Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-1996

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Environmental Engineering

Major Professor

Gregory Reed

Abstract

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is without question one of the most important statutes of environmental law in the United States. As originally enacted, RCRA encompassed a broad array of provisions. Among the most important were a comprehensive regulatory framework for hazardous waste. It established a cradle-to- grave system to regulate the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. The RCRA regulations became more stringent, when in the 1984 Amendments, Congress directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose limitations on the land disposal of untreated hazardous waste.

This thesis presents the hypothesis that RCRA has become a two-edged sword. On one hand, the complex web of regulations do serve to protect human health and the environment. On the other hand, many waste generators have responded to the increased regulation by shipping their waste to another country and eliminating future liability and cost. Unfortunately, the ambiguity and numerous loopholes in the RCRA provisions governing waste exports make this an attractive alternative. Although the 1984 amendments address transboundary movement of hazardous waste, they only give EPΑ limited power to regulate waste export activity. Once an exporter complies with the notification requirements and the shipment leaves the United States, the exporter is no longer subject to RCRA.

To support the hypothesis, a case study is offered as a prime example of how compliant waste generators, adhering to current environmental regulations and even utilizing methodology established by EPA for evaluating potential remedial and disposal options, conclude that exportation of their RCRA waste is the optimum alternative. Although an optimum solution to many generators, several incidents involving unregulated waste exports that resulted in environmental catastrophes have been documented in recent years. Incidents like these are major problems of worldwide concern since pollution is rarely confined to the area of origin.

The focus of the research was to examine domestic and international regulations which were structured to regulate the transboundary movement of waste. It was found that there is a great need for transglobal cooperation and further development of international law. More importantly, our domestic regulations, specifically RCRA, must be amended to eliminate loopholes that encourage waste generators in the United States to circumvent current waste handling requirements. As a pioneer in environmental regulations, the United States must take the lead in ensuring that hazardous waste generated in this country is disposed of in a safe manner, whether in South Carolina or Nigeria.

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