Resource Conservation and Recovery Act – RCRA

In 1992, DTSC received authorization from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) to implement the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Subtitle C requirements and the associated regulations. Receiving authorization from the U.S. EPA means that DTSC is the primary authority enforcing the RCRA hazardous waste requirements in California. RCRA Subtitle C establishes standards for the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste in the United States. Since receiving its base authorization, DTSC has requested and received authorization to implement additional parts of the federal program. 

Authorization Application Update:

On January 14, 2020, U.S. EPA granted California final authorization for its Universal Waste Program. A copy of the final approval can be found on www.regulations.gov, Federal Register Number 2020-00180.

The authorization application submitted by DTSC, the California: Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Management Program Revisions, can be found on www.regulations.gov, Docket ID: EPA-R09-RCRA-2019-0491.

To learn more about RCRA or to get more information about California’s authorization status including past authorization requests, go to U.S. EPA’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Act page.