## Facts

- The City of Chicago operated a municipal waste incinerator (a “resource recovery facility”) that burned household waste and nonhazardous industrial waste to produce energy.
- The incinerator generated municipal waste combustion (MWC) ash containing toxic constituents.
- Chicago disposed of the ash in landfills not licensed to accept hazardous waste and did not comply with RCRA Subtitle C hazardous-waste requirements for the ash.
- Environmental Defense Fund sued, alleging that the ash was regulated as hazardous waste under RCRA Subtitle C if it met hazardous-waste criteria, and that Chicago’s disposal practices were unlawful.
- Chicago argued that RCRA § 3001(i) excluded the ash from Subtitle C regulation.

## Issues

1. Whether RCRA § 3001(i) exempts MWC ash produced by a resource recovery facility burning household waste and specified nonhazardous industrial waste from regulation as “hazardous waste” under RCRA Subtitle C.
2. Whether § 3001(i) addresses only the facility’s regulatory classification or also extends to the hazardous-waste status of the combustion residue (ash).
3. Whether an internal EPA memorandum directing staff to treat MWC ash as exempt could control the interpretation of § 3001(i) when the statutory text is clear.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court affirmed the Seventh Circuit in a 7–2 decision (Scalia, J.).
- The Court held that § 3001(i) does not exempt MWC ash from Subtitle C regulation.
- Section 3001(i) was read as a facility-focused provision: it prevents certain facilities from being deemed to be “treating, storing, disposing of, or otherwise managing hazardous wastes,” but it does not change how the ash itself is classified under Subtitle C.
- Because § 3001(i) “says nothing about ash,” the ash must be evaluated under the ordinary Subtitle C criteria; if it qualifies as hazardous waste, Subtitle C applies.
- The Court declined to follow the EPA memorandum to the extent it conflicted with the statute’s clear text.

## Legal Principles

- Statutory text controls when unambiguous; captions and titles do not override clear operative language.
- A statutory exemption directed to a facility’s deemed status does not automatically exempt wastes or residues generated by the facility from hazardous-waste regulation.
- Under RCRA Subtitle C, residues such as incinerator ash are regulated as hazardous waste if they meet the applicable hazardous-waste criteria, unless Congress clearly provides otherwise.
- Agency internal guidance cannot displace a clear statutory meaning.

## Conclusion

RCRA § 3001(i) shields qualifying resource recovery facilities from being treated as hazardous-waste management facilities based solely on their inputs, but it does not exempt the incinerator ash they generate; if the ash meets Subtitle C hazardous-waste criteria, it is regulated accordingly.


City of Chicago v. Environmental Defense Fund, 511 U.S. 328 (1994)