This map displays the various RCRA hazardous waste facilities that can be affected by coastal sea level rise using an interactive slider that represents water levels based on data and services from NOAA's Digital Coast. This map and data expand on the NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer.

Key Terms

Mean High Higher Water (MHHW): The average of the higher high water height of each tidal day observed over the National Tidal Datum Epoch.

Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities: Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs) of hazardous waste (i.e., facilities that receive hazardous waste from the generators and treat it to reduce its toxicity before safely disposing of it).

What is climate change?
 The earth's climate is changing. Multiple lines of evidence show changes in our weather, oceans, and ecosystems, such as:

• Changing temperature and precipitation patterns. 
• Increases in ocean temperatures, sea level, and acidity.
• Melting of glaciers and sea ice. 
• Changes in the frequency, intensity, and duration of extreme weather events.
• Shifts in ecosystem characteristics, like the length of the growing season, timing of flower blooms, and migration of birds.

These changes are due to a buildup of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and the warming of the planet due to the greenhouse effect.

 

To learn more about climate change, visit: www.epa.gov/climatechange-science/basics-climate-change. 

 

Why is climate change important?
Climate change will continue to impact our health, environment, and economy. For example,

• Climate change can impact human health by worsening air and water quality, increasing the spread of certain diseases, and altering the frequency or intensity of extreme weather events. Warmer temperatures increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of heat waves, which can pose human health risks, particularly for young children and the elderly.
• Rising sea level threatens coastal communities and ecosystems. 
• Changes in the patterns and amount of rainfall, as well as changes in the timing and amount of stream flow, can affect water supplies and water quality and the production of hydroelectricity. 
• Changing ecosystems influence the geographic ranges of many plant and animal species and the timing of their lifecycle events, such as migration and reproduction. 
• Increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts, and floods, can increase losses to property and cause costly disruptions to society.

Read more about these impacts and the steps communities are taking to respond at https://www.epa.gov/climate-change

 

Why is climate change important in the context of hazardous waste?

In the next 30 years, sea levels are expected to rise and will affect coastal communities across the U.S. Numerous Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs) will be affected by the rising tides, creating incalculable damages and environmental harm if left unaddressed. 

 

Based on findings from the 2022 Interagency Sea Level Rise Technical Report, in the absence of significant cuts to GHG emissions, coastal sea-level projections will increase from 1-5 feet to 3.5-7 feet by the end of this century. In 2019, 1.6 million tons of hazardous waste was managed at facilities affected by a rise in coastal sea levels, and 93% of that waste was in the worst-case scenario depths of 3-7ft of coastal sea level rise. Left unabated, hazardous waste facilities along the coasts, such as landfills and incinerators, will be vulnerable to these impacts increasing the risk that drinking water and wastewater infrastructure will fail, putting people at risk of being exposed to pathogens and harmful chemicals.

 

What is sea-level rise?

When averaged over all of the world's oceans, sea level has risen at a rate of roughly six-tenths of an inch per decade since 1880. The rate of increase has accelerated in recent years to more than an inch per decade. Changes in sea level relative to the land vary by region. Along the U.S. coastline, sea level has risen the most along the Mid-Atlantic coast and parts of the Gulf coast, where several stations registered increases of more than eight inches between 1960 and 2020. Sea level has decreased relative to the land in parts of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. 

 

What can communities do to prepare for sea-level rise? The EPA strongly recommends that communities document their pre-incident (aka pre-disaster) approaches to climate change risks in formal, updated debris management plans. Pre-incident debris management planning provides many benefits, such as:

• Saving valuable time and resources during a response to a disaster;
• Allowing more efficient, effective, and environmentally responsible waste management decision-making during a disaster;
• Encouraging partners (e.g., state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, owners of private storage, treatment, and disposal facilities, residents) to work together before a disaster occurs;
• Boosting the community's resiliency in the wake of a disaster and positioning it for a quicker and less costly recovery to its pre-incident state;
• Enhancing the community's adaptative capacity for managing the debris-related impacts of climate change; and
• Minimally detracting from, or otherwise impacting, the broader response and recovery efforts due to the efficient implementation of debris management activities.

What is the goal of this new visualization?

EPA developed this visualization to show how hazardous waste facilities within estimated flood zones along the coastline could potentially be affected by rising tides over time. The tool is meant to help communities better prepare and become more resilient to the damaging effects of climate change.  

 

What is EPA doing to prepare for flooding concerns that may affect hazardous waste facilities?

Understanding and addressing climate change is critical to EPA's mission of protecting human health and the environment. EPA tracks and reports GHG emissions, leverages sound science, and works to reduce emissions to combat climate change. EPA created this new data visualization to educate the public about impacts of projected sea-level rise on hazardous waste facilities that are within estimated flood zones along the continental U.S. coastline.

