Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
(1) Purpose.
The purpose of this section is to provide notification to the department, local
communities and the public that the siting of a dangerous waste management
facility is being considered. Also, to provide general information about the
proposed facility owner/operator, the type of facility and the types of wastes
to be managed and compliance with the siting criteria.
(2) Applicability. This section applies to
owners/operators of proposed facilities. This section also applies to existing
facilities applying for a significant expansion, as defined in WAC
173-303-282(3).
This section does not apply to owners/operators of facilities or portions of
facilities who are applying for research, development and demonstration
permits, pursuant to section 3005(g) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act, codified in 40 C.F.R. Part 270.65. In addition, this section does not
apply to owners/operators of facilities operating under an emergency permit
pursuant to WAC
173-303-804 or to persons at
facilities conducting on-site cleanup of sites under the Comprehensive
Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, Sections 3004(u),
3004(v), and 3008(h) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act,
chapter
70.105 RCW, or
chapter
70.105D RCW, provided
the cleanup activities are being conducted under a consent decree, agreed
order, or enforcement order, or is being conducted by the department or United
States Environmental Protection Agency. As used in this section:
(a) "Proposed facility" means a facility
which has not qualified for interim status under WAC
173-303-805 or for which the
department has not issued a final facility permit under WAC
173-303-806 prior to the
effective date of this section;
(b)
"Existing facility" means a facility which has qualified for interim status
under WAC
173-303-805 or for which the
department has issued a final facility permit under WAC
173-303-806 prior to the
effective date of this section; and
(c) "Expansion" means the enlargement of the
land surface area of an existing facility from that described in an interim
status permit application or final status permit, the addition of a new
dangerous waste management process, or an increase in the overall design
capacity of existing dangerous waste management processes at a
facility.
(3) Notice of
intent to file for an interim status or a dangerous waste permit.
(a) The notice of intent to be prepared by
the owners/operators of the applicable facilities must consist of:
(i) The name, address, and telephone number
of the owner, operator, and corporate officers;
(ii) The location of the proposed facility or
expansion on a topographic map with specifications as detailed in WAC
173-303-806(4)(a)(xviii);
(iii) A brief description of the types and
amounts of wastes to be managed annually;
(iv) A brief description of the major
equipment items proposed, if any, and the waste management activities requiring
a permit or revision of an existing permit;
(v) Demonstration of compliance with the
siting criteria as required under WAC
173-303-282(6) and
(7). The site conditions with regards to
satisfying the criteria are to be assessed as of the date of submittal of the
notice of intent to the department;
(vi) For informational purposes a complete
summary of compliance violations of permit conditions at hazardous waste
management facilities owned or operated by the applicant, its subsidiaries or
its parent company, during the ten calendar years preceding the permit
application. Along with the summary of compliance violations, as issued by
appropriate state or federal regulatory agencies, the applicant must also
submit responses to past violations and any written correspondence with
regulatory agencies regarding the compliance status of any hazardous waste
management facility owned or operated by the applicant, its subsidiaries or
parent company of the owner or operator. A more detailed compliance record must
be provided upon request by the department;
(vii) For informational purposes the need for
the proposed facility or expansion must be demonstrated by one of the following
methods:
(A) Current overall capacity within
Washington is inadequate for dangerous wastes generated in Washington as
determined by regional or state dangerous waste management plans; or
(B) The facility is a higher priority
management method, as described in
RCW
70.105.150, than is currently in place or
practical and available for the types of waste proposed to be managed;
or
(C) The facility will add to the
types of technology available or will reduce cost impacts (not to include
transportation costs) to Washington generators for disposal of dangerous
wastes; and
(viii) For
informational purposes it must be shown how the capacity of the proposed
facility or expansion will affect the overall capacity within the state, in
conjunction with existing facilities in Washington.
(b) The notice of intent must be filed with
the department, and copies must be made available for public review, no less
than one hundred fifty days prior to filing an application for a permit or
permit revision. The department will send a copy of the notice of intent to the
elected officials of the lead local government and all local governments within
the potentially affected area as required by WAC
173-303-902(5)(b)(i).
