RCRA - Recordkeeping Details 

The bulk of requirements for used oil management at a campus power plant have already been covered in other sections in this tour. In this section, the tour provides a discussion of the detailed recordkeeping requirements potentially applicable to your power plant. The specific requirements that will be applicable to your facility will depend on the particular nature of your used oil activity. Activities included in this section of the tour are: used oil generator and used oil burner, which are defined as follows:

• Used oil - Any oil that has been refined from crude oil, or any synthetic oil, that has been used and as a result of such use is contaminated by physical or chemical impurities.
• Used oil generator - Any person, by site, whose act or process produces used oil or whose act first causes used oil to become subject to regulation.
• Used oil burner - A facility where used oil not meeting EPA fuel specification requirements is burned for energy recovery in specific, EPA-approved devices (e.g., industrial furnaces, boilers, etc.)

In addition, it is important to note that some states, including Massachusetts, have more stringent requirements than the federal requirements for used oil management. As was pointed out in the overview section to recordkeeping for used oil management at a power plant, your campus power plant may be subject to the following recordkeeping requirements, each of which is discussed in greater detail below.

• Generator records of burner notification/certification (40 CFR 279.75)
• Records demonstrating that used oil does not contain hazardous waste (40 CFR 279.63 and 40 CFR 279.44)
• Notification and EPA identification number for used oil burners or marketers (40 CFR 279.62)
• Used oil burner records (40 CFR 279.65; 279.66)
• Generator or burner records demonstrating that used oil is "on-specification" (40 CFR 279.72; 279.74)

A used oil generator who sends off-specification used oil to a burner must obtain a one-time written and signed notice from the burner certifying that the burner has notified the EPA about its burner activity and that the burner will burn off-specification used oil only in an approved industrial furnace or boiler. The generator must keep a copy of this certification for three years from the date of its last shipment of off-specification used oil to the burner.

If used oil intended to be burned by a used oil burner contains greater than or equal to 1,000 ppm total halogens, it is presumed to be hazardous waste; however, the used oil burner may rebut this presumption by demonstrating through testing that the used oil does not contain hazardous waste. Records of analyses conducted or information used to demonstrate the used oil is not hazardous must be maintained by the burner for at least three years.

Used oil burner must (if not already have done so) notify the EPA of its used oil burner activity and obtain an EPA identification number. The information required includes:

• Burner company name
• Owner of the burner company
• Mailing address for the burner
• Name and telephone number for the burner point of contact
• Type of used oil activity
• Location of the burner facility

Used oil burners must keep a record of each used oil shipment accepted for burning. A used oil burner is required to provide a generator with the certification described in the previous paragraph. These records must be kept for at least three years and include:

• Name and address of the transporter who delivered the used oil to the burner
• Name and address of the generator or processor/re-refiner from whom the used oil was sent to the burner
• EPA identification number of the transporter who delivered the used oil to the burner
• EPA identification number (if applicable) of the generator or processor/re-refiner from whom the used oil was sent to the burner
• Quantity of used oil accepted
• Date of acceptance

A generator or burner who claims that used oil intended to be burned for energy recovery meets EPA fuel specifications must have conducted analytical testing of the used oil to substantiate the claim and maintain the analytical testing records for three years. If no analytical testing has been completed, then other documentation must be available to demonstrate that the used oil meets the specifications. The generator or burner must also keep records of each shipment for a period of three years and these records must include:

• Name and address of the facility receiving the shipment
• Quantity of used oil delivered
• Date of shipment or delivery
• Cross-reference to the record of used oil analyses or other information used to make the determination that the used oil meets EPA fuel specifications

For the complete text of the used oil regulations (40 CFR 279), click here: