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Resource Recovery And Conservation Act Of 1976

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Resource Recovery and Conservation Act
Introduction:

In 1965 the Solid Waste Disposal Act was passed, providing for reductions in waste, environmentally friendly waste management, resource conservation, and aimed to safeguard citizens from the effects of hazardous waste. Eleven years later this act was amended to become the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976. The amended act created a regulatory system that embraced reduce, reuse, and recycle; it also banned open dumping. Dumping of hazardous chemicals came under the control of RCRA and rules governing storage, disposal, and treatment were made. RCRA focuses on three areas: solid waste, hazardous waste, and underground storage tanks. All aspects of RCRA affect the oil and gas …show more content…

The conditions set forth in the permit are closely observed to ensure no deviations take place (The Hazardous Waste Permitting Process: A Citizens Guide).

Compliance or monitoring activities for RCRA permits vary depending on which section of RCRA jurisdiction governs your company. The legislation requires cradle to grave compliance, meaning that hazardous waste must be within compliance from its generation, transport, storage, and destruction. All three portions of the regulation require inspection and periodic auditing. These audits and inspections are carried out by state agencies or the EPA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Compliance Monitoring). Federal permit information can be found at 40CFR264.

Discussion:

In my opinion the RCRA is a beneficial program to the industry and safety professional. While some view additional audits and inspections to be bothersome, I view it as motivation for compliance. Without the act waste produced by industry and stored by vendors could damage many areas of the environment. By instituting a cradle to grave system the EPA has put the burden on the producer to ensure that waste are handled safely, which may be the largest hardship for the safety professional acting as a responsible party. Water Quality Act

Introduction:

In 1972 the Clean Water Act was created by amending the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 (History of the Clean Water Act). The Clean Water Act is the product of almost 100

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