Unless otherwise noted, all terms contained in this part are defined by their plain meaning. This section contains definitions for terms that appear throughout this part; additional definitions appear in the specific sections to which they apply.

Active life means the period of operation beginning with the initial receipt of solid waste and ending at completion of closure activities in accordance with §258.60 of this part.

Active portion means that part of a facility or unit that has received or is receiving wastes and that has not been closed in accordance with §258.60 of this part.

Aquifer means a geological formation, group of formations, or porton of a formation capable of yielding significant quantities of ground water to wells or springs.

Commercial solid waste means all types of solid waste generated by stores, offices, restaurants, warehouses, and other nonmanufacturing activities, excluding residential and industrial wastes.

Construction and demolition (C&D) landfill means a solid waste disposal facility subject to the requirements in part 257, subparts A or B of this chapter that receives construction and demolition waste and does not receive hazardous waste (defined in §261.3 of this chapter) or industrial solid waste (defined in this section). Only a C&D landfill that meets the requirements of 40 CFR part 257, subpart B may receive very small quantity generator waste (defined in §260.10 of this chapter). A C&D landfill typically receives any one or more of the following types of solid wastes: Roadwork material, excavated material, demolition waste, construction/renovation waste, and site clearance waste.

Director of an Approved State means the chief administrative officer of a state agency responsible for implementing the state permit program that is deemed to be adequate by EPA under regulations published pursuant to sections 2002 and 4005 of RCRA.

Existing MSWLF unit means any municipal solid waste landfill unit that is receiving solid waste as of the appropriate dates specified in §258.1(e). Waste placement in existing units must be consistent with past operating practices or modified practices to ensure good management.

Facility means all contiguous land and structures, other appurtenances, and improvements on the land used for the disposal of solid waste.

Ground water means water below the land surface in a zone of saturation.

Household waste means any solid waste (including garbage, trash, and sanitary waste in septic tanks) derived from households (including single and multiple residences, hotels and motels, bunkhouses, ranger stations, crew quarters, campgrounds, picnic grounds, and day-use recreation areas).

Indian lands or Indian country means:

(1) All land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and including rights-of-way running throughout the reservation;

(2) All dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States whether within the original or subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or without the limits of the State; and

(3) All Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights of way running through the same.

Indian Tribe or Tribe means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or community recognized by the Secretary of the Interior and exercising substantial governmental duties and powers on Indian lands.

Industrial solid waste means solid waste generated by manufacturing or industrial processes that is not a hazardous waste regulated under subtitle C of RCRA. Such waste may include, but is not limited to, waste resulting from the following manufacturing processes: Electric power generation; fertilizer/agricultural chemicals; food and related products/by-products; inorganic chemicals; iron and steel manufacturing; leather and leather products; nonferrous metals manufacturing/foundries; organic chemicals; plastics and resins manufacturing; pulp and paper industry; rubber and miscellaneous plastic products; stone, glass, clay, and concrete products; textile manufacturing; transportation equipment; and water treatment. This term does not include mining waste or oil and gas waste.

Lateral expansion means a horizontal expansion of the waste boundaries of an existing MSWLF unit.

Leachate means a liquid that has passed through or emerged from solid waste and contains soluble, suspended, or miscible materials removed from such waste.

Municipal solid waste landfill (MSWLF) unit means a discrete area of land or an excavation that receives household waste, and that is not a land application unit, surface impoundment, injection well, or waste pile, as those terms are defined under §257.2 of this chapter. A MSWLF unit also may receive other types of RCRA Subtitle D wastes, such as commercial solid waste, nonhazardous sludge, very small quantity generator waste and industrial solid waste. Such a landfill may be publicly or privately owned. A MSWLF unit may be a new MSWLF unit, an existing MSWLF unit or a lateral expansion. A construction and demolition landfill that receives residential lead-based paint waste and does not receive any other household waste is not a MSWLF unit.

New MSWLF unit means any municipal solid waste landfill unit that has not received waste prior to October 9, 1993, or prior to October 9, 1997 if the MSWLF unit meets the conditions of §258.1(f)(1).

Open burning means the combustion of solid waste without:

(1) Control of combustion air to maintain adequate temperature for efficient combustion,

(2) Containment of the combustion reaction in an enclosed device to provide sufficient residence time and mixing for complete combustion, and

(3) Control of the emission of the combustion products.

Operator means the person(s) responsible for the overall operation of a facility or part of a facility.

Owner means the person(s) who owns a facility or part of a facility.

Residential lead-based paint waste means waste containing lead-based paint, which is generated as a result of activities such as abatement, rehabilitation, renovation and remodeling in homes and other residences. The term residential lead-based paint waste includes, but is not limited to, lead-based paint debris, chips, dust, and sludges.

Run-off means any rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that drains over land from any part of a facility.

Run-on means any rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that drains over land onto any part of a facility.

Saturated zone means that part of the earth's crust in which all voids are filled with water.

Sludge means any solid, semi-solid, or liquid waste generated from a municipal, commercial, or industrial wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility exclusive of the treated effluent from a wastewater treatment plant.

Solid waste means any garbage, or refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community activities, but does not include solid or dissolved materials in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges that are point sources subject to permit under 33 U.S.C. 1342, or source, special nuclear, or by-product material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (68 Stat. 923).

State means any of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

State Director means the chief administrative officer of the lead state agency responsible for implementing the state permit program for 40 CFR part 257, subpart B and 40 CFR part 258 regulated facilities.

Uppermost aquifer means the geologic formation nearest the natural ground surface that is an aquifer, as well as, lower aquifers that are hydraulically interconnected with this aquifer within the facility's property boundary.

Waste management unit boundary means a vertical surface located at the hydraulically downgradient limit of the unit. This vertical surface extends down into the uppermost aquifer.

[56 FR 51016, Oct. 9, 1991; 57 FR 28627, June 26, 1992, as amended at 58 FR 51547, Oct. 1, 1993; 60 FR 52342, Oct. 6, 1995; 63 FR 57044, Oct. 23, 1998; 68 FR 36495, June 18, 2003; 81 FR 85805, Nov. 28, 2016]