Hazardous Waste: EPA Should Take Additional Actions to Encourage Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities to Manage Climate Risks
Fast Facts
The U.S. treats, stores, and disposes of different types of hazardous waste in facilities around the country. Many of these facilities are in areas at risk from natural disasters, such as flooding, which may be exacerbated by climate change.
These facilities are required to manage various risks. But, planning for the effects of climate change—such as more frequent and intense weather events—can be challenging. For example, some facilities may need guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency on how to assess climate risks to their facilities and what data to use.
We recommended that EPA provide this guidance, and more.
Highlights
What GAO Found
Federal data on flooding, wildfires, storm surge, and sea level rise indicate that more than 700 hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities, or about 68 percent, are located in areas with one or more of these hazards that could be exacerbated by climate change.
Hazardous Waste Storage Tanks at a Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regions, authorized states, and facilities need more clarity on whether managing climate risks to facilities is required or there is existing authority to do so under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended (RCRA). EPA has taken steps to clarify authorities and requirements for managing climate risks as part of permitting but has not done so for compliance and enforcement efforts, such as inspections. In June 2024, EPA issued guidance on selected RCRA authorities that regions and states could use to develop facility permit requirements to manage climate risks. However, some states and facilities may not implement the guidance unless EPA amends regulations to explicitly clarify authorities and requirements. EPA officials said the agency could provide training and technical assistance to regions and states to help ensure they understand and implement the guidance, but EPA has not done so yet. Without providing this training and technical assistance and seeking further feedback to determine whether it should issue regulations to fully clarify authorities and requirements for managing climate risks, EPA may be unable to ensure effective and consistent management of these risks.
EPA regions, states, and facilities also face challenges in managing climate risks. For example, regions, states, and facilities need guidance on how to assess climate risks and face challenges in knowing what data they should use to do so, according to interviews with officials from EPA, states, and stakeholder groups. By issuing guidance to regions, states, and facilities on how to manage climate risks, along with providing data, tools, and training, EPA could better ensure these risks are managed sufficiently and that regions, states, and facilities have the direction and information necessary to do so.
Why GAO Did This Study
More than 1,000 facilities across the nation treat, store, and dispose of hazardous waste that could harm human health and the environment if released. Natural hazards such as flooding—which may become more frequent and intense due to climate change—can lead to hazardous waste releases. RCRA governs the management of hazardous waste by facilities. EPA promulgates RCRA regulations to minimize the risk of releases from facilities and has authorized 48 states to implement these regulations in lieu of EPA. EPA regional offices assist and oversee states in implementing RCRA.
GAO was asked to review EPA's role in addressing climate risks to facilities. This report examines 1) the extent to which facilities are located in areas with selected natural hazards that may be exacerbated by climate change; 2) the extent to which EPA requires or encourages authorized states and facilities to manage risks to human health and the environment from climate change; and 3) challenges EPA, states, and facilities face in managing climate risks. GAO analyzed federal data on facilities and four natural hazards, reviewed agency documents, and interviewed officials from EPA headquarters and five regional offices, four state agencies, and eight stakeholder groups.
Recommendations
GAO is making nine recommendations to EPA, including that it provide training and technical assistance and assess issuing regulations to clarify requirements and provide direction on managing facility climate risks. EPA agreed with our recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Protection Agency | The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Land and Emergency Management should develop and provide training and technical assistance to help EPA regions and authorized states implement recent guidance on using existing authorities and requirements to manage climate risks to TSDFs. (Recommendation 1) |
EPA agreed with this recommendation. EPA reported that it issued a guidance memorandum in June 2024 that calls for EPA regions and authorized states to consider climate risks in the hazardous waste permitting process for TSDFs, among other things, and is in the process of developing four webinar trainings to assist EPA regions and authorized states in implementing this guidance. EPA also noted that the webinars will be widely available to states and the public and grouped by the Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest sections of the country, so they may also target climate impacts of particular concern in distinct parts of the United States. We will continue to track EPA's progress in implementing this recommendation.
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| Environmental Protection Agency | The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Land and Emergency Management should use its upcoming rulemaking to seek feedback from authorized states, TSDFs, and other stakeholders to assess whether its recent guidance is sufficient or revising regulations would be necessary to clarify requirements for managing climate risks to TSDFs. (Recommendation 2) |
EPA agreed with this recommendation. EPA stated that, as part of an upcoming rulemaking, it plans to assess whether revisions to its RCRA permit regulations are needed to clarify requirements for managing climate risks to TSDFs. We will continue to track EPA's progress in implementing this recommendation.
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| Environmental Protection Agency | The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance should issue guidance to clarify RCRA authorities and requirements for managing climate risks to TSDFs as part of authorized states' and EPA regions' RCRA compliance and enforcement efforts. (Recommendation 3) |
EPA agreed with this recommendation. EPA stated that it plans to work with EPA regions and authorized states to implement recent guidance on using existing RCRA authorities and requirements to manage climate risks to TSDFs on a site-specific basis in compliance and enforcement efforts, and also consider developing additional guidance explaining how climate change adaptation considerations should be incorporated into RCRA enforcement efforts. We will continue to track EPA's progress in implementing this recommendation.
