Utah Admin. Code R315-270-1 - Hazardous Waste Permit Program - Purpose and Scope of This Rule

(a) No person shall own, construct, modify, or operate any facility for treating, storing, or disposing of hazardous waste without first submitting, and receiving the approval of the director for, a hazardous waste permit for that facility. However, any person owning or operating a facility on or before November 19, 1980, who has given timely notification as required by Section 3010 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976, 42 U.S.C., Section 6921, et seq., and who has submitted a proposed hazardous waste permit as required by Section R315-270-1 and Section 19-6-108 for that facility, may continue to operate that facility without violating Section R315-270-1 until the permit is approved or disapproved pursuant to Section R315-270-1.

(b)

(1) The director shall review each proposed hazardous waste permit application to determine whether the application will be in accord with Rules R315-260 through R315-266, R315-268, R315-270, and R315-273, and Section 19-6-108 and, on that basis, shall approve or disapprove the application within the applicable time period specified in Section 19-6-108. If, after the receipt of plans, specifications, or other information required under Rule R315-270 and Section 19-6-108 and within the applicable time period of Section 19-6-108, the director determines that the proposed construction, installation or establishment or any part of it will not be in accord with the requirements of Rule R315-270 or other applicable rules, the director shall issue an order prohibiting the construction, installation or establishment of the proposal in whole or in part. The date of submission shall be the date that the required information is provided to the director as required by Rule R315-270.

(2) Any permit application that does not meet the requirements of Rules R315-260 through R315-266, R315-268, R315-270, and R315-273 shall be disapproved within the applicable time period specified in Section 19-6-108. If within the applicable time period specified in Section 19-6-108 the director fails to approve or disapprove the permit application or to request the submission of any additional information or modification to the application, the application may not be considered approved but the applicant may petition the director for a decision or seek judicial relief requiring a decision of approval or disapproval.

(3) An application for approval of a hazardous waste permit consists of two parts, part A and part B. For an existing facility, the requirement is satisfied by submitting only part A of the application until the date the director sets for each individual facility for submitting part B of the application, which date shall be in no case less than six months after the director gives notice to a particular facility that it shall submit part B of the application.

(c) Scope of the hazardous waste permit requirement. Section 19-6-108 requires a permit for the "treatment," "storage," and "disposal" of any "hazardous waste" as identified or listed in Rule R315-261. The terms "treatment," "storage," "disposal," and "hazardous waste" are defined in Section R315-270-2. Owners and operators of hazardous waste management units shall have permits during the active life, including the closure period, of the unit. Owners and operators of surface impoundments, landfills, land treatment units, and waste pile units that received waste after July 26, 1982, or that certified closure, in accordance with Section R315-265-115, after January 26, 1983, shall have post-closure permits, unless they demonstrate closure by removal or decontamination as provided under Subsections R315-270-1(c)(5) and R315-270-1(c)(6), or get an enforceable document in lieu of a post-closure permit, as provided under Subsection R315-270-1(c)(7). If a post-closure permit is required, the permit shall address applicable Rule R315-264 groundwater monitoring, unsaturated zone monitoring, corrective action, and post-closure care requirements. The denial of a permit for the active life of a hazardous waste management facility or unit does not affect the requirement to get a post-closure permit under Section R315-270-1.

(1) Specific inclusions. Owners and operators of certain facilities require hazardous waste permits as well as permits under other programs for certain aspects of the facility operation. Hazardous waste permits are required for the following:

(i) Injection wells that dispose of hazardous waste, and associated surface facilities that treat, store or dispose of hazardous waste. However, the owner and operator with a Utah or federal UIC permit, shall be considered to have a "permit by rule" for the injection well itself if they comply with the requirements of Subsection R315-270-60(b).

(ii) Treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste at facilities requiring a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. However, the owner and operator of a publicly owned treatment works receiving hazardous waste shall be considered to have a "permit by rule" for that waste if they comply with the requirements of Subsection R315-270-60(c).

(2) Specific exclusions and exemptions. The following are not required to get a hazardous waste permit.

(i) A generator who accumulates hazardous waste on-site in compliance with the conditions for exemption provided in Sections R315-262-14, R315-262-15, R315-262-16, and R315-262-17.

(ii) A farmer who disposes of hazardous waste pesticides from their own use as provided in Section R315-262-70.

(iii) A person who owns or operates facilities solely for the treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous waste excluded from regulation under Rule R315-270 by Section R315-261-4 or Section R315-262-14, very small quantity generator exemption.

(iv) An owner or operator of totally enclosed treatment facilities as defined in Section R315-260-10.

(v) An owner and operator of one or more elementary neutralization units or wastewater treatment units as defined in Section R315-260-10.

(vi) A transporter storing manifested shipments of hazardous waste in containers meeting the requirements of Section R315-262-30 at a transfer facility for a period of ten days or less.

