§6942 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

The EPA Administrator must, within 180 days after October 21, 1976, and after talking with federal, state, and local officials, publish guidelines to find areas that share solid waste problems and that are right for regional planning. The Administrator must also, not later than eighteen months after October 21, 1976, and after giving notice, holding a hearing, and consulting the same officials, create rules to help states make and carry out solid waste management plans. Those rules must give methods to meet the goals in section 6941 and must be reviewed at least every three years and updated as needed. The state-plan guidelines must cover eleven main topics, including protecting ground and surface water and air, how waste is collected, stored, processed, and disposed of, closing or upgrading open dumps, population and growth, geography and climate, transportation, industry types, waste makeup and amounts, planning and financial problems, and types of recovery systems and markets for recovered materials and energy.

Title 42, §6942

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)For purposes of encouraging and facilitating the development of regional planning for solid waste management, the Administrator, within one hundred and eighty days after October 21, 1976, and after consultation with appropriate Federal, State, and local authorities, shall by regulation publish guidelines for the identification of those areas which have common solid waste management problems and are appropriate units for planning regional solid waste management services. Such guidelines shall consider—

(1)the size and location of areas which should be included,

(2)the volume of solid waste which should be included, and

(3)the available means of coordinating regional planning with other related regional planning and for coordination of such regional planning into the State plan.

(b)Not later than eighteen months after October 21, 1976, and after notice and hearing, the Administrator shall, after consultation with appropriate Federal, State, and local authorities, promulgate regulations containing guidelines to assist in the development and implementation of State solid waste management plans (hereinafter in this chapter referred to as “State plans”). The guidelines shall contain methods for achieving the objectives specified in section 6941 of this title. Such guidelines shall be reviewed from time to time, but not less frequently than every three years, and revised as may be appropriate.

(c)The guidelines promulgated under subsection (b) shall consider—

(1)the varying regional, geologic, hydrologic, climatic, and other circumstances under which different solid waste practices are required in order to insure the reasonable protection of the quality of the ground and surface waters from leachate contamination, the reasonable protection of the quality of the surface waters from surface runoff contamination, and the reasonable protection of ambient air quality;

(2)characteristics and conditions of collection, storage, processing, and disposal operating methods, techniques and practices, and location of facilities where such operating methods, techniques, and practices are conducted, taking into account the nature of the material to be disposed;

(3)methods for closing or upgrading open dumps for purposes of eliminating potential health hazards;

(4)population density, distribution, and projected growth;

(5)geographic, geologic, climatic, and hydrologic characteristics;

(6)the type and location of transportation;

(7)the profile of industries;

(8)the constituents and generation rates of waste;

(9)the political, economic, organizational, financial, and management problems affecting comprehensive solid waste management;

(10)types of resource recovery facilities and resource conservation systems which are appropriate; and

(11)available new and additional markets for recovered material and energy and energy resources recovered from solid waste as well as methods for conserving such materials and energy.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1980—Subsec. (c)(11). Pub. L. 96–482 required State plan guidelines to consider energy and energy resources recovered from solid waste as well as methods for conserving such materials and energy.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of certain

Enforcement

functions of Administrator or other official of Environmental Protection Agency under this chapter to Federal Inspector, Office of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, and subsequent transfer to Secretary of Energy, then to Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, see note set out under section 6903 of this title.

§6942 Federal guidelines for plans