Legal Assessment of RCRA Sampling

Paine, Hamblen, & Associates, LLP. This review was conducted to wrestle with the often-voiced option that “If I adhere to EPA and CFR referenced methods, then I must be fulfilling my legal obligations.” Not exactly! The EPA never intended their sampling methods to be prescriptive, and simply the use of these referenced methods does not warrant compliance. Rather they (EPA and State Programs) left the onus and liability with the generator to collect accurate and defensible data. This review raises serious, long reaching questions regarding the generator: contractor liabilities, materials accountability and decisions based on past sampling practices. Numerous citations are available.