Section 724.101  Purpose, Scope, and Applicability

a)         The purpose of this Part is to establish minimum standards that define the acceptable management of hazardous waste.

b)         The standards in this Part apply to owners and operators of all facilities that treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste, except as specifically provided otherwise in this Part or 35 Ill. Adm. Code 721.

c)         This Part applies to a person disposing of hazardous waste by means of ocean disposal subject to a permit issued under the federal Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (33 USC 1401 et seq.) only to the extent they are included in a RCRA permit by rule granted to such a person under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 703.141. A "RCRA permit" is a permit required by Section 21(f) of the Environmental Protection Act and 35 Ill. Adm. Code 703.121.

BOARD NOTE:  This Part does apply to the treatment or storage of hazardous waste before it is loaded onto an ocean vessel for incineration or disposal at sea.

d)         This Part applies to a person disposing of hazardous waste by means of underground injection subject to a permit issued by the Agency under Section 12(g) of the Act only to the extent they are required by Subpart F of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 704.

BOARD NOTE:  This Part does apply to the above-ground treatment or storage of hazardous waste before it is injected underground.

e)         This Part applies to the owner or operator of a POTW (publicly owned treatment works) that treats, stores, or disposes of hazardous waste only to the extent included in a RCRA permit by rule granted to such a person under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 703.141.

f)         This subsection (f) corresponds with 40 CFR 264.1(f), which provides that the federal regulations do not apply to T/S/D activities in authorized states, except under limited, enumerated circumstances.  This statement maintains structural consistency with USEPA rules.

g)         This Part does not apply to the following:

1)         The owner or operator of a facility permitted by the Agency under Section 21 of the Act to manage municipal or industrial solid waste, if the only hazardous waste the facility treats, stores, or disposes of is excluded from regulation under this Part by 35 Ill. Adm. Code 722.114.

BOARD NOTE:  The owner or operator may be subject to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 807 and may have to have a supplemental permit under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 807.210.

2)         The owner or operator of a facility managing recyclable materials described in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 721.106(a)(2) through (a)(4) (except to the extent that requirements of this Part are referred to in Subpart C, F, G, or H of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 726 or 35 Ill. Adm. Code 739).

3)         A generator accumulating waste on-site in compliance with 35 Ill. Adm. Code 722.114, 722.115, 722.116, or 722.117.

4)         A farmer disposing of waste pesticides from the farmer's own use in compliance with 35 Ill. Adm. Code 722.170.

5)         The owner or operator of a totally enclosed treatment facility, as defined in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 720.110.

6)         The owner or operator of an elementary neutralization unit or a wastewater treatment unit, as defined in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 720.110, provided that if the owner or operator is diluting hazardous ignitable (D001) wastes (other than the D001 High TOC Subcategory defined in Table T to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 728) or reactive (D003) waste to remove the characteristic before land disposal, the owner or operator must comply with the requirements set out in Section 724.117(b).

7)         This subsection (g)(7) corresponds with 40 CFR 264.1(g)(7), reserved by USEPA. This statement maintains structural consistency with USEPA rules.

8)         Immediate Response

A)        Except as provided in subsection (g)(8)(B), a person engaged in treatment or containment activities during immediate response to any of the following situations:

i)          A discharge of a hazardous waste;

ii)         An imminent and substantial threat of a discharge of hazardous waste;

iii)        A discharge of a material that becomes a hazardous waste when discharged; or

iv)        An immediate threat to human health, public safety, property, or the environment from the known or suspected presence of military munitions, other explosive material, or an explosive device, as determined by an explosives or munitions emergency response specialist as defined in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 720.110.

B)        An owner or operator of a facility otherwise regulated by this Part must comply with all applicable requirements of Subparts C and D.

C)        Any person that is covered by subsection (g)(8)(A) and that continues or initiates hazardous waste treatment or containment activities after the immediate response is over is subject to all applicable requirements of this Part and 35 Ill. Adm. Code 702, 703, and 705 for those activities.

D)        In the case of an explosives or munitions emergency response, if a federal, State, or local official acting within the scope of his or her official responsibilities or an explosives or munitions emergency response specialist determines that immediate removal of the material or waste is necessary to adequately protect human health or the environment, that official or specialist may authorize the removal of the material or waste by transporters that do not have USEPA identification numbers and without the preparation of a manifest.  In the case of emergencies involving military munitions, the responding military emergency response specialist's organizational unit must retain records for three years identifying the dates of the response, the responsible persons responding, the type and description of material addressed, and its disposition.

9)         A transporter storing manifested shipments of hazardous waste in containers meeting 35 Ill. Adm. Code 722.130 at a transfer facility for a period of ten days or less.

10)         The addition of absorbent materials to waste in a container (as defined in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 720) or the addition of waste to absorbent material in a container, provided these actions occur at the time waste is first placed in the container, and Sections 724.117(b), 724.271, and 724.272 are complied with.

11)         A universal waste handler or universal waste transporter (as defined in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 720.110) that handles any of the wastes listed below is subject to regulation under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 733 when handling the following universal wastes:

A)        Batteries, as described in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 733.102;

B)        Pesticides, as described in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 733.103;

C)        Mercury-containing equipment, as described in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 733.104;

D)        Lamps, as described in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 733.105; and

E)        Aerosol cans, as described in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 733.106.

12)        This subsection (g)(12) corresponds with 40 CFR 264.1(g)(12), which applies only to a facility outside Illinois.  This statement maintains structural consistency with the corresponding USEPA rule.

