THE ORCBS > Environmental Compliance > Programs & Guidelines >

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), enacted in 1976, provides "cradle to grave" control of solid and hazardous waste by establishing management requirements on generators and transporters of hazardous waste and on owners and operators of hazardous waste storage and disposal facilities (TSDF). The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) and the Federal Facility Compliance Act (FFCA) have amended RCRA several times. RCRA provides specific requirements for the identification and listing of hazardous waste. RCRA mainly applies to active facilities, but can also address serious problems of abandoned and inactive facilities. The State of Michigan is authorized to manage their hazardous waste program under Act 451. MSU currently has a permitted and approved TSDF, and provides hazardous waste services to over 1,200 researchers on campus.