EPA Requests Input on Hazardous Waste Management in the Retail Sector

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a Notice of Data Availability (NODA) for Hazardous Waste Management in the retail industry, according to a recent news release from the agency. This move is meant to help the EPA address hazardous waste regulation issues that the retail industry finds challenging. The NODA is basically a forum for stakeholders to assist the agency in finding out the loopholes in their daily operations and what solutions are available to them.


According to EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response assistant administrator Mathy Stanislaus, the NODA issuance is part of the Obama Administration’s initiatives to make “regulatory programs” understandable and “less burdensome.” “EPA is committed to working closely with the retail industry and stakeholders to help remove barriers that may affect compliance with federal regulations,” he said in the agency news release.

For the NODA, the agency will request retail companies to provide and comment on existing data and protocols on hazardous waste management, which include episodic generation; retail stores’ programs for hazardous waste handling; employee training; sustainability initiatives; use, storage and disposal of aerosol cans; and transportation and logistics. The EPA will be soliciting comments for improving hazardous waste regulations from retail operators for the next 60 days following the NODA’s publication.

The NODA is an example of how the Obama Administration is working with agencies and industry stakeholders in streamlining, or rather, simplifying the implementation of regulatory programs without putting on too much pressure upon companies, as mandated by Executive Order 13563.

Prior to the release of the NODA, the EPA has conducted multiple site inspections and interviews with retail operators to understand how they carry out their pharmaceutical and retail waste management programs. The agency also provided information on how stakeholders can effectively manage and dispose of hazardous waste residues left in pharmaceutical containers.

Source:

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/e51aa292bac25b0b85257359003d925f/794512bdefc0368f85257c77005a5481!OpenDocument
http://www.oshacampus.com/hazwoper-training
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-01-21/pdf/2011-1385.pdf