Hazardous Waste Regulations in Texas – Generator Status

Summary of TCEQ’s Industrial and Hazardous Waste “Generator Status” Rules & Regulations

Once a company completes the waste determination process, the next step is determine its “Generator Status.”

Generator status will ultimately determine the level of hazardous waste management regulations that a company must manage.

How To Determine Your Generator Status?

Generator status is determined by the quantity of Hazardous and/or Class 1 waste that the company generates each month. In general, companies who generate less than 1/2 a 55 gal drum (or 220 lbs) per month of a hazardous waste is considered to be a “Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator” (“CESQ”). Companies who generate between 220 lbs and 2,200 lbs per month of Hazardous wastes are considered to be a “Small Quantity Generator,” and companies who generate more than 2,200 lbs per month of Hazardous waste are considered to be “Large Quantity Generators.” As you may have guessed, CESQ results in the least amount of regulation, while LQG status creates the most additional regulation.

Failure to determine generator status is one of the most common hazardous waste violations in Texas and results in significant fines and penalties every year.

Here’s a quick summary of the major regulations that are triggered by each generator status level:

Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator:

Must conduct waste determinations
Must manifest all industrial waste shipments
Must maintain manifest file as records to demonstrate that wastes have been properly transported and disposed of
Must select and use DOT approved waste containers for storing and transporting waste streams (i.e.: 55 gal poly and steel drums, etc.)
Must properly label and store all waste streams
Must select approved and permitted waste transporter(s) and disposal facilities (TSDF)
If they ship hazardous wastes, must train their employees per DOT Hazardous Materials shipping requirements.

Small Quantity Generator:

Must conduct waste determinations for each waste stream
Must manifest all industrial waste shipments
Must maintain manifest file as records to demonstrate that wastes have been properly transported and disposed of
Must select and use DOT approved waste containers for storing and transporting waste streams (i.e.: 55 gal poly and steel drums, etc.)
Must properly label and store all waste streams

Must track monthly waste generation quantities for each waste stream
Must NOT store or accumulate more than 6,000 kg of waste on site
Must ship waste at least every 180 days.
Must select approved and permitted waste transporter(s) and disposal facilities (TSDF)
If they ship hazardous wastes, must train their employees per DOT Hazardous Materials shipping requirements
Must train their employees per initial RCRA (Resource Conservation & Recovery Act) waste regulations and follow up annual refresher training.
Must develop and maintain a Waste Reduction plan called a XXX (i.e.: P2 plan)
Must complete and maintain a Notice of Registration (i.e: “NOR”) using Texas’ STEERS system. This is where companies make TCEQ aware that they’re an industrial waste generator and where all waste streams are listed and classified, etc..
Must submit an Annual Waste Summary each year.
Must have documented Emergency Procedures in place.

Large Quantity Generator:

Must conduct waste determinations for each waste stream
Must manifest all industrial waste shipments
Must maintain manifest file as records to demonstrate that wastes have been properly transported and disposed of
Must select and use DOT approved waste containers for storing and transporting waste streams (i.e.: 55 gal poly and steel drums, etc.)
Must properly label and store all waste streams

Must track monthly waste generation quantities for each waste stream
Must select approved and permitted waste transporter(s) and disposal facilities (TSDF)
Must ship waste off site at least every 90 days
If they ship hazardous wastes, must train their employees per DOT Hazardous Materials shipping requirements
Must train their employees per initial RCRA (Resource Conservation & Recovery Act) waste regulations and follow up annual refresher training.
Must maintain job descriptions for employees who are required to help manage hazardous waste operations.
Must develop and maintain a Waste Reduction or “P2” plan.
Must complete and maintain a Notice of Registration (i.e: “NOR”) using Texas’ STEERS system. This is where companies make TCEQ aware that they’re an industrial waste generator and where all waste streams are listed and classified, etc..
Must submit an Annual Waste Summary each year
Must develop a written emergency contingency plan.

As you can see, the “higher” the generator status, the more regulations that a company must abide by and manage. As you might also imagine, the higher the generator status, the more time, money and resources must be allocated in order to meet environmental compliance regulations.

Regardless of generator status, companies should always strive to reduce or eliminate the industrial wastes that they generate, in fact this is mandated by the P2 plan requirement referenced above. Reduction goals can be accomplished by replacing hazardous process chemicals with non-hazardous substitutes, introducing recycle or reclaim technologies into manufacturing processes, or optimizing manufacturing processes to reduce chemical usage and waste.

