RCRA requires a permit for the "treatment", "storage", and "disposal" of any "hazardous waste" as identified or listed in Part 261 of these regulations. The terms "treatment", "storage", "disposal", and "hazardous waste" are defined in § 260.10 of these regulations. Owners and operators of hazardous waste management units must have permits during the active life (including the closure period) of the unit. Owners and operators of surface impoundments, landfills, land treatment units, and waste pile units that received waste after July 26, 1982, or that certified closure (according to § 265.115 of these regulations) after January 26,1983, must have post-closure permits, unless they demonstrate closure by removal or decontamination as provided under § 100.10(b) and (c), or obtain an enforceable document in lieu of a post-closure permit, as provided under paragraph (d) of this section. If a post-closure permit is required, the permit must address applicable Part 264 Groundwater Monitoring, Unsaturated Zone Monitoring, Corrective Action, and Post-closure Care Requirements of these regulations. The denial of a permit for the active life of a hazardous waste management facility or unit does not affect the requirement to obtain a post-closure permit under this section.
(a)Specific exclusions and exemptions. The following persons are among those who are not required to obtain a RCRA permit:(1) Generators who accumulate hazardous waste on site in compliance with all of the conditions for exemption provided in §§ 262.14, 262.15, 262.16, and 262.17 of these regulations.(2) Farmers who dispose of hazardous waste pesticides from their own use, as provided in § 262.70.(3) Persons who own or operate facilities solely for the treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste excluded from regulations under this part by § 261.4 or § 262.14 (very small quantity generator exemption) of these regulations.(4) Persons who own or operate facilities for the treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous wastes excluded under this part by § 261.4.(5) Owners or operators of totally enclosed treatment facilities as defined in § 260.10.(6) Owners and operators of elementary neutralization units or wastewater treatment units as defined in § 260.10.(7) Transporters storing manifested shipments of hazardous waste in containers meeting the requirements of § 262.30 at a transfer facility for a period of ten days or less.(8) Persons who carry out activities to immediately contain or treat a discharge, or an imminent and substantial threat of a discharge, of hazardous waste or material which, when discharged, becomes a hazardous waste. After the immediate response activities are completed, any treatment, storage, or disposal of discharged material or discharge residue or debris that is undertaken must be covered by a RCRA permit, an emergency RCRA permit or an interim status corrective action order pursuant to § 265.5. Facilities subject only to the corrective action or closure requirements of Part 264 or Part 265 may alternatively use an enforceable document pursuant to § 100.10(d), or a Corrective Action Plan pursuant to § 100.26. In the case of emergency responses involving military munitions, the responding military emergency response specialist's organizational unit must retain records for three years identifying the dates of the response, the responsible persons responding, the type and description of material addressed, and its disposition.(9) Generators adding absorbent material to waste in a container (as defined in § 260.10) and generators adding waste to absorbent material in a container, provided that these actions occur at the time waste is first placed in the container; and § § 264.17(b), 264.171, and 264.172 are complied with.(10) Persons who qualify for a permit by rule for injection wells (See § 100.21).(11) Persons who qualify for a permit by rule for POTW's (See § 100.21).(13) Generators who qualify for a permit by rule for on-site treatment (See § 100.21).(14) Universal waste handlers and universal waste transporters (as defined in § 260.10) managing the wastes listed below. These handlers are subject to regulation under Part 273 of these regulations. (i) Batteries as described in § 273.2(a) of these regulations;(ii) Pesticides as described in § 273.2(b) of these regulations;(iii) Mercury-containing devices as described in § 273.2(c) of these regulations;(iv) Aerosol cans as described in § 273.2(d) of these regulations;(v) Lamps as described in § 273.2(e) of these regulations; and(vi) Electronic devices and electronic components as described in § 273.2(f) of these regulations.(15) Reverse distributors accumulating potentially creditable hazardous waste pharmaceuticals and evaluated hazardous waste pharmaceuticals, as defined in § 267.500. Reverse distributors are subject to regulation under Part 267 subpart P for the accumulation of potentially creditable hazardous waste pharmaceuticals and evaluated hazardous waste pharmaceuticals.