(a) Except as provided in this section, the storage of hazardous wastes restricted from land disposal under subpart C of this part of RCRA section 3004 is prohibited, unless the following conditions are met:

(1) A generator stores such wastes in tanks, containers, or containment buildings on-site solely for the purpose of the accumulation of such quantities of hazardous waste as necessary to facilitate proper recovery, treatment, or disposal and the generator complies with the requirements in §§262.16 and 262.17 and parts 264 and 265 of this chapter.

(2) An owner/operator of a hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility stores such wastes in tanks, containers, or containment buildings solely for the purpose of the accumulation of such quantities of hazardous waste as necessary to facilitate proper recovery, treatment, or disposal and:

(i) Each container is clearly marked to identify its contents and with:

(A) The words “Hazardous Waste”;

(B) The applicable EPA hazardous waste number(s) (EPA hazardous waste codes) in subparts C and D of part 261 of this chapter; or use a nationally recognized electronic system, such as bar coding, to identify the EPA hazardous waste number(s);

(C) An indication of the hazards of the contents (examples include, but are not limited to, the applicable hazardous waste characteristic(s) (i.e., ignitable, corrosive, reactive, toxic); hazard communication consistent with the Department of Transportation requirements at 49 CFR part 172 subpart E (labeling) or subpart F (placarding); a hazard statement or pictogram consistent with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Hazard Communication Standard at 29 CFR 1910.1200; or a chemical hazard label consistent with the National Fire Protection Association code 704); and

(D) The date each period of accumulation begins.

(ii) Each tank is clearly marked with a description of its contents, the quantity of each hazardous waste received, and the date each period of accumulation begins, or such information for each tank is recorded and maintained in the operating record at that facility. Regardless of whether the tank itself is marked, an owner/operator must comply with the operating record requirements specified in §264.73 or §265.73.

(3) A transporter stores manifested shipments of such wastes at a transfer facility for 10 days or less.

(4) A healthcare facility accumulates such wastes in containers on site solely for the purpose of the accumulation of such quantities of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals as necessary to facilitate proper recovery, treatment, or disposal and the healthcare facility complies with the applicable requirements in §§266.502 and 266.503 of this chapter.

(5) A reverse distributor accumulates such wastes in containers on site solely for the purpose of the accumulation of such quantities of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals as necessary to facilitate proper recovery, treatment, or disposal and the reverse distributor complies with §266.510 of this chapter.

(b) An owner/operator of a treatment, storage or disposal facility may store such wastes for up to one year unless the Agency can demonstrate that such storage was not solely for the purpose of accumulation of such quantities of hazardous waste as are necessary to facilitate proper recovery, treatment, or disposal.

(c) An owner/operator of a treatment, storage or disposal facility may store such wastes beyond one year; however, the owner/operator bears the burden of proving that such storage was solely for the purpose of accumulation of such quantities of hazardous waste as are necessary to facilitate proper recovery, treatment, or disposal.

(d) If a generator's waste is exempt from a prohibition on the type of land disposal utilized for the waste (for example, because of an approved case-by-case extension under §268.5, an approved §268.6 petition, or a national capacity variance under subpart C), the prohibition in paragraph (a) of this section does not apply during the period of such exemption.

(e) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this section does not apply to hazardous wastes that meet the treatment standards specified under §§268.41, 268.42, and 268.43 or the treatment standards specified under the variance in §268.44, or, where treatment standards have not been specified, is in compliance with the applicable prohibitions specified in §268.32 or RCRA section 3004.

(f) Liquid hazardous wastes containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at concentrations greater than or equal to 50 ppm must be stored at a facility that meets the requirements of 40 CFR 761.65(b) and must be removed from storage and treated or disposed as required by this part within one year of the date when such wastes are first placed into storage. The provisions of paragraph (c) of this section do not apply to such PCB wastes prohibited under §268.32 of this part.

(g) The prohibition and requirements in this section do not apply to hazardous remediation wastes stored in a staging pile approved pursuant to §264.554 of this chapter.

[51 FR 40642, Nov. 7, 1986; 52 FR 21017, June 4, 1987, as amended at 52 FR 25791, July 8, 1987; 54 FR 36972, Sept. 6, 1989; 57 FR 37281, Aug. 18, 1992; 63 FR 65940, Nov. 30, 1998; 71 FR 40279, July 14, 2006; 81 FR 85828, Nov. 28, 2016; 84 FR 5950, Feb. 22, 2019]