Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 33 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Part V - Hazardous Wastes and Hazardous Materials
Subpart 1 - Department of Environmental Quality-Hazardous Waste
Chapter 18 - Containment Buildings
Section V-1802 - Design and Operating Standards
Universal Citation: LA Admin Code V-1802
Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. All containment buildings must comply with the following design standards.
1. The
containment building must be completely enclosed with a floor, walls, and a
roof to prevent exposure to the elements, (e.g., precipitation, wind, run-on)
and to ensure containment of managed wastes.
2. The floor and containment walls of the
unit, including the secondary containment system if required under LAC
33:V.1802.B, must be designed and constructed of materials of sufficient
strength and thickness to support themselves, the waste contents, and any
personnel and heavy equipment that operate within the unit and to prevent
failure due to pressure gradients, settlement, compression, uplift, physical
contact with the hazardous wastes to which they are exposed, climatic
conditions, and the stresses of daily operation, including the movement of
heavy equipment within the unit and contact of such equipment with containment
walls. The unit must be designed so that it has sufficient structural strength
to prevent collapse or other failure. All surfaces to be in contact with
hazardous wastes must be chemically compatible with those wastes. The
administrative authority will consider standards established by professional
organizations generally recognized by the industry, such as the American
Concrete Institute (ACI) and the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM),
in judging the structural integrity requirements of LAC 33:V.1802.A. If
appropriate to the nature of the waste management operation to take place in
the unit, an exception to the structural strength requirement may be made for
light-weight doors and windows that meet these criteria:
a. they provide an effective barrier against
fugitive dust emissions under LAC 33:V.1802.C.1.d; and
b. the unit is designed and operated in a
fashion that ensures that wastes will not actually come in contact with these
openings.
3.
Incompatible hazardous wastes or treatment reagents must not be placed in the
unit or its secondary containment system if they could cause the unit or
secondary containment system to leak, corrode, or otherwise fail.
4. A containment building must have a primary
barrier designed to withstand the movement of personnel, waste, and handling
equipment in the unit during the operating life of the unit and be appropriate
for the physical and chemical characteristics of the waste to be
managed.
B. For a containment building used to manage hazardous wastes containing free liquids or treated with free liquids (the presence of which is determined by the paint filter test, a visual examination, or other appropriate means), the owner or operator must include:
1. a primary barrier
designed and constructed of materials to prevent the migration of hazardous
constituents into the barrier (e.g., a geomembrane covered by a concrete wear
surface);
2. a liquid collection
and removal system to minimize the accumulation of liquid on the primary
barrier of the containment building:
a. the
primary barrier must be sloped to drain liquids to the associated collection
system; and
b. liquids and waste
must be collected and removed to minimize hydraulic head on the containment
system at the earliest practicable time;
3. a secondary containment system including a
secondary barrier designed and constructed to prevent migration of hazardous
constituents into the barrier and a leak detection system that is capable of
detecting failure of the primary barrier and collecting accumulated hazardous
wastes and liquids at the earliest practicable time;
a. the requirements of the leak detection
component of the secondary containment system are satisfied by installation of
a system that is, at a minimum:
i.
constructed with a bottom slope of 1 percent or more; and
ii. constructed of a granular drainage
material with a hydraulic conductivity of 1 x 10-2
cm/sec or more and a thickness of 12 inches (30.5 cm) or more, or constructed
of synthetic or geonet drainage materials with a transmissivity of 3 x
10-5 m2/sec or
more;
b. if treatment is
to be conducted in the building, an area in which such treatment will be
conducted must be designed to prevent the release of liquids, wet materials, or
liquid aerosols to other portions of the building;
c. the secondary containment system must be
constructed of materials that are chemically resistant to the waste and liquids
managed in the containment building and of sufficient strength and thickness to
prevent collapse under the pressure exerted by overlaying materials and by any
equipment used in the containment building (Containment buildings can serve as
secondary containment systems for tanks placed within the building under
certain conditions. A containment building can serve as an external liner
system for a tank, provided it meets the requirements of LAC 33:V.1907.E.1. In
addition, the containment building must meet the requirements of LAC
33:V.1907.B and C.1 and 2 to be considered an acceptable secondary containment
system for a tank.);
4.
for existing units other than 90-day generator units, the administrative
authority or EPA may delay the secondary containment requirement for up to two
years, based on a demonstration by the owner or operator that the unit
substantially meets the standards of this Section. In making this
demonstration, the owner or operator must:
a.
have provided written notice to the administrative authority of their request
by November 16, 1992. This notification must describe the unit and its
operating practices with specific reference to the performance of existing
containment systems and specific plans for retrofitting the unit with secondary
containment;
b. respond to any
comments from the administrative authority on these plans within 30 days;
and
c. fulfill the terms of the
revised plans, if such plans are approved by the administrative
authority.
