SULLIVAN /
PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Environmental Management has changed its rules for companies that handle used or waste oil.
“The amended regulations provide expanded and superior protective oversight while being less costly for businesses to implement,” said DEM Director W. Michael Sullivan said in a statement yesterday, “and should facilitate the recycling of used oil.”
Businesses that he said would benefit include auto service centers, trucking companies and companies that use oil in the manufacturing process. Sullivan said the rules were consistent with those in other New England states.
Under the old regulations, waste-oil generators sometimes were classified as generators of hazardous waste depending on the characteristics of their used oil, the DEM said.
Among other changes, such companies no longer have to register as hazardous-waste generators if they recycle or reclaim their used oil. They will be allowed to store up to two dozen 55-gallon drums of used oil, for an unlimited period, and once they exceed 24 drums, will have up to 180 days to ship the excess off-site.
Rules for used-oil storage and burning facilities also have changed, the DEM said.
The new rules are available at www.dem.ri.gov by clicking on Regulations, then on Waste Management.
