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Hazardous Materials <br />Hazardous Materials Regulation <br />Hazardous materials may be classified into different categories based on the laws and regulations <br />that define their characteristics and uses. These classifications include the following: <br />• Hazardous waste <br />^ Hazardous substances <br />• Toxic substances. <br />The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and Oregon Department of <br />Environmental Quality maintain databases to track sites with potential and confirmed releases of <br />chemicals to the environment. They also monitor facilities that manage hazardous materials as <br />part of their operations. A brief summary of regulations enforced by these agencies is provided <br />below. <br />The federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) defines what is meant by <br />hazardous waste. In Oregon, the Department of Environmental Quality has been authorized by <br />the U.S. EPA to implement most of the RCRA program. Authorization is based on state <br />hazardous waste regulations that are consistent with and at least as stringent as the federal <br />requirements. The U.S. EPA tracks hazardous waste management at individual facilities <br />throughout the state, based on notification requirements and records that define the magnitude of <br />waste generated (i.e., small or large quantity), describe the type of handling performed (i.e., <br />treatment, storage, or disposal), and indicate whether a release to the environment has occurred. <br />The state Department of Environmental Quality tracks facilities based on required registration of <br />underground storage tanks; it also maintains an inventory of solid waste facilities and landfill <br />sites. <br />Nationally, the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act <br />(CERCLA), also known as Superfund, defines hazardous substances. The Oregon Department <br />of Environmental Quality operates a parallel program under the state Environmental Cleanup <br />Law. Both programs are designed and administered to provide appropriate responses to the <br />release of hazardous substances to the environment. The Environmental Cleanup Law also <br />addresses releases of petroleum products not covered under federal statutes. The U.S. EPA <br />tracks sites based on reported potential or actual releases to the environment, emergency <br />response notifications, and cleanup progress at major release sites. The Department of <br />Environmental Quality tracks the same types of sites and also tracks petroleum releases from <br />underground storage tanks. <br />Toxic substances are a subset of hazardous substances additionally regulated by the federal <br />Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The statute was adopted so that all new chemical <br />substances and existing chemicals put to new uses, other than pesticides, could be evaluated for <br />health and environmental effects. Additional controls governing disposal, beyond CERCLA and <br />RCRA, have been specifically applied to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). TSCA sites are <br />tracked by the U.S. EPA. <br />Final EIS 98 New Federal Courthouse <br />