Energy and Environment MonitorOn October 14, 2008, the West Virginia Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee approved amendments to West Virginia’s Hazardous Waste Management System Rule, 33 CSR 20. The amendments adopt by reference federal regulations at 40 CFR §261.6 in effect as of June 1, 2008, pertaining to requirements for recyclable materials with certain modifications. The modifications are modeled after Vermont’s law and include standards applicable to hazardous waste recycling at off-site facilities and hazardous waste recycling activities in West Virginia.
The amendments would promote recycling by allowing “staging,” which is defined as the temporary placement of off-site generated recyclable materials within a recycling facility for no more than three days. A hazardous waste recycling facility would be required to satisfy the requirements applicable to hazardous waste recycling activities and generators of hazardous waste as well as financial requirements by either maintaining a closure cost estimate that meets federal requirements or establishing financial assurance in accordance with federal requirements. Placement of recyclable materials for longer than three days would be considered storage. Owners and operators who store recyclable materials before they are recycled would be subject to hazardous waste permit requirements and all applicable hazardous waste regulations.
The amendments would also require any residual material resulting from a recycling process be evaluated to determine if it is a hazardous waste. The amendments would require any facility to obtain a hazardous waste permit if it treats hazardous waste without recycling or treats hazardous waste prior to recycling. However, generators that treat hazardous waste in containers or tanks that comply with federal requirements would not need a hazardous waste permit for that treatment activity. Owners and operators of facilities of hazardous waste management units that recycle hazardous waste would be subject to the same standards as owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities.
The amended Rule, 33 CSR 20, will be considered by the West Virginia Legislature in early 2009. If adopted by the Legislature, the amended Rule will become law sometime next year and serve to promote hazardous waste recycling in West Virginia. For additional information on the amendments to West Virginia’s Hazardous Waste Management System Rule, contact Gale Lea Rubrecht at 304-340-1200 or galelea@jacksonkelly.com.
This article was authored by Gale Lea Rubrecht, Jackson Kelly PLLC. For more information on the author see here.
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