40 CFR 264.554 – Staging piles
This section is written in a special format to make it easier to understand the regulatory requirements. Like other Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, this establishes enforceable legal requirements. For this “I” and “you” refer to the owner/operator.
(a) What is a staging pile? A staging pile is an accumulation of solid, non-flowing remediation waste (as defined in § 260.10 of this chapter) that is not a containment building and is used only during remedial operations for temporary storage at a facility. A staging pile must be located within the contiguous property under the control of the owner/operator where the wastes to be managed in the staging pile originated. Staging piles must be designated by the Director according to the requirements in this section.
(1) For the purposes of this section, storage includes mixing, sizing, blending, or other similar physical operations as long as they are intended to prepare the wastes for subsequent management or treatment.
(2) [Reserved]
(b) When may I use a staging pile? You may use a staging pile to store hazardous remediation waste (or remediation waste otherwise subject to land disposal restrictions) only if you follow the standards and design criteria the Director has designated for that staging pile. The Director must designate the staging pile in a permit or, at an interim status facility, in a closure plan or order (consistent with § 270.72(a)(5) and (b)(5) of this chapter). The Director must establish conditions in the permit, closure plan, or order that comply with paragraphs (d) through (k) of this section.
(c) What information must I provide to get a staging pile designated? When seeking a staging pile designation, you must provide:
(1) Sufficient and accurate information to enable the Director to impose standards and design criteria for your staging pile according to paragraphs (d) through (k) of this section;
(2) Certification by a qualified Professional Engineer for technical data, such as design drawings and specifications, and engineering studies, unless the Director determines, based on information that you provide, that this certification is not necessary to ensure that a staging pile will protect human health and the environment; and
(3) Any additional information the Director determines is necessary to protect human health and the environment.
(d) What performance criteria must a staging pile satisfy? The Director must establish the standards and design criteria for the staging pile in the permit, closure plan, or order.
(1) The standards and design criteria must comply with the following:
(i) The staging pile must facilitate a reliable, effective and protective remedy;
(ii) The staging pile must be designed so as to prevent or minimize releases of hazardous wastes and hazardous constituents into the environment, and minimize or adequately control cross-media transfer, as necessary to protect human health and the environment (for example, through the use of liners, covers, run-off/run-on controls, as appropriate); and
(iii) The staging pile must not operate for more than two years, except when the Director grants an operating term extension under paragraph (i) of this section (entitled “May I receive an operating extension for a staging pile?”). You must measure the two-year limit, or other operating term specified by the Director in the permit, closure plan, or order, from the first time you place remediation waste into a staging pile. You must maintain a record of the date when you first placed remediation waste into the staging pile for the life of the permit, closure plan, or order, or for three years, whichever is longer.
(2) In setting the standards and design criteria, the Director must consider the following factors:
(i) Length of time the pile will be in operation;
(ii) Volumes of wastes you intend to store in the pile;
(iii) Physical and chemical characteristics of the wastes to be stored in the unit;
(iv) Potential for releases from the unit;
(v) Hydrogeological and other relevant environmental conditions at the facility that may influence the migration of any potential releases; and
(vi) Potential for human and environmental exposure to potential releases from the unit;
(e) May a staging pile receive ignitable or reactive remediation waste? You must not place ignitable or reactive remediation waste in a staging pile unless:
(1) You have treated, rendered or mixed the remediation waste before you placed it in the staging pile so that:
(i) The remediation waste no longer meets the definition of ignitable or reactive under § 261.21 or § 261.23 of this chapter; and
(ii) You have complied with § 264.17(b); or
(2) You manage the remediation waste to protect it from exposure to any material or condition that may cause it to ignite or react.
(f) How do I handle incompatible remediation wastes in a staging pile? The term “incompatible waste” is defined in § 260.10 of this chapter. You must comply with the following requirements for incompatible wastes in staging piles:
(1) You must not place incompatible remediation wastes in the same staging pile unless you have complied with § 264.17(b);
(2) If remediation waste in a staging pile is incompatible with any waste or material stored nearby in containers, other piles, open tanks or land disposal units (for example, surface impoundments), you must separate the incompatible materials, or protect them from one another by using a dike, berm, wall or other device; and
(3) You must not pile remediation waste on the same base where incompatible wastes or materials were previously piled, unless the base has been decontaminated sufficiently to comply with § 264.17(b).
(g) Are staging piles subject to Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) and Minimum Technological Requirements (MTR)? No. Placing hazardous remediation wastes into a staging pile does not constitute land disposal of hazardous wastes or create a unit that is subject to the minimum technological requirements of RCRA 3004(o).
(h) How long may I operate a staging pile? The Director may allow a staging pile to operate for up to two years after hazardous remediation waste is first placed into the pile. You must use a staging pile no longer than the length of time designated by the Director in the permit, closure plan, or order (the “operating term”), except as provided in paragraph (i) of this section.
(i) May I receive an operating extension for a staging pile? (1) The Director may grant one operating term extension of up to 180 days beyond the operating term limit contained in the permit, closure plan, or order (see paragraph (l) of this section for modification procedures). To justify to the Director the need for an extension, you must provide sufficient and accurate information to enable the Director to determine that continued operation of the staging pile:
(i) Will not pose a threat to human health and the environment; and
(ii) Is necessary to ensure timely and efficient implementation of remedial actions at the facility.
(2) The Director may, as a condition of the extension, specify further standards and design criteria in the permit, closure plan, or order, as necessary, to ensure protection of human health and the environment.
(j) What is the closure requirement for a staging pile located in a previously contaminated area? (1) Within 180 days after the operating term of the staging pile expires, you must close a staging pile located in a previously contaminated area of the site by removing or decontaminating all:
(i) Remediation waste;
(ii) Contaminated containment system components; and
(iii) Structures and equipment contaminated with waste and leachate.
(2) You must also decontaminate contaminated subsoils in a manner and according to a schedule that the Director determines will protect human health and the environment.
(3) The Director must include the above requirements in the permit, closure plan, or order in which the staging pile is designated.
(k) What is the closure requirement for a staging pile located in an uncontaminated area? (1) Within 180 days after the operating term of the staging pile expires, you must close a staging pile located in an uncontaminated area of the site according to §§ 264.258(a) and 264.111; or according to §§ 265.258(a) and 265.111 of this chapter.
(2) The Director must include the above requirement in the permit, closure plan, or order in which the staging pile is designated.
(l) How may my existing permit (for example, RAP), closure plan, or order be modified to allow me to use a staging pile? (1) To modify a permit, other than a RAP, to incorporate a staging pile or staging pile operating term extension, either:
(i) The Director must approve the modification under the procedures for Agency-initiated permit modifications in § 270.41 of this chapter; or
(ii) You must request a Class 2 modification under § 270.42 of this chapter.
(2) To modify a RAP to incorporate a staging pile or staging pile operating term extension, you must comply with the RAP modification requirements under §§ 270.170 and 270.175 of this chapter.
(3) To modify a closure plan to incorporate a staging pile or staging pile operating term extension, you must follow the applicable requirements under § 264.112(c) or § 265.112(c) of this chapter.
(4) To modify an order to incorporate a staging pile or staging pile operating term extension, you must follow the terms of the order and the applicable provisions of § 270.72(a)(5) or (b)(5) of this chapter.
(m) Is information about the staging pile available to the public? The Director must document the rationale for designating a staging pile or staging pile operating term extension and make this documentation available to the public.