Over the last six months there has been a considerable uptick in Consent Agreement and Final Orders (CAFOs) executed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6. This uptick was further confirmed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) at the Annual Tradeshow meeting May 3-4, 2016. The specific targets of this enforcement has been Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generators (CESQGs) and Small Quantity Generators.
W&M has had numerous Clients, directly contacted by the EPA requesting that they respond to the mailed CAFO concerning their generator status not matching their waste disposal activities. The CAFOs have requested:
- Corrective Action be taken immediately; including the adjustment of the generator status;
- An inspection (remember that EPA is only writing CAFOs from waste records);
- The installation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for hazardous substances; and
- 支付与CAFO有关的罚款。
大量使用未能认识到浪费arriving at a transfer and disposal facility does not necessarily imply a generation date. Reportedly, there has been very little negotiation or leniency on the part of the EPA when issuing the CAFOs.
What assigns Generator Status?
有三种类型的发电机，大批量，小批量和CESQG。各级别要求之间的差异包括危险废物的总产生量和极度危险废物的产生量：
Are there ways to prevent moving into the higher generator status?
Yes, reduce the amount of hazardous waste that is handled at the facility. Find a recycling or reuse method for the hazardous waste. Retool the process to generate less hazardous waste. In some cases, before declaring a product a waste, the product could have been sold on the open market, in which case preventing it from becoming a hazardous waste.
What if I am concerned that I have not been complying with the hazardous waste generators rules, are there programs that I can use to help fix or reduce the issues that EPA may find?
Yes, in many states, including the State of Texas, there are audit privilege programs like the Texas Environmental, Health, and Safety Audit Privilege Act (Audit Privilege Act). The
Audit Privilege Act allows a company to file paperwork with the State of Texas that they will be Self-Auditing certain environmental, health, and safety programs. In these CAFO cases it is a waste audit. The benefits of the Audit Privilege Act include:
- Certain documents and information gathered as part of the environmental self-audit are privileged from disclosure.
- The Audit Privilege Act also provides certain immunities from administrative or civil penalties for the violations voluntarily disclosed and corrected within a reasonable amount of time.
- There is a memorandum of understanding between the EPA and the State of Texas in regards to the Audit Privilege Act.
The EPA has been targeting CESQGs and SQGs for CAFO for waste issues. Before you are targeted make sure that all paperwork is correct and up to date. If you find waste issues or questions, you should consider putting the waste program at the facility under Texas Audit Privilege to ensure that you are correct and up to date on your generator status. A CAFO can cost more than $100,000 just for the fine. For more information, please reach out toEmile Hanna.