13)        A reverse distributor accumulating potentially creditable hazardous waste pharmaceuticals and evaluated hazardous waste pharmaceuticals, as defined in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 726.600.  A reverse distributor is subject to regulation under Subpart P of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 726 in lieu of this Part for the accumulation of potentially creditable hazardous waste pharmaceuticals and evaluated hazardous waste pharmaceuticals.

h)         This Part applies to owners and operators of facilities that treat, store, or dispose of hazardous wastes referred to in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 728.

i)          35 Ill. Adm. Code 726.505 identifies when this Part applies to the storage of military munitions classified as solid waste under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 726.302.  The treatment and disposal of hazardous waste military munitions are subject to the applicable permitting, procedural, and technical standards in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 702, 703, 705, 720 through 728, and 738.

j)          Subparts B, C, and D and Section 724.201 do not apply to remediation waste management sites.  (However, some remediation waste management sites may be a part of a facility that is subject to a traditional RCRA permit because the facility is also treating, storing, or disposing of hazardous wastes that are not remediation wastes.  In these cases, Subparts B, C, and D, and Section 724.201 do apply to the facility subject to the traditional RCRA permit.)  Instead of Subparts B, C, and D, the owner or operator of a remediation waste management site must comply with the following requirements:

1)         The owner or operator must obtain a USEPA identification number by applying to the Agency using Notification of RCRA Subtitle C Activities (Site Identification Form) (USEPA Form 8700-12), as described in Section 724.111;

BOARD NOTE:  USEPA Form 8700-12 is available from the Agency, Bureau of Land (217-782-6762).  It is also available on-line for download in PDF file format:  www.epa.gov/hwgenerators/instructions-and-form-hazardous-waste-generators-transporters-and-treatment-storage-and.

2)         The owner or operator must obtain a detailed chemical and physical analysis of a representative sample of the hazardous remediation wastes to be managed at the site.  At a minimum, the analysis must contain all of the information that must be known to treat, store, or dispose of the waste according to this Part and 35 Ill. Adm. Code 728, and the owner or operator must keep the analysis accurate and up to date;

3)         The owner or operator must prevent people who are unaware of the danger from entering the site, and the owner or operator must minimize the possibility for unauthorized people or livestock entering onto the active portion of the remediation waste management site, unless the owner or operator can demonstrate the following to the Agency:

A)        That physical contact with the waste, structures, or equipment within the active portion of the remediation waste management site will not injure people or livestock that may enter the active portion of the remediation waste management site; and

B)        That disturbance of the waste or equipment by people or livestock that enter onto the active portion of the remediation waste management site will not cause a violation of the requirements of this Part;

4)         The owner or operator must inspect the remediation waste management site for malfunctions, deterioration, operator errors, and discharges that may be causing or may lead to a release of hazardous waste constituents to the environment or a threat to human health.  The owner or operator must conduct these inspections often enough to identify problems in time to correct them before they harm human health or the environment, and the owner or operator must remedy the problem before it leads to a human health or environmental hazard.  If a hazard is imminent or has already occurred, the owner or operator must immediately take remedial action;

5)         The owner or operator must provide personnel with classroom or on-the-job training on how to perform their duties in a way that ensures the remediation waste management site complies with this Part, and on how to respond effectively to emergencies;

6)         The owner or operator must take precautions to prevent accidental ignition or reaction of ignitable or reactive waste, and the owner or operator must prevent threats to human health and the environment from ignitable, reactive, and incompatible waste;

7)         For remediation waste management sites subject to regulation under Subparts I through O and Subpart X, the owner or operator must design, construct, operate, and maintain a unit within a 100-year floodplain to prevent washout of any hazardous waste by a 100-year flood, unless the owner or operator can meet the requirements of Section 724.118(b);

8)         The owner or operator must not place any non-containerized or bulk liquid hazardous waste in any salt dome formation, salt bed formation, underground mine, or cave;

9)         The owner or operator must develop and maintain a construction quality assurance program for all surface impoundments, waste piles, and landfill units that are required to comply with Sections 724.321(c) and (d), 724.351(c) and (d), and 724.401(c) and (d) at the remediation waste management site, according to Section 724.119;

10)         The owner or operator must develop and maintain procedures to prevent accidents and a contingency and emergency plan to control accidents that occur. These procedures must address proper design, construction, maintenance, and operation of remediation waste management units at the site.  The goal of the plan must be to minimize the possibility of, and the hazards from, a fire, explosion, or any unplanned sudden or non-sudden release of hazardous waste or hazardous waste constituents to air, soil, or surface water that could threaten human health or the environment.  The plan must explain specifically how to treat, store, and dispose of the hazardous remediation waste in question, and must be implemented immediately whenever a fire, explosion, or release of hazardous waste or hazardous waste constituents occurs that could threaten human health or the environment;

11)         The owner or operator must designate at least one employee, either on the facility premises or on call (that is, available to respond to an emergency by reaching the facility quickly), to coordinate all emergency response measures.  This emergency coordinator must be thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the facility's contingency plan, all operations and activities at the facility, the location and characteristics of waste handled, the location of all records within the facility, and the facility layout.  In addition, this person must have the authority to commit the resources needed to carry out the contingency plan;

12)         The owner or operator must develop, maintain, and implement a plan to meet the requirements in subsections (j)(2) through (j)(6) and (j)(9) through (j)(10); and

13)         The owner or operator must maintain records documenting compliance with subsections (j)(1) through (j)(12).

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 15347, effective September 3, 2020)