Section One
REMEDIATION
1    EPA'S APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT OF LDR STANDARDS
FOR CONTAMINATED SOIL AND DEBRIS
Mackenzie L. Davis, Associate Professor
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Gene P. Chou, Environmental Engineer
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, D.C.
LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY HISTORY
The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish Land Disposal Restrictions (LDRs) for RCRA characteristic and listed hazardous wastes based on Best Demonstrated Available Technologies (BDAT). In May 1990, EPA completed promulgating regulations for
the final Third of the original list of these wastes.
The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) which continues the program begun
in 1980 by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CER-
CLA) mandates that contaminated soil and debris (CSD) be treated to meet all Applicable or Relevant
and Appropriate Regulations (ARARs). For LDRs to be ARARs, a CERCLA response action must
constitute placement of a restricted RCRA hazardous waste. LDRs are generally applicable to contaminated soil and debris generated from corrective actions and closures at RCRA regulated land
disposal sites, remedial and removal actions at CERCLA (Superfund) regulated land disposal sites
and private cleanups.
EPA has determined that contaminated soil and debris are generally more difficult to treat uniformly than more homogeneous RCRA industrial wastes and that LDRs for listed wastes are not
relevant and appropriate for soil and debris contaminated with non-RCRA hazardous wastes'. When
the LDRs apply, compliance will involve either meeting the BDAT treatment standards (hereafter
referred to as "standards"), other LDR restrictions (soft hammers), or satisfying the requirements of
one of the other alternate LDR compliance options (e.g., Treatability Variance, Equivalent Treatment
Method Petition). A Treatability Variance does not remove the requirement to treat restricted contaminated soil and debris. Rather, under a treatability variance, alternate treatment levels are established based on data from actual treatment of contaminated soil or best management practices for
contaminated debris.
Existing treatment data have been used to develop interim guidance treatment levels1,2 as a basis for
granting treatability variances. This interim guidance is intended to be used until EPA can collect
sufficient data on treatment technologies to establish standards.
DEFINITIONS
EPA has used several definitions of soil and debris in the preamble language of the LDR rules for
the First, Second and Third wastes.3,4,5 Definitions were also developed for and discussed in several
CERCLA guidance documents, e.g., Superfund LDR Guides #6A and #6B,1,2 the Technology Screening Guide for Treatment of CERCLA Soils and Sludges6 and the Guide for Conducting Treatability
Studies under CERCLA, Interim Final.7 These definitions were developed for clarification of regulations and guidance. None are regulatory definitions.
EPA has used these definitions as a guide to develop definitions for forthcoming regulations. EPA's
preliminary regulatory definitions for soil, contaminated soil, debris, and contaminated debris are
46th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings, 1992 Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, Michigan 48118.
Printed in U.S.A.