Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs)
Types of (TSDFs)
Commercial TSDFs
Commercial TSDFs manage large quantities of hazardous wastes from a myriad of generators. Whether a land disposal, combustion, storage or treatment facility, considerable resources and expertise are required to ensure that the wide variety of hazardous wastes are safely managed and that incompatible wastes are not blended.
Noncommercial TSDFs
Noncommercial TSDFs manage only hazardous waste generated by their own company with the vast majority of those wastes generated onsite. Noncommercial facilities that store the hazardous wastes they generate on site for greater than 90 days; combust or land dispose of the hazardous wastes at that site; or receive company hazardous waste from offsite (with a few exceptions) require a Part 373 Permit.
Noncommercial facilities that solely store or treat in tanks, containers or containment buildings the hazardous wastes they generate on site for less than 90 days are exempt from Part 373 permitting and are regulated as hazardous waste generators.
Interim status TSDFs
Interim status TSDFs are those facilities that existed when the hazardous waste regulations went into effect in November 1980 or who subsequently became subject to permitting due to regulatory changes. A timely submittal of a permit application allows the existing facility to continue operation until a final Part 373 permit is obtained.
Permit renewals and modifications
Part 373 Permits are issued for a period of up to five or ten years depending on the type of facility. To continue operation upon expiration of its permit, a TSDF is required to obtain a permit renewal. The full permitting process, including public participation and the incorporation of any regulatory changes that occurred subsequent to the issuance of the original permit, must be met to renew the Part 373 permit.
Manufacturing and other business operations are dynamic, frequently modifying or adding new processes. Such changes often require modifications to Part 373 permits. Minor permit modifications follow a simplified permitting process; modifications defined in regulation as "major" require the same permitting procedures, including public participation, as the original permits.
