On February 4, 2015, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) made available for comment a Preliminary Draft for Public Consideration of Revised Hazardous Waste Management Regulations (Preliminary Draft). The Preliminary Draft does not formally propose to revise NYSDEC’s existing hazardous waste regulations. Rather, the Preliminary Draft seeks comments regarding draft revisions to the hazardous waste regulations, and after consideration of comments received, NYSDEC will formally propose revisions to 6 NYCRR Parts 370-374 and Part 376. Businesses and institutions (e.g., colleges and universities, hospitals, etc.) subject to the existing hazardous waste regulations can treat the Preliminary Draft as a "preview" of what future hazardous waste regulatory revisions may look like, and they should consider providing comments to NYSDEC before proposed regulations are drafted.

New York is an authorized state for the implementation of the hazardous waste management program in lieu of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A requirement of authorization is that New York State adopt hazardous waste regulations at least as stringent as those of the EPA. The Preliminary Draft proposes to incorporate into New York regulations thirty-seven (37) federal rules that were adopted by the EPA from January 2002 to April 2012. These rules address the following topics, among others:

• revisions to used oil management standards
• the addition of mercury-containing waste to the universal waste rules
• cathode ray tube revisions, and
• alternative requirements for hazardous waste determinations and accumulation of unwanted material at college and university laboratories.

The Preliminary Draft also seeks to address approximately eighty (80) issues in the existing NYSDEC hazardous waste regulations, including clarification of language and corrections of errors found in the regulations.

The NYSDEC is also seeking comments regarding whether it should implement a rulemaking initiative concerning the EPA regulations adopted in 2013 and 2014. This includes:

• the solvent-contaminated wipes rule
• the carbon dioxide sequestration rule
• the electronic manifest rule, and
• the 2008 definition of solid waste rule, as amended in January 2015.

Comments are also sought regarding possible changes to New York’s used oil management regulations at 6 NYCRR Subpart 374-2.

To facilitate an understanding of the draft regulations and regulatory initiatives, as well as to take questions and accept informal comments, NYSDEC will host a live webinar on February 25, 2015 from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. and a public information meeting on March 10, 2015 from 1 - 3 p.m. in Albany. Written comments regarding the Preliminary Draft and other initiatives will be accepted by NYSDEC until April 6, 2015.

Although the Preliminary Draft includes much detail, it provides a meaningful opportunity for the regulated community to impact the future of hazardous waste rulemaking in New York.