Enrolled HB 524: Relating to the protection of land and water from waste disposal; providing for the regulation of waste management; making conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date.
00Enrolled HB 524 01 Relating to the protection of land and water from waste disposal; providing for the regulation 02 of waste management; making conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date. 03 _______________ 04 * Section 1. AS 16.05.782(e)(3) is amended to read: 05 (3) "solid waste disposal facility" means a facility for the disposal of 06 solid waste, other than sewage, for which a prior authorization [PERMIT] has been 07 issued under AS 46.03.100. 08 * Sec. 2. AS 44.46.025(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) Except as otherwise provided in AS 37.10.050 - 37.10.056, the Department 10 of Environmental Conservation may adopt regulations that prescribe reasonable fees, 11 and establish procedures for the collection of those fees, to cover the applicable direct 12 costs, not including travel except in the case of a designated regulatory service, as that 13 term is defined in AS 37.10.058, of inspections, permit preparation and administration,
01 plan review and approval, and other services provided by the department relating to 02 (1) agriculture and animals under AS 03.05; food, drugs, and 03 cosmetics under AS 17.20; and public accommodations and facilities under AS 18.35; 04 (2) certificates of inspection for motor vehicles under AS 46.14.400 or 05 46.14.510; 06 (3) [SEWERAGE SYSTEM AND TREATMENT WORKS AND 07 WASTEWATER DISPOSAL SYSTEMS, AND] drinking water systems [,] under 08 AS 46.03.720; 09 (4) water and wastewater operator training under AS 46.30; 10 (5) waste management and disposal authorizations [CONTROL OF 11 SOLID WASTE FACILITIES] under AS 46.03.100 [AS 46.03.020(10) AND 12 46.03.100]; 13 (6) certification of laboratories conducting environmental analyses of 14 public drinking water systems or of oil or hazardous substances, or conducting other 15 analyses required by the department; 16 (7) certification of federal permits or authorizations under 33 U.S.C. 17 1341 (sec. 401, Clean Water Act). 18 * Sec. 3. AS 46.03.100 is repealed and reenacted to read: 19 Sec. 46.03.100. Waste management and disposal authorization. (a) A 20 person may not construct, modify, or operate a sewerage system or treatment works or 21 dispose of or conduct an operation that results in the disposal of solid or liquid waste 22 material or heated process or cooling water into the waters or onto the land of the state 23 without prior authorization from the department. Department authorization shall be 24 obtained for direct disposal and for disposal, other than of domestic sewage, into 25 publicly owned or operated sewerage systems. 26 (b) Prior authorization by the department is provided through one or a 27 combination of the following: 28 (1) an individual permit issued for a specific facility or disposal 29 activity; 30 (2) a general permit issued on a statewide, regional, or other 31 geographical basis for a category of disposal activities that the commissioner, using
01 information available when the permit is developed, determines are similar in nature 02 and will comply with applicable environmental quality standards established under 03 this title; 04 (3) regulations adopted by the department authorizing a category of 05 disposal without requiring a permit and establishing specific siting or operational 06 requirements, discharge limits, or best management practices for the disposal 07 category; 08 (4) designation and approval of a plan as described under (c) of this 09 section; 10 (5) an integrated waste management and disposal authorization as 11 described in (d) of this section. 12 (c) The department may require the submission of plans for review and written 13 approval before construction, extension, installation, modification, or operation of a 14 publicly or privately owned or operated sewerage system or treatment works. If the 15 sewerage system or treatment works is designed to prevent disposal from the system 16 or works outside of containment under normal operating conditions, the department 17 may designate that the plan approval constitutes the authorization required under (a) of 18 this section. 19 (d) The department may issue an integrated waste management and disposal 20 authorization covering multiple related or unrelated waste management or disposal 21 activities to be conducted at a facility, including generation, treatment, storage, and 22 disposal of solid or liquid waste. An integrated waste management and disposal 23 authorization may include the authorizations in (b) and (c) of this section and a water- 24 quality-related certification required by 33 U.S.C. 1341 for the discharge of dredged or 25 fill materials or of pollutants to surface waters from point sources. 26 (e) This section does not apply to 27 (1) a person discharging only domestic sewage into a sewerage system; 28 (2) disposals subject to regulation under AS 31.05.030(e)(2); 29 (3) injection projects permitted under AS 31.05.030(h); 30 (4) discharges of solid or liquid waste material or water discharges 31 from the following activities if the discharge is incidental to the activity and the
