Opinion ID: 1458112
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: statutory framework for hazardous waste management

Text: Hazardous waste is regulated at both the federal and state levels. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901-6992k, enacted in 1976 in response to the environmental and public health risks associated with the mismanagement of hazardous waste, created a permit scheme for the treatment, disposal, or storage of hazardous waste. See id. § 6925(a); United States v. Kentucky, 252 F.3d 816, 822 (6th Cir.2001). Under the RCRA, states may apply to the EPA for authorization to administer a hazardous waste program in lieu of the federal program. 42 U.S.C. § 6926(b). Washington is authorized to administer its own program, and does so through the Hazardous Waste Management Act (HWMA), RCW 70.105. Despite federal cleanup efforts, hazardous waste contamination continued to be a problem. Ecology claims that federal facilities, including Hanford, were among the worst offenders. In 1992, Congress enacted the Federal Facilities Compliance Act (FFCA) to make it as clear as humanly possible that Congress was waiving federal sovereign immunity and making federal facilities subject to state laws. 138 Cong. Rec. H9135-02 (daily ed. Sept. 23, 1992) (statement of Rep. Dingell); see 42 U.S.C. § 6961. This act also added a provision to the RCRA that requires the DOE to submit its treatment plans for mixed waste to the states for approval, modification, or disapproval. 42 U.S.C. § 6939c. Disposal of nuclear and radioactive materials falls, however, into a special category and is separately regulated by the federal government. Thus, solid waste regulated by the RCRA does not include source, special nuclear, or byproduct material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. [2] 42 U.S.C. § 6903(27). The [Atomic Energy Act, (AEA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2011 2259] enacted in 1954, established a comprehensive regulatory scheme for military and domestic nuclear energy. Natural Res. Def. Council v. Abraham, 388 F.3d 701, 704 (9th Cir. 2004). Amendments to the AEA in 1959 gave states some regulatory authority, but the Atomic Energy Commission, now the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, retain[ed] exclusive regulatory authority over `the disposal of such ... byproduct, source, or special nuclear material as the Commission determines ... should, because of the hazards or potential hazards thereof, not be disposed of without a license from the Commission.' [3] Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U.S. 238, 250, 104 S.Ct. 615, 78 L.Ed.2d 443 (1984) (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 2021(c)(4)). Radioactive waste that is subject to regulation under the AEA frequently may be mixed with non-radioactive waste that is regulated by the RCRA. No separate federal statute regulates this mixed waste. [4] See Kentucky, 252 F.3d at 822. However, the DOE and the EPA have issued rules stating that mixed waste will be subject to dual regulation: the AEA will govern the radioactive component and the RCRA or comparable state legislation will govern the non-radioactive component. See, e.g., 51 Fed.Reg. 24,504 (July 7, 1986); 52 Fed. Reg. 15,937 (May 1, 1987); 53 Fed.Reg. 37,045 (Sept. 23, 1988). This dual regulatory structure is the source of the conflict engendered by the CPA.