11 Miss. Code. R. 3-1.9 - Location Standards for the Establishment or Expansion of Hazardous Waste Management Facilities

A. Applicability. These regulations shall apply to (1) hazardous waste permit applications pending before the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality on the effective date of these regulations and (2) hazardous waste permit applications submitted to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality after the effective date of these regulations.

B. Definitions. For purposes of this Rule 1.9, all words and phrases not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in Section 17-17-3 of the Mississippi Code unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Terms not defined either herein or in Section 17-17-3 of the Mississippi Code shall have their ordinary meanings unless such terms have a specialized meaning within the hazardous waste field. Terms having such a specialized meaning are to be given that specialized meaning unless otherwise defined herein or in Section 17-17- 3 of the Mississippi Code.

(1) "Active portion of the facility" means that portion of the facility where treatment, storage, or disposal operations are being or have been conducted and which is not a closed portion.

(2) "Airport" means a public-use airport open to the public without prior permission and without restrictions within the physical capacities of available facilities.

(3) "Aquifer" means a geological formation, group of formations, or portion of a formation capable of yielding significant quantities of groundwater to wells or springs.

(4) "Areas susceptible to mass movement" means those areas of influence (i.e., areas characterized as having an active or substantial possibility of mass movement) where the movement of earth material at, beneath, or adjacent to the unit, because of slope stability or other natural or man-induced events, results in the downslope transport of soil and rock material by means of gravitational influence. Areas of mass movement include, but are not limited to, landslides, avalanches, debris slides and flows, soil fluction, block sliding, and rock fall.

(5) "Closed portion" means that portion of a facility which has closed in accordance with the facility closure plan and all applicable closure requirements.

(6) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

(7) "Displacement" means the relative movement of any two sides of a fault measured in any direction.

(8) "Endangered or threatened species" means any species listed as such pursuant to the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, or as defined by Section 49-5-105, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(9) "Facility" means all contiguous land, and structures, other appurtenances, and improvements on the land, used for treating, storing, or disposing of hazardous waste. A facility may consist of several treatment, storage, or disposal operational units (e.g., one or more landfills, surface impoundments, or combinations of them).

(10) "Fault" means a fracture or a zone of rock fractures in material along which strata on one side have been displaced with respect to those on the other side.

(11) "Holocene" means the most recent geologic epoch of the Quaternary Period, from the end of the Pleistocene Epoch to the present.

(12) "Horizontal ground acceleration" means the maximum change in velocity over time relative to horizontal movement of the earth's surface as measured at a particular point during an earthquake.

(13) "Incinerator" means any enclosed device that:

(a) Uses controlled flame combustion and neither meets the criteria of classification as a boiler, sludge dryer, or carbon regeneration unit, nor is listed as an industrial furnace as these terms are defined in 40 CFR 260.10; or

(b) Meets the definition of infrared incinerator or plasma arc incinerator established in 40 CFR 260.10.

(14) "Karst Terranes" means areas where karst topography, with its characteristic surface and subterranean features, is developed as the result of dissolution of limestone, dolomite, or other soluble rock. Characteristic physiographic features present in karst terranes include, but are not limited to, sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, large springs, and blind valleys.

(15) "Lake or reservoir" means a body of water, not owned by the applicant, having greater than ten (10) acres of surface area at such time as the spillway overflows and the primary purpose of which is not for wastewater storage or treatment.

(16) "Land-Based Unit" means a unit subject to Rule 1.7 (40 CFR, Subpart F) of these regulations, including landfills, surface impoundments, waste piles, land treatment units, and certain hazardous waste management units subject to Rule 1.7 (40 CFR, Subpart F) of these regulations, Land based unit also means a tank that closes under Rule 1.7 ( 40 CFR, 264.197(b)) of these regulations, leaving contaminated soils in place.

(17) "Mass movement" means any downslope unit movement of earth materials, including, but not necessarily restricted to, landslides, avalanches, debris slides and flows, creep, solifluction, blocksliding, rock falls, and slump.

(18) "Nonattainment area" means an area which is shown by monitored data or which is calculated by air quality modeling to exceed any national ambient air quality standard.

(19) "Non-Land Based Unit" means any hazardous waste management unit not subject to Part F of Part 264.

(20) "100-year-flood" means a flood that has a 1-percent or greater chance of recurring in any given year or a flood of a magnitude equaled or exceeded once in 100 years on the average over a significantly long period.

(21) "100-year floodplain" means any land area which is subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year from any source.

(22) "Ordinary waste" means "garbage" as that term is defined in Section 17-17-3 of the Mississippi Code.