01 activity does not produce a discharge from a point source, as that term is defined in 02 regulations adopted under this chapter, directly into any surface water of the state: 03 (A) mineral drilling, trenching, ditching, and similar activities; 04 (B) landscaping; 05 (C) water well drilling, geophysical drilling; or 06 (D) drilling, ditching, trenching, and similar activities 07 associated with facility construction and maintenance or with road or other 08 transportation facility construction and maintenance; however, the exemption 09 provided by this subparagraph does not relieve a person from obtaining a prior 10 authorization under this section if the drilling, ditching, trenching, or similar 11 activity will involve the removal of the groundwater, stormwater, or 12 wastewater runoff that has accumulated and is present at an excavation site for 13 facility, road, or other transportation construction or maintenance and a prior 14 authorization is otherwise required by this section; 15 (5) bilge pumping, unless the bilge product pumped may be expected 16 to yield an oily sludge, emulsion, or sheen on the surface of any water of the state; 17 (6) cooling water discharges from a boat or vessel into any surface 18 water of the state; or 19 (7) the firing or other use of munitions in training activities conducted 20 on active ranges, including active ranges operated by the United States Department of 21 Defense or a United States military agency. 22 (f) A person who applies for an authorization to operate a solid waste disposal 23 facility that accepts hazardous waste or a mining waste disposal facility for an 24 operation that chemically processes ores or has the potential to generate acid shall 25 furnish to the department proof of financial responsibility to manage and close the 26 facility in a manner that the department finds will control or minimize the risk of the 27 release of unauthorized levels of pollutants from the facility to waters. The 28 department may require that a municipal solid waste disposal facility furnish proof of 29 financial responsibility. Proof of financial responsibility may be demonstrated by self- 30 insurance, insurance, surety bond, corporate guarantee, letter of credit, certificate of 31 deposit, or other proof of financial responsibility approved by the department, under
01 regulations adopted by the department. Regulations adopted under this subsection 02 must set financial tests for the acceptance of corporate guarantees and other forms of 03 financial responsibility that the department determines would be required for an 04 independent showing of financial capability. For a mining waste disposal facility, the 05 department may accept as adequate to satisfy the requirement of this subsection 06 financial assurance for reclamation provided to a state or federal land management 07 agency if it otherwise meets the requirements of this subsection. The department's 08 acceptance of proof of financial responsibility under this subsection expires 09 (1) one year after its issuance for self-insurance, unless the department 10 accepts a renewal of the same self-insurance demonstration after a financial review 11 under regulations adopted by the department; 12 (2) on the effective date of a change in the insurance agreement, surety 13 bond, corporate guarantee, letter of credit, or certificate of deposit; 14 (3) on the expiration or cancellation of the insurance agreement, surety 15 bond, corporate guarantee, letter of credit, or certificate of deposit. 16 (g) A person who applies for a solid waste disposal authorization under this 17 section, except for an authorization under (b)(2) of this section or an authorization to 18 dispose of municipal solid waste, shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the 19 department that the applicant has reasonably considered all solid waste management 20 options and that the authorization would be consistent with the practices and priorities 21 established under AS 46.06.021. 22 * Sec. 4. AS 46.03.110(a) is amended to read: 23 (a) An application for a permit under AS 46.03.100(b)(1) or (2) or an 24 authorization under AS 46.03.100(d) shall be made on forms prescribed by the 25 department. Forms [OR ON FORMS PRESCRIBED BY THE UNITED STATES 26 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND] must contain the name and 27 address of the applicant, a description of the applicant's operations, the quantity and 28 type of waste material sought to be disposed of, the proposed method of disposal, and 29 any other information considered necessary by the department. [APPLICATION FOR 30 PERMIT SHALL BE MADE AT LEAST 60 DAYS BEFORE COMMENCEMENT 31 OF A PROPOSED DISCHARGE.] The applicant may request that a general permit
