Waste Management 2013 Annual Report Download - page 103

under CERCLA as an owner or operator of facilities at which hazardous substances have been disposed
and as a generator or transporter of hazardous substances disposed of at other locations.
‰The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, as amended, known as the Clean Water Act, regulates
the discharge of pollutants into streams, rivers, groundwater, or other surface waters from a variety of
sources, including solid and hazardous waste disposal sites. If run-off from our operations may be
discharged into surface waters, the Clean Water Act requires us to apply for and obtain discharge permits,
conduct sampling and monitoring, and, under certain circumstances, reduce the quantity of pollutants in
those discharges. In 1990, the EPA issued additional standards for management of storm water runoff that
require landfills and other waste-handling facilities to obtain storm water discharge permits. In addition, if
a landfill or other facility discharges wastewater through a sewage system to a publicly-owned treatment
works, the facility must comply with discharge limits imposed by the treatment works. Also, before the
development or expansion of a landfill can alter or affect “wetlands,” a permit may have to be obtained
providing for mitigation or replacement wetlands. The Clean Water Act provides for civil, criminal and
administrative penalties for violations of its provisions.
‰The Clean Air Act of 1970, as amended, provides for increased federal, state and local regulation of the
emission of air pollutants. Certain of our operations are subject to the requirements of the Clean Air Act,
including large municipal solid waste landfills and municipal waste-to-energy facilities. In 1996 the EPA
issued new source performance standards and emission guidelines controlling landfill gases from new and
existing large landfills. In January 2003, the EPA issued Maximum Achievable Control Technology
(“MACT”) standards for municipal solid waste landfills subject to the new source performance standards.
These regulations impose limits on air emissions from large municipal solid waste landfills, subject most
of our large municipal solid waste landfills to certain operating permit requirements under Title V of the
Clean Air Act and, in many instances, require installation of landfill gas collection and control systems to
control emissions or to treat and utilize landfill gas on- or off-site. The EPA entered into a settlement
agreement with the Environmental Defense Fund to evaluate the 1996 new source performance standards
and emission guidelines for new and existing landfills as required by the Clean Air Act every eight years
and revise them if deemed necessary. The EPA is scheduled to issue a proposed rule in February 2014
and finalize the rule in December 2014. Should the EPA adopt more stringent requirements, additional
landfills may become subject to the rule and related capital expenditures and operating costs may
increase. However, we do not believe that the regulatory changes would have a material adverse impact
on our business as a whole.
The EPA has also issued new source performance standards and emission guidelines for large and small
municipal waste-to-energy facilities, which include stringent emission limits for various pollutants based
on Maximum Achievable Control Technology standards. These sources are also subject to operating
permit requirements under Title V of the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to review
and revise the MACT standards applicable to municipal waste-to-energy facilities every five years. The
EPA has not initiated or announced a schedule for the required review of the standards for large waste-to-
energy facilities, so we are not yet able to evaluate potential operating changes or costs associated with
possible regulatory revisions.
Additionally, standards have been imposed on manufacturers of transportation vehicles (including waste
collection vehicles). The EPA continues to evaluate and develop regulations to increase fuel economy
standards and reduce vehicle emissions; such regulations could increase the costs of operating our fleet,
but we do not believe any such regulations would have a material adverse impact on our business as a
whole.
‰The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as amended, (“OSHA”) establishes certain employer
responsibilities, including maintenance of a workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or
serious injury, compliance with standards promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, and various reporting and record keeping obligations as well as disclosure and procedural
requirements. Various standards for notices of hazards, safety in excavation and demolition work and the
handling of asbestos, may apply to our operations. The Department of Transportation and OSHA, along
with other federal agencies, have jurisdiction over certain aspects of hazardous materials and hazardous
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