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- State/Tribal Flexibility for Municipal Landfill Permits
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- * Objective
- * Background
- * Description
- * Accomplishments to Date
- * Next Steps
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- Objective: Encourage states and tribes to develop sound
municipal
- solid waste landfill permitting programs that ensure
protection of human
- health and the environment while providing a flexible,
performance-based
- approach.
- Background: Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA),
- States must have EPA's approval to assess and permit their
landfills
- using performance-based (rather than technology-specific)
standards. The
- rule would also clarify EPA's authority to approve landfill
permit
- programs on Tribal lands.
-
- Description: EPA is proposing criteria for approving state and
tribal
- programs that regulate municipal solid waste landfills. States
and
- Tribes that receive EPA approval of their programs have the
opportunity
- to provide a lot of flexibility to administer landfill
programs that can
- be geared to local conditions and can make the costs of
municipal waste
- management more affordable.
-
- Approved states and tribes will be able to use the
performance-based
- standards in permitting municipal solid waste landfills rather
than the
- more prescriptive design and management (technical) standards
that
- landfill owners must meet in States without approved programs.
-
- Accomplishments to date:
- * The rule was proposed on January 26, 1996.
- * EPA has approved 47 programs to date including one Tribal
program, one
- in a territory and 45 state programs using the draft rule as
guidance.
-
- * Conducted outreach to States
- * Encouraged Tribal interest in permit program approval
including sessions
- at the Third National Tribal Conference on Environmental
Management at
- Flathead Nation (May 21-23, 1996).
-
-
- Next Steps:
- * Incorporate comments and finalize the rule.
- * Continue to work with States, Tribes seeking program
approval or
- modifying programs.
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- EPA Contact: Mia Zmud 703/308-7263
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- zmud.mia@epamail.epa.gov
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