Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a)
Purpose. Facilities and activities described in this section
shall be deemed to have a municipal waste permit by rule if the following
general requirements are met:
(1) The facility
or activity complies with Chapter 285 (relating to storage, collection and
transportation of municipal waste).
(2) The facility or activity has the other
necessary permits under the applicable environmental protection acts, and is
operating under the acts and the regulations promulgated thereunder, and the
terms and conditions of permits.
(3) A copy of a Preparedness, Prevention and
Contingency (PPC) Plan that is consistent with the Department's guidelines for
the development and implementation of environmental emergency response plans is
retained onsite and available to the Department upon request.
(4) Daily records of the weight or volume of
waste that is processed, the method and location of processing or disposal
facilities for wastes from the facility and waste handling problems or
emergencies are retained onsite and available to the Department upon
request.
(b)
Financial assurances. Subchapter D (relating to financial
assurances requirements) is not applicable to facilities which are deemed to
have a permit under this section.
(c)
Inappropriate activity.
The Department may require a person or municipality deemed to have a
permit-by-rule to apply for, and obtain, an individual or general permit, or
take other appropriate action, when the person or municipality is not in
compliance with the conditions of the permit-by-rule or is conducting an
activity that harms or presents a threat of harm to the health, safety or
welfare of the people or the environment of this Commonwealth.
(d)
Captive processing
facility. A facility that processes municipal waste that is generated
solely by the operator, onsite or offsite, shall be deemed to have a municipal
waste processing permit under this article if, in addition to subsections
(a)-(c), the following conditions are met:
(1)
Waste resulting from the processing is managed under the act and the
regulations promulgated thereunder.
(2) The processing does not have an adverse
effect on public health, safety, welfare or the environment.
(3) The processing occurs at the production
facility at which some or all of the waste is generated.
(4) The operator performs the analyses
required by §
271.611 (relating to chemical
analysis of waste), unless the analyses are waived or modified by the
Department in writing, and maintains results of these analyses at the facility
for 5 years. The results shall be submitted to the Department upon
request.
(5) For special handling
waste, the operator submits a written notice to the Department that includes
the name, address and telephone number of the facility, the individual
responsible for operating the facility and a brief description of the
facility.
(e)
Septage treatment facility. A processing facility, other than
a transfer or composting facility, that treats residential septage, either
exclusively or mixed with nonresidential septage, shall be deemed to have a
municipal waste processing permit under this article if, in addition to
subsections (a)-(c), the facility complies with the following:
(1) The operator performs the analyses
required by § 271.611, unless the analyses are waived or modified by the
Department in writing, and maintains results of these analyses at the facility
for 5 years. The results shall be submitted to the Department upon
request.
(2) The processing is
included as part of a wastewater treatment process permitted by the Department
under The Clean Streams Law (35 P. S. §§ 691.1-691.1001), or as part of a permit
issued under the act, or the discharge resulting from the processing activity
is connected to a public sewer in compliance with the local sewer authority's
requirements, and one of the following applies:
(i) The facility discharges into waters of
this Commonwealth under a Part II NPDES permit or a water quality management
permit and is in compliance with the permit.
(ii) The facility discharges into a permitted
wastewater treatment plant and is in compliance with the permit.
(3) The operator submits a written
notice to the Department that includes the name, address and the telephone
number of the facility, the individual responsible for operating the facility
and a brief description of the facility.
(f)
Incinerator. A municipal
waste incinerator located at the generation site shall be deemed to have a
municipal waste permit under this article if, in addition to the requirements
of subsections (a)-(c), the operator submits a written notice to the Department
that includes the name, address and telephone number of the facility, the
individual responsible for operating the facility and a brief description of
the facility and the facility meets one of the following:
(1) The facility is not required to obtain a
permit under the Air Pollution Control Act (35 P. S. §§ 4001-4015) and the regulations promulgated
thereunder.
(2) The facility has a
capacity of less than 500 pounds or 227 kilograms per hour and is permitted
under the Air Pollution Control Act.
(g)
Mechanical processing
facility. A facility for the processing of uncontaminated rock, stone,
gravel, brick, block and concrete from construction/demolition activities,
individually or in combination, by mechanical or manual sizing or by mechanical
or manual separation for prompt reuse shall be deemed to have a municipal waste
processing permit-by-rule if it meets the requirements of subsections (a)-(c)
and submits a written notice to the Department that includes the name, address
and telephone number of the facility, the individual responsible for operating
the facility and a brief description of the waste and the facility. The
facility shall be onsite or process less than 50 tons or 45 metric tons per
day, and may not operate in violation of any State, county or municipal waste
management plan.
(h)
Yard
waste composting facility. A person or municipality that operates a
yard waste composting facility that is less than 5 acres, other than an
individual backyard composting facility, shall be deemed to have a municipal
waste processing permit-by-rule if the person or municipality meets the
requirements of subsections (a)-(c), the facility is operated in accordance
with the Department's guidelines on yard waste composting and the operator
submits a written notice to the Department that includes the name, address and
telephone number of the facility, the individual responsible for operating the
facility and a brief description of the facility.