(23) "Outcrop" means that part of a geologic formation or structure that appears at the surface of the earth; also, bedrock that is covered only by surficial deposits such as alluvium.

(24) "Permit Board" means the Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board.

(25) "Poor foundation conditions" means those areas where features exist which indicate that a natural or man-induced event may result in inadequate foundation support for the structural components of a land-based or non-land-based unit.

(26) "Seismic impact zone" means an area with a ten percent or greater probability that the maximum horizontal acceleration in lithified earth material will equal or exceed 0.10g (expressed as a fraction of the earth's gravitational pull (g)) in 250 years.

(27) "7Q10 flow" means the average streamflow rate over seven (7) consecutive days that may be expected to be reached as an annual minimum no more frequently than one (1) year in ten (10).

(28) "Stream or river" means a flowing body of water with a 7Q10 flow greater than zero.

(29) "Structural integrity" means the ability of a unit to withstand physical forces exerted upon designed components, ancillary devices, and containment structures of the unit.

(30) "Surficial deposit" means unconsolidated and residual, alluvial, or glacial deposits, lying on bedrock or occurring on or near the earth's surface.

(31) "Unstable area" means a location that is susceptible to natural or human-induced events or forces capable of impairing the structural integrity of a commercial hazardous waste management facility constructed at the location. Unstable areas can include, but are not limited to, areas exhibiting poor foundation conditions, areas susceptible to mass movement, and Karst terranes.

(32) "Water well or special purpose hole" means a well or hole including but not necessarily limited to, a potable well, agricultural well, monitoring well, observation well, saline or brackish water withdrawal well, contaminant recovery well, heat pump water supply hole, vertical closed-loop system hole, industrial supply well, or a rig supply well.

(33) "Zone of deformation" means the area adjacent to and surrounding a fault which is subject to structural deformation as a result of movement along the fault. Geologic features that may occur in a zone of deformation may include, but are not limited to, splay or satellite faults, gouge zones, en echelon fault clusters, and deformed strata.

C. Hydrological and Geological Factors

(1) Floodplains.

No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded in a 100-year floodplain unless the permit applicant can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Permit Board that the proposed facility will not restrict the flow of the 100-year flood, reduce the temporary water storage capacity of the floodplain, or result in washout of hazardous waste so as to pose a hazard to human health or the environment.

(2) Seismic Considerations.

(a) No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that it would be located closer than 200 feet to any fault along which displacement has occurred during the Holocene epoch unless a site-specific demonstration is made showing that any movement along the Holocene fault and in the adjacent zone of deformation will not disrupt the contents of any unit or damage the structural integrity of any unit, or in any way threaten human health or the environment. The owner or operator may be required to perform site and regional studies to demonstrate that the zone of deformation associated with the fault is smaller than 200 feet.

(b) No commercial hazardous waste management land-based unit shall be established or expanded such that it would be located in a seismic impact zone.

(c) No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that it would be located in areas susceptible to damage caused by any ground shaking, liquefaction, or seismic wave motion based on approved seismic risk maps or methods, unless it can be demonstrated that appropriate engineering measures will be applied to ensure unit structural integrity and to mitigate the threats posed to human health and the environment by any ground shaking, liquefaction, or seismic wave motion.

(3) Unstable Areas. No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that it would be located in an unstable area unless the applicant can demonstrate to the Permit Board that the facility will be designed so that the structural integrity of the facility will be maintained. The applicant for a permit to establish or expand a commercial hazardous waste management facility must consider the following factors, at a minimum, in determining whether an area is unstable:

(a) On-site or local soil conditions that may result in significant differential settling;

(b) On-site or local geologic or geomorphologic features; and

(c) On-site or local human-made features or events (both surface and subsurface).

(4) Geologic Barrier Thickness and Permeability. No land-based commercial hazardous waste management unit shall be established or expanded such that it would be located in an area where a geologic barrier material of soils or rock formations with low permeability is not present between the unit and the upper most aquifer. This barrier shall be at least 150 feet thick. The upper 50 feet of the geologic barrier material shall have a saturated hydraulic conductivity averaging no greater than 1x10 cm/sec, including consideration of any significant discontinuities or lithologic changes. Hydraulic conductivity values averaging no greater than 1 x 10 cm/sec. will be acceptable in the material comprising the remainder of the geologic barrier below the 50 foot section exhibiting the 1 x 10 cm/sec hydraulic conductivity values.

(5) Presence of Hydrocarbon Test Wells and Water Wells.

(a) No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that an active, inactive, or abandoned hydrocarbon well would be present within or beneath the active portion of the facility.

