Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
[NOTE: This Section is written in a special format to make
it easier to understand the regulatory requirements. Like other department and
USEPA regulations, this establishes enforceable legal requirements. For this
Section, I and you refer to the
owner/operator.]
A. What is a staging
pile? A staging pile is an accumulation of solid, non-flowing remediation waste
(as defined in LAC 33:V.109) that is not a containment building and is used
only during remedial operations for temporary storage at a facility. A staging
pile must be located within the contiguous property under the control of the
owner/operator where the wastes to be managed in the staging pile originated.
Staging piles must be designated by the administrative authority according to
the requirements in this Section. For the purposes of this Section, storage
includes mixing, sizing, blending, or other similar physical operations as long
as they are intended to prepare the wastes for subsequent management or
treatment.
B. When may I use a
staging pile? You may use a staging pile to store hazardous remediation waste
(or remediation waste otherwise subject to land disposal restrictions) only if
you follow the standards and design criteria the administrative authority has
designated for that staging pile. The administrative authority must designate
the staging pile in a permit or, at an interim status facility, in a closure
plan or order (consistent with LAC 33:V.4303.A.5 and B.5). The administrative
authority must establish conditions in the permit, closure plan, or order that
comply with Subsections D-K of this Section.
C. What information must I provide to get a
staging pile designated? When seeking a staging pile designation, you must
provide:
1. sufficient and accurate
information to enable the administrative authority to impose standards and
design criteria for your staging pile according to Subsections D-K of this
Section;
2. certification by an
independent, qualified professional engineer for technical data, such as design
drawings and specifications, and engineering studies, unless the administrative
authority determines, based on information that you provide, that this
certification is not necessary to ensure that a staging pile will protect human
health and the environment; and
3.
any additional information the administrative authority determines is necessary
to protect human health and the environment.
D. What performance criteria must a staging
pile satisfy? The administrative authority must establish the standards and
design criteria for the staging pile in the permit, closure plan, or order.
1. The standards and design criteria must
comply with the following:
a. the staging pile
must facilitate a reliable, effective, and protective remedy;
b. the staging pile must be designed so as to
prevent or minimize releases of hazardous wastes and hazardous constituents
into the environment, and minimize or adequately control cross-media transfer,
as necessary to protect human health and the environment (for example, through
the use of liners, covers, runoff/run-on controls, as appropriate);
and
c. the staging pile must not
operate for more than two years, except when the administrative authority
grants an operating term extension under Subsection I of this Section (entitled
"May I receive an operating extension for a staging pile?"). You must measure
the two-year limit, or other operating term specified by the administrative
authority in the permit, closure plan, or order, from the first time you place
remediation waste into a staging pile. You must maintain a record of the date
when you first placed remediation waste into the staging pile for the life of
the permit, closure plan, or order, or for three years, whichever is
longer.
2. In setting
the standards and design criteria, the administrative authority must consider
the following factors:
a. length of time the
pile will be in operation;
b.
volumes of wastes you intend to store in the pile;
c. physical and chemical characteristics of
the wastes to be stored in the unit;
d. potential for releases from the
unit;
e. hydrogeological and other
relevant environmental conditions at the facility that may influence the
migration of any potential releases; and
f. potential for human and environmental
exposure to potential releases from the unit.
E. May a staging pile receive ignitable or
reactive remediation waste? You must not place ignitable or reactive
remediation waste in a staging pile unless:
1.
you have treated, rendered, or mixed the remediation waste before you placed it
in the staging pile so that:
a. the
remediation waste no longer meets the definition of ignitable or reactive under
LAC 33:V.4903.B or D; and
b. you
have complied with LAC 33:V.1517.B; or
2. you manage the remediation waste to
protect it from exposure to any material or condition that may cause it to
ignite or react.
