Environmental Regulations and Waste Management

Vocabulary flashcards defining the major acronyms, statutes, intent, provisions, and core concepts of U.S. hazardous waste and environmental regulations.

HSWA

Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments; 1984 federal amendments to RCRA that significantly expanded federal regulation of hazardous waste, phased out land disposal of untreated wastes, and established the Underground Storage Tank (UST) program.

CERCLA

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act; enacted with the intent to clean up abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites and respond to releases of hazardous substances, with provisions establishing the Superfund trust fund, the National Priorities List (NPL), and strict liability for Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs).

SARA

Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act; 1986 amendments to CERCLA that increased Superfund program funding, encouraged permanent cleanup remedies, and expanded public participation and emergency planning provisions.

UST

Underground Storage Tank; a tank and connected underground piping that has at least 10% of its combined volume underground, regulated under RCRA/HSWA to prevent, detect, and remediate leaks of petroleum and hazardous substances.

PRP

Potentially Responsible Party; any individual, entity, owner, operator, generator, or transporter that may be held strictly, jointly, and severally liable for the cleanup costs of a contaminated site under CERCLA.

FIFRA

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; federal statute with the intent to protect human health and the environment by regulating pesticide distribution, sale, and use, with provisions mandating EPA pesticide registration, labeling requirements, and classification into general or restricted use.

TSCA

Toxic Substances Control Act; federal statute with the intent to regulate chemical substances and mixtures presenting unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, with provisions requiring Pre-Manufacture Notices (PMNs) before new chemicals enter commerce and authorizing testing or restrictions.

NPL

National Priorities List; the EPA list of the most severe hazardous waste cleanup sites across the United States prioritized for long-term remedial evaluation and cleanup under the Superfund program.

PMNs

Pre-Manufacture Notices; mandatory notifications submitted to the EPA by chemical manufacturers or importers under Section 5 of TSCA at least 90 days before manufacturing or importing a new chemical substance.

PPA

Pollution Prevention Act; 1990 federal statute establishing a national policy focused on reducing or preventing pollution at the source through source reduction and waste minimization rather than end-of-pipe treatment and disposal.

MSW

Municipal Solid Waste; everyday residential, commercial, and institutional non-hazardous trash and garbage, regulated primarily under Subtitle D of RCRA.

RCRA

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; federal statute with the intent to protect human health and the environment from the hazards of waste disposal and conserve resources, with provisions establishing a 'cradle-to-grave' management system for hazardous waste, landfill design standards, and underground tank regulations.

Love Canal

A neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, where buried toxic chemical wastes leaked into basements and school grounds during the late 1970s, serving as the landmark disaster that led to the passage of CERCLA.

Active and inactive waste

A regulatory distinction where active waste refers to currently generated and managed wastes governed under RCRA's cradle-to-grave framework, while inactive waste refers to abandoned, historical, or closed hazardous disposal sites remediated under CERCLA.

Superfund

The informal name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and its dedicated trust fund established to finance the cleanup of abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste disposal sites.