Enhancing Facility-Community Relations: Strengthening the Bridge Between Hazardous Waste Facilities and Their Neighbors (PDF) (7pp, 185.6k, about PDF)

Describes how hazardous waste facilities can play an integral role in improving quality of life for the community, and offers guidance for community relations and interaction.

Sites for Our Solid Waste: A Guidebook for Effective Public Involvement (PDF) (5pp, 505k, about PDF)

Provides information for public officials, citizens, and industry professionals to help them find waste sites that are both technically sound and socially acceptable. Encourages public involvement.

RCRA Expanded Public Participation Rule | en Español

Describes how EPA's empowering communities to become more actively involved in local hazardous waste management by involving the public earlier in the permitting process; providing more opportunities for public participation; expanding public access to information; and offering guidance on how facilities can improve public participation.

Social Aspects of Siting Hazardous Waste Facilities (PDF) (16pp, 7.2MB, about PDF)

Addresses the interaction of industries and government agencies with communities when hazardous waste facilities are sited.

Sensitive Environments and the Siting of Hazardous Waste (PDF) (12pp, 667.7k, about PDF) | en Español (PDF) (13pp, 636.9k, about PDF)

Discusses sensitive types of environments that pose special challenges to the siting, expansion, and operation of RCRA hazardous waste management facilities. Defines floodplains, wetlands, ground water, earthquake zones, karst soils, unstable terrain, unfavorable weather locations, and incompatible land use.

Environmental Justice

The Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery considers environmental justice to be an integral part of its program. Our overall strategy consists of measures to identify, understand and address issues and concerns faced by environmental justice communities living near hazardous waste facilities.