Region 8
Serving Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and 27 Tribal Nations
RCRA ( Resource Conservation and Recovery Act )
National Information
Regional Information
Note: for background on EPA's RCRA program, see the Region 8 Waste home page. Also see the RCRA Facts page for frequently asked questions about RCRA. Also: confused by all these RCRA terms and expressions? Then check out the handy RCRA Glossary page.
Hot Topics:
Raytheon Final Decision Announcement (PDF, 1 p, 38K)
Raytheon Final Decision (PDF, 7 pp, 2 MB)
EPA Lifecycle Building Challenge (LBC)
The Lifecycle Building Challenge (LBC) is a free national competition organized by EPA and the American Institute of Architects that challenges creative minds to facilitate deconstruction, local building material reuse, and greenhouse gas emission reductions. Lifecycle building is designing buildings to facilitate disassembly and material reuse to minimize waste, energy consumption, and associated greenhouse gas emissions.
The two categories for competition that were featured in 2008 were buildings or innovations (components, policies, educational tools, or ideas) that reduce waste and advance building material reuse. The 2008 winners have been announced on the website. Lifecycle Building Challenge 3 is now open to student and professional contestants for built and design entries for whole buildings and building products. For updates, see the website or email info@lifecyclebuilding.org.
The National Waste Minimization Program is excited to announce Nucor Steel's Plymouth Division as a new member of the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP). The Nucor Plymouth Division is located in Plymouth, Utah and will monitor the removal of an additional 65 pounds of mercury switches.
The Hazardous Waste Minimization Program is continually accepting applications for the NPEP from RCRA Subtitle C generators that are seeking to voluntarily reduce waste generation, and would like to reap the benefits of the NPEP.
The Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) Training Forum comprises training coordinators who represent the following groups: EPA Headquarters, EPA's Environmental Response Team (ERT), Superfund Regional Training Coordinators, RCRA Regional Training Coordinators, the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council (ITRC), and the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO).
For more information, please visit the OSWER Training Forum.
The Hazardous Waste Minimization Program provides advice and assistance to RCRA authorized state governments in Region 8. The program places special emphasis on and supports national, regional, and state goals to reduce the most persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals in hazardous waste streams.
The Hazardous Waste Minimization Program also coordinates heavily with other EPA regions on the priorities of the Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC). The RCC is a national effort to conserve natural resources and energy by managing materials more efficiently. The EPA has identified four national priorities or focus areas for the RCC: Municipal Solid Waste Recycling, Industrial Materials Recycling, Priority and Toxic Chemicals Reduction, and Green Initiatives - Electronics.
EPA Region 8's CERCLA Off-Site Rule (OSR) program had an internal geohydrologist conduct a review of the existing ground water data for the impoundments at the Cotter uranium mill. The geohydrologist's report of these ground water data concluded that current ground water data are insufficient and inadequate to determine whether a release has occurred at the impoundments.