Florida Solid and Hazardous Waste Regulation Handbook: Federal Legislation
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Florida Solid and Hazardous Waste Regulation Handbook: Federal Legislation

   

Florida Solid and Hazardous Waste Regulation Handbook: Federal Legislation1

Michael T. Olexa, Aaron Leviten, and Kelly Samek2

This section discusses the important federal laws and regulations that impact solid waste management. Each particular statute is "explained" as it would probably apply to you. This section also includes a brief description of the federal agencies responsible for implementing and enforcing these statutes. First and foremost is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but other federal agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Coast Guard, may become involved in the disposal of solid and hazardous wastes.

Legal Overview

Federal regulation consists of 2 parts: statutes and administrative rules.

  1. Statutes--These are passed by the U.S. Legislature (Congress) and outline basic goals and the general procedures to accomplish these goals. Although statutes often provide fairly specific directions or prohibitions, the details of regulation are frequently too technical and detailed for the legislature. Therefore the legislature delegates these technical details to administrative agencies (such as EPA), which, in turn, develop administrative rules and regulations.

  2. Administrative Rules--The U.S. Legislature generally relies on administrative agencies to actually carry out the basic goals of the statutes. The legislature has delegated the authority to adopt rules (which have the force of law) to administrative agencies. The authority of the administrative agencies is limited by the legislature.

As an example, the U.S. Legislature might decide to regulate the use of certain pesticides. It might pass a statute that broadly outlines acceptable pesticide uses or prohibitions on pesticide use. Then an agency, in this case, EPA, would make rules about when, by whom, and in what quantities the pesticide may be applied.

Agencies often regulate by requiring permits or licenses. They enforce their rules through both criminal and civil penalties. If an agency discovers someone violating a statute or a rule, that person could be fined or charged with a crime. Criminal penalties are considered very harsh and are seldom used except as a last resort for repeated or flagrant violations.

What Are the Important Laws and Regulations?

The most important federal statute dealing with waste management is the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This statute regulates solid waste from cradle-to-grave. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) regulates the disposal of hazardous waste and the cleanup of improperly disposed hazardous waste. Other federal statutes affect the management of specific wastes or types of disposal. Examples of these include the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to the personnel of both state and federal agencies who gave their time and advice in the preparation of this handbook. The authors are also indebted to the following University of Florida personnel for a review and critique of the first draft of this publication: Dr. Thomas Dean, Pesticide Education Specialist, and Dr. Norman Nesheim, Pesticide Information Coordinator. Special recognition is also due to Mr. Richard Budell of the Office of Agricultural Water Policy of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for providing funds for the development of this handbook.

This handbook is designed to provide an accurate, current, and authoritative summary of the principal Florida laws that directly or indirectly relate to agriculture. It should provide a basic overview of the many rights and responsibilities farmers and farmland owners have under Florida laws. The reader is provided information about these rights and responsibilities and the appropriate contacts for more detailed information. However, the reader should be aware that because the laws, administrative rulings, and court decisions on which this publication is based are subject to constant revision, portions of this publication could become outdated at any time. Many details of cited laws are also left out due to space limitations.

This handbook is distributed with the understanding that the authors are not engaged in rendering legal or other professional advice and the information contained herein should not be regarded or relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. It is not all-inclusive in providing information to achieve compliance with laws and regulations governing the practice of agriculture. For these reasons, the use of these materials by any person constitutes an agreement to hold harmless the authors, UF/IFAS, the Agricultural Law Center, and the University of Florida for any liability claims, damages, or expenses that may be incurred by any person as a result of reference to or reliance upon the information contained in this publication.

Footnotes

1. This is EDIS document FE443, a publication of the Department of Food and Resource Economics, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, UF/IFAS, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Published December 2003. Please visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2. Michael T. Olexa, Professor in the Department of Food and Resource Economics and Director of the Agricultural Law Center, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, UF/IFAS, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, and Member of the Florida Bar and Chair of the Agricultural Law Committee of the Florida Bar; Aaron Leviten, Attorney in Orlando and guest lecturer on pesticide litigation at the University of Florida; and Kelly Samek, 2003 graduate of the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.


Copyright Information

This document is copyrighted by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) for the people of the State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains all rights under all conventions, but permits free reproduction by all agents and offices of the Cooperative Extension Service and the people of the State of Florida. Permission is granted to others to use these materials in part or in full for educational purposes, provided that full credit is given to the UF/IFAS, citing the publication, its source, and date of publication.