F. How
do I handle incompatible remediation wastes in a staging pile? The term
incompatible waste is defined in LAC 33:V.109. You must comply
with the following requirements for incompatible wastes in staging piles:
1. you must not place incompatible
remediation wastes in the same staging pile unless you have complied with LAC
33:V.1517.B;
2. if remediation
waste in a staging pile is incompatible with any waste or material stored
nearby in containers, other piles, open tanks, or land disposal units (for
example, surface impoundments), you must separate the incompatible materials,
or protect them from one another by using a dike, berm, wall, or other device;
and
3. you must not pile
remediation waste on the same base where incompatible wastes or materials were
previously piled, unless the base has been decontaminated sufficiently to
comply with LAC 33:V.1517.B.
G. Are staging piles subject to Land Disposal
Restrictions (LDR) and Minimum Technological Requirements (MTR)? No. Placing
hazardous remediation wastes into a staging pile does not constitute land
disposal of hazardous wastes or create a unit that is subject to the minimum
technological requirements of RCRA 3004(o).
H. How long may I operate a staging pile? The
administrative authority may allow a staging pile to operate for up to two
years after hazardous remediation waste is first placed into the pile. You must
use a staging pile no longer than the length of time designated by the
administrative authority in the permit, closure plan, or order (the
operating term), except as provided in Subsection I of this
Section.
I. May I receive an
operating extension for a staging pile?
1. The
administrative authority may grant one operating term extension of up to 180
days beyond the operating term limit contained in the permit, closure plan, or
order (see Subsection L of this Section for modification procedures). To
justify to the administrative authority the need for an extension, you must
provide sufficient and accurate information to enable the administrative
authority to determine that continued operation of the staging pile:
a. will not pose a threat to human health and
the environment; and
b. is
necessary to ensure timely and efficient implementation of remedial actions at
the facility.
2. The
administrative authority may, as a condition of the extension, specify further
standards and design criteria in the permit, closure plan, or order, as
necessary, to ensure protection of human health and the environment.
J. What is the closure requirement
for a staging pile located in a previously contaminated area?
1. Within 180 days after the operating term
of the staging pile expires, you must close a staging pile located in a
previously contaminated area of the site by removing or decontaminating all:
a. remediation waste;
b. contaminated containment system
components; and
c. structures and
equipment contaminated with waste and leachate.
2. You must also decontaminate contaminated
subsoils in a manner and according to a schedule that the administrative
authority determines will protect human health and the environment.
3. The administrative authority must include
the above requirements in the permit, closure plan, or order in which the
staging pile is designated.
K. What is the closure requirement for a
staging pile located in an uncontaminated area?
1. Within 180 days after the operating term
of the staging pile expires, you must close a staging pile located in an
uncontaminated area of the site according to LAC 33:V.2315.A and 3507, or
according to LAC 33:V.4379 and 4475.A.
2. The administrative authority must include
the above requirement in the permit, closure plan, or order in which the
staging pile is designated.
L. How may my existing permit (for example,
RAP), closure plan, or order be modified to allow me to use a staging pile?
1. To modify a permit, other than a RAP, to
incorporate a staging pile or staging pile operating term extension, either:
a. the administrative authority must approve
the modification under the procedures for agency-initiated permit modifications
in LAC 33:V.322; or
b. you must
request a Class 2 modification under LAC 33:V.321.C.
2. To modify a RAP to incorporate a staging
pile or staging pile operating term extension, you must comply with the RAP
modification requirements under LAC 33:V.640 and 645.
3. To modify a closure plan to incorporate a
staging pile or staging pile operating term extension, you must follow the
applicable requirements under LAC 33:V.3511.C or 4381.C.
4. To modify an order to incorporate a
staging pile or staging pile operating term extension, you must follow the
terms of the order and the applicable provisions of LAC 33:V.4303.A.5 or
B.5.
M. Is information
about the staging pile available to the public? The administrative authority
must document the rationale for designating a staging pile or staging pile
operating term extension and make this documentation available to the
public.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
30:2180 et
seq.
