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A Summary of New Jersey's Hazardous Waste Management Program
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The impetus for NJ's comprehensive cradle-to-grave waste management
program, adopted under the NJ Solid Waste Management Act (NJSA 13:1 E-1),
was the need for the development of a comprehensive regulatory program
aimed at controlling the transportation, handling, treatment, storage,
and disposal of hazardous waste. New Jersey's hazardous waste management
regulations closely parallel the federal hazardous waste regulations
which were mandated by the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA) of 1976.
New Jersey has recently rewritten their hazardous waste management
regulations and they now appear as NJAC 7:26G. Such regulations provide
information on:
- How to identify and list hazardous wastes;
- The requirements for generators of hazardous waste;
- The requirements for transporters of hazardous waste;
- The standards for hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal
(TSD) facilities; and
- The permit requirements for TSD facilities.
Generator Categories
Generators whose actions or processes produce hazardous waste are categorized
as follows:
| Generator
Status |
Monthly Production
(non-acutely
hazardous
waste) |
Total
Volume
Accumulation
Limit |
On
Site
Accumulation Time |
LQG:
Large Quantity
Generator |
1000 kg/month
or
more (see note on
acute haz waste |
no limit |
90 days or
less |
SQG:
Small Quantiity
Generator |
more than 100
kg/month
but less than
1000 kg/month |
less than
6000
kg |
180 days or less;
270 days if waste
is to
be
transported over a
distance of 200 miles |
CESQG:
Conditionally
Exempt
Small
Quantity
Generator |
no more than
100
kg/month |
less than 1000 kg | No time restriction
if
quantity
restrictions
are met |
Note: 1 kg of acute hazardous waste, 100 kg residue or clean up of
acute waste puts site into LQG status.
Issues of concern to the regulated generator include:
- Classifying the waste. A waste is hazardous if it is:
- a listed waste, (Hazardous waste from non-specific sources, F
wastes), (Hazardous waste from specific sources, K wastes),
(Commercial chemical products, P&U wastes);
- a mixture of a solid waste and one or more hazardous wastes listed;
- a spill cleanup of a hazardous waste;
- a residue of a hazardous waste in a container or inner liner that is
not empty;
- a residue remaining in a container or inner liner that held an
acutely hazardous waste that is not empty.
- In addition, a waste is hazardous if it displays one of the following
characteristics:
- Ignitablity:
- liquids with a flash point less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit
- aqueous mixtures with more than 24% alcohol having a flash point of
less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit
- solids that can ignite under standard conditions.
- Corrosivity. Corrosive wastes are:
- liquids that have a pH less than or equal to 2.0 or greater than or
equal to 12.5,
- liquids that corrode steel at a rate greater than .25 inches per year
at a test temp of 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Reactivity. Reactive wastes:
- contain cyanide or sulfides which can generate toxic fumes if exposed
to pH conditions between 2.0 and 12.5,
- react violently to form potentially explosive mixtures or can
generate toxic gases if mixed with water,
- are normally unstable and reactively undergo violent change without
detonating,
- can detonate or explode if heated or exposed to a strong initiating
source,
- can detonate or explode under standard conditions,
- are classified by the federal DOT as explosive, forbidden from
transport, or a class A or Class B explosive as defined at 49 CFR
173.51, 173.53, or 173.88.
- After performance of a TCLP, the extract contains one of 38 organic
compounds, 8 metals, 4 pesticides, and 2 herbicides listed.
- Obtaining an EPA Identification number from EPA region II.
- Complying with the standards for accumulation.
- Obtaining a TSD (Treatment Storage and Disposal) permit if hazardous
waste is stored on property for more than 90 days.
- Labeling containers.
- Utilizing the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest.
For hazardous wastes shipped off regulated sites:
- Label, mark, and package the waste according to EPA and USDOT
regulations;
- Prepare a properly completed manifest for off-site treatment, storage
or disposal;
- Utilize transporters having proper EPA identification numbers and
appropriate hauler registration authorization from NJDEP;
- Provide appropriate placards for the hauler;
- Assure through the manifest system, that the waste arrives at the
authorized hazardous waste TSD facility designated by the generator;
- Report to the department any shipments that do not reach the facility
designated on the manifest.
Further Information
- To get manifests: (609)-777-1038 or (609)-777-1039
- Questions on solid wastes: (609)-984-6880
- Questions on solid and hazardous waste regulations: (609)-292-8341
- Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste: (609)-984-6880
- NJDEP's BBS (a modem and a PC are required): (609)-292-2006
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