Legislative and Regulatory Timeline for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Waste
This timeline walks through the history of crude oil and natural gas waste regulation since 1976 and includes information such as regulations, proposals, notices, amendments, reports and meetings and site visits conducted.
| Date(s) | Action or Event | Notes on Significance to Crude Oil and Natural Gas Wastes |
|---|---|---|
|
10/21/1976 |
Enactment of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (117 pp, 662 K, About PDF) | |
|
12/18/1978 |
EPA proposes first set of hazardous waste management standards (PDF) (volume 43 of the Federal Register (FR) starting on page 58945) (248 pp, 63 MB, About PDF) | Oil and gas drilling muds and oil production brines are proposed to be designated as one of the six “special wastes”, which are exempt from RCRA Subtitle C regulations |
|
10/12/1980 |
Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendments enacted (26 pp, 4.58 MB, About PDF) | Bentsen amendment added: temporarily exempts crude oil and gas waste from hazardous waste regulation until further study is completed |
| 10/31/1983 | EPA misses the statutory deadline for submitting crude oil and gas waste report to Congress | |
| 04/1987 | Deadline for submission is extended to 12/1987 | |
| 12/1987 | EPA submits a three-volume report to Congress | Covers Management of Waste form the Exploration, Development, and Production of Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Geothermal Energy |
| 07/06/1988 | EPA issues its Regulatory Determination for Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Exploration, Development and Production Wastes | EPA believes that regulation of oil and gas exploration and production wastes under RCRA Subtitle C is not warranted |
| 03/22/1993 | EPA issues Clarification of the Regulatory Determination for Wastes from the Exploration, Development and Production of Crude Oil, Natural Gas and Geothermal Energy | |
| 10/2002 | EPA issues the publication, Exemption of Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Wastes from Federal Hazardous Waste Regulations | |
| 12/2008 | EPA clarifies the regulatory status of spent oil shale generated by above ground retorting or heating of oil shale | |
| 04/2019 | EPA determines that revisions to the federal regulations for the management of wastes associated with the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and geothermal energy under Subtitle D of RCRA (title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations in Part 257) are not necessary at this time. This determination fulfills EPA's obligation under a consent decree issued by a federal court in December of 2016. |
Additional Information
Want to read more? Search the EPA archive to find:
- Notice of Data Availability on Spent Oil Shale from Above Ground Retorting Operations
- Exemption of Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Wastes from Federal Hazardous Waste Regulations
- Management of Waste from the Exploration, Development, and Production of Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Geothermal Energy (Vol. 1-3)
- Associated Waste Reports (January 2000)
- Guidance for the Analysis of Refinery Waste, July 1985