It’s also very important to note that regardless of generator status, all companies have “cradle to grave” responsibility for proper management and disposal of their industrial wastes. This means that the company will be held accountable for any potential transportation or disposal related problems “forever” regardless of fault. Cradle to grave accountability can trigger, for example, if a truck carrying hazardous waste crashes and spills waste into the environment, or if the chosen disposal facility is later deemed a “Superfund” cleanup site by the EPA. In either case, the waste generator will be expected to help pay for any potential cleanup and/or remediation related costs.

On a final note, it’s important to note that this blog post is only intended to provide general hazardous waste management information and guidelines. More specifics about these regulations can be found on TCEQ and EPA’s website or by contacting us for a free initial consultation.

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By Russell Carr|2024-08-11T18:32:47-05:00June 4th, 2017|Hazardous Waste Management, Texas Environmental Regulations, Texas Hazardous Materials Regulations|Comments Off

About the Author: Russell Carr

How A Sales Guy Transformed Into An Environmental, Health & Safety Expert & Advocate For Small Businesses I've spent my entire 30+ year career working within the manufacturing and “industrial services” sectors. The first 15 years of my career focused on sales of hazardous materials related products and services to the manufacturing sector, then for the last 16+ years transitioned into entrepreneurship, founding 3 small industrial services related contracting businesses. As you’ll see below, running these companies eventually lead me to found yet a 4th business, but more on that in a minute…. Here’s a brief description of the first 3 companies: Berg Environmental Services, Inc.: hazardous waste disposal & transportation services, founded in August of 2003 3rd party wind energy operations & maintenance services provider to utility scale wind farms throughout the US, founded in September 2007 3rd party oil & gas exploration & production services provider, founded in August of 2011 Each of these companies operated in extremely dangerous working conditions and exposed my employees to a wide range of serious health & safety hazards on a daily basis. To complicate matters, 2 of the companies also exposed the environment to significant potential harm. In other words, I learned very early the critical importance of managing environmental, health and safety issues so as to ensure the safety of our employees and the environment, as well as minimizing related risks. But I also learned how incredibly difficult and challenging this endeavor can be due to the wide range of complicated and continually changing environmental, health and safety rules and regulations that impacted the companies. To summarize the challenges: First I had to determine which regulations applied to each company, then I had to build compliance programs to meet those regulations, and finally I had to ensure that the programs were being managed and followed by our staff on a daily basis. All while trying to run and grow 3 profitable businesses…. It was overwhelming and I always struggled to keep up. To make matters worse, throughout this time I also witnessed the devastating price that companies, management and ownership can pay for failing to manage EHS compliance. This included seeing one of my hazardous waste management clients get sent to jail over environmental issues, another client’s management team threatened with jail time, a direct competitor get fined $378,000 by OSHA fine after an employee was nearly killed, and many others face major fines and penalties. Full disclosure, one of my companies got fined by OSHA at one point, & another was cited by TCEQ, so I know how it feels. In summary, I learned first hand how incredibly difficult it is for small companies to manage EHS compliance due to a common lack of the critical expertise, time and resources that are needed to keep up, and how this situation then ends up exposing them to these potentially catastrophic risks that can literally destroy lives and businesses. This later inspired me to found my 4th company, Berg Compliance Solutions in 2012, which is dedicated to helping other small businesses, and business owners, to manage EHS compliance and risk. Education BA, Philosophy, University of Colorado, Boulder, December, 1990. Summary of Professional Experience & Qualifications: 30+ years serving the manufacturing & industrial services sectors 30+ years of sales and marketing experience 16+ years as small business owner & entrepreneur: Founded and operated 4 small businesses since 2003. Environmental, Health & Safety Compliance & Program Related: 19 plus years of hazardous waste management including EPA, TCEQ & RCRA regulations 8 years of DOT/FMCSA compliance experience, including hazardous materials transportation 8 years of combined experience implementing and managing OSHA health and safety compliance programs for 2 high risk energy services businesses Successfully implemented and gained ISO 9001 Quality Management Certification and OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health & Safety Advisory Service) Certification for wind energy maintenance business. Regulatory Enforcement Related Experience: Served as expert witness in criminal environmental compliance enforcement cases Superfund-CERCLA OSHA enforcement inspections, investigations and resolution in following industries: industrial services, manufacturing & construction. TCEQ enforcement inspections, investigations and resolution in manufacturing.