One Big Cleanout: Does a Single Tank Drain Make You a Large Quantity Generator?

Characterize the waste first. Stoddard solvent is not an F-listed spent solvent. It is hazardous because it exhibits the ignitability characteristic (flash point 105°F is below 140°F), so the drums are D001. That determination has to be documented, not assumed.

Routine month

• ~330 kg/month, on-site inventory of two drums (~330 kg).
• Below 1,000 kg/month generated and below 1,000 kg accumulated on site → very small quantity generator (VSQG).

August

• 4,000 kg + 330 kg = 4,330 kg in one calendar month. That is over the 1,000 kg/month LQG threshold, so absent the episodic provisions the shop is a large quantity generator for August (and must re-notify, as the category change is reportable).
• Consequences that snap on: 90-day accumulation limit, a 6,000 kg on-site limit without a permit, a contingency plan and emergency arrangements, personnel training, and closure standards.

Episodic generation option. If the state has adopted the federal episodic provisions, a planned, non-routine, non-recurring event of up to 6,000 kg can be managed without leaving the generator's category - but only if the shop notifies the state before the event, marks the containers and the area as episodic waste, and meets the accumulation/duration conditions in the rule (the time frames are shorter than an open-ended storage allowance; verify the exact window in the state's adoption). 4,000 kg fits under 6,000 kg. If any condition is missed, the shop is an LQG for August.

The 200-day plan is not acceptable on any pathway. LQG: 90 days. SQG: 180 days. VSQG: no federal clock, but a 4,330 kg pile blows through the 1,000 kg on-site ceiling and any state time limit. Either way, the hauler's schedule does not control - the shop does, and it must contract for a pickup that fits the applicable clock.

What is wrong right now

• Uncovered containers. Hazardous waste containers must be kept closed except when waste is being added or removed. Open drums of a 105°F-flash-point solvent are a direct ignition/ vapor source and a rainwater intrusion problem.
• No secondary containment. Required for liquid container storage at LQG (and a de facto necessity for any shop this close to a drain). A drum failure on a wooden pallet beside a floor drain goes straight to the storm sewer or the sanitary sewer - a reportable release and a much larger cleanup.
• Inadequate accumulation dating. A date on the lid is only useful if it marks when accumulation began and is legible; it must also be paired with a running inventory so the shop can prove it is inside its clock.
• Location and housekeeping. Beside a floor drain is the worst available spot. Wooden pallets add fuel load under an ignitable waste - a fire-code problem as well as an environmental one.
• Waste determination file. No documented D001 determination, no waste profile, no manifests on file.

What to fix, in order

1. Close and label every container: contents, hazards, accumulation start date, and generator ID.
2. Move storage away from the drain to a dedicated area on a sealed, curbed floor with containment volume sized for the largest container plus precipitation.
3. Segregate incompatibles; keep the unknown drum out of the area until characterized.
4. Contract for pickup inside the applicable clock, and get the hauler's schedule in writing.
5. If August triggers LQG, complete contingency planning, emergency-coordinator designation, and training before continuing to accumulate.
6. Spill kit, drain sealing, and a written spill response procedure.

The trap

• The drum is on the shop's property and under its control. Doing nothing does not transfer the problem; it increases the exposure. If the drum leaks, the shop is the current owner/operator of a facility from which a hazardous substance is released, and CERCLA and state cleanup liability can attach regardless of who put it there.
• 'It's not my waste' only holds if the shop can actually document that. An unlabeled rusted drum cannot be attributed to the prior tenant without evidence.
• If the shop chooses to manage the drum, it becomes the generator of that waste at the moment it decides to dispose of it - the contents then count toward the month's generated quantity (a ~200 kg drum could push a VSQG month over the 1,000 kg threshold if it lands in a heavy month).
• Leaving an uncharacterized container in place also invites a storage permitting question: unauthorized storage of hazardous waste without a permit is a much worse problem than an improper accumulation.

What to do

1. Do not open or sample it without a plan. Unknown, possibly pressurized, possibly reactive. Assume ignitable/corrosive/toxic and handle accordingly (PPE, ventilation, no ignition sources).
2. Document the condition with photos, dates, and location before touching it - that record is the shop's defense.
3. Characterize it. Either have the hauler profile and sample it under their own procedure, or use a lab for a full TCLP plus reactivity/ignitability screen.
4. Dispose through a permitted facility with a manifest, and record who paid and when.
5. Notify the landlord in writing and keep the notice. If the drum turns out to be leaking, report under the state spill/ release requirements and do not wait for the landlord to respond.

The defensible position is: 'we identified it, documented it, characterized it, removed it, and notified the owner.' The indefensible one is: 'we saw it and hoped it wasn't ours.'