Under the Clean Water Act, the real sludge regulation, part 258, was created to replace part 257
for municipal waste water treatment works-plants.
The purpose of this part is to establish minimum national criteria under the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA or the Act), as amended, for all municipal solid waste landfill (MSWLF)
units and under the Clean Water Act, as amended, for municipal solid waste landfills that are used
to dispose of sewage sludge. These minimum national criteria ensure the protection of human
health and the environment
(It would APPEAR that part 258 is the only manner of sludge disposal that complies with
section 405(d) according to part 503)
{§ 503.4 Relationship to other regulations.
Disposal of sewage sludge in a municipal solid waste landfill unit, as defined in 40 CFR
258.2, that complies with the requirements in 40 CFR part 258 constitutes compliance
with section 405(d) of the CWA.)
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Title 40: Protection of Environment
PART 258—CRITERIA FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS
Subpart A—General
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§ 258.1 Purpose, scope, and applicability.
(a) The purpose of this part is to establish minimum national criteria under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA or the Act), as amended, for all municipal solid waste landfill
(MSWLF) units and under the Clean Water Act, as amended, for municipal solid waste landfills that
are used to dispose of sewage sludge. These minimum national criteria ensure the protection of
human health and the environment.
(b) These Criteria apply to owners and operators of new MSWLF units, existing MSWLF units, and
lateral expansions, except as otherwise specifically provided in this part; all other solid waste
disposal facilities and practices that are not regulated under subtitle C of RCRA are subject to the
criteria contained in part 257 of this chapter.
(c) These Criteria do not apply to municipal solid waste landfill units that do not receive waste after
October 9, 1991.
(d)(1) MSWLF units that meet the conditions of §258.1(e)(2) and receive waste after October 9,
1991 but stop receiving waste before April 9, 1994, are exempt from all the requirements of this part
258, except the final cover requirement specified in §258.60(a). The final cover must be installed by
October 9, 1994. Owners or operators of MSWLF units described in this paragraph that fail to
complete cover installation by October 9, 1994 will be subject to all the requirements of this part
258, unless otherwise specified.
(2) MSWLF units that meet the conditions of §258.1(e)(3) and receive waste after October 9, 1991
but stop receiving waste before the date designated by the state pursuant to §258.1(e)(3), are
exempt from all the requirements of this part 258, except the final cover requirement specified in
§258.60(a). The final cover must be installed within one year after the date designated by the state
pursuant to §258.1(e)(3). Owners or operators of MSWLF units described in this paragraph that fail
to complete cover installation within one year after the date designated by the state pursuant to
§258.1(e)(3) will be subject to all the requirements of this part 258, unless otherwise specified.
(3) MSWLF units that meet the conditions of paragraph (f)(1) of this section and receive waste after
October 9, 1991 but stop receiving waste before October 9, 1997, are exempt from all the
requirements of this part 258, except the final cover requirement specified in §258.60(a). The final
cover must be installed by October 9, 1998. Owners or operators of MSWLF units described in this
paragraph that fail to complete cover installation by October 9, 1998 will be subject to all the
requirements of this part 258, unless otherwise specified.
(4) MSWLF units that do not meet the conditions of §258.1 (e)(2), (e)(3), or (f) and receive waste
after October 9, 1991 but stop receiving waste before October 9, 1993, are exempt from all the
requirements this part 258, except the final cover requirement specified in §258.60(a). The final
cover must be installed by October 9, 1994. Owners or operators of MSWLF units described in this
paragraph that fail to complete cover installation by October 9, 1994 will be subject to all the
requirements of this part 258, unless otherwise specified.
(e)(1) The compliance date for all requirements of this part 258, unless otherwise specified, is
October 9, 1993 for all MSWLF units that receive waste on or after October 9, 1993, except those
units that qualify for an extension under (e)(2), (3), or (4) of this section.