(b)Closure by removal. Owners/operators of surface impoundments, land treatment units, and waste piles closing by removal or decontamination under Part 265 standards must obtain a post-closure permit unless they can demonstrate to the Department that the closure met the standards for closure by removal or decontamination in § 264.258, § 264.280(e), or § 264.228, respectively. The demonstration may be made in the following ways: (1) If the owner/operator has submitted a Part B application for a post-closure permit, the owner/operator may request a determination, based on information contained in the application, that Part 264 closure by removal standards were met. If the Department believes that Part 264 standards were met, it will notify the public of this proposed decision, allow for public comment, and reach a final determination according to the procedures in paragraph (c) of this section.(2) If the owner/operator has not submitted a Part B application for a post-closure permit, the owner/operator may petition the Department for a determination that a post-closure permit is not required because the closure met the applicable Part 264 closure standards. (i) The petition must include data demonstrating that closure by removal or decontamination standards were met, or it must demonstrate that the unit closed under Colorado requirements that met or exceeded the applicable Part 264 closure-by-removal standard.(ii) The Department shall approve or deny the petition according to the procedures outlined in paragraph (c) of this section.(c) Procedures for closure equivalency determination. (1) If a facility owner/operator seeks an equivalency demonstration under § 100.10(b), the Department will provide the public, through a newspaper notice, the opportunity to submit written comments on the information submitted by the owner/operator within 30 days from the date of the notice. The Department will also, in response to a request or at its discretion, hold a public hearing whenever such a hearing might clarify one or more issues concerning the equivalence of the Part 265 closure to a Part 264 closure. The Department will give public notice of the hearing at least 30 days before it occurs. (Public notice of the hearing may be given at the same time as notice of the opportunity for the public to submit written comments, and the two notices may be combined.)(2) The Department will determine whether the Part 265 closure met Part 264 closure by removal or decontamination requirements within 90 days of its receipt. If the Department finds that the closure did not meet the applicable Part 264 standards, it will provide the owner/operator with a written statement of the reasons why the closure failed to meet Part 264 standards. The owner/operator may submit additional information in support of an equivalency demonstration within 30 days after receiving such written statement. The Department will review any additional information submitted and make a final determination within 60 days.(3) If the Department determines that the facility did not close in accordance with Part 264 closure by removal standards, the facility is subject to post-closure permitting requirements.(d)Enforceable documents for post-closure care. At the discretion of the Director, an owner or operator may obtain, in lieu of a post-closure permit, an enforceable document imposing the requirements of § 265.121 of these regulations. "Enforceable document" means an order, a plan, or other document issued by EPA or by the state of Colorado under an authority that meets the requirements of 40 CFR 271.16(e) including, but not limited to, a corrective action order issued by EPA under section 3008(h), a corrective action order issued by the Department under § 265.5 of these regulations, a CERCLA remedial action, or a closure or post-closure plan.(e)Corrective Action Plans. At the Department's discretion, an owner or operator may obtain a Corrective Action Plan in accordance with § 100.26 authorizing corrective action or closure activities at a non-permitted facility to satisfy the permitting requirements of this Part 100.37 CR 24, December 25, 2014, effective 3/2/201538 CR 11, June 10, 2015, effective 6/30/201539 CR 05, March 10, 2016, effective 3/30/201639 CR 11, June 10, 2016, effective 6/30/201640 CR 06, March 25, 2017, effective 4/14/201740 CR 11, June 10, 2017, effective 6/30/201740 CR 21, November 10, 2017, effective 11/30/201741 CR 06, March 25, 2018, effective 4/14/201841 CR 11, June 10, 2018, effective 6/30/201841 CR 24, December 25, 2018, effective 1/14/201942 CR 06, March 25, 2019, effective 4/14/201942 CR 06, March 25, 2019, effective 5/30/201942 CR 11, June 10, 2019, effective 6/30/201943 CR 12, June 25, 2020, effective 7/15/202044 CR 06, March 25, 2021, effective 4/14/202144 CR 11, June 10, 2021, effective 6/30/202144 CR 24, December 25, 2021, effective 1/14/202245 CR 11, June 10, 2022, effective 6/30/202245 CR 17, September 10, 2022, effective 9/10/202245 CR 17, September 10, 2022, effective 9/30/202245 CR 23, December 10, 2022, effective 1/30/2023