Utah Admin. Code R315-302-1 - Location Standards for Disposal Facilities
(1) Applicability.
(a) These standards apply to each new solid
waste disposal facility and any existing solid waste disposal facility seeking
facility expansion, including:
(i) Class I,
II, and V Landfills;
(ii) Class III
Landfills as specified in Rule R315-304;
(iii) Class IV and VI Landfills as specified
in Rule R315-305;
(iv) Class VII
landfills as specified in Rule R315-321;
(v) solid waste surface impoundments as
specified in Rule R315-322;
(vi)
piles that are to be closed as landfills; and
(vii) incinerators as specified in Rule
R315-306.
(b) These
standards, except for Subsection
R315-302-1(2)(f)
or unless otherwise noted, do not apply to:
(i) an existing facility;
(ii) a transfer station or a drop box
facility;
(iii) a pile used for
storage;
(iv) composting or
utilization of sludge or other solid waste on land; or
(v) hazardous waste disposal sites regulated
by Rules R315-260 through R315-266, R315-268, R315-270, R315-273 and Rule
R315-101.
(2)
Location Standards. Each applicable solid waste facility shall be subject to
the following location standards.
(a) Land
Use Compatibility. No new facility shall be located within:
(i) one thousand feet of a:
(A) national, state, county, or city park,
monument, or recreation area;
(B)
designated wilderness or wilderness study area;
(C) wild and scenic river area; or
(D) stream, lake, or
reservoir;
(ii)
ecologically and scientifically significant natural areas, including wildlife
management areas and habitat for threatened or endangered species as designated
pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1982;
(iii) one-fourth mile of:
(A) existing permanent dwellings, residential
areas, and other incompatible structures such as schools or churches unless
otherwise allowed by local zoning or ordinance; and
(B) historic structures or properties listed
or eligible to be listed in the State or National Register of Historic
Places;
(iv) ten thousand
feet of any airport runway end used by turbojet aircraft or within 5,000 feet
of any airport runway end used by only piston type aircraft unless the owner or
operator demonstrates that the facility design and operation will not increase
the likelihood of bird or aircraft collisions. Each new and existing disposal
facility is subject to this requirement.
(A)
If a new landfill or a lateral expansion of an existing landfill is located
within six miles of an airport runway end, the owner or operator shall notify
the affected airport and the Federal Aviation Administration;
or
(v) areas with respect
to archeological sites that would violate Section
9-8-404.
(b) Geology.
(i) No new facility or lateral expansion of
an existing facility shall be located in a subsidence area, a dam failure flood
area, above an underground mine, above a salt dome, above a salt bed, or on or
adjacent to geologic features that could compromise the structural integrity of
the facility.
(ii) Holocene Fault
Areas. A new facility or a lateral expansion of an existing facility may not be
located within 200 feet of a Holocene fault unless the owner or operator
demonstrates to the director that an alternative setback distance of less than
200 feet will prevent damage to the structural integrity of the unit and will
be protective of human health and the environment.
(iii) Seismic Impact Zones. A new facility or
a lateral expansion of an existing facility may not be located in seismic
impact zones unless the owner or operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of
the director that any containment structures, including liners, leachate
collection systems, and surface water control systems, are designed to resist
the maximum horizontal acceleration in lithified earth material for the
site.
(iv) Unstable Areas. The
owner or operator of an existing facility, a lateral expansion of an existing
facility, or a new facility located in an unstable area shall demonstrate to
the satisfaction of the director that engineering measures have been
incorporated into the facility design to ensure that the integrity of the
structural components of the facility will not be disrupted. The owner or
operator shall consider the following factors when 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 artificial features or events, both surface and
subsurface.
(c)
Surface Water.
(i) No new facility or lateral
expansion of an existing facility shall be located on any public land that is
being used by a public water system for water shed control for municipal
drinking water purposes.
(ii)
Floodplains. No new or existing facility shall be located in a floodplain
unless the owner or operator demonstrates to the director that the unit will
not restrict the flow of the 100 year flood, reduce the temporary water storage
capacity of the floodplain, or result in a washout of solid waste so as to pose
a hazard to human health or the environment.
(d) Wetlands. No new facility or lateral
expansion of an existing facility shall be located in wetlands unless the owner
or operator demonstrates to the director that:
(i) when applicable under Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act, Title 33
United States Code Section 1344, or
applicable state wetlands laws, the presumption that a practicable alternative
to the proposed landfill is available that does not involve wetlands is clearly
rebutted;
(ii) the unit will not
violate any applicable state water quality standard or Section 307 of the Clean
Water Act, Title 33 United
States Code Section 1317;
(iii) the unit will not jeopardize the
continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or result in the
destruction or adverse modification of a critical habitat protected under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973;
(iv) the unit will not cause or contribute to
significant degradation of wetlands. The owner or operator shall demonstrate
the integrity of the unit and its ability to protect ecological resources by
addressing the following factors:
(A) erosion,
stability, and migration potential of native wetland soils, muds, and deposits
used to support the unit;
(B)
erosion, stability, and migration potential of dredged and fill materials used
to support the unit;
(C) the volume
and chemical nature of the waste managed in the unit;
(D) impacts on fish, wildlife, and other
aquatic resources and their habitat from release of the solid waste;
(E) the potential effects of catastrophic
release of waste to the wetland and the resulting impacts on the environment;
and
(F) any additional factors, as
necessary, to demonstrate that ecological resources in the wetland are
sufficiently protected;
(v) to the extent required under Section 404
of the Clean Water Act, Title 33 United States Code Section
1344 or applicable state wetlands laws, steps
have been taken to try to achieve no net loss of wetlands, as defined by
acreage and function, by first avoiding impacts to wetlands to the maximum
extent practicable as required by Subsection
R315-302-1(2)(d)(i),
then minimizing unavoidable impacts to the maximum extent practicable, and
finally offsetting remaining unavoidable wetland impacts through any
appropriate and practicable compensatory mitigation actions, for example,
restoration of existing degraded wetlands or creation of artificial wetlands;
and
(vi) sufficient information is
available to make a reasonable determination with respect to these
demonstrations.
