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FYI
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In 1990 the United States led the world in the amount of waste produced; eight
billion tons of waste (of all types) was generated by oil, gas, mining, and manufacturing industries and by households, businesses, and institutions.* This was generated at every stage—extraction, production, and manufacturing.
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In 1965 Congress made its first attempt to define the scope of
the nation's waste disposal problems by enacting the Federal Solid Waste Disposal Act. This act financed statewide surveys of landfills and illegal dumps.
- In 1976 Congress passed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which amended the Federal Solid Waste Disposal
Act. Most of the landmark legislation dealt with hazardous waste under Subtitle C, but Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set federal standards for the management of industrial and municipal nonhazardous solid wastes in sanitary landfills.
- In 1984 Congress passed the Hazardous and Solid Waste
Amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. These amendments, also known as Subtitle D,
revised the act's original landfill criteria to ensure that municipal landfills that receive hazardous household
wastes or hazardous wastes from small-quantity generators are designed and operated in a way that protects
human health and the environment. States were required to adopt and implement a permit program that
incorporated these revisions. The EPA was then required to determine if such programs were adequate. If not,
the EPA would enforce the new criteria within the state. Texas received approval for its Subtitle D permit
program in 1993. The EPA has since published amended rules governing municipal solid waste landfills, and Texas has complied with these amendments.
- The 1990 Federal Clean Air Act regulates emissions of certain landfill gases (primarily methane) and incinerator
particulate matter.
- In 1990 Congress passed the Pollution Prevention Act, which established a federal hierarchy of preferred waste
management methods for municipal solid waste and industrial waste. (The hierarchy of preferred waste
management methods for municipal solid waste is also contained in the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act.)
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