(i)
Rural transfer facility.
The following apply to a facility that provides publicly available municipal
waste processing and collection of source separated recyclable materials:
(1) A processing facility shall be deemed to
have a municipal waste transfer facility permit under this article if, in
addition to subsections (a)-(c), the following conditions are met:
(i) No processing other than the transfer of
residential municipal waste, construction/demolition waste and yard waste takes
place at the facility.
(ii) The
facility provides for the collection of, at a minimum, steel and bimetallic
cans, corrugated cardboard and aluminum for the purpose of recycling.
(iii) The facility does not collect or
process any liquid, special handling waste, residual waste or hazardous
waste.
(iv) Except as provided in
paragraphs (2) and (3), the volume of municipal waste stored at the facility
prior to transfer does not exceed 80 cubic yards stored in a maximum of four
containers.
(v) Municipal waste is
transferred to a permitted processing or disposal facility at least once every
10 days and the total volume of municipal waste managed at the facility does
not exceed 160 cubic yards during the same 10 days. A full container must be
transferred to a permitted processing or disposal facility within 72 hours of
the container being filled.
(vi)
Records of pick up dates for all containers at the facility shall be kept
onsite for 5 years and made available to the Department upon request.
(vii) The facility does not cause or allow a
point or nonpoint source discharge in violation of The Clean Streams Law from
or on the facility to surface waters of this Commonwealth.
(viii) The facility is not located in any of
the following:
(A) A populated area as
described in §
272.411(a) and
(b) (relating to affected municipalities) and
section 1501(a) and (b) of the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste
Reduction Act (53 P.S. §
4000.1501(a) and
(b)).
(B) A municipality with a population density
over 300 people per square mile.
(C) An area that is zoned as residential,
unless otherwise approved in writing by the municipality.
(ix) The facility does not store waste, yard
waste or source separated recyclable materials outside of a
container.
(x) The facility does
not accept waste transported by a truck, tractor or combination having a gross
vehicle weight rating, gross combination weight rating, registered gross
weight, registered combination weight or actual gross weight of 17,001 pounds
or more.
(xi) The facility is
operated in a manner to minimize and control nuisances and vectors.
(xii) Source separated recyclable materials
are stored in a manner which preserves their marketability.
(xiii) The operator submits written notice to
the Department as follows:
(A) Within 30 days
of October 29, 2022, and by January 31 every 5 years after the initial
notice.
(B) The operator of a rural
transfer facility constructed after October 29, 2022, shall submit written
notice to the Department at least 30 days before beginning operation and by
January 31 every 5 years after the initial notice.
(C) The written notice shall contain the
following:
(I) The name, address and telephone
number of the facility.
(II)
Proposed hours of operation for the facility.
(III) The name, address and telephone number
of the person or municipality responsible for operating the facility.
(IV) A brief description of the
facility.
(V) The name and address
of the facilities to which the rural transfer facility transfers municipal
waste. The rural transfer facility shall notify the Department in writing of
any changes to the facilities to which it transfers waste within 15 days of the
change.
(xiv)
The operator posts and maintains signs that include all of the following
information:
(A) Facility name.
(B) Hours of operation.
(C) A list of accepted materials.
(D) The name, business address and telephone
number of the facility operator.
(2) A rural transfer facility may provide for
collection of construction/demolition waste, in addition to the volumes
permitted in subsection (i)(1)(iv), if the following conditions are both met:
(i) The volume of construction/demolition
waste stored at the facility prior to transfer does not exceed 40 cubic yards,
stored in a maximum of two containers.
(ii) The containers are removed and taken to
a permitted processing or disposal facility at least once every 10
days.
(3) A rural
transfer facility may provide for collection of yard waste, in addition to the
volumes permitted in subsection (i)(1)(iv), if the following conditions are
both met:
(i) The volume of yard waste stored
at the facility prior to transfer does not exceed 40 cubic yards, stored in a
maximum of two containers.
(ii) The
containers are removed at least every 10 days and taken to a composting
facility, land application site or other facility permitted for the beneficial
use of yard waste.
The provisions of this §271.103 amended under sections 105
and 501 of the Solid Waste Management Act (35 P.S. §§
6018.105 and
6018.501), sections 301 and
302 of the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act
(53
P.S. §§ 4001.301 and
4001.302) and section 1920-A
of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. §
510-20).
This section cited in 25 Pa. Code §
271.1 (relating to definitions);
25 Pa. Code §
271.421 (relating to
administrative inspections); 25 Pa. Code §
271.611 (relating to chemical
analysis of waste); 25 Pa. Code §
279.1 (relating to scope); 25 Pa.
Code §
283.1 (relating to scope); and 28
Pa. Code §1151.40 (relating to management
and disposal of medical marijuana
waste).
