Which of the following is addressed by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)?

Which of the following is addressed by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)?

• A. Water quality standards for surface waters
• B. Pesticide registration
• C. Corrective action
• D. Air quality permitting

Answer: (C)

RCRA focuses on how hazardous waste is managed and, importantly, how releases from hazardous waste facilities are investigated and cleaned up. The corrective action provisions require facilities to identify, characterize, and remediate releases from hazardous waste units, whether the releases come from current operations or from past activities, to protect people and the environment. This makes corrective action the aspect of RCRA that directly addresses cleanup and remediation at waste-handling sites. Other topics in the options relate to different laws: water quality standards for surface waters come from water pollution control laws, pesticide registration from a separate pesticide regulation statute, and air quality permitting from air pollution control laws. Those areas aren’t covered by RCRA, so the choice that aligns with RCRA’s focus on cleanup of releases from hazardous waste facilities is the one about corrective action.

RCRA focuses on how hazardous waste is managed and, importantly, how releases from hazardous waste facilities are investigated and cleaned up. The corrective action provisions require facilities to identify, characterize, and remediate releases from hazardous waste units, whether the releases come from current operations or from past activities, to protect people and the environment. This makes corrective action the aspect of RCRA that directly addresses cleanup and remediation at waste-handling sites.

Other topics in the options relate to different laws: water quality standards for surface waters come from water pollution control laws, pesticide registration from a separate pesticide regulation statute, and air quality permitting from air pollution control laws. Those areas aren’t covered by RCRA, so the choice that aligns with RCRA’s focus on cleanup of releases from hazardous waste facilities is the one about corrective action.