[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 24]
[Revised as of July 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR264.554]

[Page 363-365]
 
                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
 
         CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 264_STANDARDS FOR OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT, 
STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL FACILITIES--Table of Contents
 
                Subpart S_Special Provisions for Cleanup
 
Sec. 264.554  Staging piles.

    This section is written in a special format to make it easier to 
understand the regulatory requirements. Like other Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, this establishes enforceable legal 
requirements. For this ``I'' and ``you'' refer to the owner/operator.
    (a) What is a staging pile? A staging pile is an accumulation of 
solid, non-flowing remediation waste (as defined in Sec. 260.10 of this 
chapter) that is not a containment building and is used only during 
remedial operations for temporary storage at a facility. A staging pile 
must be located within the contiguous property under the control of the 
owner/operator where the wastes to be managed in the staging pile 
originated. Staging piles must be designated by the Director in 
according to the requirements in this section.
    (1) For the purposes of this section, storage includes mixing, 
sizing, blending, or other similar physical operations as long as they 
are intended to prepare the wastes for subsequent management or 
treatment.
    (2) [Reserved]
    (b) When may I use a staging pile? You may use a staging pile to 
store hazardous remediation waste (or remediation waste otherwise 
subject to land disposal restrictions) only if you follow the standards 
and design criteria the Director has designated for that staging pile. 
The Director must designate the staging pile in a permit or, at an 
interim status facility, in a closure plan or order (consistent with 
Sec. 270.72(a)(5) and (b)(5) of this chapter). The Director must 
establish conditions in the permit, closure plan, or order that comply 
with paragraphs (d) through (k) of this section.
    (c) What information must I provide to get a staging pile 
designated? When seeking a staging pile designation, you must provide:
    (1) Sufficient and accurate information to enable the Director to 
impose standards and design criteria for your staging pile according to 
paragraphs (d) through (k) of this section;
    (2) Certification by an independent, qualified, registered 
professional engineer for technical data, such as design drawings and 
specifications, and engineering studies, unless the Director determines, 
based on information that you provide, that this certification is not 
necessary to ensure that a staging pile will protect human health and 
the environment; and
    (3) Any additional information the Director determines is necessary 
to protect human health and the environment.
    (d) What performance criteria must a staging pile satisfy? The 
Director must establish the standards and design criteria for the 
staging pile in the permit, closure plan, or order.
    (1) The standards and design criteria must comply with the 
following:

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    (i) The staging pile must facilitate a reliable, effective and 
protective remedy;
    (ii) The staging pile must be designed so as to prevent or minimize 
releases of hazardous wastes and hazardous constituents into the 
environment, and minimize or adequately control cross-media transfer, as 
necessary to protect human health and the environment (for example, 
through the use of liners, covers, run-off/run-on controls, as 
appropriate); and
    (iii) The staging pile must not operate for more than two years, 
except when the Director grants an operating term extension under 
paragraph (i) of this section (entitled ``May I receive an operating 
extension for a staging pile?''). You must measure the two-year limit, 
or other operating term specified by the Director in the permit, closure 
plan, or order, from the first time you place remediation waste into a 
staging pile. You must maintain a record of the date when you first 
placed remediation waste into the staging pile for the life of the 
permit, closure plan, or order, or for three years, whichever is longer.
    (2) In setting the standards and design criteria, the Director must 
consider the following factors:
    (i) Length of time the pile will be in operation;
    (ii) Volumes of wastes you intend to store in the pile;
    (iii) Physical and chemical characteristics of the wastes to be 
stored in the unit;
    (iv) Potential for releases from the unit;
    (v) Hydrogeological and other relevant environmental conditions at 
the facility that may influence the migration of any potential releases; 
and
    (vi) Potential for human and environmental exposure to potential 
releases from the unit;
    (e) May a staging pile receive ignitable or reactive remediation 
waste? You must not place ignitable or reactive remediation waste in a 
staging pile unless:
    (1) You have treated, rendered or mixed the remediation waste before 
you placed it in the staging pile so that:
    (i) The remediation waste no longer meets the definition of 
ignitable or reactive under Sec. 261.21 or Sec. 261.23 of this 
chapter; and
    (ii) You have complied with Sec. 264.17(b); or
    (2) You manage the remediation waste to protect it from exposure to 
any material or condition that may cause it to ignite or react.
    (f) How do I handle incompatible remediation wastes in a staging 
pile? The term ``incompatible waste'' is defined in Sec. 260.10 of this 
chapter. You must comply with the following requirements for 
incompatible wastes in staging piles:
    (1) You must not place incompatible remediation wastes in the same 
staging pile unless you have complied with Sec. 264.17(b);
    (2) If remediation waste in a staging pile is incompatible with any 
waste or material stored nearby in containers, other piles, open tanks 
or land disposal units (for example, surface impoundments), you must 
separate the incompatible materials, or protect them from one another by 
using a dike, berm, wall or other device; and
    (3) You must not pile remediation waste on the same base where 
incompatible wastes or materials were previously piled, unless the base 
has been decontaminated sufficiently to comply with Sec. 264.17(b).
    (g) Are staging piles subject to Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) 
and Minimum Technological Requirements (MTR)? No. Placing hazardous 
remediation wastes into a staging pile does not constitute land disposal 
of hazardous wastes or create a unit that is subject to the minimum 
technological requirements of RCRA 3004(o).
    (h) How long may I operate a staging pile? The Director may allow a 
staging pile to operate for up to two years after hazardous remediation 
waste is first placed into the pile. You must use a staging pile no 
longer than the length of time designated by the Director in the permit, 
closure plan, or order (the ``operating term''), except as provided in 
paragraph (i) of this section.
    (i) May I receive an operating extension for a staging pile? (1) The 
Director may grant one operating term extension of up to 180 days beyond 
the operating term limit contained in the permit, closure plan, or order 
(see paragraph (l)