(vii) A person adding absorbent material to waste in a container, as defined in Section R315-260-10, and a person adding waste to absorbent material in a container, these actions shall occur waste is first placed in the container, and Subsection R315-264-17(b) and Sections R315-264-171 and R315-264-172 are complied with.

(viii) Universal waste handlers and universal waste transporters, as defined in Section R315-260-10, managing the wastes listed in Subsections R315-270-1(c)(2)(viii)(A) through R315-270-1(c)(2)(viii)(E). These handlers are subject to regulation under Rule R315-273 if handling the following universal wastes:

(A) batteries as described in Section R315-273-2;

(B) pesticides as described in Section R315-273-3;

(C) mercury-containing equipment as described in Section R315-273-4;

(D) lamps as described in Section R315-273-5; and

(E) aerosol cans as described in Section R315-273-6.

(ix) Reserved.

(3) Further exclusions.

(i) A person is not required to get a permit for treatment or containment activities taken during immediate response to any of the following situations:

(A) a discharge of a hazardous waste;

(B) an imminent and substantial threat of a discharge of hazardous waste; or

(C) a discharge of a material that, if discharged, becomes a hazardous waste.

(ii) Any person who continues or initiates hazardous waste treatment or containment activities after the immediate response is over is subject to the applicable requirements of Rule R315-270 for those activities.

(iii) In the case of emergency responses involving military munitions, the responding military emergency response specialist's organizational unit shall keep records for three years identifying the dates of the response, the responsible persons responding, the type and description of material addressed, and its disposition.

(4) Permits for less than an entire facility. The director may issue or deny a permit for one or more units at a facility without simultaneously issuing or denying a permit to each of the units at the facility. The interim status of any unit that has not been issued or denied a permit is not affected by the issuance or denial of a permit to any other unit at the facility.

(5) Closure by removal. Owners or operators of surface impoundments, land treatment units, and waste piles closing by removal or decontamination under Rule R315-265 standards shall get a post-closure permit unless they can demonstrate to the director that the closure met the standards for closure by removal or decontamination in Section R315-264-228, Subsection R315-264-280(e), or Section R315-264-258, respectively. The demonstration may be made in the following ways.

(i) If the owner or operator has submitted a part B application for a post-closure permit, the owner or operator may request a determination, based on information contained in the application, that Rule R315-264 closure by removal standards were met. If the director believes that Rule R315-264 standards were met, the director shall notify the public of this proposed decision, allow for public comment, and reach a final determination according to the procedures in Subsection R315-270-1(c)(6).

(ii) If the owner or operator has not submitted a part B application for a post-closure permit, the owner or operator may petition the director for a determination that a post-closure permit is not required because the closure met the applicable Rule R315-264 closure standards.

(A) The petition shall include data demonstrating that closure by removal or decontamination standards of Rule R315-264 were met.

(B) The director shall approve or deny the petition according to the procedures outlined in Subsection R315-270-1(c)(6).

(6) Procedures for closure equivalency determination.

(i) If a facility owner or operator seeks an equivalency demonstration under Subsection R315-270-1(c)(5), the director shall provide the public, through a newspaper notice, the opportunity to submit written comments on the information submitted by the owner or operator within 30 days from the date of the notice. The director shall also, in response to a request or at the director's discretion, hold a public hearing when such a hearing might clarify one or more issues concerning the equivalence of the Rule R315-265 closure to a Rule R315-264 closure. The director shall give public notice of the hearing at least 30 days before it occurs. Public notice of the hearing may be given when that notice of the opportunity for the public to submit written comments is given, and the two notices may be combined.

(ii) The director shall determine whether the Rule R315-265 closure met the Rule R315-264 closure by removal or decontamination requirements within 90 days of its receipt. If the director finds that the closure did not meet the applicable Rule R315-264 standards, the director shall provide the owner or operator with a written statement of the reasons why the closure failed to meet Rule R315-264 standards. The owner or operator may submit additional information in support of an equivalency demonstration within 30 days after receiving the written statement. The director shall review any additional information submitted and make a final determination within 60 days.

(iii) If the director determines that the facility did not close in accordance with Rule R315-264 closure by removal standards, the facility is subject to post-closure permitting requirements.

(7) Enforceable documents for post-closure care. At the discretion of the director, an owner or operator may get, in lieu of a post-closure permit, an enforceable document imposing the requirements of Section R315-265-121. "Enforceable document" means an order, a permit, or other document issued by the director including a corrective action order issued by EPA under Section 3008(h), a CERCLA remedial action, or a closure or post-closure permit.

Notes

Utah Admin. Code R315-270-1

Adopted by Utah State Bulletin Number 2016-9, effective 4/15/2016 Amended by Utah State Bulletin Number 2017-17, effective 8/31/2017 Amended by Utah State Bulletin Number 2020-19, effective 9/14/2020 Amended by Utah State Bulletin Number 2021-24, effective 12/13/2021 Amended by Utah State Bulletin Number 2025-02, effective 1/13/2025