(b) No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that an active, inactive, or abandoned water well or other special purpose hole would be present within or beneath the active portion of the facility, unless it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Permit Board that such well or hole has been abandoned according to all applicable State abandonment procedures and regulations. Exceptions to this criterion include any wells or other special purpose holes the Permit Board determines to be necessary for the detection or removal of contaminants within the active portion of the facility.

(6) Sole Source Aquifers and Aquifer Outcrop Areas.

(a) No commercial hazardous waste management land-based unit shall be established or expanded such that it would be located in the outcrop area of a freshwater aquifer which has use as a present or potential source of water for a community water system as defined in 40 CFR 141.2 of the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations.

(7) Surface and Subsurface Mineral Interests. No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded on any property for which the permit applicant does not own the mineral rights within the boundary of the proposed facility.

D. Protection of Natural Resources

(1) Wetlands No hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded in wetlands unless the permit applicant obtains formal written approval regarding the operation from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Additionally, no such facility shall be established or expanded in coastal wetlands unless the applicant obtains formal written concurrence, as required by Mississippi law, from the Department of Marine Resources.

(2) Endangered or Threatened Species No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded unless in compliance with all statutes, rules, and regulations concerning protection of endangered or threatened species within the jurisdiction of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.

(3) Significant Historical and Archaeological Areas. No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded in such a manner as to impact significantly and adversely cultural resources listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, unless impact to those cultural resources may be appropriately mitigated.

(4) Parks and Recreational Areas.

(a) No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that it would be, on the date the application is submitted to the Department, located within 0.5 miles of any of the following areas, without the specific written consent of the agency responsible for managing such area:

(1) A national, state, or city designated park; or

(2) An outdoor recreational area, such as a golf course or swimming pool, owned by a city, county, or other public agency.

(b) A greater setback distance may be established by the Permit Board on a site specific basis.

(5) Forests, Wilderness Areas, Wildlife Management Areas, and Natural Areas.

(a) No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that it would be, on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department, located within any of the following areas, without the specific written consent of the person responsible for managing such area:

(1) National forest land, national wilderness areas, and national wildlife refuge areas, as designated by the appropriate federal agency; or

(2) State wildlife management areas, state game management areas, and state natural areas, as designated by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

(b) A setback distance may be established by the Permit Board on a site specific basis.

(6) Surface Waters

(a) No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that the active portion of the facility would be located within 0.5 mile of the banks of any section of a river, stream, lake, or coastal waters classified by the Commission on Environmental Quality as recreational or shellfish harvesting on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department.

(b) No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that the active portion of the facility would be located closer than five hundred (500) feet from the banks of a stream, river, lake, reservoir, or coastal waters.

(7) Air Quality. An applicant for an air and/or water pollution control permit to establish or expand a commercial hazardous waste management facility shall comply with the State of Mississippi Guidelines for Review of Siting Criteria in Applications for Air and Water Pollution Control Permits (Title 11, Part 2, Chapter 2 and Title 11, Part 6, Chapter 1), as amended.

(8) Protection of Agriculture, Aquaculture, Forestry, Fish, and Wildlife. No commercial hazardous waste incinerator or landfill shall be located such that operations of the facility would have a significant adverse impact on agriculture, aquaculture, forests, fish, or wildlife. The applicant must provide to the Department a documented report, predicting any impacts of the proposed facility on agriculture, aquaculture, forests, fish, and wildlife within a five-mile radius of the site.

E. Local Land Use and Proximity to Public Water Supplies, Airports, and Certain Structures and Institutions.

(1) Local Land Use and Local Zoning.

No hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded if, on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department, the site would be in conflict with lawful regulations or ordinances of state agencies, or local governments.

(2) Proximity to Residences.

(a) No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that the active portion of the facility would be located less than 1000 feet from any residence in existence on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department.

(b) No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that the active portion of the facility would be located within one mile of a residential area in existence on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department, unless the proposed facility would be located in an established industrial park, in which case the active portion of the facility shall not be located less than 1000 feet from any residential area in existence on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department.

(c) For purposes of this rule,

(1) "residential area" means a group or cluster of 10 or more single family dwelling units on contiguous property and having an average density of two or more units per acre, and

(2) "single family dwelling unit" means either (a) a conventional single family detached dwelling or mobile home, or (b) a unit within a multi-family residential complex (townhouses, condominiums, or apartments).

(3) Proximity to Public Water Supply Sources.

(a) No commercial hazardous waste management land-based unit shall be established or expanded such that the active portion of the facility would be, on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department, within one mile of any well supplying water to a community water system as defined in 40 CFR 141.2 of the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations.

(b) No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that the active portion of the facility would be, on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department, within one mile from a surface water intake for a public water supply. If the runoff from the facility would enter the water body upgradient of the intake structure, this distance shall be increased to at least twenty (20) miles.