(e)
Groundwater.
(i) No new facility or lateral
expansion of an existing facility shall be located at a site:
(A) if the bottom of the lowest liner is less
than five feet above the historical high level of groundwater; or
(B) for a landfill that is not required to
install a liner, the lowest level of waste shall be at least ten feet above the
historical high level of groundwater.
(C) If the aquifer beneath a landfill
contains groundwater that has a Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) of 10,000 mg/l or
greater and the landfill is constructed with a composite liner, the bottom of
the lowest liner may be less than five feet above the historical high level of
the groundwater.
(ii) No
new facility shall be located over a sole source aquifer as designated in 40
CFR 149.
(iii) No new facility
shall be located over groundwater classed as IB under Section
R317-6-3.3.
(iv) Unless each unit
of the proposed facility is constructed with a composite liner or other
equivalent design approved by the director:
(A) a new facility located above any aquifer
containing groundwater that has a TDS content below 1,000 mg/l that does not
exceed applicable groundwater quality standards for any contaminant is
permitted only if the depth to groundwater is greater than 100 feet;
or
(B) a new facility located above
any aquifer containing groundwater that has a TDS content between 1,000 and
3,000 mg/l and does not exceed applicable groundwater quality standards for any
contaminant is permitted only if the depth to groundwater is 50 feet or
greater.
(C) The applicant for the
proposed facility will make the demonstration of groundwater quality necessary
to determine the appropriate aquifer classification.
(v) No new facility shall be located in
designated drinking water source protection areas or, if no source protection
area is designated, within a distance to existing drinking water wells or
springs for public water supplies of 250 days groundwater travel time. This
requirement does not include on-site operation wells. The applicant for the
proposed facility will make the demonstration, acceptable to the director, of
hydraulic conductivity and other information necessary to determine the 250
days groundwater travel distance.
(vi) Groundwater Alternative.
(A) Subject to the groundwater performance
standard stated in Subsection
R315-303-2(1),
if a solid waste disposal facility is to be located over an area where the
groundwater has a TDS of 10,000 mg/l or greater, or where there is an extreme
depth to groundwater, or where there is a natural impermeable barrier above the
groundwater, or where there is no groundwater, the director may approve, on a
site specific basis, an alternative groundwater monitoring system at the
facility or may wave the groundwater monitoring requirement. If groundwater
monitoring is waved the owner or operator shall make the demonstration stated
in Subsection R315-308-1(3).
(B) A facility that has a groundwater
monitoring alternative approved under Subsection
R315-302-1(2)(e)(vi)
is subject to the groundwater quality standards specified in Subsection
R315-303-2(1)
and the approved alternative shall be revoked by the director if the operation
of the facility impacts groundwater.
(f) Historic preservation survey requirement.
(i) Each new facility or expansion of an
existing facility shall:
(A) have a notice of
concurrence issued by the state historic preservation officer as provided for
in Subsection
9-8-404(3)(a)(i);
or
(B) show that the state historic
preservation officer did not respond within 30 days to the submittal, to the
officer, of an evaluation; or
(C)
have received a joint analysis conducted as required by Subsection
9-8-404(2).
(ii) Each existing facility shall, for any
areas of the site that have not been disturbed:
(A) have a notice of concurrence issued by
the state historic preservation officer as provided for in Subsection
9-8-404(3)(a)(i);
or
(B) show that the state historic
preservation officer did not respond within 30 days to the submittal, to the
officer, of an evaluation; or
(C)
have received a joint analysis conducted as required by Subsection
9-8-404(2).
(g) Traffic impact study requirement.
(i) For each new facility, the applicant
shall pay the costs for review of a traffic impact study, any costs required by
the road authority for improvements, and submit a traffic impact study that:
(A) demonstrates that requirements for
safety, operation, and the condition of roadways serving the proposed facility
meet locally forecasted needs;
(B)
has been reviewed and approved by the Department of Transportation, a local
highway authority, or a county or municipality road authority, whichever has
jurisdiction over each road serving the proposed facility; and
(C) includes any maintenance agreement with a
road authority in writing.
(3) Exemptions. Exemptions from the location
standards with respect to airports, floodplains, wetlands, fault areas, seismic
impact zones, and unstable areas cannot be granted. Exemptions from other
location standards of Section
R315-302-1 may be granted by the
director on a site specific basis if it is determined that the exemption will
cause no adverse impacts to human health or the environment.
(a) No exemption may be granted without
application to the director.
(b) If
an exemption is granted, a facility may be required to have a more stringent
design, construction, monitoring program, or operational practice to protect
human health or the environment.
(c) Each application for an exemption shall
meet the conditions of Section
R315-311-3 pertaining to public
notice and comment period.
Notes
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