Legislative and Regulatory Timeline for Mining Waste
This timeline walks through the history of mining waste regulation since 1976 and includes information such as regulations, proposals, amendments and reports conducted.
| Date(s) | Action or Event | Notes on Significance to Mining Waste |
|---|---|---|
|
10/21/1976 |
Enactment of Resource and Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) | EPA must perform a “detailed and comprehensive study of the adverse effects of solid wastes from active and abandoned surface and underground mines on the environment…” |
| 12/18/1978 | EPA proposes first set of hazardous waste management standards | Wastes from mining are proposed to be designated as three of the six “special wastes”, which are exempt from RCRA Subtitle C regulations |
| 10/12/1980 | Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendments enacted | Bevill amendment added: temporarily exempts three special wastes from hazardous waste regulation until further study is completed |
| 11/19/1980 | EPA promulgates interim final amendments to the hazardous waste regulations | Includes an exclusion for mining waste from the definition of hazardous waste |
| 10/31/1983 | EPA misses the statutory deadline for submitting mining waste report to Congress | |
| 08/1984 | EPA is sued for failing to submit the report to Congress | EPA responds to the lawsuit by explaining its plan to propose a narrower interpretation of the scope of the Mining Waste Exclusion so that it would encompass fewer wastes |
| 10/2/1985 | EPA proposes in the Federal Register to reinterpret the scope of the mining waste exclusion | |
| 12/31/1985 | EPA submits a report to Congress | Report on Wastes from the Extraction and Beneficiation of Metallic Ores, Phosphate Rock, Asbestos, Overburden from Uranium Mining, and Oil Shale |
| 07/3/1986 | EPA publishes final Regulatory Determination for Extraction and Beneficiation Waste | |
| 07/1988 | EPA is sued for withdrawing proposal to reinterpret the mining waste exclusion | |
| 9/1/1989 1/23/1990 |
EPA publishes in Federal Register the finial boundaries of the Mining Waste Exclusion for mineral processing wastes | |
| 07/31/1990 | EPA submits report to Congress on Special Wastes from Mineral Processing | |
| 06/13/1991 | EPA publishes Special Wastes from Mineral Processing Final Regulatory Determination and Final Rule | |
| 05/26/1998 | EPA publishes Land Disposal Restrictions Phase IV | |
| 04/4/2006 | EPA publishes Criteria for the Safe and Environmentally Protective Use of Granular Mine Tailings Known as “Chat” | |
| 07/18/2007 | EPA formalizes criteria in publication of “Criteria for the Safe and Environmentally Protective Use of Granular Mine Tailings Known as ‘Chat’” |