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Delaware

Hazardous Waste Notification and Reporting

Agency Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) says businesses or government agencies that generate, transport, treat, store or dispose of hazardous waste must obtain an EPA Identification Number from its Compliance and Permitting Section (CAPS), unless they are a very small quantity generator. Large and small quantity generators must then re-notify the state on a schedule, and large quantity generators file an annual hazardous waste report. DNREC's Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances regulates transporters, businesses and industry so that hazardous wastes are managed properly.

In a Phase I ESA

These are the Delaware records of who handles hazardous waste. They sit beside the federal generator records described on the RCRA Generators page. ASTM E1527-21 lists state hazardous waste facility records among its standard sources. This handbook does not pair a single Delaware list with that type; this is one of the Delaware records that bear on it, with Hazardous Waste Corrective Action.

A generator record says hazardous waste was handled at a site. It does not say any was released. Four Delaware details shape how to read one.

  • Very small generators need no number. The EPA Identification Number requirement does not apply to very small quantity generators, so a business that generated small amounts of hazardous waste may have no number in DNREC's records.
  • The generator class turns on monthly amounts. DNREC describes a large quantity generator as one generating greater than 1,000 kilograms of hazardous waste, or 1 kilogram of acutely hazardous waste, in any single calendar month, and a small quantity generator as one generating greater than 100 kilograms but less than 1,000 kilograms of hazardous waste, or less than 1 kilogram of acutely hazardous waste, in any single calendar month.
  • Re-notification runs on a calendar. Large quantity generators must re-notify the state by March 1 of each calendar year. Small quantity generators must re-notify starting in 2021 and every four years after, by September 1.
  • Large generators report every year. DNREC says Delaware's regulations are more stringent than the federal requirement and require hazardous waste reports to be submitted to the state annually. Facilities that generate or handle large amounts of hazardous waste must submit one by March 1, covering the preceding calendar year: the types of hazardous waste generated, how much, and how the wastes are managed. One of DNREC's reporting conditions is generating more than 100 kilograms of residue or contaminated soil, waste or other debris from the cleanup of a spill of any acute hazardous waste into or on any land or water.

DNREC says it regulates hazardous waste, not hazardous products or materials: a substance that is not considered a waste is not governed by the state's hazardous waste laws. The rules are the Regulations Governing Hazardous Waste, 7 DE Admin. Code 1302. Notifications are made on EPA Form 8700-12, electronically through EPA's RCRAInfo or on paper.

Where to look a site up

  • The pages read link no DNREC list of hazardous waste generators. DNREC's general search is the Delaware Environmental Navigator, which it describes as covering permitted facilities and enforcement actions among other information.
  • Hazardous waste violations can lead to enforcement orders; see Enforcement Orders.
  • The Compliance and Permitting Section is at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, at 302-739-9403.

Getting the file

The hazardous waste pages do not give a records route of their own. DNREC's FOIA page says the Delaware Freedom of Information Act ensures public access to public records held by DNREC; the route is on the DNREC FOIA Requests page.

Sources

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control pages, read October 13, 2026:

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