 

The climate crisis is real and happening all around us. Taking action to fight the urgent threat of climate change offers an opportunity to build more resilient infrastructure, protect public health, advance environmental justice, strengthen America's working communities, and spur American technological innovations.

 

EPA's work is improving society's understanding of climate change and its impacts on human health and the environment, providing the public with the necessary skills to make informed decisions and take responsible action. The data, tools, and resources that EPA develops can also be used by other federal agencies, organizations, states, Tribes, and communities to help tackle the climate crisis effectively, equitably, and sustainably.

 

For more information about climate change, visit Climate Change at EPA.

 

What are TSDFs and why are they important?

The final link in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act's cradle-to-grave concept is the treatment, storage, and disposal facility (TSDF) that follows the generator and transporter in the chain of waste management activities. 

 

Hazardous waste management facilities receive hazardous waste for treatment, storage, or disposal. For example, when a facility generates a certain amount of waste, they need to dispose of it, so they send it to a landfill or an incinerator to burn it.

 

For more information, visit Frequent Questions About Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs). 

 

What is the "2022 Interagency Sea Level Rise Technical Report?"

The Technical Report is the latest product of the Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flood Hazard and Tools Interagency Task Force. Twenty-three co-authors contributed to the development of the report, representing senior scientists and experts from academic institutions and the following agencies: NOAA, NASA, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Army Corps of Engineers. Additional support was provided by the Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program. The Sea Level Rise Technical Report provides the most up-to-date sea level rise projections available for all U.S. states and territories; decision-makers will look to it for information.

 

This multi-agency report offers projections out to the year 2150 and information to help communities assess potential changes in average tide heights and height-specific threshold frequencies as they strive to adapt to sea level rise.

 

What are the various scenarios that are predicted in the "2022 Interagency Sea Level Rise Technical Report?"

According to the report, sea level along the U.S. coastline is projected to rise, on average, 10 - 12 inches in the next 30 years (2020 - 2050), which will be as much as the rise measured over the last 100 years (1920 - 2020). Additionally, about two feet of sea-level rise along the U.S. coastline is likely between 2020 and 2100 because of emissions to date. If action isn't taken to curb emissions, another 1.5 - 5 feet of rise is predicted -- for a total of 3.5 - 7 feet by the end of this century.

 

What is EPA doing to assist communities with environmental justice concerns during the climate crisis? 

EPA is committed to advancing the goals of environmental protection and environmental justice for all Americans. Learn more here.

 

Who is most at risk from the impacts of climate change? 

Everyone will be affected by climate change, but some people may be more affected than others. Among the most vulnerable people are those in overburdened, underserved, and economically distressed communities. Three key factors influence a person's vulnerability to the impacts of climate change:

• Exposure. Some people are more at risk simply because they are more exposed to climate change hazards where they live or work. For example, people who live on the coast can be more vulnerable to sea level rise, coastal storms, and flooding.
• Sensitivity. Some people are more sensitive to the impacts of climate change, such as children, pregnant women, and those with pre-existing medical conditions such as asthma.
• Adaptability. Older adults, those with disabilities, those with low income, and some indigenous people may have more difficulty than others in adapting to climate change hazards.

In addition, there is a wide range of other factors that influence people's vulnerability. For example, people with less access to healthcare, adequate housing, and financial resources are less likely to rebound from climate disasters. People who are excluded from planning processes, experience racial and ethnic discrimination, or have language barriers are also more vulnerable to and less able to prepare for and reduce the risks of climate change.

 

How can people reduce the risks of climate change?
 People can reduce the risks of climate change by making choices that reduce GHG emissions and by preparing for the changes expected in the future. Decisions that people make today will shape the world for decades and even centuries to come. Communities can also prepare for the changes in the decades ahead by identifying and reducing their vulnerabilities and considering climate change risks in planning and development. Such actions can ensure that the most vulnerable populations - such as young children, older adults, and people living in poverty - are protected from the health and safety threats of climate change.

 

What are the benefits of taking action now?
 The longer people wait to act on climate change, the more damaging its effects will become on the planet and people's health. If people fail to take action soon, more drastic and costly measures to prevent greenhouse gases from exceeding dangerous levels could be needed later. The 2018  National Climate Assessment found that global efforts to reduce GHG emissions could avoid tens of thousands of deaths per year in the United States by the end of the century, as well as billions of dollars in damages related to water shortages, wildfires, agricultural losses, flooding, and other impacts. There are many actions that people can take now to help reduce the risk of climate change while also improving the natural environment, community infrastructure and transportation systems, and overall health.