The department will continue to coordinate with interested local governments
throughout the review of the proposal.
(c) Reserved.
(4) Preapplication public meeting and notice.
(a) Applicability. The requirements of
subsections (4), (5), and (6) of this section apply to all final facility (part
B) applications seeking initial permits for dangerous waste management units
over which the department has permit issuance authority. These requirements
also apply to final facility part B applications seeking renewal of permits for
such units, where the renewal application is proposing a significant change in
facility operations. For the purposes of these subsections, a "significant
change" is any change that would qualify as a class 3 permit modification under
WAC 173-303-830(4).
For the purposes of these subsections only, "dangerous waste management units
over which the department has permit issuance authority" refers to dangerous
waste management units for which the department has been authorized to issue
dangerous waste permits. The requirements of these subsections do not apply to
permit modifications under WAC
173-303-830(4)
or to applications that are submitted for the sole purpose of conducting
post-closure activities or post-closure activities and corrective action at a
facility.
The applicant's meeting date must be coordinated with and
approved by ecology. If timing allows, both the applicant and ecology's
meetings may be held on the same day.
(b) Prior to the submission of a part B final
facility permit application for a facility, the applicant must hold at least
one meeting with the public in order to solicit questions from the community
and inform the community of proposed dangerous waste management activities. The
applicant must post a sign-in sheet or otherwise provide a voluntary
opportunity for attendees to provide their names and addresses.
(c) The applicant must submit a summary of
the meeting, along with the list of attendees and their addresses developed
under (b) of this subsection, and copies of any written comments or materials
submitted at the meeting, to the department as a part of the part B
application, in accordance with WAC
173-303-806(4)(a).
(d) The applicant must provide public notice
of the preapplication meeting at least thirty days prior to the meeting. The
applicant must maintain, and provide to the department upon request,
documentation of the notice.
(i) The applicant
must provide public notice in all of the following forms:
(A) A newspaper advertisement. The applicant
must publish a notice, fulfilling the requirements in (d)(ii) of this
subsection, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or equivalent
jurisdiction that hosts the proposed location of the facility. In addition, the
department will instruct the applicant to publish the notice in newspapers of
general circulation in adjacent counties, where the department determines that
such publication is necessary to inform the affected public. The notice must be
published as a display advertisement.
(B) A visible and accessible sign. The
applicant must post a notice on a clearly marked sign at or near the facility,
fulfilling the requirements in (d)(ii) of this subsection. If the applicant
places the sign on the facility property, then the sign must be large enough to
be readable from the nearest point where the public would pass by the
site.
(C) A broadcast media
announcement. The applicant must broadcast a notice, fulfilling the
requirements in (d)(ii) of this subsection, at least once on at least one local
radio station or television station. The applicant may employ another medium
with prior approval of the department.
(D) A notice to the department. The applicant
must send a copy of the newspaper notice to the department and to the
appropriate units of state and local government, in accordance with WAC
173-303-840(3)(e)(i)(E).
(ii) The notices required under
(d)(i) of this subsection must include:
(A)
The date, time, and location of the meeting;
(B) A brief description of the purpose of the
meeting;
(C) A brief description of
the facility and proposed operations, including the address or a map (e.g., a
sketched or copied street map) of the facility location;
(D) A statement encouraging people to contact
the facility at least seventy-two hours before the meeting if they need special
access to participate in the meeting; and
(E) The name, address, and telephone number
of a contact person for the applicant.
(5) Public notice requirements at
the application stage.
(a) Applicability. The
requirements of this section apply to all final facility part B applications
seeking initial permits for dangerous waste management units over which the
department has permit issuance authority. The requirements of this section also
apply to final facility part B applications seeking renewal of permits for such
units under WAC
173-303-806(7)(a).
