In 1991 the Texas Legislature adopted the Waste Reduction Policy Act (WRPA) to reduce the volume, toxicity, adverse public health, and environmental effects of hazardous pollutants in Texas. The WRPA, enforced through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), requires certain industrial facilities and businesses to notify the TCEQ of their waste activities by obtaining a Solid Waste Registration (SWR) via the Industrial and Hazardous Waste Registration and Reporting Program.
Registered generators with active SWRs must submit an Industrial & Hazardous Waste Annual Waste Summary (AWS) each year. This summary reports information on the amount of hazardous waste and industrial non-hazardous Class 1 waste generated or managed at their site during the calendar year.
Keep reading to understand which Texas waste generators must obtain a SWR, whether they must submit an AWS report and how to do so, and how EDGE can help maintain compliance for your facility under the TCEQ Industrial and Hazardous Waste Registration and Reporting Program.
Who Needs a Solid Waste Registration?
The following types of facilities/businesses that generate industrial non-hazardous Class 1 or hazardous waste must obtain a Solid Waste Registration (SWR):
- Industrial generators of more than 220 lbs of non-hazardous Class 1 waste per month;
- Small Quantity Generators (SQG) of hazardous waste[1]; and
- Large Quantity Generators (LQG) of hazardous waste[2].
Who Must Submit an AWS?
During the report year, if a facility generated the following, a detailed AWS report must be submitted.
- 2,000 pounds or more of industrial non-hazardous Class 1 waste;
- 2,000 pounds or more of hazardous waste;
- More than 2.2 pounds of acutely hazardous waste; and/or
- More than 220 pounds of contaminated soil, water, or debris resulting from the cleanup of acutely hazardous waste into or on land or water.
During the report year, if a facility stored onsite, at any one time the following, a detailed AWS report must be submitted.
- 2,200 pounds or more of hazardous waste;
- More than 2.2 pounds of acutely hazardous waste; and
- More than 220 pounds of contaminated soil, waste, or other debris resulting from the cleanup of acutely hazardous waste spilled into or on land or water.
Finally, facilities that generated, in any one calendar month of the reporting year, a detailed AWS report must be submitted:
- 220 pounds or more of hazardous waste.
Sites that generate and manage less than 220 pounds of hazardous or industrial non-hazardous Class 1 waste or less than 2.2 lbs of acutely hazardous waste per month must submit an AWS report but do not need to provide details regarding their waste activities.
What To Report and How to Do It
The following wastes are required to be reported on the AWS:
- Acutely hazardous waste;
- Hazardous waste, including episodically generated;
- Hazardous waste that is recycled; and
- Recycled hazardous waste counts toward your generator status and must be reported but may be exempt from waste generation fees by indicating a fee exemption code on the summary.
- Industrial Class 1 nonhazardous that is not recycled.
There are certain wastes that do NOT require reporting on the AWS. They are:
- Industrial non-hazardous Class 1 wastes that are recycled; and
- Universal Waste.
Reports should be filed electronically using the State of Texas Environmental Electronic Reporting System (STEERS) and are due no later than March 1 following the calendar year being reported.
If a site is not a LQG[3] and needs to report on paper, they must use the Annual Waste Summary Form 00436. The paper-based annual summary report is due on January 25 of the year following the calendar year reporting period.
Do States Other Than Texas Require Waste Reporting?
Yes. However, requirements vary by state. The only waste reporting that is mandated for all states comes from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is applicable to sites that are LQGs of hazardous waste only. Federal regulations require LQGs to submit a report every two years regarding the nature, quantities and disposition of hazardous waste generated at their facility. EPA refers to this as the National Biennial RCRA Hazardous Waste Report or Biennial Report. This EPA reporting requirement for LQGs is fulfilled by the submission of the Texas Annual Waste Report which is provided to the EPA by the TCEQ.
How Can EDGE Help?
EDGE offers a full range of services related to waste management for Texas facilities, including:
- Establishing waste management tracking and recordkeeping system for your operations,
- Sampling, classifying, and profiling the types of waste generated;
- Initial applications and updates to Industrial and Hazardous Waste Notice of Registration (NOR);
- Calculating volumes of acutely hazardous, hazardous, industrial non-hazardous Class 1, universal, and recycled waste generated by your facility; and
- Annual Waste Reporting to the TCEQ through paper reports and STEERS submissions.
For help navigating the Texas AWS reporting season and other various waste reporting requirements for all 50 states, contact a member of EDGE’s experienced waste team today!
[1] Generates 220 lbs or more of hazardous waste per month.
[2] Generates 2,200 lbs or more of hazardous waste per month.
[3] Large Quantity Generators of hazardous waste (LQGs) must use STEERS to file the AWS per 30 TAC §335.9(a)(2).