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 CHAPTER 2.
BACKGROUND
This background chapter touches on the legal requirements for solid
waste handling, the impact of solid waste generation and involvement of base
personnel. The discussions under Statutory and Regulatory Requirements focus
on:
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RCRA
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other federal statutes
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Defense Logistics Agency
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generic state permit and regulatory requirements for landfills
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regulations relevant to incineration.
Section 2.3 focuses on the need to educate base personnel on specific
solid waste issues; i.e., who has to know what and when. Periodic updates of
the regulatory requirements must be an integral part of training at military
bases.
2.1 STATUTORY AND REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS. Solid waste disposal
activities at military installations must abide by federal, state, local, and
military regulations. Military policy is to abide by the most stringent of
the applicable regulations.
2.1.1
Federal Regulations
2.1.1.1 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Prior to
the enactment of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in September of
1976, solid waste management was governed by the Solid Waste Disposal Act of
1965 (42 USC 3251). Few states, however, had enacted any type of solid waste
law. RCRA now sets certain minimum standards for waste management that all
states must meet or exceed. Since 1976 many states have adopted their own
waste management plans. Often these state plans are more restrictive than
RCRA requirements. Military installations must abide by all state and local
statutes where they are located. Within DoD regulations governing the sale of
recyclable materials are found in the Military Construction Codification Act
(PL 97-214).
2.1.1.2 The three main objectives that RCRA addresses are: (1)
hazardous waste management; (2) solid waste management; and (3) procurement of
materials made from recovered wastes. RCRA was Congress' first attempt at an
environmental statute to have the free market mechanism work for environmental
protection. Such a mechanism would work by mandating certain standards for
disposal of solid and hazardous waste that would protect public health and
safety. This action would require those benefitting from the functions that
create the waste to pay the cost of its disposal. In effect, the new
standards would incorporate costs of health and safety along with the cost of
land into the cost of disposal. Then, as the cost of land disposal increased,
there would be incentive to provide other more environmentally protective
technologies.
2-1
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