Ariz. Admin. Code § R18-13-1010 - Permit Application Requirements for CCR Facilities

A. The owner or operator of a CCR unit that meets the applicability requirements in 40 CFR 257.50 shall submit to the Director a complete application for an initial or a renewal CCR facility permit, any new CCR unit, or any lateral expansion to a CCR unit, on an application form, as described in this Section.

B. The time for application submittal shall be as follows:

1. An application for an initial CCR facility permit shall be submitted within 180 days after the effective date of CCR program approval. An application for an initial CCR facility permit may be submitted prior to CCR program approval as allowed under A.R.S. § 49-891(F).

2. An application for a new CCR unit or lateral expansion of a CCR unit shall be submitted before beginning construction. Construction may not begin until the Director issues approval through a permit or modification authorizing construction, unless:

a. For a CCR surface impoundment before a CCR facility permit has been issued for that facility, the owner or operator has obtained approval to construct from ADWR and demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Director that commencing construction before approval is necessary to comply with 40 CFR 257, as incorporated in this Article.

b. For a CCR unit other than a CCR surface impoundment before a CCR facility permit has been issued for that facility, the owner or operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Director that commencing construction before approval is necessary to comply with 40 CFR 257, as incorporated in this Article.

3. For a renewal permit as required under R18-13-1016(A).

C. The owner or operator shall hold a public meeting in order to solicit questions from the community and inform the community about its intended permit at one of the times listed in subsections (1) and (2). The owner or operator shall notify ADEQ at least 30 days before the meeting and provide adequate public notice for the meeting:

1. Within 90 days after receiving notice from the Director that its application is administratively complete, or

2. Prior to submitting an initial or renewal CCR facility permit application.

D. An owner or operator applying for a CCR facility permit shall provide the Department with the following information in the application and shall clearly identify any confidential business information that if made public, would divulge the trade secrets of the person as defined in A.R.S. § 49-201, or other information likely to cause substantial harm to the person's competitive position:

1. Sufficient information about the facility for the Director to establish permit conditions to ensure compliance with, including to assess the applicability of, applicable provisions in A.R.S Title 49, Chapter 4, and this Article. Such information includes but is not limited to physical location; description; operations; operating history; the address of the facility's CCR website; a list of other federal or state environmental permits issued to the owner or operator for the facility where the CCR unit is located; and for surface impoundments, the current Arizona Department of Water Resources license pursuant to A.A.C. R12-15-1214.

2. Sufficient information about the owners and operators of each CCR unit at the facility for the Director to identify, contact, communicate with them and determine compliance with A.R.S. Title 49, Chapter 4 and this Article. Such information includes, but is not limited to contact information, ownership status (e.g., private, governmental) of each CCR unit and CCR-related solid waste management operation at the facility; and a description of allocated responsibilities among owners and operators of CCR units at the facility. Each owner and operator of a CCR unit shall sign and certify the accuracy of the application, unless an agreement is provided to the Director that one owner or operator is signing and certifying for the rest.

3. Sufficient technical information about each CCR unit at the facility necessary for the Director to establish permit conditions to require compliance with, including to assess the applicability of, applicable provisions in A.R.S. Title 49, Chapter 4 and this Article. Such information includes, but is not limited to the location, design, construction, operation, maintenance, closure and retrofit of each CCR unit, descriptions of all CCR and non-CCR wastestreams placed into a CCR unit, as well as liners, controls, monitoring approaches, the groundwater monitoring system, and corrective action or remedial measures.

4. Sufficient technical and other information about the geologic and hydrogeologic characteristics and features of the area surrounding each CCR unit, including subsurface characteristics, to support decisions by the Director to establish permit conditions to require compliance with, including to assess the applicability of, applicable provisions of this Article, and to evaluate the compliance approaches proposed in the permit application. The owner and operator shall provide, at a minimum, information about the following in proximity to the CCR unit(s): floodplains and wetlands, fault lines or unstable areas, groundwater and surface water, soil and subsoil characteristics, groundwater well locations and uses, adjacent land uses, and other similar information.

5. Sufficient technical and other information characterizing conditions surrounding each CCR unit for the Director to establish permit conditions to require compliance with, including to assess the applicability of, applicable provisions in this Article. This includes but is not limited to groundwater, aquifers, soil, or other sampling data; date and procedures used to characterize background concentrations; well construction diagrams and drill logs; hydrogeologic cross-sections; information about the activities that yielded the sampling data, including quality assurance data; delineation of contaminant plumes; and other relevant information required to make technical assessments to characterize the presence or absence of leakage or releases from the CCR unit.

