40 CFR Part 264 -- STANDARDS FOR
OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT, STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL FACILITIES
§264.229 Special requirements for ignitable or reactive waste.
Ignitable or reactive waste must not be placed in a surface impoundment, unless the waste
and impoundment satisfy all applicable requirements of 40 CFR Part 268, and:
(a) The waste is treated, rendered, or mixed before or immediately after placement in the
impoundment so that:
(1) The resulting waste, mixture, or dissolution of material no longer meets the
definition of ignitable or reactive waste under §§261.21 or 261.23 of this chapter; and
(2) Section 264.17(b) is complied with; or
(b) The waste is managed in such a way that it is protected from any material or
conditions which may cause it to ignite or react; or
(c) The surface impoundment is used solely for emergencies.
(47 FR 32357, July 26, 1982, as amended at 55 FR 22685, June 1, 1990)
§264.230 Special requirements for incompatible wastes.
Incompatible wastes, or incompatible wastes and materials, (see appendix V of this part
for examples) must not be placed in the same surface impoundment, unless §264.17(b) is
complied with.
§264.231 Special requirements for hazardous wastes FO20, FO21, FO22, FO23, FO26, and
FO27.
(a) Hazardous Wastes FO20, FO21, FO22, FO23, FO26, and FO27 must not be placed in a
surface impoundment unless the owner or operator operates the surface impoundment in
accordance with a management plan for these wastes that is approved by the Regional
Administrator pursuant to the standards set out in this paragraph, and in accord with all
other applicable requirements of this part. The factors to be considered are:
(1) The volume, physical, and chemical characteristics of the wastes, including their
potential to migrate through soil or to volatilize or escape into the atmosphere;
(2) The attenuative properties of underlying and surrounding soils or other materials;
(3) The mobilizing properties of other materials co-disposed with these wastes; and
(4) The effectiveness of additional treatment, design, or monitoring techniques.
(b) The Regional Administrator may determine that additional design, operating, and
monitoring requirements are necessary for surface impoundments managing hazardous wastes
FO20, FO21, FO22, FO23, FO26, and FO27 in order to reduce the possibility of migration of
these wastes to ground water, surface water, or air so as to protect human health and the
environment.
(50 FR 2004, Jan. 14, 1985)
Subpart L -- Waste Piles
§264.250 Applicability.
(a) The regulations in this subpart apply to owners and operators of facilities that store
or treat hazardous waste in piles, except as §264.1 provides otherwise.
(b) The regulations in this subpart do not apply to owners or operators of waste piles
that are closed with wastes left in place. Such waste piles are subject to regulation
under subpart N of this part (Landfills).
(c) The owner or operator of any waste pile that is inside or under a structure that
provides protection from precipitation so that neither run-off nor leachate is generated
is not subject to regulation under §264.251 or under subpart F of this part, provided
that:
(1) Liquids or materials containing free liquids are not placed in the pile;
(2) The pile is protected from surface water run-on by the structure or in some other
manner;
(3) The pile is designed and operated to control dispersal of the waste by wind, where
necessary, by means other than wetting; and
(4) The pile will not generate leachate through decomposition or other reactions.
§264.251 Design and operating requirements.
