Interim Status Facility

Interim Status Facility in the United States

Interim Status Facility in Environmental Law

A treatment/storage/disposal facility (facility that handles hazardous waste) in existence on 19 November 1980. A facility built after that date and not regulated when it was built is also an interim facility for a time after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decides to regulate it. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) establishes, among other things, a permitting system for hazardous waste treatment/storage/disposal facilities. The law was first passed in 1976, with significant revisions in 1984. Existing facilities must apply for a permit and provide notice to the EPA or the state, if the state is responsible for compliance. See Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments.

Facilities built after the deadlines specified must have a permit before they may begin operation. However, Congress recognized that the EPA would have difficulty issuing permits due to the volume of permit applications it would need to process. Rather than shutting down existing facilities, Congress created interim status so they could continue operation while the permit was pending. To claim interim status, the facility does not have to provide the government with as much information as new facilities do in the initial application, but before it gets a permit, it must provide the same type of documentation. Interim status facilities lose that designation if the permit is denied or granted; if the facility refuses to supply information requested by the government; or if the right to operate is terminated by any other means.

The difference between permitted and interim status facilities is insignificant as far as technical requirements are concerned; the regulations are nearly identical. However, if the owner begins using a different part of the facility to store, treat, or dispose of hazardous wastes, that area is not covered under the interim facility umbrella. It must be permitted before operation, and the regulations that apply are those for permitted facilities.
Based on “Environment and the Law. A Dictionary”.


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