Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities

The final link in the cradle-to-grave concept is the treatment, storage, and disposal facility (TSDF) that follows the generator and transporter in the chain of waste management activities. The regulations pertaining to TSDFs are more stringent than those that apply to generators or transporters. A TSDF must comply with the standards of Chapter 14 or Chapter 15.

Applicability

The Chapter 14/15 regulations apply to facilities that treat, store, and dispose of hazardous wastes. The terms “facility,” “treat,” “store,” and “dispose” all have specific definitions found in 22 CCR § 66260.10

• A facility includes all contiguous land, structures, and appurtenances on or in the land used for treating, storing, or disposing of hazardous waste. A single facility may consist of several types or combinations of operational units.
• Treatment is defined as any method, technique, or process designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition of any hazardous waste so as to neutralize such waste, or so as to recover energy or material resources from the waste, or so as to render such waste nonhazardous, or less hazardous; safer to transport, store or dispose of; or amenable for recovery, amenable for storage, or reduced in volume.
• Storage is defined as holding hazardous waste for a temporary period, at the end of which the hazardous waste is treated, disposed of, or stored elsewhere.
• Disposal is the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any solid or hazardous waste on or in the land or water. A disposal facility is any site where hazardous waste is intentionally placed and at which the waste will remain after closure.