01 be issued [UNDER AS 46.03.100(h)], or the department may, on its own initiative, 02 propose that an applicant be authorized under [ISSUED] a general permit. 03 * Sec. 5. AS 46.03.110(b) is amended to read: 04 (b) After [UPON] receipt of a proper application for an individual or general 05 permit or [UPON] a determination by the department that a general permit should be 06 proposed, the department shall publish notice of the application or proposal, or of the 07 availability of a draft permit for comment, as applicable, in at least two 08 [SEPARATE] publications of a newspaper of general circulation within the general 09 area in which the disposal of waste material is proposed to be made. The notice shall 10 also be posted on the Alaska Online Public Notice System maintained under 11 AS 44.62.175 and may also be published in other appropriate information media. The 12 notice must include a statement that a person who wants to present views to the 13 department with [IN] regard to the application or proposal may do so in writing to the 14 department within 30 days after the first [SECOND] publication of the notice. The 15 written response entitles the writer to a copy of the application or draft permit, and, 16 in the case of an application or proposal to issue a general permit, the application or 17 proposal shall also be posted by the department on the Internet at the same time that 18 notice is published under this subsection. 19 * Sec. 6. AS 46.03.110(d) is amended to read: 20 (d) The department may specify in a permit or other authorization the terms 21 and conditions under which waste material or water may be disposed of. The terms 22 and conditions shall be directed to avoiding pollution and to otherwise carry out the 23 policies of this chapter. The commissioner may provide, as a term of a general permit, 24 that a person intending to dispose of waste material or water under the general permit 25 shall first obtain specific authorization from the department. A general permit shall be 26 posted on the Internet by the department; the posting must include the names of 27 persons authorized to make disposals under the permit and the locations at which 28 disposals may be made if those locations are specifically authorized under this 29 subsection. A permit may not be issued [EFFECTIVE] for a term [PERIOD] in 30 excess of five years from the date of issuance. The department may prescribe in 31 regulations the circumstances under which an expiring permit may be
01 administratively continued. 02 * Sec. 7. AS 46.03.120 is amended to read: 03 Sec. 46.03.120. Termination or modification of waste management and 04 disposal authorization [PERMIT]. (a) The department may terminate a permit or 05 other authorization issued under AS 46.03.100 or may rescind a person's 06 authority to dispose of waste in accordance with regulations adopted under 07 AS 46.03.100(b)(3) upon 30 days' written notice if the department finds that 08 (1) [THAT] the permit or other authorization was procured by 09 misrepresentation of material fact or by failure of the applicant to disclose fully the 10 facts relating to its issuance; 11 (2) [THAT] there has been a violation of the conditions of the permit 12 or other authorization; or 13 (3) [THAT] there has been a material change in the quantity or type of 14 waste disposed of. 15 (b) The department may modify a permit or other authorization issued 16 under AS 46.03.100, or may rescind a person's authority to dispose of waste in 17 accordance with regulations adopted under AS 46.03.100(b)(3), 18 (1) for any of the causes for termination listed in (a) of this section; 19 or 20 (2) if the department finds that a material change in the quality or 21 classification of the waters of the state has occurred. 22 * Sec. 8. AS 46.03.120 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 23 (c) Nothing in this section limits the authority of the department to terminate 24 or modify a permit or plan approval under other circumstances if requested to do so by 25 the permittee or plan holder. 26 * Sec. 9. AS 46.03.833(a) is amended to read: 27 (a) A person whose proof of financial responsibility is accepted by the 28 department under AS 46.03.830 or 46.03.100(f) [46.03.100(b)] shall notify the 29 department at least 90 days before the effective date of a change in, or expiration [,] or 30 cancellation of, [IN] the proof of financial responsibility [SURETY BOND, 31 GUARANTEE, OR INSURANCE AGREEMENT]. Application for renewal of
01 acceptance of proof of financial responsibility under AS 46.03.830 or 46.03.100(f) 02 [46.03.100(b)] must be filed at least 90 days before the date of expiration. 03 * Sec. 10. AS 46.03.900(25) is amended to read: 04 (25) "solid waste" means garbage, refuse [ALL UNWANTED], 05 abandoned, or other discarded solid or semi-solid material, regardless of whether 06 [OR NOT] subject to decomposition, originating from any source; 07 * Sec. 11. AS 46.03.900 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 08 (37) "municipal solid waste" means waste material 09 (A) generated by a household, including a single-family or 10 multi-family residence, and collected and disposed of as part of municipal 11 solid waste collection services; or 12 (B) generated by a commercial, industrial, or institutional 13 entity, to the extent that the waste material 14 (i) is essentially the same as waste normally generated 15 by a household; 16 (ii) is collected and disposed of with other municipal 17 solid waste as part of normal municipal solid waste collection services; 18 and 19 (iii) contains a relative quantity of hazardous substances 20 not greater than the relative quantity of hazardous substances contained 21 in waste material generated by a typical single-family household. 22 * Sec. 12. AS 46.03.090 and 46.03.720(a) are repealed. 23 * Sec. 13. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 24 read: 25 REVISOR OF STATUTES INSTRUCTIONS. The revisor of statutes is instructed to 26 change the catchline of AS 46.03.720 from "Construction and operation of sewer and water 27 facilities prohibited" to "Public water system plan review requirement." 28 * Sec. 14. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).