(a) A waste pile (except for an existing portion of a waste pile) must have:
(1) A liner that is designed, constructed, and installed to prevent any migration of
wastes out of the pile into the adjacent subsurface soil or ground water or surface water
at any time during the active life (including the closure period) of the waste pile. The
liner may be constructed of materials that may allow waste to migrate into the liner
itself (but not into the adjacent subsurface soil or ground water or surface water) during
the active life of the facility. The liner must be:
(i) Constructed of materials that have appropriate chemical properties and sufficient
strength and thickness to prevent failure due to pressure gradients (including static head
and external hydrogeologic forces), physical contact with the waste or leachate to which
they are exposed, climatic conditions, the stress of installation, and the stress of daily
operation;
(ii) Placed upon a foundation or base capable of providing support to the liner and
resistance to pressure gradients above and below the liner to prevent failure of the liner
due to settlement, compression, or uplift; and
(iii) Installed to cover all surrounding earth likely to be in contact with the waste or
leachate; and
(2) A leachate collection and removal system immediately above the liner that is designed,
constructed, maintained, and operated to collect and remove leachate from the pile. The
Regional Administrator will specify design and operating conditions in the permit to
ensure that the leachate depth over the liner does not exceed 30 cm (one foot). The
leachate collection and removal system must be:
(i) Constructed of materials that are:
(A) Chemically resistant to the waste managed in the pile and the leachate expected to be
generated; and
(B) Of sufficient strength and thickness to prevent collapse under the pressures exerted
by overlaying wastes, waste cover materials, and by any equipment used at the pile; and
(ii) Designed and operated to function without clogging through the scheduled closure of
the waste pile.
(b) The owner or operator will be exempted from the requirements of paragraph (a) of this
section, if the Regional Administrator finds, based on a demonstration by the owner or
operator, that alternate design and operating practices, together with location
characteristics, will prevent the migration of any hazardous constituents (see §264.93)
into the ground water or surface water at any future time. In deciding whether to grant an
exemption, the Regional Administrator will consider:
(1) The nature and quantity of the wastes;
(2) The proposed alternate design and operation;
(3) The hydrogeologic setting of the facility, including attenuative capacity and
thickness of the liners and soils present between the pile and ground water or surface
water; and
(4) All other factors which would influence the quality and mobility of the leachate
produced and the potential for it to migrate to ground water or surface water.
(c) The owner or operator of each new waste pile unit on which construction commences
after January 29, 1992, each lateral expansion of a waste pile unit on which construction
commences after July 29, 1992, and each replacement of an existing waste pile unit that is
to commence reuse after July 29, 1992 must install two or more liners and a leachate
collection and removal system above and between such liners. "Construction
commences'' is as defined in §260.10 under "existing facility''.
(1)(i) The liner system must include:
(A) A top liner designed and constructed of materials (e.g., a geomembrane) to prevent the
migration of hazardous constituents into such liner during the active life and
post-closure care period; and
(B) A composite bottom liner, consisting of at least two components. The upper component
must be designed and constructed of materials (e.g., a geomembrane) to prevent the
migration of hazardous constituents into this component during the active life and
post-closure care period. The lower component must be designed and constructed of
materials to minimize the migration of hazardous constituents if a breach in the upper
component were to occur. The lower component must be constructed of at least 3 feet (91
cm) of compacted soil material with a hydraulic conductivity of no more than 1 10^7
cm/sec.
(ii) The liners must comply with paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (ii), and (iii) of this section.
(2) The leachate collection and removal system immediately above the top liner must be
designed, constructed, operated, and maintained to collect and remove leachate from the
waste pile during the active life and post-closure care period. The Regional Administrator
will specify design and operating conditions in the permit to ensure that the leachate
depth over the liner does not exceed 30 cm (one foot). The leachate collection and removal
system must comply with paragraphs and (iv) of this section.
(3) The leachate collection and removal system between the liners, and immediately above
the bottom composite liner in the case of multiple leachate collection and removal
systems, is also a leak detection system. This leak detection system must be capable of
detecting, collecting, and removing leaks of hazardous constituents at the earliest
practicable time through all areas of the top liner likely to be exposed to waste or
leachate during the active life and post-closure care period. The requirements for a leak
detection system in this paragraph are satisfied by installation of a system that is, at a
minimum:
(i) Constructed with a bottom slope of one percent or more;
(ii) Constructed of granular drainage materials with a hydraulic conductivity of 1 10^2
cm/sec or more and a thickness of 12 inches (30.5 cm) or more; or constructed of synthetic
or geonet drainage materials with a transmissivity of 3 10^5 m /2/ /sec or more:
(iii) Constructed of materials that are chemically resistant to the waste managed in the
waste pile and the leachate expected to be generated, and of sufficient strength and
thickness to prevent collapse under the pressures exerted by overlying wastes, waste cover
materials, and equipment used at the waste pile;
(iv) Designed and operated to minimize clogging during the active life and post-closure
care period; and
(v) Constructed with sumps and liquid removal methods (e.g., pumps) of sufficient size to
collect and remove liquids from the sump and prevent liquids from backing up into the
drainage layer. Each unit must have its own sump(s). The design of each sump and removal
system must provide a method for measuring and recording the volume of liquids present in
the sump and of liquids removed.
