistent with the goals of

the LDR program. To prevent this activity from

being practiced, EPA established the dilution

prohibition. The dilution prohibition states that it

is impermissible to dilute hazardous waste to

circumvent proper treatment. Adding water or

soil to a waste to dilute it, combining wastes not

amenable to the same type of treatment, and

incinerating metal wastes are all examples of

impermissible dilution.

■ Storage Prohibition

The final

component of

the LDR

program is the

storage

prohibition.

Before a waste

can be treated,

it is usually

stored in units, such as containers and tanks.

These storage units are not intended for the longterm management of waste, and therefore, are not

required to provide the same level of protective

measures as disposal units. To prevent indefinite

storage, EPA regulations state that if waste storage

exceeds one year, the facility has the burden of

proving that such storage is being maintained in

order to accumulate quantities necessary for

effective treatment or disposal. For storage less

than one year, EPA has the burden of proving that

such storage is not for the purpose of

accumulating quantities necessary for effective

treatment or disposal. Generators accumulating

waste on site within their respective accumulation

time limits (as discussed in Section III, Chapter 3),

and transfer facilities temporarily storing

manifested shipments of hazardous waste for less

than 10 days (as discussed in Section III, Chapter

4), are not subject to this burden of proof

requirement.

HISTORY OF LDR

The LDR program has a complicated history.

The progression of the LDR program is important

in understanding how and why the LDR program

operates the way it does today (see Figure III-22).

DILUTION PROHIBITION

The dilution prohibition forbids dilution, such as the

addition of soil or water to waste, in order to reduce

the concentrations of hazardous constituents, and can

prohibit treatment of a waste by ineffective or

inappropriate treatment methods. Examples of

ineffective or inappropriate treatment include

biodegradation, combustion, or incineration of metals,

and stabilization of organics. The clearest objective

indication that proper treatment is being conducted is

if the treatment is the same type as that on which the

treatment standard is based (i.e., if the treatment

method is the same as the BDAT that established the

waste’s treatment standard) or if the treatment

process actually destroys or removes hazardous

constituents.

STORAGE PROHIBITION

The storage prohibition

prevents the indefinite storage

of untreated hazardous waste

for reasons other than the

accumulation of quantities

necessary for effective

treatment or disposal.
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 SECTION III SECTION III Managing Hazardous Waste — RCRA Subtitle C

Chapter 6: Land Disposal Restrictions

HSWA established the authority for the LDR

program. When HSWA was enacted, EPA had

already listed and identified a large number of

hazardous wastes. As a result, the Agency had to

gradually address these wastes by establishing LDR

treatment standards in stages. Congress directed

EPA to address certain high-risk and high-volume

wastes first, and established a three-part schedule

for EPA to follow in addressing the remaining

wastes. The three parts of this schedule are

known as the Thirds.

Before EPA could address the wastes in the

Thirds, the Agency was required to address those

wastes that were high-risk (dioxins) and those

wastes that were generated in large amounts

(solvents). The treatment standards for these

wastes were promulgated on November 7, 1986.

This rulemaking also established the basic

framework for the LDR program.

Because EPA’s promulgation of LDR treatment

standards for the large number of wastes in the

Thirds would take considerable time, the Agency

established interim treatment standards to ensure

adequate protection of human health and the

environment. These interim standards are known

as the California list. The list, based on a

program established by California’s Department of

Health Services, became effective on July 8, 1987.

These standards did not target specific waste

codes, but rather wastes containing certain toxic

constituents or exhibiting certain properties. As

EPA established waste-specific treatment standards

in the Thirds, the California list provisions were

superseded. All of the provisions on the list have

now been superseded.

To address the wastes that were to be covered

under the Thirds, EPA ranked the wastes according

to hazard and volume generated. Those wastes

that posed the greatest potential threat were

addressed first through a rulemaking on August

17, 1988. These wastes are known as the First

Third wastes. The treatment standards for the

Second Third wastes were promulgated on June

23, 1989, and the treatment standards for the

Third Third wastes were promulgated on June 1,

1990.

