In a significant move, Earthjustice and several other organizations have served notice to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), alleging the agency’s failure to revise certain regulations. The document sent on August 31st is styled as a “60-day Notice of Intent to Sue for Failure to Perform Non-Discretionary Duty Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).” This comes as a robust response in the face of issues related to Open Burning and Open Detonation (OB/OD) under the RCRA.
As per JD Supra report, the EPA is now potentially facing lawsuits due to their alleged failure to take certain regulatory actions pertaining to RCRA, specifically related to OB/OD. The RCRA is a federal law in the United States that provides a framework for proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. The Act’s principal aim is to protect human health and the environment from potential hazards of waste disposal, conserve energy and natural resources, reduce waste, and ensure that wastes are managed in an environmentally sound manner.
However, OB/OD – methods used for the disposal of leftover munitions and firework waste – pose concerns about their consistent operation within the legal restrictions of the RCRA. The failure to revise regulations, as alleged by Earthjustice and others, could potentially imply non-compliance with existing waste management rules, thus directly affecting human health and environmental safety.
This notice of intent places pressure on the EPA to assess and update its regulation policies, ensuring that they are in alignment with the objectives of RCRA. It remains to be seen how the EPA will respond to this potential litigation, and what impact this could have on its operations concerning OB/OD and similar waste management issues. Legal professionals in environmental law should closely observe these developments for potential effects on precedent and practice.