(4) The owner or operator shall collect and remove pumpable liquids in the leak detection
system sumps to minimize the head on the bottom liner.
(5) The owner or operator of a leak detection system that is not located completely above
the seasonal high water table must demonstrate that the operation of the leak detection
system will not be adversely affected by the presence of ground water.
(d) The Regional Administrator may approve alternative design or operating practices to
those specified in paragraph (c) of this section if the owner or operator demonstrates to
the Regional Administrator that such design and operating practices, together with
location characteristics:
(1) Will prevent the migration of any hazardous constituent into the ground water or
surface water at least as effectively as the liners and leachate collection and removal
systems specified in paragraph (c) of this section; and
(2) Will allow detection of leaks of hazardous constituents through the top liner at least
as effectively.
(e) Paragraph (c) of this section does not apply to monofills that are granted a waiver by
the Regional Administrator in accordance with §264.221(e).
(f) The owner or operator of any replacement waste pile unit is exempt from paragraph (c)
of this section if:
(1) The existing unit was constructed in compliance with the design standards of section
3004(o)(1)(A)(i) and (o)(5) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and
(2) There is no reason to believe that the liner is not functioning as designed.
(g) The owner or operator must design, construct, operate, and maintain a run-on control
system capable of preventing flow onto the active portion of the pile during peak
discharge from at least a 25-year storm.
(h) The owner or operator must design, construct, operate, and maintain a run-off
management system to collect and control at least the water volume resulting from a
24-hour, 25-year storm.
(i) Collection and holding facilities (e.g., tanks or basins) associated with run-on and
run-off control systems must be emptied or otherwise managed expeditiously after storms to
maintain design capacity of the system.
(j) If the pile contains any particulate matter which may be subject to wind dispersal,
the owner or operator must cover or otherwise manage the pile to control wind dispersal.
(k) The Regional Administrator will specify in the permit all design and operating
practices that are necessary to ensure that the requirements of this section are
satisfied.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 2050-0007)
(47 FR 32359, July 26, 1982, as amended at 50 FR 4514, Jan. 31, 1985; 57 FR 3488, Jan. 29,
1992)
Effective Date Note: At 57 FR 3488, Jan. 29, 1992 264.251 was amended by redesignating
paragraphs (c) through (g) as paragraphs (g) through (k), and by adding new paragraphs
(c), (d), (e), and (f) effective July 29, 1992.
§264.252 Action leakage rate.
(a) The Regional Administrator shall approve an action leakage rate for surface
impoundment units subject to §264.251(c) or (d). The action leakage rate is the maximum
design flow rate that the leak detection system (LDS) can remove without the fluid head on
the bottom liner exceeding 1 foot. The action leakage rate must include an adequate safety
margin to allow for uncertainties in the design (e.g., slope, hydraulic conductivity,
thickness of drainage material), construction, operation, and location of the LDS, waste
and leachate characteristics, likelihood and amounts of other sources of liquids in the
LDS, and proposed response actions (e.g., the action leakage rate must consider decreases
in the flow capacity of the system over time resulting from siltation and clogging, rib
layover and creep of synthetic components of the system, overburden pressures, etc.).
