Opinion ID: 3052070
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: statutory framework for hazardous waste

Text: MANAGEMENT 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 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. 2 “Source material” includes uranium, thorium, and other materials that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission deems necessary for the production UNITED STATES v. MANNING 5891 § 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 (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 of special nuclear material. 42 U.S.C. § 2014(z). “Special nuclear materials” are those materials, such as plutonium and enriched uranium, that are “enriched in the isotope 233 or in the isotope 235.” Id. § 2014(aa). “Byproduct material” includes “(1) any radioactive material (except special nuclear material) yielded in or made radioactive by exposure to the radiation incident to the process of producing or utilizing special nuclear material, and (2) the tailings or wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of uranium or thorium from any ore processed primarily for its source material content.” Id. §§ 2014(e)(1), (2). 3 Source material, special nuclear material, and byproduct material are often referred to as “AEA materials.” 4 The State suggests that the RCRA and the FFCA give states the authority to regulate the radioactive component of mixed waste. Neither federal statute explicitly allows states to engage in broad regulation of the radioactive component of mixed waste. The FFCA gives states a limited role in mixed waste management by directing the DOE to submit plans regarding mixed waste to states for approval, modification, or disapproval. 42 U.S.C. § 6939c; see also H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 102-866, at 22 (1992). Congress stopped short, though, of giving states broader regulatory authority. 5892 UNITED STATES v. MANNING 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.