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I 110 THE DESIGNATED LEVEL METHODOLOGY FOR WASTE CLASSIFICATION AND CLEANUP LEVEL DETERMINATION A Summary of the Staff Report of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region Prepared by Jon B. Marshack, D. Env. INTRODUCTION management unit until they have been treated to reduce their threat to public health and the environ- Improper waste management practices and sites which ment. 'Hazardous wastes'may be discharged only to have been contaminated with toxic substances pose Class I waste management units which provide both significant threats to the quality of California's usable natural geologic and engineered containment features ground and surface water resources. This paper to isolate the wastes from the environment,unless a summarizes a staff report of the California Regional specific variance has been granted by DHS from the Water Quality Control Board,Central Valley Region hazardous waste management requirements. 'Nonhaz- entitled "The Designated Level Methodology for Waste ardous solid waste'is another term for municipal solid Classification and Cleanup Level Determination" waste or refuse and is typified by a significant propor- which,from a water quality perspective,establishes a tion of putrescible(degradable)matter. Nonhaz- framework for 1)classifying wastes so that appropriate ardous solid waste',which has stringent moisture- disposal practices may be selected,and 2)determining limiting requirements and prohibitions against inclu- the degree to which a contaminated site should be sion of'designated'or'hazardous'wastes,may be cleaned or to which remedial action is necessary["how discharged to Class III landfills that do not provide clean is clean"]. The report also shows how these two complete waste containment. 'Inert waste'includes decision-making processes are related. materials which pose only a siltation threat to water quality,such as paving fragments and non-degradable In California,the classification of wastes and the construction debris. Wastes in this category may be establishment of cleanup levels for sites which have discharged to unclassified waste management units been contaminated with toxic chemicals are performed that are located and managed to keep the wastes from by two separate State agencies with separate regulatory entering surface waters or drainage channels. authority. The Department of Health Services(DHS) classifies wastes as'hazardous'or'restricted hazard- 'Designated waste'is defined in§2522(a)of CCR,Title ous'and sets site cleanup/mitigation criteria based on 23,Chapter 3,Subchapter 15 as"l)nonhazardous a direct threat of these wastes or sites to public health. waste which consists of or contains pollutants which, The State Water Resources Control Board together with under ambient environmental conditions at the waste the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards management unit,could be released at concentrations classify wastes as'designated','nonhazardous solid', in excess of applicable water quality objectives,or or'inert'and determine cleanup levels based on the threat that wastes and contaminated sites pose to the beWASTE AND UNIT CLASSIFICATIONS beneficial uses of waters of the State,as required by the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act(contained USED IN CALIFORNIA in Division 7 of the California Water Code)and policies WASTE CLASSIFICATIONS WASTE set forth by the Boards. MANAGEMENT HEALTH SERVICES WATER BOARDS UNITS RESTRICTED RESTRICTED NO DISPOSAL WASTE CLASSIFICATION RiAURDOUS HAZARDOUS TO LAND 0 ir (RES"WM WZ LEVRS I As shown in Figures 1 and 2, 0 HAZARDOUS CLASS I California- regulations HAZARDOUS divide wastes into five categories which,in turn, GIVEN. .VARIANCE r determine the classes of waste management units to DESIGNATED CLASS 11 HAZAS UNKTO LEM I- which their discharge is permitted. Detailed criteria < NON- NOINHAZARDOUS are contained in Title 22 of the California Code of SOLID CLASS III RDOU Regulations(CCR),Division 4,Chapter 30 for deter- Z .: �U mining whether a waste falls into the'restricted INERT UNCLASSIFIED hazardous'or'hazardous'categories. 'Restricted hazardous wastes'may not be discharged to any waste Figur: 1