For the purposes of this section only, "dangerous waste management units over
which the department has permit issuance authority" refers to dangerous waste
management units for which the department has been authorized to issue final
facility permits. The requirements of this section do not apply to permit
modifications under WAC
173-303-830(4)
or permit applications submitted for the sole purpose of conducting
post-closure activities or post-closure activities and corrective action at a
facility.
(b) Notification at
application submittal.
(i) The department will
provide public notice as set forth in WAC
173-303-840(3)(e)(i)(D),
and notice to appropriate units of state and local government as set forth in
WAC 173-303-840(3)(e)(i)(E),
that a part B permit application has been submitted to the department and is
available for review.
(ii) The
notice will be published within a reasonable period of time after the
application is received by the department. The notice must include:
(A) The name and telephone number of the
applicant's contact person;
(B) The
name and telephone number of the department's contact, and a mailing address to
which information, opinions, and inquiries may be directed throughout the
permit review process;
(C) An
address to which people can write in order to be put on the facility mailing
list;
(D) The location where copies
of the permit application and any supporting documents can be viewed and
copied;
(E) A brief description of
the facility and proposed operations, including the address or a map (for
example, a sketched or copied street map) of the facility location on the front
page of the notice; and
(F) The
date that the application was submitted.
(iii) Concurrent with the notice required
under (b) of this subsection, the department will place the permit application
and any supporting documents in a location accessible to the public in the
vicinity of the facility or at the department's office.
(6) Information repository.
(a) Applicability. The requirements of this
section apply to all applications seeking final facility permits for dangerous
waste management units over which the department has permit issuance authority.
For the purposes of this section only, "dangerous waste management units over
which the department has permit issuance authority" refers to dangerous waste
management units for which the department has been authorized to issue
dangerous waste permits.
(b) The
department may assess the need, on a case-by-case basis, for an information
repository. When assessing the need for an information repository, the
department will consider a variety of factors, including: The level of public
interest; the type of facility; the presence of an existing repository; and the
proximity to the nearest copy of the administrative record. If the department
determines, at any time after submittal of a permit application, that there is
a need for a repository, then the department will notify the facility that it
must establish and maintain an information repository. (See WAC
173-303-810(16)
for similar provisions relating to the information repository during the life
of a permit.)
(c) The information
repository must contain all documents, reports, data, and information deemed
necessary by the department to fulfill the purposes for which the repository is
established. The department will have the discretion to limit the contents of
the repository.
(d) The information
repository must be located and maintained at a site chosen by the facility. If
the department finds the site unsuitable for the purposes and persons for which
it was established, due to problems with the location, hours of availability,
access, or other relevant considerations, then the department will specify a
more appropriate site.
(e) The
department will specify requirements for informing the public about the
information repository. At a minimum, the department will require the facility
to provide a written notice about the information repository to all individuals
on the facility mailing list.
(f)
The facility owner/operator will be responsible for maintaining and updating
the repository with appropriate information throughout a time period specified
by the department. The department may close the repository at its discretion,
based on the factors in (b) of this subsection.
Statutory Authority:
Chapters
70.105 and
70.105D RCW. 09-14-105 (Order
07-12), § 173-303-281, filed 6/30/09, effective 7/31/09. Statutory
Authority:
Chapters
70.105,
70.105D,
15.54 RCW and
RCW
70.105.007. 00-11-040 (Order 99-01), §
173-303-281, filed 5/10/00, effective 6/10/00. Statutory Authority:
Chapters
70.105 and
70.105D RCW. 95-22-008 (Order
94-30), § 173-303-281, filed 10/19/95, effective 11/19/95; 94-01-060
(Order 92-33), § 173-303-281, filed 12/8/93, effective 1/8/94. Statutory
Authority:
RCW
43.21A.080 and
70.105.210, et seq. 90-20-016,
§ 173-303-281, filed 9/21/90, effective 10/22/90. Statutory Authority:
Chapter
70.105 RCW. 88-18-083
(Order 88-29), § 173-303-281, filed
9/6/88.