Strategic moves: Where can you put your waste?

The Corrective Action Management Unit/Treatment Unit (CAMU/TU) rule allows effective remediation by providing less stringent regulations for various types of waste management activities under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action process. At the same time, the rule includes important restrictions to protect public health and the environment. It should be noted that other existing requirements, policies and guidelines for site-specific remediation goals remain in effect for sites subject to RCRA corrective action. The primary impact of this rule is the ability to place, and subsequently treat waste from an on-site area in a designated CAMU, without necessitating compliance with land disposal restrictions (LDRs) and minimum technology requirements (MTRs). It also allows for existing closed and/or closing RCRA regulated land-based units such as surface impoundments, wastepiles or landfills to be designated as CAMUs, in order to enhance the management of remediation waste. The TU rule allows TUs to be used for short term treatment in the management of remediation wastes. The criteria used must be protective of public health and the environment. In a majority of cases, however, when a TU is designated it is already operating under RCRA requirements, so modification to the standards is not necessarilymore » required.« less