(2) The compliance date for all requirements of this part 258, unless otherwise specified, is April 9,
1994 for an existing MSWLF unit or a lateral expansion of an existing MSWLF unit that meets the
following conditions:
(i) The MSWLF unit disposed of 100 tons per day or less of solid waste during a representative
period prior to October 9, 1993;
(ii) The unit does not dispose of more than an average of 100 TPD of solid waste each month
between October 9, 1993 and April 9, 1994;
(iii) The MSWLF unit is located in a state that has submitted an application for permit program
approval to EPA by October 9, 1993, is located in the state of Iowa, or is located on Indian Lands or
Indian Country; and
(iv) The MSWLF unit is not on the National Priorities List (NPL) as found in appendix B to 40 CFR
part 300.
(3) The compliance date for all requirements of this part 258, unless otherwise specified, for an
existing MSWLF unit or lateral expansion of an existing MSWLF unit receiving flood-related waste
from federally-designated areas within the major disasters declared for the states of Iowa, Illinois,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota by the
President during the summer of 1993 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq., shall be designated by the
state in which the MSWLF unit is located in accordance with the following:
(i) The MSWLF unit may continue to accept waste up to April 9, 1994 without being subject to part
258, if the state in which the MSWLF unit is located determines that the MSWLF unit is needed to
receive flood-related waste from a federally-designated disaster area as specified in (e)(3) of this
section.
(ii) The MSWLF unit that receives an extension under paragraph (e)(3)(i) of this section may
continue to accept waste up to an additional six months beyond April 9, 1994 without being subject
to part 258, if the state in which the MSWLF unit is located determines that the MSWLF unit is
needed to receive flood-related waste from a federally-designated disaster area specified in (e)(3)
of this section.
(iii) In no case shall a MSWLF unit receiving an extension under paragraph (e)(3) (i) or (ii) of this
section accept waste beyond October 9, 1994 without being subject to part 258.
(4) For a MSWLF unit that meets the conditions for the exemption in paragraph (f)(1) of this section,
the compliance date for all applicable requirements of part 258, unless otherwise specified, is
October 9, 1997.
(f)(1) Owners or operators of new MSWLF units, existing MSWLF units, and lateral expansions that
dispose of less than twenty (20) tons of municipal solid waste daily, based on an annual average,
are exempt from subparts D and E of this part, so long as there is no evidence of ground-water
contamination from the MSWLF unit, and the MSWLF unit serves:
(i) A community that experiences an annual interruption of at least three consecutive months of
surface transportation that prevents access to a regional waste management facility, or
(ii) A community that has no practicable waste management alternative and the landfill unit is located
in an area that annually receives less than or equal to 25 inches of precipitation.
(2) Owners or operators of new MSWLF units, existing MSWLF units, and lateral expansions that
meet the criteria in paragraph (f)(1)(i) or (f)(1)(ii) of this section must place in the operating record
information demonstrating this.
(3) If the owner or operator of a new MSWLF unit, existing MSWLF unit, or lateral expansion has
knowledge of ground-water contamination resulting from the unit that has asserted the exemption in
paragraph (f)(1)(i) or (f)(1)(ii) of this section, the owner or operator must notify the state Director of
such contamination and, thereafter, comply with subparts D and E of this part.
(g) Municipal solid waste landfill units failing to satisfy these criteria are considered open dumps for
purposes of State solid waste management planning under RCRA.
(h) Municipal solid waste landfill units failing to satisfy these criteria constitute open dumps, which
are prohibited under section 4005 of RCRA.
(i) Municipal solid waste landfill units containing sewage sludge and failing to satisfy these Criteria
violate sections 309 and 405(e) of the Clean Water Act.
(j) Subpart G of this part is effective April 9, 1995, except for MSWLF units meeting the requirements
of paragraph (f)(1) of this section, in which case the effective date of subpart G is October 9, 1995.
[56 FR 51016, Oct. 9, 1991, as amended at 58 FR 51546, Oct. 1, 1993; 60 FR 52342, Oct. 6, 1995;
61 FR 50413, Sept. 25, 1996]
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Last updated: July 27, 2005