[[Page 365]]

of this section for modification procedures). To justify to the Director 
the need for an extension, you must provide sufficient and accurate 
information to enable the Director to determine that continued operation 
of the staging pile:
    (i) Will not pose a threat to human health and the environment; and
    (ii) Is necessary to ensure timely and efficient implementation of 
remedial actions at the facility.
    (2) The Director may, as a condition of the extension, specify 
further standards and design criteria in the permit, closure plan, or 
order, as necessary, to ensure protection of human health and the 
environment.
    (j) What is the closure requirement for a staging pile located in a 
previously contaminated area? (1) Within 180 days after the operating 
term of the staging pile expires, you must close a staging pile located 
in a previously contaminated area of the site by removing or 
decontaminating all:
    (i) Remediation waste;
    (ii) Contaminated containment system components; and
    (iii) Structures and equipment contaminated with waste and leachate.
    (2) You must also decontaminate contaminated subsoils in a manner 
and according to a schedule that the Director determines will protect 
human health and the environment.
    (3) The Director must include the above requirements in the permit, 
closure plan, or order in which the staging pile is designated.
    (k) What is the closure requirement for a staging pile located in an 
uncontaminated area? (1) Within 180 days after the operating term of the 
staging pile expires, you must close a staging pile located in an 
uncontaminated area of the site according to Sec. Sec. 264.258(a) and 
264.111; or according to Sec. Sec. 265.258(a) and 265.111 of this 
chapter.
    (2) The Director must include the above requirement in the permit, 
closure plan, or order in which the staging pile is designated.
    (l) How may my existing permit (for example, RAP), closure plan, or 
order be modified to allow me to use a staging pile? (1) To modify a 
permit, other than a RAP, to incorporate a staging pile or staging pile 
operating term extension, either:
    (i) The Director must approve the modification under the procedures 
for Agency-initiated permit modifications in Sec. 270.41 of this 
chapter; or
    (ii) You must request a Class 2 modification under Sec. 270.42 of 
this chapter.
    (2) To modify a RAP to incorporate a staging pile or staging pile 
operating term extension, you must comply with the RAP modification 
requirements under Sec. Sec. 270.170 and 270.175 of this chapter.
    (3) To modify a closure plan to incorporate a staging pile or 
staging pile operating term extension, you must follow the applicable 
requirements under Sec. 264.112(c) or Sec. 265.112(c) of this chapter.
    (4) To modify an order to incorporate a staging pile or staging pile 
operating term extension, you must follow the terms of the order and the 
applicable provisions of Sec. 270.72(a)(5) or (b)(5) of this chapter.
    (m) Is information about the staging pile available to the public? 
The Director must document the rationale for designating a staging pile 
or staging pile operating term extension and make this documentation 
available to the public.

[63 FR 65939, Nov. 30, 1998, as amended at 67 FR 3028, Jan. 22, 2002]