Location Standards for Storage, Treatment, & Disposal Areas

Due to the dangerous nature of hazardous wastes, they must be stored, treated, and disposed of in areas that do not themselves present a hazard. In particular, areas with seismic faults, flood plains, salt domes and salt beds, and underground mines and caves can present inherent hazards. Owners and operators of facilities must take a number of considerations regarding the location of the hazardous waste, which can be summarized as follows:

• Fault lines: Any new facility where hazardous waste will be treated, stored, or disposed of must be at least 200 feet (61 meters) from any displacement fracture, or "fault line," that has moved at any time during the past 12,000 years (that is, since the start of the "Holocene" epoch).
• Floodplains: Unless an owner or operator can demonstrate that waste can be moved safely and quickly before floodwaters will reach it, a facility located in an area designated as a "100-year floodplain" must be designed, constructed, and operated to prevent a washout during a 100-year flood event.
• Salt dome and bed formations and underground mines and caves: Any liquid hazardous waste that is not in a container or is in bulk may not be located in any salt dome or salt bed formation, nor in any underground mine or cave.

To learn more about RCRA visit our RCRA Hazardous Waste Safety Online Training web page.