[3] RCRA is now most widely known for the regulations promulgated under it that set standards for the treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous waste in the United States.

Arguably the most notable provisions of the RCRA statute are included in Subtitle C, which directs EPA to establish controls on the management of hazardous wastes from their point of generation, through their transportation and treatment, storage and/or disposal.

[3] The statute imposes stringent recordkeeping and reporting requirements on generators, transporters, and operators of treatment, storage and disposal facilities handling hazardous waste.

The operation of underground storage tanks (USTs) became subject to the RCRA regulatory program with enactment of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA).

[13] The regulations set standards for: The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA) required owners and operators of USTs to ensure corrective action is completed when a tank is in need of repair, or removal, when it is necessary to protect human health and the environment.

[16][17] RCRA Subtitle J regulated medical waste in four states (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island) and Puerto Rico, and expired on March 22, 1991.

[21] EPA published a CCR regulation in 2015 that would restrict the continued use of unlined ash ponds (surface impoundments) by coal-fired power plants.

[22] This regulation, was which was modified by the Trump administration in 2018,[23][24] has been challenged in litigation and remanded to EPA for further revision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

[25][26] In response to the court decision, EPA published a proposed rule on December 2, 2019 that would establish an August 31, 2020 deadline for facilities to stop placing ash in unlined impoundments.

[30] Treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) manage hazardous waste under RCRA Subtitle C and generally must have a permit in order to operate.

The Supreme Court held that a citizen suit under the RCRA must be dismissed if the plaintiff fails to meet the statute's notice and 60-day delay requirements.

The Supreme Court held that Congress did not waive the federal government's sovereign immunity from liability for civil fines imposed by a state for past violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) or RCRA.

The Supreme Court held that any fact, other than a prior conviction, that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the statutory maximum must be submitted to the jury and determined beyond a reasonable doubt.