6 Colo. Code Regs. § 1007-3-260.43
Statement of Basis and Purpose Part 260 Hazardous Waste Management System: General
Purpose
The fundamental purpose of these regulations, which are promulgated pursuant to C.R.S. 1973, 25-15-302(2), is to provide definitions of terms, general standards, and overview information applicable to the hazardous waste regulations: Parts 260 through 265. These regulations are necessary in order to ensure protection of public health and safety and the environment.
Additionally, regulations concerning the general hazardous waste management system are a necessary and required component in conducting a hazardous waste management program; the State intends to obtain EPA authorization for a hazardous waste management program pursuant to CR.S. 1973, 25-15-302. Such full state authorization to conduct the hazardous waste regulatory program can be granted only upon the determination that the State program is equivalent to that of the EPA.
Basis
These regulations are based upon a "cradle-to-grave" system of regulation of hazardous waste. Under this system, hazardous waste is tracked and regulated from the point of generation through storage and transportation to the point of treatment and/or disposal. In this manner, a major portion of the hazardous waste generated in the State is regulated and accounted for, thereby minimizing the potential for public health and environmental problems resulting from improper management, handling, transportation and disposal of these wastes. The great potential for public health and environmental problems, including hazards associated with fire, explosion, direct contact, and air, surface water and groundwater contamination resulting from inadequate management of hazardous wastes has been documented at hundreds of sites throughout the nation and has spurred the development of hazardous waste regulations pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976, Public Law 94-580.
These regulations are based, for the most part, on those developed by the EPA under Subtitle C of RCRA. This was done for the reasons discussed below. Because the Federal hazardous waste regulations are comprehensive and technically complex, it was felt that adopting the Federal format and amending specific sections to the needs of the State, as opposed to developing State regulations "from scratch", would save substantial amounts of time and financial resources. Also, it was felt that the process of determination of initial program equivalency would be greatly simplified through adoption of the Federal format. Further, because the Federal regulations are presently subject to frequent amendment, adoption of the Federal format greatly enhances maintaining equivalency of the State regulations to the Federal program.
As stated above, much of the scientific basis for these regulations was developed in the course of EPA research and investigations over a period of several years. Therefore, all information utilized by EPA in developing and proposing these regulations, including that referenced in the Federal Register Volume 45, Number 98, May 19, 1980 p. 33066 et seq. is hereby incorporated in this statement by reference.
The basis for these regulations was further developed through a series of twelve public meetings at which comments were received from interested parties. Accordingly, certain changes from the Federal regulations have been incorporated in these regulations where it was deemed advisable as a result of public comment and study of the issues, in order to tailor the regulations more to Colorado's needs. Such departures from the approach taken in the Federal regulations are discussed in this document under the pertinent topics.
The Regulations
General
All or part of the information submitted to the Department pursuant to Parts 260 through 265 of these hazardous waste regulations may contain trade secrets. Therefore the regulations provide that any person who submits information to the Department may assert a claim of confidentiality by following procedures set forth in C.R.S. 1973, 25-72-204. Information covered by such a claim will be disclosed by the Department only to the extent, and by means of procedures, set forth in C.R.S. 1973, 24-72-204 (IV) -(V). However, in accord with the Public Records Act, if no such claim accompanies the information when it is received by the Department, it may be made available to the public without further notice to the person submitting it.
Definitions
In order to ensure that the definition section is comprehensive, the following definitions from C.R.S. 1973, 25-15-101 were added and incorporated into the set of definitions which exist in the Federal regulation in § 260.10:
"Board"
"Committee"
"Department"
"Domestic waste water"
"Federal Act"
"Governmental Unit"
"Hazardous waste disposal site"
"Hazardous waste management"
"Inert material"
"Operation"
"Publicly-owned land"
"Resource recovery"
"Storage"
"Treatment, storage, or disposal facility"
Where the same or similar terms were defined in both the Federal regulations and C.R.S. 25-15-101, the definitions from the State hazardous waste statute were given precedence and the following EPA definitions were deleted:
"Manifest"
"Person"
"Transportation"
"Treatment"
The following State Statute definitions were not incorporated since they are clearly applicable only to C.R.S. 1973, 25-15 Part 2 siting provisions and conflict with these hazardous waste regulations promulgated pursuant to Part 3 of the Statute:
"Existing hazardous waste disposal site"
"Hazardous Waste Disposal"
The definition of "Incompatible wastes" from the State regulations for Siting of Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites was incorporated into these regulations and replaced the EPA definition of incompatible wastes.
The term "Commercial use or value" which is found in the C.R.S. 1973, 25-15-101 definition of "Hazardous waste" was not defined elsewhere. The proposed definition represents an initial attempt to adequately define this term. In proposing this definition, the Committee recognized that it may be necessary to amend it in the future in light of comments from EPA and the public.
The following EPA definitions were intentionally deleted due to inapplicability or redundancy:
"EPA region"
"Vessel"
"Water (bulk shipment)"
The C.R.S. 1973, 25-15-101 definition of "Hazardous Waste" was incorporated into the definitions under Part 261.
Rulemaking Petitions
This section provides that any person may petition the Board to modify or revoke any provision in Parts 260 through 265 of these regulations. Certain general requirements are outlined which apply to all such petitions. Additional requirements are outlined for petitions to add a testing or analytical method to Part 261, 264 or 265.
There are also additional requirements for petitions to exclude a waste at a particular facility from the lists of hazardous wastes in Subpart D of Part 261. In order to successfully exclude a waste, the petitioner must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Department that the waste produced at that facility does not meet any of the criteria under which the waste was listed as a hazardous waste.
6 CCR 1007-3-260.43