Incinerator Regulations

Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) directly regulates the incineration of hazardous, medical and municipal solid waste, most regulations have been handed over to the states. While federal law has established minimum standards for combustors, states may enforce stricter requirements. However, regulation of incineration of hazardous wastes from Superfund cleanup sites as well as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) falls under the exclusive authority of the EPA, according to Waste Incineration & Public Health.

The Clean Air Act and Waste Incineration (1970)

• Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the EPA created not only emission guidelines for extant incinerators, but also new source performance standards for combustors under construction. States then drew up plans to control incinerator emissions according to the EPA's emission guidelines. Once those plans were approved by the EPA, they could be enforced at the federal level, reports Waste Incineration & Public Health. CAA regulations managed to cap atmospheric concentrations of a half dozen criteria pollutants, including lead, ozone, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter.
  The CAA established controls on 188 air toxins, also called hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). Due to litigation by entities affected by the regulations, the EPA had instituted standards for only seven of the HAPs as of 1990. In order to overcome the obstacles, amendments to the CAA changed the standard for sources of hazardous emissions from a risk-based to a technology-based specification.

Maximum Achievable Control Technology Standards (1990)

• The technology-based standards established by the CAA amendments of 1990 are known as the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants or the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards, according to the University of Tennessee. Using a clear, performance-based methodology, the MACT standards compel new incineration operations to adhere to emissions limits that have been reached by best-performing, comparable facilities. To set a MACT baseline for emissions levels for a specific source category, the EPA surveys the control devices, clean processes, utilization of HAP-compliant materials and best practices in the workplace of the best-performing facility. For those sources that pose a greater risk to the health, environment or the economy, the EPA may apply an even stricter standard for emissions levels.
  In cases of 30 or more extant sources, the MACT floor for incinerators already in operation equates to the average emissions limit reached by 12 percent of the best-performing facilities in a specific source category. If less than 30 sources exist, then the MACT floor in a particular category is set at the average emissions limit of the five best-performing facilities.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Waste Incineration

• According to Waste Incineration & Public Heath, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) empowered the EPA to control hazardous waste by setting design, operating and performance standards across the supply chain, from generation to treatment to disposal. However, the RCRA only targets facilities in operation or in the planning stages. RCRA regulations limit emissions of hydrogen chloride, organics, particulate matter and fugitive emissions.