(4) Proximity to Airports. No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that it would adversely affect operations or safety at any airport in existence on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department.

(5) Proximity to Buildings Housing Multiple Relatively Immobile Occupants. No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that the active portion of the facility would be, on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department, located within one (1) mile of any existing hospital, nursing home, school, or other multi-occupant institution, the purpose and function of which is to provide services to immobile populations.

(6) Proximity to Churches. No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that the active portion of the facility would be, on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department, located within one thousand (1,000) feet of any existing church.

(7) Proximity to Municipalities. No commercial hazardous waste incinerator or landbased unit shall be established or expanded such that the active portion of the facility would be, on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department, located within one-half (1/2) mile of the incorporated limits of any existing municipality.

(8) Proximity to Existing or Abandoned Ordinary Waste Disposal Sites. No commercial hazardous waste landfill shall be established or expanded such that the active portion of the facility would be, on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department, located on the same site or within one thousand (1,000) feet of an existing or abandoned ordinary waste disposal site, unless the hazardous waste to be disposed of in said commercial hazardous waste landfill is specifically approved as exempted from this prohibition by the Department.

F. Transportation Factors. The applicant for a permit to establish or expand a commercial hazardous waste management facility must demonstrate to the Permit Board that the anticipated additional traffic along the primary route to the facility would not significantly increase the safety risk within a ten (10) mile radius of the active portion of the facility. The demonstration shall address at least the following factors:

(1) the primary route(s) that the applicant expects will be used for the transportation of hazardous waste to the facility within a ten (10) mile radius of the active portion of the facility;

(2) an estimate of the number and types of vehicles routinely traveling on the primary route(s) within said ten (10) mile radius;

(3) an estimate of the number and types of vehicles expected by the applicant to transport hazardous waste to the facility via the primary route(s) within said ten (10) mile radius;

(4) an estimate of the loaded weight of each type of vehicle expected to transport hazardous waste to the facility via the primary route(s) within the ten (10) mile radius; and

(5) proximity to waste generators.

The Permit Board may require such reasonable restrictions and limitations as it deems appropriate regarding the primary transportation route(s) to the facility if it should determine that the primary route(s) of transportation to the facility by hazardous waste hauling vehicles would significantly increase the safety risks within the ten (10) mile radius.

G. Aesthetic Factors

(1) Visibility and Appearance of the Facility.

(a) No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded such that, on the date the permit application is submitted to the Department, the active portion of the facility would be less than 1000 feet from the edge of the right-of-way of any interstate or primary highway, as designated by the Mississippi Department of Transportation, except the following:

(1) those locations which will be screened by natural objects, planting, fences, or other appropriate means so as not to be visible from the main-traveled highway system, or otherwise removed from sight; planting, fences, or other appropriate means so as not to be visible from the main-traveled highway system, or otherwise removed from sight;

(2) those locations which are within areas zoned for industrial use under authority of law; or

(3) those locations which will not be visible from the main-traveled highway.

(b) The Permit Board may, at its discretion, apply the requirements of G.l.a. in relation to any public road other than an interstate or primary highway.

(2) Noise

No commercial hazardous waste management facility shall be established or expanded unless the applicant for a permit for the facility can demonstrate to the Permit Board that the facility shall be located, configured, designed, constructed, and operated such that the noise level at the facility boundary caused by normal waste management operations of the facility but not by vehicular movement into or out of the facility will not exceed an eight-hour time weighted average (TWA) of 65 decibels between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. or an eight-hour TWA of 55 decibels between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

H. Buffer Zones

The Permit Board may establish buffer zone requirements in addition to or more stringent than the minimums prescribed in this section for new or expanding commercial hazardous waste management facilities, and all buffer zone requirements around all other new or expanding hazardous waste management facilities, all as may be required for protection of the public health or environment or because of the proximity of such things as individual residences, roadways, waterways, commercial establishments, existing or abandoned solid or hazardous waste facilities or other natural or man-made structures, on a case-by-case basis using good engineering judgment.

I. Notice to Landowners.

Within sixty (60) days after the date on which an application for a permit to establish or expand a commercial hazardous waste landfill is filed with the Department, the applicant shall give notice of the filing to all landowners within one-half (1/2) mile of the property line of the proposed facility.

Notes

11 Miss. Code. R. 3-1.9

Miss. Code Ann. §§ 17-17-1, et seq., 49-2-9 (1)(b), 49-2-1, et seq. and 49-17-1, et seq.

Amended 11/26/2015 Amended 12/30/2017 Amended 6/25/2018 Amended 7/1/2022