What is the RCRA Corrective Action Program?
Accidents or other activities at facilities that treat, store or dispose of hazardous wastes have sometimes led to the release of hazardous waste or hazardous constituents into soil, ground water, surface water, or air. Prior to HSWA, cleanup of such releases focused primarily on protecting groundwater from special kinds of RCRA-regulated land disposal units that received hazardous wastes after July 1982. HSWA made it clear that owners or operators of treatment, storage or disposal (TSD) facilities are responsible for investigating and, as necessary, cleaning up releases at or from their facilities, regardless of when the releases occurred. EPA refers to this cleanup of TSD facilities under these statutory authorities as RCRA Corrective Action. RCRA Corrective Action is just one of the many tools EPA, States and Tribes use to address the cleanup and revitalization of our nation’s hazardous waste sites. For more information about all of EPA’s cleanup efforts, refer to EPA’s Office of So
