Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations Act of 2015

To require regulation of wastes associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the CLEANER Act of 2015 Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations Act of 2015 2. Regulation of wastes associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy under the Solid Waste Disposal Act (a) Identification or listing, and regulation under subtitle C Paragraph (2) of section 3001(b) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6921(b) (2) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the CLEANER Act of 2015 (A) determine whether drilling fluids, produced waters, and other wastes associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy meet the criteria promulgated under this section for the identification or listing of hazardous waste; (B) identify or list as hazardous waste any drilling fluids, produced waters, or other wastes associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy that the Administrator determines, pursuant to subparagraph (A), meet the criteria promulgated under this section for the identification or listing of hazardous waste; and (C) promulgate regulations under sections 3002, 3003, and 3004 for wastes identified or listed as hazardous waste pursuant to subparagraph (B), except that the Administrator is authorized to modify the requirements of such sections to take into account the special characteristics of such wastes so long as such modified requirements protect human health and the environment. . (b) Regulation under subtitle D Section 4010(c) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6949a(c) (7) Drilling fluids, produced waters, and other wastes associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the CLEANER Act of 2015 .

Summary: CLEANER Act of 2015 or the Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations Act of 2015 This bill amends the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to eliminate the exemption for waste derived from the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy from regulations governing the disposal of hazardous waste. Within a year of this bill's enactment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must: determine whether waste associated with oil, gas, or geothermal energy activities meet the criteria promulgated for the identification or listing of hazardous waste; identify or list as hazardous waste any of those wastes if they meet the identification or listing criteria; and promulgate regulations regarding standards applicable to generators, transporters, and owners and operators of facilities for the treatment, storage, or disposal of those wastes. The EPA may modify the regulation of those standards to consider the special characteristics of those wastes so long as the modified regulations protect human health and the environment. Within a year of this bill's enactment, the EPA must promulgate revisions of certain criteria concerning landfills and waste management practices of open dumping for facilities that may receive wastes that are: (1) associated with those activities, and (2) not identified or listed as hazardous waste. Those revisions must: protect human health and the environment, while allowing consideration of the practicable capability of such facilities; and require groundwater monitoring as necessary to detect contamination; establish criteria for the acceptable location of new or existing facilities; and provide for corrective action and financial assurance as appropriate.