Opinion ID: 184539
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Statutory and Regulatory Definitions of Solid Waste

Text: 7 The regulations governing the identification and listing of hazardous waste, see 40 C.F.R. Pt. 261, include a definition of solid waste that applies only to wastes that are also hazardous for purposes of the regulations implementing subtitle C of RCRA. 40 C.F.R. § 261.1(b)(1). In other words, for purposes of Subtitle C the EPA has provided a regulatory definition of solid waste that is distinct from the statutory definition. See Connecticut Coastal Fishermen's Ass'n v. Remington Arms Co., 989 F.2d 1305, 1314 (2d Cir.1993) (The RCRA regulations create a dichotomy in the definition of solid waste). 8 The regulations define solid waste as any discarded material and in turn define discarded material as, among other things, abandoned. 40 C.F.R. § 261.2(a). Material is deemed abandoned if it is: 9 (1) Disposed of; or 10 (2) Burned or incinerated; or 11 (3) Accumulated, stored, or treated (but not recycled) before or in lieu of being abandoned by being disposed of, burned, or incinerated. 12 40 C.F.R. § 261.2(b). According to the EPA, the element of abandonment in the regulatory definition of solid waste renders that definition somewhat narrower than the statutory definition, which encompasses discarded material without requiring that the material have been abandoned. 13 Only a type of waste meeting the narrower regulatory definition of solid waste can be a hazardous waste within the meaning of Subtitle C. A regulatory solid waste is deemed a hazardous waste for purposes of Subtitle C if the Administrator has specifically listed that type of waste as a hazardous waste, see 40 C.F.R. Pt. 261, Subpt. D, or if it exhibits any of four hazardous characteristics: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity, see id. Subpt. C. 14 Although the EPA has narrowed the definition of solid waste for purposes of Subtitle C, the statute itself still provides the relevant definition for purposes of Subtitle G, which authorizes the Administrator (§ 7003)--or, indeed, any person (§ 7002(a)(1)(B))--to bring suit in order to force such action as may be necessary to abate an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment caused by solid waste. 42 U.S.C. §§ 6972(a)(1)(B) & 6973; see 40 C.F.R. § 261.1(b)(2) (material not defined as solid waste for purposes of Subtitle C is still a solid waste if [i]n the case of section 7003, the statutory elements are established). 15 The relevant portion of the regulatory apparatus erected by and under the authority of the RCRA can be summarized as follows: Solid waste is by statute defined broadly as any discarded material; by regulation, however, solid waste for purposes of Subtitle C includes only discarded material that has been abandoned in certain ways, of which the only one relevant here is by being disposed of. As a result of this distinction between the statutory and regulatory definitions, while any discarded material that poses an imminent and substantial hazard may be the subject of a lawsuit brought pursuant to Subtitle G, only discarded material that has been disposed of can constitute hazardous waste that is subject to the stringent cradle-to-grave regulatory scheme of Subtitle C.