Waste authorities

The Waste Disposal Authorities continue to exist mostly as County Councils in England, District Councils in Wales and Islands or District Councils in Scotland. These bodies do not undertake disposal themselves but will contract this service to private operators or Local Authority Waste Disposal Companies. 

Tlie Environment Agencies of England and Wales (EA) and the Environment Protection Agency of Scotland (SEPA) were established by the Environment Act 1995 and now have responsibility for waste regulation. 

1 Regulatory waste management responsibilities of the environment agencies 

The key aspects of legislation from which tire agencies with responsibility for environmenfal protection derive their waste management duties and powers are  

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Western Riverside Waste Authority Riverside Resource Recovery... 

Subtitle B Office of solid-waste authorities of the Administrator... 

How can we dispose of hazardous household wastes without danger to the groundwater supply We can ask our city s municipal waste authorities to provide disposal sites for these wastes or to sponsor periodic household hazardous waste days when these materials can be brought to a central site. In some U.S. cities and some European countries (such as the Netherlands), special trucks routinely pick up hazardous household wastes. 

Regional EPA offices and state and local hazardous waste authorities differ in their regulation of storage... 

RECOUP reported that 7000 tonnes of plastic bottles were collected in the United Kingdom in 1997, a total of 140 million bottles. More than one in three local solid waste authorities ran a plastic bottle recycling scheme, including over 3000 plastic bottle banks and nearly 2 million homes served by curbside collection. ... 

The Act defines solid and hazardous waste, authorizes ERA to set standards for facilities that generate or manage hazardous waste, and establishes a permit program for hazardous waste TSD facilities. RCRA was last reauthorized by the HSWA of 1984. The amendments set deadlines for permit issuance, prohibited the land disposal of many types of hazardous waste without prior treatment, required the use of specific technologies at land disposal facilities, and established a new program regulating USTs. 

On top of earthquake-generated waste, authorities must continue to manage mimicipal waste. If not collected, municipal waste may pose a public health risk or may become mixed with disaster debris making it more difficult to recycle. 

The South Carolina OSH Program exercises jurisdiction over all private and public sector employers and employees within the State except private sector maritime activities employment on military bases and private sector employment at Area D of the Savannah River Site (power generation and transmission facilities operated by South Carohna Electric and Gas) and at the Three Rivers Solid Waste Authority Federal government employers and employees and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), including USPS employees, and contract employees and contractor-operated facilities engaged in USPS mail operations. See 29 CFR 1952.95. 

There has been increased interest in firing wood waste as a supplement to coal in either pulverized coal (PC) or cyclone boilers at 1—5% of heat input. This appHcation has been demonstrated by such electric utilities as Santee-Cooper, Tennessee Valley Authority, Georgia Power, Dehnarva, and Northern States Power. Cofiring wood waste with coal in higher percentages, eg, 10—15% of heat input, in PC and cyclone boilers is being carefully considered by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). This practice may have the potential to maximize the thermal efficiency of waste fuel combustion. If this practice becomes widespread, it will offer another avenue for use of fuels from waste. 

Ethanol can also be produced from cellulose (qv) or biomass such as wood (qv), com stover, and municipal soHd wastes (see Euels frombiomass Euels FROMWASTe). Each of these resources has inherent technical or economic problems. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is operating a 2 t/d pilot plant on converting cellulose to ethanol. 

Solid and Hazardous Waste. Regulation of pollution resulting from soHd waste disposal was formulated at a much slower pace than regulation of air or water pollution. It was not until the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 (6) was passed that substantial controls were authorized. 

Small Communities. Small communities and recent subdivision additions to larger communities, which have not yet been coimected to municipal coUection systems, must have a means of waste disposal. Septic tanks are a possibiHty, but require periodic servicing and cleaning. Furthermore, the soil is not always suitable for accepting the effluent. An alternative is the package plant. These units are commercially produced to serve small areas. They furnish primary treatment and some secondary treatment, and require only minimal operating supervision. Capacity can be varied as needs dictate. In general, pubHc health authorities prefer such installations instead of septic tanks. 

To achieve these objectives, RCRA authorized EPA to regulate the generation, treatment, storage, transportation, and dispos of hazardous wastes. The structure of the national hazardous waste regula-toiy program envisioned by Congress is laid out in Subtitle C of RCRA (Sections 3001 through 3019), vdiich authorized EPA to ... 

Standards and procedures for authorizing state hazardous waste programs to be operated in lieu of the federal program (Part 271)... 

EPA, under Section 3006 of RCRA, may authorize a state to administer and enforce a state hazardous waste program in lieu of the federal Subtitle C program. To receive authorization, a state program must ... 

Assign responsibilities and authority at plant and headquarters for tbe storage, coUection, treatment, and disposal of all types of hazardous wastes. 

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY Tile Environment Agency provides a comprehensive approach to the protection and management of the environment by combining the regulation of land, air and water. Its creation is a major and positive step, merging the expertise of the National Rivers Authority, Her Majesty s Inspectorate of Pollution, the Waste Regulation Authorities and several smaller units from the Department of the Environment. 

WDAs (waste disposal AUTHORITIES) Body responsible for planning and making aiTangements for waste disposal in their area with the waste disposal companies and for providing household waste dumps under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. 

Under Part 1 of EPA 90, an IPC system eontrols emissions to air, land and water for the most polluting industrial and similar proeesses. All operators of preseribed proeesses, e.g. fuel and power, minerals, waste disposal and ehemieal, require prior authorization. They are required to use BATNEEC, the Best Available Teehnology Not Entailing Exeessive Cost ... 

Part II of EPA 90 deals with waste disposal, handling and management. The provisions impose duties on the producers of waste to ensure the safe disposal. There are strong licensing powers for local authorities, with continuing responsibilities for licensees to monitor and maintain sites after closure. 

The results should be reported to the responsible authorities and relevant parties, as required. Table 3 highlights some of the pollution prevention practices that are applied to controlling air emissions. There are many other pollution prevention practices that can be applied to wastewater and solid wastes. Can you think of some of these ... 

If yourfacility has a permit to inject a waste containing the toxic chemical into Class 1 deep wells, enter the 12-digit Underground Injection Well Code (UlC) identification number assigned by EPA or by the State under the authority of the Sate Drinking Water Act. If your facility does not hold such a p>ermit(s), enter not applicable, NA, in Section 3.1 la. You are only required to provide the UlC number for wells that receive the toxic chemical being reported. 

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