Open Dump Law and Legal Definition
Pursuant to 25 USCS § 3902 (7) [Title 25. Indians; Chapter 41. Indian Lands Open Dump Cleanup], the term open dump means “any facility or site where solid waste is disposed of which is not a sanitary landfill which meets the criteria promulgated under section 4004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6944) and which is not a facility for disposal of hazardous waste.”
42 USCS § 6944 describes the criteria for sanitary landfills; sanitary landfills required for all disposal as:
“(a) Criteria for sanitary landfills. Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this section [Oct. 21, 1976], after consultation with the States, and after notice and public hearings, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations containing criteria for determining which facilities shall be classified as sanitary landfills and which shall be classified as open dumps within the meaning of this Act [42 USCS §§ 6901 et seq.]. At a minimum, such criteria shall provide that a facility may be classified as a sanitary landfill and not an open dump only if there is no reasonable probability of adverse effects on health or the environment from disposal of solid waste at such facility. Such regulations may provide for the classification of the types of sanitary landfills.
(b) Disposal required to be in sanitary landfills, etc. For purposes of complying with section 4003(2) each State plan shall prohibit the establishment of open dumps and contain a requirement that disposal of all solid waste within the State shall be in compliance with such section 4003(2).
(c) Effective date. The prohibition contained in subsection (b) shall take effect on the date six months after the date of promulgation of regulations under subsection (a).”
