View all text of Subpart A [§ 257.1 - § 257.4]

§ 257.2 - Definitions.

The definitions set forth in section 1004 of the Act apply to this part. Special definitions of general concern to this part are provided below, and definitions especially pertinent to particular sections of this part are provided in those sections.

CCR landfill means an area of land or an excavation that receives CCR and which is not a surface impoundment, an underground injection well, a salt dome formation, a salt bed formation, an underground or surface coal mine, or a cave. For purposes of this subpart, a CCR landfill also includes sand and gravel pits and quarries that receive CCR, CCR piles, and any practice that does not meet the definition of a beneficial use of CCR.

CCR surface impoundment means a natural topographic depression, man-made excavation, or diked area, which is designed to hold an accumulation of CCR and liquids, and the unit treats, stores, or disposes of CCR.

Construction and demolition (C&D) landfill means a solid waste disposal facility subject to the requirements of subparts A or B of this part that receives construction and demolition waste and does not receive hazardous waste (defined in § 261.3 of this chapter) or industrial solid waste (defined in § 258.2 of this chapter). Only a C&D landfill that meets the requirements of subpart B of this part may receive very small quantity generator waste (defined in § 260.10 of this chapter). A C&D landfill typically receives any one or more of the following types of solid wastes: Roadwork material, excavated material, demolition waste, construction/renovation waste, and site clearance waste.

Disposal means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any solid waste or hazardous waste into or on any land or water so that such solid waste or hazardous waste or any constituent thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including ground waters.

Domestic septage is either liquid or solid material removed from a septic tank, cesspool, portable toilet, Type III marine sanitation device, or similar treatment works that receives only domestic sewage. Domestic septage does not include liquid or solid material removed from a septic tank, cesspool, or similar treatment works that receives either commercial wastewater or industrial wastewater and does not include grease removed from a grease trap at a restaurant.

Facility means all contiguous land and structures, other appurtenances, and improvements on the land used for the disposal of solid waste.

Land application unit means an area where wastes are applied onto or incorporated into the soil surface (excluding manure spreading operations) for agricultural purposes or for treatment and disposal.

Landfill means an area of land or an excavation in which wastes are placed for permanent disposal, and that is not a land application unit, surface impoundment, injection well, or waste pile.

Leachate means liquid that has passed through or emerged from solid waste and contains soluble, suspended or miscible materials removed from such wastes.

Municipal solid waste landfill (MSWLF) unit means a discrete area of land or an excavation that receives household waste, and that is not a land application unit, surface impoundment, injection well, or waste pile, as those terms are defined in this section. A MSWLF unit also may receive other types of RCRA Subtitle D wastes, such as commercial solid waste, nonhazardous sludge, and industrial solid waste. Such a landfill may be publicly or privately owned. A MSWLF unit may be a new MSWLF unit, an existing MSWLF unit or a lateral expansion. A construction and demolition landfill that receives residential lead-based paint waste and does not receive any other household waste is not a MSWLF unit.

Open dump means a facility for the disposal of solid waste which does not comply with this part.

Practice means the act of disposal of solid waste.

Residential lead-based paint waste means waste containing lead-based paint, which is generated as a result of activities such as abatement, rehabilitation, renovation and remodeling in homes and other residences. The term residential lead-based paint waste includes, but is not limited to, lead-based paint debris, chips, dust, and sludges.

Sanitary landfill means a facility for the disposal of solid waste which complies with this part.

Sewage sludge means solid, semi-solid, or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works. Sewage sludge includes, but is not limited to, domestic septage; scum or solids removed in primary, secondary, or advanced wastewater treatment processes; and a material derived from sewage sludge. Sewage sludge does not include ash generated during the firing of sewage sludge in a sewage sludge incinerator or grit and screenings generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works.

Sludge means any solid, semisolid, or liquid waste generated from a municipal, commercial, or industrial wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility or any other such waste having similar characteristics and effect.

Solid waste means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community activities, but does not include solid or dissolved materials in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved material in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources subject to permits under section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (86 Stat. 880), or source, special nuclear, or byproduct material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (68 Stat. 923).

State means any of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Surface impoundment or impoundment means a facility or part of a facility that is a natural topographic depression, human-made excavation, or diked area formed primarily of earthen materials (although it may be lined with human-made materials), that is designed to hold an accumulation of liquid wastes or wastes containing free liquids and that is not an injection well. Examples of surface impoundments are holding storage, settling, and aeration pits, ponds, and lagoons.

Waste pile or pile means any noncontainerized accumulation of solid, nonflowing waste that is used for treatment or storage.

[44 FR 53460, Sept. 13, 1979; 44 FR 58910, Oct. 12, 1979; 56 FR 51016, Oct. 9, 1991; 58 FR 9385, Feb. 19, 1993; 68 FR 36495, June 18, 2003; 81 FR 85804, Nov. 28, 2016]