Generators of hazardous waste that meet the current Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) standards for being conditionally exempt small quantity generators (CESQGs) will be “rebranded” as “very small quantity generators” (VSQGs) when the proposed Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule (Rule) is finalized (most likely this month). Whether such generators are called CESQGs or VSQGs, their regulatory responsibilities will change only slightly when the Rule goes into effect in their state, although there are a few changes worth noting. In addition to getting up to speed with new or revised Rule requirements, CESQGs/VSQGs should also keep in mind a few current regulations that continue to apply to them but may not have been on their radar screen.

Effect of the new Rule

CESQG requirements remain the same for VSQGs, but a few Rule changes provide more clarity and flexibility.

Definition of “VSQG.” A definition of VSQG has been added to 40 CFR 260.10. A “VSQG” is defined as “a generator who generates less than or equal to the following amounts in a calendar month:

• 100 kilograms (kg) (220 pounds (lb)) of nonacute hazardous waste; and
• 1 kg (2.2 lb) of acute hazardous waste listed in Section 261.31 or Section 261.33(e); and
• 100 kg (220 lb) of any residue or contaminated soil, water, or other debris resulting from the cleanup of a spill, into or on any land or water, of any acute hazardous waste listed in Section 261.31 or Section 261.33(e)”

Location of VSQG requirements. 40 CFR 261.5 no longer exists in the Rule, as the CESQG requirements have moved to new 40 CFR 262.14 for VSQGs.

Hazardous waste determination. The hazardous waste determination requirements in 40 CFR 262.11 that apply to VSQGs remain the same but have been revised to add text describing the concept of using “process knowledge” to identify waste exhibiting a hazardous characteristic. 40 CFR 262.11 codifies the various types of information that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified in the past (e.g., in Federal Register preambles and letters of regulatory interpretations) as potentially relevant and acceptable for making a RCRA waste determination. Such process knowledge includes information about chemical feedstocks and other inputs to the production process; knowledge of products; testing that illustrates the properties of the waste; or other reliable and relevant information about the properties of the waste or its constituents. VSQGs now have a road map for the information that the EPA wants used in making hazardous waste determinations.

Two “voluntary” programs. The Rule includes two programs that are voluntary in the sense that each is totally optional. The first is the consolidation of VSQG waste by large quantity generators (LQGs) under the same ownership. Found in the Rule at 40 CFR 262.14(4)(viii), this program allows VSQGs to send hazardous waste to an LQG that is under the control of the same person, provided certain conditions are met. The second program at 40 CFR 262.230 et seq. allows a VSQG to maintain its existing generator category in the event of either a planned or unplanned episodic event in which the VSQG generates a quantity of hazardous waste in a calendar month that would otherwise bump it into a more stringent generator regulatory category (i.e., to either a small quantity generator (SQG) or an LQG category). Either program would provide a VSQG with greater flexibility in how they manage their hazardous waste. Of course, each program has very specific conditions that must be met.

Do DOT requirements apply?

It’s not uncommon for EPA’s smallest class of generator to think that U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) hazardous materials regulations (HMRs) do not apply to them, but they can. The RCRA regulations do not require a CESQG/VSQG to use a manifest to ship its hazardous waste or to comply with many other requirements that apply to SQGs and LQGs. However, the DOT requires that any hazardous waste listed by name on the table found at 49 CFR 172.101 (Table) be handled, prepared, and transported in compliance with the HMRs as it is a hazardous material, as well as a hazardous waste (although certain HMR exceptions may apply). One HMR requirement is that hazardous materials listed on the Table be accompanied by a hazardous waste manifest or an HMR shipping paper, such as a bill of lading. Any CESQG/VSQG that prepares DOT hazardous material shipment papers must be trained every 3 years.

Manage as hazardous or universal waste?

That’s a choice that RCRA has always given to a CESQG—to manage a hazardous waste that meets the federal or state definition of a universal waste under either the hazardous waste rules or under the universal waste rules. Although VSQGs are still exempt from most hazardous waste regulations and can manage their universal wastes pursuant to the hazardous waste regulations that do apply, there are advantages to managing their hazardous waste that is also a universal waste under the universal waste rule. The universal waste management option may be advantageous to VSQGs despite it necessitating compliance with various universal waste requirements, such as those concerning storage time limitations and marking requirements. The main advantage is that the wastes do not have to be counted toward VSQG's monthly hazardous waste generation quantity limit (40 CFR 261.5(g)/40 CFR 262.14(c)(6)). A VSQG should consider the pros and cons of managing its generated universal waste under the universal waste requirements versus under the VSQG hazardous waste requirements.

Does your state have a landfill disposal ban?

Although the federal CESQG requirements at 40 CFR 261.5(g) (and now at 40 CFR 262.14(c)(6) for VSQGs) allow a VSQG to dispose of its hazardous waste in a state solid (nonhazardous) waste landfill, such generators need to bear in mind that not all states do allow such disposal. Some states, such as Delaware, Minnesota, and Ohio, prohibit the disposal of any hazardous waste in their solid waste landfills, including that from CESQGs/VSQGs. Check with your state environmental regulatory agency to find out your options.