Association of Battery Recyclers, Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency

Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was required to promulgate regulations prohibiting land disposal of certain hazardous wastes. If a waste fell under these restrictions, it could not be disposed of unless it was treated to minimize threats to human health and the environment. The EPA promulgated technology-based land disposal restriction (LDR) treatment standards. Originally, the EPA required the use of the best demonstrated available technology (BDAT) for all soils containing hazardous wastes. The EPA eventually reconsidered whether BDAT standards were appropriate for wastes generated during the remediation of contaminated soils. In 1998, the EPA promulgated regulations under RCRA to provide alternative treatment standards for soils. Instead of requiring BDAT, the alternative LDR standards allowed any treatment that resulted in a 90 percent reduction in the concentration of hazardous constituents. This rule only applied to soils that were placed into a land disposal unit and did not apply to soils that were recycled into products placed on land. The EPA required soils that were recycled into products such as asphalt, brick, or cement to still comply with BDAT standards because the products could be placed anywhere and posed uncertainties about environmental risks. Association of Battery Recyclers, Inc., and other industry groups (plaintiffs) challenged the final rule and argued it was arbitrary and capricious because the alternative LDR standards should apply to soils that are recycled products placed on land.