The Solid Waste Section regulates safe management of solid waste through guidance, technical assistance, regulations, permitting, environmental monitoring, compliance evaluation and enforcement. Waste types handled at these facilities include municipal solid waste, industrial waste, construction and demolition waste, land-clearing waste, scrap tires and medical waste.
The Underground Storage Tank Section issues permits, collects annual fees and handles requests for information for regulated and /or commercial underground storage tanks. The section ensures compliance with all relevant state and federal laws, policies, rules and regulations by assisting owners and operators in complying with operational standards (leak detection, spill and overfill detection, etc.). This section oversees the administration of several Trust Funds for the reimbursement of cleanup costs associated with UST releases. This section also oversees the permanent closure activities of UST systems.
The Hazardous Waste Section ensures the safe management of hazardous waste in North Carolina. They apply the adopted federal rules that incorporate the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requirements and additional state rules. The section also oversees the RCRA Used Oil regulations.
The Superfund Section investigates uncontrolled and unregulated hazardous waste sites. They identify the risks these sites pose, prioritize them for cleanup, and direct cleanup activities. They apply the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, the state’s Inactive Hazardous Sites Response Act of 1987, the Drycleaning Solvent Cleanup Act and Amendments, and the Brownfields Property Reuse Act of 1997.
The Brownfields Program - Authorized by the state statute known as the Brownfield Property Reuse Act, this program provides a mechanism to treat prospective developers of brownfield sites differently than the parties responsible for contaminating them. Prospective developers negotiate a brownfields agreement with the program that defines activities needed to make the site safe for reuse, rather than cleaning up the site to regulatory standards (which responsible parties are required to do). The Brownfields program currently operates under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.