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Mineral Processing Wastes
This Web page is intended to provide compliance assistance to the
mineral processing sector, and to assist state regulators and
the public in understanding the federal requirements on the disposal
of mineral processing wastes. Regulation affecting mineral processing
wastes was developed through a long process covering the period
1980 to 1991. It involved numerous proposed and final rule makings
and federal litigation. If a company is generating non-exempt
hazardous wastes, it may need to obtain a permit from an authorized
state or EPA Region. See November
2000 Enforcement Alert: (PDF, 47KB,
4 pages) regarding permitting.
Due to the complicated history and evolution of the regulation
of mineral processing wastes, answering the simple question of
which wastes are regulated can be complex. Users should refer
to the regulation and supporting documents to determine if these
requirements apply to them. However, the following questions
and answers may help clarify the 1980 Bevill amendment to
the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA):
- What is Mining?
- What is Mineral Processing?
- What is the Bevill Exclusion to RCRA?
- What is the Definition of Extraction and Beneficiation?
- What is the Definition of Mineral Processing?
- What are the Basic Steps in Making Bevill Determinations?
For additional information on the regulation of mineral processing
wastes, please review the complete Bevill
Amendment Issues Training page, which is used by EPA to train
industry and state regulators on how the EPA regulates solid and
hazardous wastes from the extraction, beneficiation, and processing
of ores and minerals.
The rest of the materials noted below include all of the federal
rulemakings related to the regulation of mineral processing wastes,
the Reports to Congress, which were issued to support those rulemakings,
Opinion letters issued by EPA which explain how the regulations
apply to specific companies or to specific wastes, technical support
documents that were issued to support the rulemakings, a listing
of related rulemakings, and useful links to web sites containing
related information about mineral processing.
- Federal
Rulemaking Documents - official federal rules on the
regulation of mineral processing wastes
- Related
Rulemaking - Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) Phase
IV and Final Inorganics Listing Rule
- Reports
to Congress - 1985 and 1990 reports on regulation
of mineral processing wastes
- Opinion
Letters - series of opinion letters issued by EPA
interpreting how the Bevill rules apply at specific facilities,
written at the request of states or industry.
- Technical Support Documents - prepared to support various
positions or clarify technical issues related to each federal
rule
- Useful Links Related to the Regulation
of Mineral Processing Wastes
Companies seeking clarification on the regulatory status
of wastes from a specific mineral processing facility
should consult with their RCRA
authorized state agency or their EPA
Regional office.
This site focuses only on the regulation of mineral processing
wastes and does not provide information on specific wastes,
nor does it provide information on wastes from metal foundries
or iron and steel electric arc furnace facilities.
Useful Links related to the Regulation
of Mineral Processing Wastes
Visit EPA's Environmental
Management System page to learn more about Environmental
Management Systems (EMSs) for businesses, associations,
the public, and state and federal agencies
Additional information on general pollution prevention
topics can be found at EPA's
Pollution Prevention site and the Office
of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance's (OECA) Pollution
Prevention site.
National
Environmental Compliance Assistance Clearinghouse
- An on-line resource providing easy access to comprehensive
public and private compliance assistance materials. |
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) gave
EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from
the "cradle-to-grave." This includes the
generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and
disposal of hazardous waste. RCRA also set forth a
framework for the management of non-hazardous wastes.
Visit RCRA
Online to locate documents, including publications
and other outreach materials, that cover a wide range
of RCRA issues and topics,
Call the RCRA
Call Center - to access up-to-date information
on several EPA programs and make requests for relevant
publications and information resources.
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Sector Notebooks are plain language booklets that describe
environmental problems associated with major US industries.
Profile
of the Iron and Steel Industry
Profile
of the Nonferrous Metals Industry
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Superfund
Site: National Priorities List (NPL) Advanced Query
Form
Locate NPL sites, check their cleanup progress, and
get information on new and proposed NPL sites.
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