(b) To determine if the action leakage rate has been exceeded, the owner or operator must
convert the weekly flow rate from the monitoring data obtained under §264.254(c), to an
average daily flow rate (gallons per acre per day) for each sump. Unless the Regional
Administrator approves a different calculation, the average daily flow rate for each sump
must be calculated weekly during the active life and closure period.
(57 FR 3489, Jan. 29, 1992)
Effective Date Note: At 57 FR 3489, Jan. 29, 1992 264.252 was added, effective July 29,
1992.
§264.253 Response actions.
(a) The owner or operator of waste pile units subject to §264.251 (c) or (d) must have an
approved response action plan before receipt of waste. The response action plan must set
forth the actions to be taken if the action leakage rate has been exceeded. At a minimum,
the response action plan must describe the actions specified in paragraph (b) of this
section.
(b) If the flow rate into the leak detection system exceeds the action leakage rate for
any sump, the owner or operator must:
(1) Notify the Regional Administrator in writing of the exceedance within 7 days of the
determination;
(2) Submit a preliminary written assessment to the Regional Administrator within 14 days
of the determination, as to the amount of liquids, likely sources of liquids, possible
location, size, and cause of any leaks, and short-term actions taken and planned;
(3) Determine to the extent practicable the location, size, and cause of any leak;
(4) Determine whether waste receipt should cease or be curtailed, whether any waste should
be removed from the unit for inspection, repairs, or controls, and whether or not the unit
should be closed;
(5) Determine any other short-term and long-term actions to be taken to mitigate or stop
any leaks; and
(6) Within 30 days after the notification that the action leakage rate has been exceeded,
submit to the Regional Administrator the results of the analyses specified in paragraphs
(b) (3), (4), and (5) of this section, the results of actions taken, and actions planned.
Monthly thereafter, as long as the flow rate in the leak detection system exceeds the
action leakage rate, the owner or operator must submit to the Regional Administrator a
report summarizing the results of any remedial actions taken and actions planned.
(c) To make the leak and/or remediation determinations in paragraphs (b) (3), (4), and (5)
of this section, the owner or operator must:
(1)(i) Assess the source of liquids and amounts of liquids by source,
(ii) Conduct a fingerprint, hazardous constituent, or other analyses of the liquids in the
leak detection system to identify the source of liquids and possible location of any
leaks, and the hazard and mobility of the liquid; and
(iii) Assess the seriousness of any leaks in terms of potential for escaping into the
environment; or
(2) Document why such assessments are not needed.
(57 FR 3489, Jan. 29, 1992)
Effective Date Note: At 57 FR 3489, Jan. 29, 1992 264.253 was added effective July 29,
1992.
§264.254 Monitoring and inspection.
(a) During construction or installation, liners (except in the case of existing portions
of piles exempt from §264.251(a)) and cover systems (e.g., membranes, sheets, or
coatings) must be inspected for uniformity, damage, and imperfections (e.g., holes,
cracks, thin spots, or foreign materials). Immediately after construction or installation:
(1) Synthetic liners and covers must be inspected to ensure tight seams and joints and the
absence of tears, punctures, or blisters; and
(2) Soil-based and admixed liners and covers must be inspected for imperfections including
lenses, cracks, channels, root holes, or other structural non-uniformities that may cause
an increase in the permeability of the liner or cover.
(b) While a waste pile is in operation, it must be inspected weekly and after storms to
detect evidence of any of the following:
(1) Deterioration, malfunctions, or improper operation of run-on and run-off control
systems;
(2) Proper functioning of wind dispersal control systems, where present; and
(3) The presence of leachate in and proper functioning of leachate collection and removal
systems, where present.
(c) An owner or operator required to have a leak detection system under §264.251(c) must
record the amount of liquids removed from each leak detection system sump at least once
each week during the active life and closure period.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 2050-0007)
(47 FR 32359, July 26, 1982, as amended at 50 FR 4514, Jan. 31, 1985; 50 FR 28748, July
15, 1985; 57 FR 3489, Jan. 29, 1992)
Effective Date Note: At 57 FR 3489, Jan. 29, 1992 264.254 was amended by adding paragraph
(c), effective July 29, 1992.