C. Owners or operators of all containment buildings must:
1. use controls and practices to ensure
containment of the hazardous waste within the unit; and, at a minimum:
a. maintain the primary barrier to be free of
significant cracks, gaps, corrosion, or other deterioration that could cause
hazardous waste to be released from the primary barrier;
b. maintain the level of the stored/treated
hazardous waste within the containment walls of the unit so that the height of
any containment wall is not exceeded;
c. take measures to prevent the tracking of
hazardous waste out of the unit by personnel or by equipment used in handling
the waste. An area must be designated to decontaminate equipment and any
rinsate must be collected and properly managed; and
d. take measures to control fugitive dust
emissions such that any openings (doors, windows, vents, cracks, etc.) exhibit
no visible emissions (see 40 CFR Part 60, Appendix A, Visual Determination of
Fugitive Emissions from Material Sources and Smoke Emissions from Flares). In
addition, all associated particulate collection devices (e.g., fabric filter,
electrostatic precipitator) must be operated and maintained with sound air
pollution control practices (see LAC 33:III.3544 for guidance). This state of
no visible emissions must be maintained effectively at all times during normal
operating and maintenance conditions, including when vehicles and personnel are
entering and exiting the unit;
2. obtain certification by a qualified
registered professional engineer that the containment building design meets the
requirements of LAC 33:V.1802.A-C. For units placed into operation prior to
February 18, 1993, this certification must be placed in the facility's
operating record (on-site files for generators who are not formally required to
have operating records) no later than 60 days after the date of initial
operation of the unit. After February 18, 1993, PE certification will be
required prior to operation of the unit;
3. promptly repair any condition which the
owner or operator detects throughout the active life of the containment
building that could lead to or has caused a release of hazardous waste in
accordance with the following procedures:
a.
upon detection of a condition that has led to a release of hazardous waste
(e.g., upon detection of leakage from the primary barrier) the owner or
operator must:
i. enter a record of the
discovery in the facility operating record;
ii. immediately remove the portion of the
containment building affected by the condition from service;
iii. determine what steps must be taken to
repair the containment building, remove any leakage from the secondary
collection system, and establish a schedule for accomplishing the cleanup and
repairs; and
iv. within seven days
after the discovery of the condition, notify the Office of Environmental
Services of the condition and, within 14 working days, provide a written notice
to the administrative authority with a description of the steps taken to repair
the containment building and the schedule for accomplishing the work;
b. the administrative authority
will review the information submitted, make a determination regarding whether
the containment building must be removed from service completely or partially
until repairs and cleanup are complete, and notify the owner or operator of the
determination and the underlying rationale in writing;
c. upon completing all repairs and cleanup,
the owner or operator must notify the Office of Environmental Services in
writing and provide a verification, signed by a qualified, registered
professional engineer, that the repairs and cleanup have been completed
according to the written plan submitted in accordance with LAC
33:V.1802.C.3.a.iv; and
4. inspect and record in the facility
operating record, at least once every seven days, data gathered from monitoring
and leak detection equipment as well as the containment building and the area
immediately surrounding the containment building to detect signs of releases of
hazardous waste.
D. For a containment building that contains both areas with and without secondary containment, the owner or operator must:
1.
design and operate each area in accordance with the requirements enumerated in
LAC 33:V.1802.A-C;
2. take measures
to prevent the release of liquids or wet materials into areas without secondary
containment; and
3. keep in the
facility's operating log a written description of the operating procedures used
to maintain the integrity of areas without secondary containment.
E. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, the administrative authority may waive requirements for secondary containment for a permitted containment building where the owner or operator demonstrates that the only free liquids in the unit are limited amounts of dust suppression liquids required to meet occupational health and safety requirements and where containment of managed wastes and liquids can be ensured without a secondary containment system.
AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2180 et seq.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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