§ 264.15 - General inspection requirements.

§ 264.15 General inspection requirements.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 88 FR 54112, Aug. 9, 2023.

(a) The owner or operator must inspect his facility for malfunctions and deterioration, operator errors, and discharges which may be causing—or may lead to—

(1) release of hazardous waste constituents to the environment or

(2) a threat to human health. The owner or operator must conduct these inspections often enough to identify problems in time to correct them before they harm human health or the environment.

(b)

(1) The owner or operator must develop and follow a written schedule for inspecting monitoring equipment, safety and emergency equipment, security devices, and operating and structural equipment (such as dikes and sump pumps) that are important to preventing, detecting, or responding to environmental or human health hazards.

(2) He must keep this schedule at the facility.

(3) The schedule must identify the types of problems (e.g., malfunctions or deterioration) which are to be looked for during the inspection (e.g., inoperative sump pump, leaking fitting, eroding dike, etc.).

(4) The frequency of inspection may vary for the items on the schedule. However, the frequency should be based on the rate of deterioration of the equipment and the probability of an environmental or human health incident if the deterioration, malfunction, or operator error goes undetected between inspections. Areas subject to spills, such as loading and unloading areas, must be inspected daily when in use. At a minimum, the inspection schedule must include the items and frequencies called for in §§ 264.174, 264.193, 264.195, 264.226, 264.254, 264.278, 264.303, 264.347, 264.602, 264.1033, 264.1052, 264.1053, 264.1058, and 264.1083 through 264.1089, where applicable. Part 270 of this chapter requires the inspection schedule to be submitted with part B of the permit application. EPA will evaluate the schedule along with the rest of the application to ensure that it adequately protects human health and the environment. As part of this review, EPA may modify or amend the schedule as may be necessary.

(

5) Performance Track member facilities that choose to reduce their inspection frequency must:

(i) Submit a request for a Class I permit modification with prior approval to the Director. The modification request must identify the facility as a member of the National Environmental Performance Track Program and identify the management units for reduced inspections and the proposed frequency of inspections. The modification request must also specify, in writing, that the reduced inspection frequency will apply for as long as the facility is a Performance Track member facility, and that within seven calendar days of ceasing to be a Performance Track member, the facility will revert to the non-Performance Track inspection frequency. Inspections must be conducted at least once each month.

(ii) Within 60 days, the Director will notify the Performance Track member facility, in writing, if the request is approved, denied, or if an extension to the 60-day deadline is needed. This notice must be placed in the facility's operating record. The Performance Track member facility should consider the application approved if the Director does not: deny the application; or notify the Performance Track member facility of an extension to the 60-day deadline. In these situations, the Performance Track member facility must adhere to the revised inspection schedule outlined in its request for a Class 1 permit modification and keep a copy of the application in the facility's operating record.

(iii) Any Performance Track member facility that discontinues their membership or is terminated from the program must immediately notify the Director of their change in status. The facility must place in its operating record a dated copy of this notification and revert back to the non-Performance Track inspection frequencies within seven calendar days.

(c) The owner or operator must remedy any deterioration or malfunction of equipment or structures which the inspection reveals on a schedule which ensures that the problem does not lead to an environmental or human health hazard. Where a hazard is imminent or has already occurred, remedial action must be taken immediately.

(d) The owner or operator must record inspections in an inspection log or summary. He must keep these records for at least three years from the date of inspection. At a minimum, these records must include the date and time of the inspection, the name of the inspector, a notation of the observations made, and the date and nature of any repairs or other remedial actions.

[45 FR 33221, May 19, 1980, as amended at 48 FR 14294, Apr. 1, 1983; 50 FR 4514, Jan. 31, 1985; 57 FR 3486, Jan. 29, 1992; 59 FR 62926, Dec. 6, 1994; 62 FR 64656, Dec. 8, 1997; 71 FR 16903, Apr. 4, 2006; 81 FR 85826, Nov. 28, 2016; 88 FR 54112, Aug. 9, 2023]