EPA Provides Continuous Support to North Carolina for Hazardous Waste Management Program
ATLANTA (Mar. 26, 2019) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $554,245 to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) for the ongoing development and implementation of an authorized hazardous waste management program.
“Our states are the cornerstone for carrying out programs that ensure the health of citizens and protect the environment in which they live,” said EPA Acting Region 4 Administrator Mary S. Walker. “EPA’s state partners, like NCDEQ, play an important role in keeping our land, water and air safe.”
The grant provides funding under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which regulates solid and hazardous waste. The money will support NCDEQ’s RCRA program activities, including efforts to minimize hazardous waste production and oversee the safe handling, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous wastes across the state.
RCRA is the federal law that establishes the framework for proper management of solid and hazardous waste. RCRA regulations protect communities by ensuring safe management and cleanup of solid and hazardous waste and encouraging reduction of pollution sources and beneficial reuse of formerly contaminated properties. Most of the compliance monitoring responsibility under RCRA is delegated states and EPA provides oversight.
This is EPA’s first award toward funding NCDEQ’s Hazardous Waste Management Program in fiscal year 2019.
For more information regarding RCRA compliance visit: https://www.epa.gov/rcra