RCRA Land Disposal Restrictions

Current understanding

Under RCRA, hazardous wastes must meet EPA treatment standards before land disposal, with distinct requirements for categories like high mercury subcategory wastes (which are typically retorted to recover elemental mercury for reuse rather than disposed). EPA can grant site-specific treatability variances allowing alternative treatment/disposal pathways when facilities demonstrate the standard approach is inappropriate or infeasible. Practical effects include disposal costs, facility permitting at RCRA-compliant sites, and management of mercury stockpiles given constraints on mercury export and commercial reuse.

Evidence log

• 2026-02-12 — Spent Petroleum Catalyst Recycling and Critical Minerals and Metals Recovery Exemption Act: S3879 (Spent Petroleum Catalyst Recycling and Critical Minerals and Metals Recovery Exemption Act) — introduced bill would exempt spent petroleum catalyst recycling and critical minerals/metals recovery operations from certain environmental regulatory requirements, potentially including RCRA hazardous waste/LDR obligations, to encourage domestic recovery of catalyst metals (e.g., molybdenum, nickel, cobalt, vanadium). (novelty: 2)
• 2026-05-14 — Alaska: Tentative Determination on Final Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Management Program: 2026 — EPA issued a tentative determination that Alaska’s state hazardous waste management program meets RCRA requirements for final authorization, which would allow Alaska to administer the RCRA program (including LDR implementation) in lieu of EPA except in Indian country and areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-05-28 — Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System: Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals From Electric Utilities; Federal CCR Permit Program; Reopening of Comment Period: 2026 — EPA reopened the public comment period on its 2020 proposed rule establishing a federal CCR permit program under RCRA Subtitle D for coal combustion residuals disposal by electric utilities; procedural action only, no substantive changes to the underlying proposal. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-06-23 — No-Migration Variance From Land Disposal Restrictions for Clean Harbors Grassy Mountain, Utah: EPA final rule granted conditional no-migration variances for four waste categories at Clean Harbors’ Grassy Mountain facility (Utah), permitting temporary storage of treated hazardous wastes in put piles pending LDR compliance verification — a site-specific application of the existing LDR variance framework. (novelty: 2)

Open questions

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