§264.255 (Reserved)
v264.256 Special requirements for ignitable or reactive waste.
Ignitable or reactive waste must not be place in a waste pile unless the waste and waste
pile satisfy all applicable requirements of 40 CFR Part 268, and:
(a) The waste is treated, rendered, or mixed before or immediately placement in the pile
so that:
(1) The resulting waste, mixture, or dissolution of material no longer meets the
definition of ignitable or reactive waste under §261.21 or §261.23 of this chapter; and
(2) Section 264.17(b) is complied with; or
(b) The waste is managed in such a way that it is protected from any material or
conditions which may cause it to ignite or react.
(47 FR 32359, July 26, 1982, as amended at 55 FR 22685, June 1, 1990)
§264.257 Special requirements for incompatible wastes.
(a) Incompatible wastes, or incompatible wastes and materials, (see appendix V of this
part for examples) must not be placed in the same pile, unless §264.17(b) is complied
with.
(b) A pile of hazardous waste that is incompatible with any waste or other material stored
nearby in containers, other piles, open tanks, or surface impoundments must be separated
from the other materials, or protected from them by means of a dike, berm, wall, or other
device.
(c) Hazardous waste must not be piled on the same base where incompatible wastes or
materials were previously piled, unless the base has been decontaminated sufficiently to
ensure compliance with §264.17(b).
§264.258 Closure and post-closure care.
(a) At closure, the owner or operator must remove or decontaminate all waste residues,
contaminated containment system components (liners, etc.), contaminated subsoils, and
structures and equipment contaminated with waste and leachate, and manage them as
hazardous waste unless 261.3(d) of this chapter applies.
(b) If, after removing or decontaminating all residues and making all reasonable efforts
to effect removal or decontamination of contaminated components, subsoils, structures, and
equipment as required in paragraph (a) of this section, the owner or operator finds that
not all contaminated subsoils can be practicably removed or decontaminated, he must close
the facility and perform post-closure care in accordance with the closure and post-closure
care requirements that apply to landfills (§264.310).
(c)(1) The owner or operator of a waste pile that does not comply with the liner
requirements of §264.251(a)(1) and is not exempt from them in accordance with
§264.250(c) or §264.251(b), must:
(i) Include in the closure plan for the pile under §264.112 both a plan for complying
with paragraph (a) of this section and a contingent plan for complying with paragraph (b)
of this section in case not all contaminated subsoils can be practicably removed at
closure; and
(ii) Prepare a contingent post-closure plan under §264.118 for complying with paragraph
(b) of this section in case not all contaminated subsoils can be practicably removed at
closure.
(2) The cost estimates calculated under §§264.142 and 264.144 for closure and
post-closure care of a pile subject to this paragraph must the cost of complying with the
contingent closure plan and the contingent post-closure plan, but are not required to
include the cost of expected closure under paragraph (a) of this section.
§264.259 Special requirements for hazardous wastes FO20, FO21, FO22, FO23, FO26, and
FO27.
(a) Hazardous Wastes FO20, FO21, FO22, FO23, FO26, and FO27 must not be placed in waste
piles that are not enclosed (as defined in §264.250(c)) unless the owner or operator
operates the waste pile in accordance with a management plan for these wastes that is
approved by the Regional Administrator pursuant to the standards set out in this
paragraph, and in accord with all other applicable requirements of this part. The factors
to be considered are:
(1) The volume, physical, and chemical characteristics of the wastes, including their
potential to migrate through soil or to volatilize or escape into the atmosphere;
(2) The attenuative properties of underlying and surrounding soils or other materials;
(3) The mobilizing properties of other materials co-disposed with these wastes; and
(4) The effectiveness of additional treatment, design, or monitoring techniques.
