The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was enacted in 1976 as an amendment to the Solid Waste Disposal Act. The primary objectives of RCRA are to protect human health and the environment and to conserve valuable material and energy resources. The most important aspect of RCRA is its establishment of “cradle-to-grave” management and tracking of hazardous waste, from generator to transporter to treatment, storage, and disposal. Other aspects of RCRA include the development of solid waste management plans, prohibition of open dumping, encouragement of recycling, reuse and treatment of hazardous wastes, and establishment of guidelines for solid waste management. Generally, exploration and production (E&P) exempt wastes are generated in primary field operations and not as a result of transportation or maintenance activities. When listed nonexempt and exempt wastes are mixed, the entire mixture could be considered a hazardous waste. For example, discarding a half-empty listed solvent into a reserve pit could cause the otherwise exempt reserve pit contents to become a hazardous waste. This may result in closure of a reserve pit under RCRA hazardous wastes regulations.

The amendment to RCRA also mandated the EPA to study E&P wastes and recommend appropriate regulatory action to Congress. The EPA conducted the study and submitted a Report to Congress on December 28, 1987. This regulatory determination was made public on June 30, 1988. A key portion of this determination follows:

“The Agency plans a three-pronged approach toward filling gaps in existing state and federal regulatory programs by:

Improving federal programs under existing authorities in Subtitle D of RCRA, the CWA, and the Safe Drinking Water Act;

Working with states to encourage changes in their regulations and enforcement to improve some programs; and

Working with Congress to develop any additional statutory authority that may be required.”

Some of the reasons put forth by the EPA for this determination follow:

“Subtitle C does not provide sufficient flexibility to consider the costs and avoid the serious economic impacts that regulation would create for the industry’s exploration and production operations;

Existing state and federal regulatory programs are generally adequate for controlling oil, gas, and geothermal wastes. Regulatory gaps in the CWA, and Underground Injection Control (UIC) program are already being addressed, and the remaining gaps in state and federal regulatory programs can be effectively addressed by formulating requirements under Subtitle D of RCRA and by working with the states; and

It is impractical and inefficient to implement Subtitle C for all or some of these wastes because permitting burden that the regulatory agencies would incur if even a small percentage of these sites were considered Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs) (53 Federal Register (FR) 25456, July 6, 1988).”

The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) is an organization that includes governors of the 29 oil- and gas-producing states. The IOGCC has been assisting states in developing their oil and gas regulatory programs since 1935. In January 1989, the IOGCC formed a council on regulatory needs to assist the EPA in its three-pronged approach to fill the gaps in regulations. This council comprises of 12 state regulatory agency members and is supported by a 9-member advisory committee made up of representatives from state regulatory agencies, industry, and public interest and environmental groups. This council also is assisted by representatives from the EPA, the United States Department of Energy (DOE), and the BLM, all of whom act as official observers.

The purpose of the IOGCC council is to recommend effective regulations, guidelines, and standards for state-level management of E&P wastes. It is not intended to form the sole basis for any future federal statutory or regulatory authorities that may be sought by the EPA for E&P wastes. In 1990, the IOGCC adopted guidelines in the form of technical and administrative criteria recommended by the council and advisory committee. This publication, EPA/IOGCC Study of State Regulation of Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Wastes commonly is known as the “IOGCC Guidelines” or the “Green Book.” These guidelines were updated in May 1994 with a revised publication titled IOGCC Environmental Guidelines for State Oil & Gas Regulatory Programs.

The DOI has the following fundamental principles of waste management:

“Wherever feasible, we will seek to prevent the generation and acquisition of hazardous wastes; where waste generation is unavoidable, we will work to reduce the amounts (toxicity or risk) generated through the use of sound waste management practices; we will manage waste materials responsibly in order to protect not only the natural resources entrusted to us, but the many people who live and work on our public lands, and the millions more who enjoy our lands and facilities each year; we will move aggressively to clean up and restore areas under our care that are contaminated by pollution.”