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1994 Indiana Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (1994)

handle is hein.sag/sagin0020 and id is 1 raw text is: STATE OF INDIANA OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL PAMELA CARTER STATE HOUSE ATTORNEY GENERAL INDIANAPOLIS 46204 January 14, 1994 OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 94-1 INFORMATION COPY Senator Lawrence M. Borst, D.V.M. State House, Third Floor Indianapolis, IN 46204 Dear Senator Borst: This is in response to your request for my opinion whether the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has authority to return administration of permitting functions of the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) programs to the federal government under current statutory law. In view- of the federal nature of the programs, specific federal provisions pertaining to them, and the content and structure of State authorizing statutes, it is my opinion that IDEM may return these programs to the federal government without further legislation. 1. The Federal Nature Of The Programs, And Specific Federal Provisions Pertaining To Them Suggest That IDEM Is Authorized, But Not Required, To Administer The Programs. The programs about which you inquire are fundamentally federal in nature. Congress enacted RCRA, 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et sea., in 1976 to address the problems of waste management. RCRA establishes three distinct programs: Subtitle C addresses the management of hazardous waste; Subtitle D addresses the management of nonhazardous solid waste; and Subtitle I provides for regulation of underground storage tanks. In 1984, the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments to RCRA expanded the scope and requirements of the statute. Congress enacted the Federal Water Pollution Prevention and