(b) The Regional Administrator may determine that additional design, operating, and
monitoring requirements are necessary for piles hazardous wastes FO20, FO21, FO22, FO23,
FO26, and, FO27 in order to reduce the possibility of migration of these wastes to ground
water, surface water, or air so as to protect human health and the environment.
(50 FR 2004, Jan. 14, 1985)
Subpart M -- Land Treatment
§264.270 Applicability.
The regulations in this subpart apply to owners and operators of facilities that treat or
dispose of hazardous waste in land treatment units, except as §264.1 provides otherwise.
§264.271 Treatment program.
(a) An owner or operator subject to this subpart must establish a land treatment program
that is designed to ensure that hazardous constituents placed in or on the treatment zone
are degraded, transformed, or immobilized within the treatment zone. The Regional
Administrator will specify in the facility permit the elements of the treatment program,
including:
(1) The wastes that are capable of being treated at the unit based on a demonstration
under §264.272;
(2) Design measures and operating practices necessary to maximize the success of
degradation, transformation, and immobilization processes in the treatment zone in
accordance with §264.273(a); and
(3) Unsaturated zone monitoring provisions meeting the requirements of §264.278.
(b) The Regional Administrator will specify in the facility permit the hazardous
constituents that must be degraded, transformed, or immobilized under this subpart.
Hazardous constituents are constituents identified in appendix VIII of Part 261 of this
chapter that are reasonably expected to be in, or derived from, waste placed in or on the
treatment zone.
(c) The Regional Administrator will specify the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the
treatment zone in the facility permit. The treatment zone is the portion of the
unsaturated zone below and including the land surface in which the owner or operator
intends to maintain the conditions necessary for effective degradation, transformation, or
immobilization of hazardous constituents. The maximum depth of the treatment zone must be:
(1) No more than 1.5 meters (5 feet) from the initial soil surface; and
(2) More than 1 meter (3 feet) above the seasonal high water table.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 2050-0007)
(47 FR 32361, July 26, 1982, as amended at 50 FR 4514, Jan. 31, 1985)
§264.272 Treatment demonstration.
(a) For each waste that will be applied to the treatment zone, the owner or operator must
demonstrate, prior to application of the waste, that hazardous constituents in the waste
can be completely degraded, transformed, or immobilized in the treatment zone.
(b) In making this demonstration, the owner or operator may use field tests, laboratory
analyses, available data, or, in the case of existing units, operating data. If the owner
or operator intends to conduct field tests or laboratory analyses in order to make the
demonstration required under paragraph (a) of this section, he must obtain a treatment or
disposal permit under §270.63. The Regional Administrator will specify in this permit the
testing, analytical, design, and operating requirements (including the duration of the
tests and analyses, and, in the case of field tests, the horizontal and vertical
dimensions of the treatment zone, monitoring procedures, closure and clean-up activities)
necessary to meet the requirements in paragraph (c) of this section.
(c) Any field test or laboratory analysis conducted in order to make a demonstration under
paragraph (a) of this section must:
(1) Accurately simulate the characteristics and operating conditions for the proposed land
treatment unit including:
(i) The characteristics of the waste (including the presence of appendix VIII of Part 261
of this chapter constituents);
(ii) The climate in the area;
(iii) The topography of the surrounding area;
(iv) The characteristics of the soil in the treatment zone (including depth); and
(v) The operating practices to be used at the unit.
(2) Be likely to show that hazardous constituents in the waste to be tested will be
completely degraded, transformed, or immobilized in the treatment zone of the proposed
land treatment unit; and
(3) Be conducted in a manner that protects human health and the environment considering:
(i) The characteristics of the waste to be tested;
(ii) The operating and monitoring measures taken during the course of the test;
(iii) The duration of the test;
(iv) The volume of waste used in the test;
(v) In the case of field tests, the potential for migration of hazardous constituents to
ground water or surface water.
(47 FR 32361, July 26, 1982, as amended at 48 FR 14294, Apr. 1, 1983)