6. Plans, maps, drawings, diagrams, and other visual information, in addition to narrative information, including, at a minimum:

a. A site map, depicting the location of the CCR unit(s) and surrounding features representing site conditions, monitoring wells, and other pertinent information, including all known property lines, structures, water wells, injection wells, drywells and their uses, topography, the location of points of discharge, and all known borings.

b. A topographic map, depicting each CCR unit, surrounding geologic and hydrogeologic features, surface water features, access and haul roads, and other pertinent information. Information in these maps must be provided to allow the Director to understand site conditions and evaluate compliance strategies proposed by the owner and operator, to draft terms and conditions that will achieve compliance with the requirements of this Article.

c. Potentiometric maps depicting groundwater flow direction, all CCR units at the facility, any delineated plumes of contamination from releases from CCR units, all groundwater monitoring wells or other monitoring points where water level data were gathered, potable wells on the facility property or nearby property, and other pertinent information. A sufficient number and quality of maps are required to represent seasonal or temporal changes in groundwater flow direction.

d. Other documents, including: hydrogeologic cross-sections depicting subsurface conditions, drill logs, CCR unit construction diagram(s), and groundwater monitoring well construction diagrams.

e. All site-specific compliance plans and assessments required by this Article (e.g., fugitive emissions/dust control plan required by § 257.80, emergency action plan required by § 257.73, run-on and run-off control system plan required by § 257.81(c), inflow design flood control system plan required by § 257.82(c), closure plan or retrofit plan required by § 257.102, and post-closure care plan required by § 257.104).

f. All certifications and other documentation of decisions made or actions taken such as:

i. Certifications concerning the initial and periodic structural stability assessments required by §§ 257.73(d) and 257.74(d).

ii. Certifications concerning the initial and periodic safety factor assessments required by §§ 257.73(e) and 257.74(e).

iii. The inflow design flood certification under § 257.82(c)(5), the most recent inspection report required by § 257.83(b)(2), and the most recent hazard class certification required by § 257.73(a)(2)(ii).

iv. Documentation supporting a groundwater monitoring program meeting all requirements of 257.91 and 257.93 including certifications that the design and construction of the system meets the requirements of 257.91 and that the statistical method for evaluating groundwater monitoring data is appropriate pursuant to § 257.93(f)(6). The groundwater monitoring program shall also demonstrate compliance with 257.94, 257.95, or 257.98, as applicable;

v. The most recent annual groundwater monitoring and corrective action report prepared pursuant to 257.90(e);

vi. Any notice of return to detection monitoring from assessment monitoring pursuant to § 257.95(e);

vii. Any alternative source demonstration pursuant to § 257.94(e)(2) or § 257.95(g)(3)(ii);

viii. Any assessment of corrective measures pursuant to § 257.96, along with the certification for any extension of time to complete the assessment and documentation of the public meeting required by § 257.96(e);

ix. Any selection of remedy required by § 257.97;

x. Documentation supporting implementation of the corrective action programs as required by § 257.98;

xi. A report describing any CCR units that the facility has closed since October 19, 2015. The report shall demonstrate that closure complied with the requirements of 40 CFR 257, subpart D at the time of closure, be certified by a qualified professional engineer, and shall include the post-closure plan, if applicable; and

xii. Technical data, such as design drawings and specifications, cost estimates, and engineering studies shall be certified by a qualified professional engineer.

7. The expected operational life of each CCR unit.

8. If submitting financial assurance as provided by A.R.S. § 49-770(C), the information required by R18-13-1020.

9. The applicable fee established in R18-13-1021.

10. Certification in writing that the information submitted in the application is true and accurate to the best of the knowledge of each owner and operator or as provided in subsection (D)(2) of this Section.

11. For any new CCR surface impoundment, and any lateral expansion, reconstruction, repair, or enlargement of a CCR surface impoundment, the information required by this Section, R18-13-1003.01, and R18-13-1010.01, prepared by or under the supervision of a qualified professional engineer.

a. A construction quality assurance plan describing all aspects of construction supervision.

b. The following may be submitted with the application or during construction.

i. An emergency action plan as prescribed in 40 CFR 257.73 and 257.74 and R18-13-1003.02.

ii. An operation and maintenance plan to accomplish the annual maintenance.

iii. An instrumentation plan regarding instruments that evaluate the performance of the CCR surface impoundment.

12. For a CCR surface impoundment, a statement by a qualified professional engineer that determines the CCR surface impoundment's hazard class in accordance with this Article. The qualified professional engineer shall submit a map of the area that would be inundated by failure or improper operation of the CCR surface impoundment. The qualified professional engineer shall demonstrate whether failure or improper operation of the CCR surface impoundment would result in:

a. Loss of human life. The demonstration may be based on an emergency action plan for persons who may be in the area of inundation;

b. Significant incremental adverse consequences; or

c. Significant intangible losses, as defined in R18-13-1001 and identified and evaluated by a public natural resource management or protection agency.

13. The Department may require additional information as necessary for the protection of human life, property, human health and the environment.

E. Completeness. When the Director receives an application containing the information required by this Section for all applicable CCR units and CCR-related solid waste management operations at the facility and that meets the administrative completeness requirements of R18-1-503(A), the Director shall notify the owner or operator that the application is complete. The Department shall post a notice on the Department's website pursuant to R18-13-1018.

F. After a permit application is determined by the Director to be complete, and before permit issuance, the owner or operator shall notify the Director if any application components have changed or need to be added.

G. The owner or operator of a CCR unit that has submitted an application for dam modification to the Arizona Department of Water Resources related to a CCR surface impoundment after July 12, 2024 shall notify the Department within 30 days of submittal or the effective date of this rule, whichever is later. For the purposes of this subsection, an "application for dam modification" means an application submitted to the Arizona Department of Water Resources under A.A.C. R12-15-1208 through R12-15-1211.

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R18-13-1010

New section made by final rulemaking at 31 A.A.R. 1363, effective 6/1/2025.