Free Washington RCRA Practice Test Online

Correct answer: A. Washington State Department of Ecology

The Washington State Department of Ecology, commonly called Ecology, holds RCRA authorization from EPA and administers the state's dangerous waste program under WAC 173-303.

• B: The Department of Health regulates radioactive materials, drinking water, and public health matters in Washington, not the dangerous waste program under WAC 173-303.
• C: The Department of Labor & Industries regulates workplace safety and workers' compensation, not the state's dangerous waste designation and permitting program.
• D: The Utilities and Transportation Commission regulates rates and services of privately owned utilities and certain carriers, not dangerous waste generation or disposal.

Correct answer: B. WAC 173-303

WAC 173-303 is the Dangerous Waste Regulations chapter that Ecology administers under its RCRA authorization, covering designation, generator standards, and permitting.

• A: WAC 173-350 governs solid waste handling standards such as landfills and transfer stations, not dangerous waste designation and management.
• C: WAC 173-400 governs air quality permitting and emission standards, an entirely separate regulatory program from dangerous waste.
• D: WAC 246-290 governs public water system standards administered by the Department of Health, not dangerous waste.

Correct answer: C. Adopt program requirements that are more stringent and broader than the federal RCRA minimum

RCRA authorization lets Washington adopt dangerous waste requirements that are more stringent and broader in scope than the federal hazardous waste program, which is why Washington's regulated universe of "dangerous waste" exceeds the federal "hazardous waste" list.

• A: Authorization does not restrict Washington to a word-for-word copy of the federal rules; states may exceed the federal floor once authorized.
• B: Authorization transfers day-to-day program administration to the state agency rather than keeping EPA as the primary implementer, so this describes the opposite of what authorization does.
• D: Authorization does not create blanket exemptions from federal reporting; it instead lets the state run its own program in place of the federal one, generally at an equal or higher level of stringency.

Correct answer: D. Because "dangerous waste" is a broader, state-defined term covering federal hazardous waste plus additional state-only-regulated wastes

WAC 173-303-040 defines "dangerous waste" as those solid wastes designated as dangerous, extremely hazardous, or mixed waste under the chapter, a category that includes federal hazardous waste plus wastes Washington regulates on a state-only basis.

• A: Federal RCRA authorization does not mandate that states rename hazardous waste; the terminology choice is Washington's own drafting decision.
• B: The terms carry a real regulatory difference: "dangerous waste" is defined more broadly in WAC 173-303-040 than "hazardous waste" is defined federally, so the choice of word has substantive legal effect.
• C: Washington's terminology was not adopted to match Canadian provincial rules; it reflects the state's own expanded designation scheme under WAC 173-303.

Correct answer: A. Solid waste designated by 40 C.F.R. Part 261

WAC 173-303-040 reserves the unabbreviated term "hazardous waste" specifically for solid wastes designated by the federal regulation at 40 C.F.R. Part 261, deliberately narrower than "dangerous waste."

• B: Simply being generated by a Washington business does not make a waste "hazardous waste" under the definition; the waste must meet the federal 40 C.F.R. Part 261 designation criteria.
• C: Containing a listed solvent does not automatically make a waste federally "hazardous"; designation depends on specific listing or characteristic criteria under 40 C.F.R. Part 261, not solvent content alone.
• D: A waste carrying a Washington state-only "W" code is, by definition, not designated under 40 C.F.R. Part 261, so it falls outside the unabbreviated "hazardous waste" definition and instead falls under Washington's broader "dangerous waste" category.