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| Environmental Protection Agency | The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Land and Emergency Management, in consultation with EPA regional offices, should develop and implement monitoring metrics and assess whether and how authorized states and TSDFs are managing climate risks to TSDFs in RCRA permitting and oversight efforts. (Recommendation 4) |
EPA agreed with this recommendation. EPA stated that it has directed authorized states to start providing information on how potential climate risks were considered in permitting for TSDFs and that this information will be incorporated in the states' grant work plans and annual reports as grants are renewed in fiscal years 2025 through 2027. Further, EPA said that, by May 2026, it plans to compile and summarize information from state grant annual reports on how potential climate risks were considered in RCRA permitting for TSDFs. Then, by May 2027, EPA plans to develop a procedure for monitoring and assessing on an ongoing basis how authorized states and TSDFs are managing climate risks to TSDFs. We will continue to track EPA's progress in implementing this recommendation.
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| Environmental Protection Agency | The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, in consultation with EPA regional offices, should develop and implement monitoring metrics and assess whether and how authorized states and TSDFs are managing climate risks to TSDFs in RCRA compliance monitoring and enforcement efforts. (Recommendation 5) |
EPA agreed with this recommendation. EPA stated that as national policy requirements or regulations are updated to include consideration of climate risks in the hazardous waste program, it will update enforcement and compliance guidance accordingly. EPA stated that this could include developing compliance monitoring and enforcement metrics, new programs for EPA data systems, and providing training and guidance on how to measure compliance with any new requirements, among other things. We will continue to track EPA's progress in implementing this recommendation.
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| Environmental Protection Agency | The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Land and Emergency Management, together with other relevant EPA offices and EPA regions, should assess the current RCRA TSDF standards and requirements to determine if they will be sufficient to manage climate risks and, if one or more of them need to be updated to ensure they remain protective of human health and the environment, develop a plan for any revisions or updates. (Recommendation 6) |
EPA agreed with this recommendation. EPA reported that it is assessing the current RCRA TSDF regulations as part of its efforts to develop a rulemaking for RCRA permitting that it plans to publish in 2025. EPA stated it is considering proposing specific provisions to address climate risk as part of this rulemaking. EPA stated that provisions may include requirements to assess and address climate change risk as part of facility permit applications; modify permits if climate change risk at a facility changes; implement facility design and operation standards to mitigate risk; and use portions of a federal standard to define flood risk requirements. We will continue to track EPA's progress in implementing this recommendation.
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| Environmental Protection Agency | The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Land and Emergency Management should issue guidance to EPA regions, authorized states, and TSDFs on how to manage climate change risks as part of RCRA program permitting efforts for TSDFs and identify or provide related data, training, or tools. (Recommendation 7) |
EPA agreed with this recommendation. EPA reported that it issued a guidance memorandum in June 2024 that calls for EPA regions and authorized states to consider climate risks in the hazardous waste permitting process for TSDFs, among other things. EPA stated that the memorandum is posted online and was publicly communicated through EPA's Waste Management Updates Newsletter and EPA also shared this guidance with the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials and the Environmental Technology Council. EPA is also developing publicly available training (see response to Recommendation 1) to aid in the implementation of this guidance memorandum with additional tools to be released thereafter. We will continue to track EPA's progress in implementing this recommendation.
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| Environmental Protection Agency | The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance should issue guidance to EPA regions, authorized states, and TSDFs on how to manage climate change risks as part of RCRA program compliance and enforcement efforts for TSDFs and identify or provide related data, training, or tools. (Recommendation 8) |
EPA agreed with this recommendation. EPA stated that it issued guidance in September 2023 directing all EPA enforcement and compliance offices to address climate change as a part of inspections and enforcement. EPA plans to obtain feedback from EPA regions and authorized states on the effectiveness of current compliance and enforcement efforts related to climate change and discuss additional tools and resources needed to achieve the goals of its September 2023 guidance, among other things. We will continue to track EPA's progress in implementing this recommendation.
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| Environmental Protection Agency | The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Land and Emergency Management, together with other relevant EPA offices and regions, should identify and communicate additional financial resources and assistance from federal resilience funding sources that may be available to authorized states and TSDFs. (Recommendation 9) |
EPA agreed with this recommendation. EPA stated that it is using funds provided through the Inflation Reduction Act to support RCRA climate training, climate vulnerability screening, and facility mapping to support climate assessments at facilities. Further, EPA reported that it will continue to work to identify federal resilience funding sources that may be available to support consideration of climate change at TSDFs. We will continue to track EPA's progress in implementing this recommendation.
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