University's RCRA Violations Lead to $275,000 EPA Fine

According to an EPA press release issued March 14, 2016, one of Oregon’s institutions of higher learning will pay a $275,000 civil penalty for multiple violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Federal hazardous waste regulations.

Specifically, EPA states that the university failed to make proper hazardous waste determinations for its waste. In fact, EPA inspectors found nearly 2,000 containers of hazardous waste—solvents and other flammable liquids; acids; toxic, caustic, and reactive chemicals; and used oil—that were not identified, managed, or stored in line with the RCRA hazardous waste requirements.

Identifying a hazardous waste is critical to managing it properly. Not all wastes meet the EPA’s definition of hazardous, but those that do are typically subject to exacting Federal standards for managing and inspecting containers, providing hazardous waste personnel training, reporting to US EPA, and more. If a waste is not identified correctly, it may be mismanaged for its entire lifecycle, leading to safety issues for personnel, possible releases, and costly civil penalties. For more on hazardous waste ID, read this walk-through of how to identify a RCRA hazardous waste.


In addition to paying the $275,000 penalty, the university will provide comprehensive RCRA hazardous waste training for personnel.

See the full EPA press release here.

Nationwide RCRA Workshops in 2016
Make sure you and your personnel know how to properly identify and manage the hazardous waste at your site. Don’t risk noncompliance because of changing rules or requirements you’re unaware of. Get up to speed on the latest Federal RCRA standards for managing hazardous waste. Trusted by professionals nationwide since 1977, the Hazardous/Toxic Waste Management Workshop will help you meet your annual training requirement and keep your site in compliance with the latest RCRA rules.

Can’t make the public workshop this year? The RCRA Hazardous Waste Management Refresher Webinar is the next best thing to catching us in person—and we present it every month! This live, instructor-led, one-day webinar is designed to satisfy US EPA’s annual re-training mandate for hazardous waste managers at personnel at 40 CFR 262.34(a) and 265.16. Instructors use polls, Q&A, software interactions, and exercises to keep you engaged and make the webinar experience as much like a public workshop as possible. Join us for the next session on April 12.

Tags: EPA, hazardous waste, RCRA