While EPA was addressing the solvents,

dioxins, and the Thirds, other hazardous wastes

were being listed and identified as part of the

Agency’s continuing process of hazardous waste

identification. These newly listed and identified

wastes, which became subject to RCRA after

HSWA, were grouped in their own respective

schedules. These schedules are known as the

Phases. These schedules not only promulgated

Figure III-22: SIGNIFICANT LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS RULEMAKINGS

June 23, 

1989

Second Third Rule

(54 FR 26594)

Solvent and Dioxin Rule

(51 FR 40572)

November 7, 

1986

August 17, 

1988

First Third Rule

(53 FR 31138)

June 1, 

1990

Third Third Rule

(55 FR 22520)

September 19, 

1994

Phase II Rule

(59 FR 47980)

May 12, 

1997

Phase IV Rule

(62 FR 25998)

July 8, 

1987

California List Rule

(52 FR 25760)

August 18,

1992

Phase I Rule

(57 FR 37194)

April 8, 

1996

Phase III Rule

(61 FR 15565)
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treatment standards for newly listed and identified

wastes, but also made minor modifications and

improvements to the LDR regulatory program.

On August 18, 1992, EPA promulgated Phase

I, which finalized treatment standards for the first

set of newly listed wastes and established

alternative treatment standards for hazardous

debris. On September 19, 1994, EPA

promulgated Phase II, which also finalized

treatment standards for additional newly listed

wastes and added the UTS table (40 CFR

§268.48). On April 8, 1996, EPA promulgated

Phase III, which not only finalized treatment

standards for a third set of newly listed wastes, but

also prohibited the combustion of metals (such

treatment is ineffective and thus constitutes

impermissible dilution). On May 12, 1997, EPA

promulgated the first half of Phase IV, which

finalized the last set of treatment standards for

newly listed wastes and modified the LDR

notification requirements. The second half of

Phase IV, which will complete the schedule

established by the Phases, will finalize treatment

standards for newly identified toxicity

characteristic metal wastes and formerly exempt

mineral processing wastes.

With the completion of the four Phases, EPA

has promulgated standards for all currently

identified and listed hazardous wastes. EPA now

promulgates the LDR treatment standards for a

waste when the waste is initially identified or

listed.

SUMMARY

The LDR program is designed to protect

ground water from contamination by requiring

hazardous wastes to be physically or chemically

altered to reduce the toxicity or mobility of

hazardous constituents prior to disposal. The LDR

requirements apply to all hazardous wastes (with a

few exceptions) once a treatment standard has

been established for the waste. These

requirements attach at the point of generation, at

which time generators must determine both

hazardous waste listings and characteristics. Based

on this determination, the waste must meet all

applicable treatment standards before disposal.

The LDR program consists of prohibitions on:

• Disposal

• Dilution

• Storage.

The disposal prohibition requires that

hazardous wastes be treated to meet waste

specific treatment standards before disposal.

These standards are based on the BDAT process

and requires treatment to a specific concentration

level or treatment by a specific technology. EPA

established a series of variances, exemptions, and

extensions to address those situations where the

required treatment standard cannot be achieved.

The LDR program also includes alternative

treatment standards for unique wastestreams, such

as lab packs, debris, and soil. To ensure that

wastes receive proper treatment and are managed

appropriately, EPA also established notification

and recordkeeping requirements.

The dilution prohibition prevents treatment by

ineffective or inappropriate methods. The storage

prohibition is intended to require expeditious

treatment.

Since 1986, when the first treatment standards

were promulgated, the LDR program has

continually evolved. EPA has finished establishing

treatment standards for all existing, newly

identified, and newly listed wastes based on two

rulemaking schedules (the Thirds and Phases), and

the Agency now establishes treatment standards

for hazardous wastes when they are either listed

or identified.