West Virginia
RCRA Hazardous Waste
West Virginia RCRA Hazardous Waste
The Hazardous Waste Management Program in the Division of Water and Waste Management of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) has the primary responsibility for regulating the management of hazardous waste in the state. WVDEP says that includes monitoring facilities that generate, treat, store or dispose of hazardous waste, requiring permits for certain hazardous waste activities, and carrying out technical inspections, investigations and sampling. The law is the Hazardous Waste Management Act, W. Va. Code Chapter 22, Article 18, and the rule is 33 CSR 20, which WVDEP says incorporates the federal regulations at 40 CFR Parts 260 to 279 by reference.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 lists state hazardous waste facility records among its standard sources. This handbook does not pair a single West Virginia list with that type, because the pages read post none. The state records sit beside the federal ones described on the RCRA Generators page and the RCRA CORRACTS page. Four West Virginia details shape the search.
- Notification runs on the federal form. WVDEP says anyone who generates, transports or recycles regulated wastes, or who owns or operates a treatment, storage or disposal facility, must notify by completing the RCRA Subtitle C Site Identification form, which is mailed to WVDEP or filed online. WVDEP's page calls a site's number its EPA ID number.
- One cleanup can create a generator record. WVDEP describes short-term generators: sites that do not normally generate hazardous waste but do so in a one-time, non-recurring, temporary event. Its examples include underground storage tank removals, and remediation or spill cleanup at sites with no previous EPA ID number. When the event ends, the facility must notify WVDEP again and include the manifests for the waste removed. A generator listing at a quiet address may be the trace of a tank pull or a spill cleanup, so ask what the event was.
- A permitted facility has a long file. Anyone constructing, operating, modifying or closing a hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal facility must apply for and receive a permit. WVDEP says a permit is issued for 10 years, with the option to review it after 5 years if it includes land based units. The Hazardous Waste Permits Unit issues hazardous waste management permits, post-closure permits for land disposal facilities, corrective action permits and emergency permits.
- Corrective action leaves reports and often a covenant. The Permits Unit reviews all reports from facilities under corrective action permits and under corrective action orders issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. WVDEP says land use covenants are routinely placed on properties that complete remediation through the RCRA Corrective Action Program. See Land Use Covenants.
The Hazardous Waste section of Environmental Enforcement inspects generators and treatment, storage and disposal facilities. WVDEP lists among its activities compliance evaluation inspections, groundwater monitoring evaluations and operation and maintenance inspections at facilities holding RCRA Subtitle C permits, complaint investigations, and review of permits and plans of corrective action. Ask for the inspection reports along with the permit file.
Where to look a site up
- The pages read post no state list of generators or permitted facilities. WVDEP's hazardous waste page links federal tools, among them Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) and Envirofacts.
- WVDEP says permits for the Division of Water and Waste Management are searchable through the e-Permitting Applications Search, the public query of its Electronic Submission System.
- For generator assistance WVDEP gives 304-926-0499, extension 1130.
Getting the file
The hazardous waste pages name no records route of their own. The Division of Water and Waste Management's main page links the agency's Request Information page for a Freedom of Information Act request, which can also be emailed to depfoia@wv.gov. Ask by facility name and EPA ID number. WVDEP's document database is Application Enhancer. See the Application Enhancer page.
Sources
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection pages, read October 7, 2026, no modified date shown: