§ 288.601. Scope.

 This subchapter sets forth additional application and operating requirements for Class III residual waste landfills.

ADDITIONAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

§ 288.611. Description of soil base.

 In addition to the application requirements in Subchapter B (relating to application requirements), the application shall demonstrate that any waste that is proposed to be disposed of at the facility complies with §  288.623 (relating to minimum requirements for acceptable waste).

ADDITIONAL OPERATING REQUIREMENTS—GENERAL

§ 288.621. Basic requirements.

 (a)  In addition to the operating requirements in Subchapter C (relating to operating requirements), a person or municipality that operates a Class III residual waste landfill shall comply with § §  288.622—288.625.

 (b)  Only captive facilities, waste tire monofills, water treatment plant sludge monofills and coal ash monofills qualify as Class III residual waste landfills.

   The provisions of this §  288.621 amended January 12, 2001, effective January 13, 2001, 31 Pa.B. 235. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (255110) and (226691).

 (a)  Except for areas that were permitted prior to July 4, 1992, a Class III residual waste landfill may not be operated as follows:

   (1)  In the 100-year floodplain of waters of this Commonwealth.

   (2)  In or within 300 feet of an exceptional value wetland.

   (3)  In or within 100 feet of a wetland other than an exceptional value wetland, unless storage, processing and disposal will not occur within that distance and one of the following is true:

     (i)   If the operation is in or along the wetland, the operator has received a permit from the Department under Chapter 105 (relating to dam safety and waterway management).

     (ii)   If the operation is not in or along the wetland, no adverse hydrologic or water quality impacts will result.

   (4)  In coal bearing areas underlain by recoverable or mineable coals unless the permittee owns the underlying coal.

   (5)  In a valley, ravine or head of hollow where the operation would result in the elimination, pollution or destruction of a portion of a perennial stream, except that rechanneling may be allowed as provided in Chapter 105.

   (6)  In areas underlain by limestone or carbonate formations where the formations are greater than 5-feet in thickness and present at the topmost geologic unit. The areas include area mapped by the Pennsylvania Geological Survey as underlain by these formations, unless competent geologic studies demonstrate the absence of sinkhole development and sinkhole-prone limestone and carbonate formations.

   (7)  If occupied dwellings are nearby, the following apply:

     (i)   Except as provided in subparagraphs (ii) and (iii), a residual waste landfill may not be operated within 300 feet measured horizontally from an occupied dwelling, unless the owner thereof has provided a written waiver consenting to the facility being closer than 300 feet. A waiver shall be knowingly made and separate from a lease or deed unless the lease or deed contains an explicit waiver from the owner. Except as provided in subparagraphs (ii) and (iii), the disposal area of a residual waste landfill may not be within 500 feet measured horizontally from an occupied dwelling, unless the owner thereof has provided a written waiver consenting to the disposal area being closer than 500 feet. A waiver shall be knowingly made and separate from a lease or deed unless the lease or deed contains an explicit waiver from the owner.

     (ii)   For a permitted noncaptive residual waste landfill that was operated and not closed as of January 13, 2001, an expansion permitted on or after January 13, 2001, may not be operated within 900 feet measured horizontally from an occupied dwelling, unless one or both of the following conditions are met:

       (A)   The owner of the dwelling has provided a written waiver consenting to the facility or disposal area being closer than 900 feet. A waiver shall be knowingly made and separate from a lease or deed unless the lease or deed contains an explicit waiver from the owner.

       (B)   The applicant owned or entered into an enforceable option contract to purchase the land on which the expansion would operate on or before January 13, 2001, and still holds the option rights, still owns the land or owns the land pursuant to the option rights contract when the permit expansion is issued. Even if the requirement of this subparagraph is met, the expansion may not be operated within 300 feet measured horizontally from an occupied dwelling and the disposal area may not be within 500 feet measured horizontally from an occupied dwelling.

     (iii)   A new, noncaptive residual waste landfill permitted on or after January 13, 2001, may not be operated within 900 feet measured horizontally from an occupied dwelling, unless the owner of the dwelling has provided a written waiver consenting to the facility being closer than 900 feet. A waiver shall be knowingly made and separate from a lease or deed unless the lease or deed contains an explicit waiver from the owner. A closed, noncaptive landfill that submits an application to reopen and expand shall also be subject to this paragraph.

     (iv)   Notwithstanding the prohibitions in subparagraphs (ii) and (iii), an access road to a residual waste landfill may not be operated within 300 feet measured horizontally from an occupied dwelling, unless the owner of the dwelling has provided a written waiver consenting to the access road being closer than 300 feet. A waiver shall be knowingly made and separate form a lease or deed unless the lease or deed contains an explicit waiver from the owner.

   (8)  Within 100 feet of a perennial stream, unless storage, processing and disposal will not occur within that distance and no adverse hydrologic or water quality impacts will result.

   (9)  Within 100 feet of a property line, unless one of the following applies:

     (i)   Actual disposal will not occur within that distance.

     (ii)   The owner has provided a written consent to the facility being closer than 100 feet. The waiver shall be knowingly made and separate from a lease or deed unless the lease or deed contains an explicit waiver from the owner.

   (10)  For disposal, processing and storage areas, within 1/4-mile upgradient, and within 300 feet downgradient, of a private or public water source, except that the Department may waive or modify these isolation distances if the operator demonstrates and the Department finds, in writing, that the following conditions have been met.

     (i)   The owners of the public and private water sources in the isolation area have consented, in writing, to the location of the proposed facility.

     (ii)   The operator and each water source owner have agreed, in writing, that the applicant will construct and maintain at the operator’s expense a permanent alternative water supply of like quantity and quality at no additional cost to the water source owner if the existing source is adversely affected by the facility.

     (iii)   The applicant has demonstrated that a replacement water source is technically and economically feasible and readily available for every public or private water source in the isolation area.

   (11)  If the facility receives or proposes to receive putrescible waste as follows:

     (i)   Within 10,000 feet—or 3,048 meters—of an airport runway that is or will be used by turbine-powered aircraft during the life of disposal operations under the permit.

     (ii)   Within 5,000 feet—or 1,524 meters—of an airport runway that is or will be used by piston-type aircraft during the life of disposal operations under the permit.

     (iii)   For areas permitted on or after January 13, 2001, in a manner in which any portion of the landfill would be an obstruction to air navigation under 14 CFR 77.23(a)(5) (relating to standards for determining obstructions).

   (12)  If a school, park or playground is nearby, the following apply:

     (i)   Except for an expansion of a noncaptive residual waste landfill permit issued prior to January 13, 2001, for a noncaptive residual waste landfill permit issued on or after January 13, 2001, within 300 yards of the following:

       (A)   A building which is owned by a school district or school and used for instructional purposes.

       (B)   A park.

       (C)   A playgound.

     (ii)   The current property owner of a school building, park or playground may waive the 300-yard prohibition by signing a written waiver. Upon receipt of the waiver, the Department will waive the 300-yard prohibition and will not use the prohibition as the basis for the denial of a new permit.

 (b)  The Department may waive or modify one or more of the isolation distances in subsection (a)(1), (5), (7), (8) and (10) for expansions of captive facilities if the operator of the captive facility demonstrates the following to the Department’s satisfaction:

   (1)  The captive facility was permitted prior to July 4, 1992, or was permitted after July 4, 1992, if the Department determined the permit application for the facility to be administratively complete prior to July 4, 1992.

   (2)  The captive facility routinely and regularly disposed of residual waste on and after July 4, 1992.

   (3)  The expansion of the captive facility solely includes land which is contiguous to the captive facility.

   (4)  The expansion of the captive facility solely includes land which is owned by the applicant on July 4, 1992.

   (5)  No other site is available on contiguous land for the expansion of the captive facility.

   (6)  The expansion of the captive facility will be designed and operated to ensure that the facility does not harm public health, safety, welfare or the environment.

 (c)  Nothing in subsection (b) authorizes the expansion of a captive facility onto land which is located closer to any occupied dwelling than the facility is located prior to the expansion.

 (d)  Except as provided in subsection (d), this section does not apply to features that may come into existence after the date of the first newspaper notice of the filing of a permit application under §  287.151 (relating to public notice by applicant).

 (e)  This section does not apply to features that may come into existence after the date of the first newspaper notice under this subsection if the following apply:

   (1)  The person or municipality publishes a notice of intent to file an application for a residual waste landfill permit. The notice, which is separate from the newspaper notice required by §  287.151, shall be published once a week for 3 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the facility is proposed to be located. The notice shall include a brief description of the location and proposed operation of the facility.

   (2)  The person or municipality files an administratively complete application under §  287.202 (relating to completeness review) with the Department within 1 year from the date of the first newspaper notice under this subsection.

 (f)  The Department may waive the isolation distances in this section for areas that were included in the permit area of a permit application that was determined by the Department to be administratively complete before July 4, 1992.

   The provisions of this §  288.622 amended January 12, 2001, effective January 13, 2001, 31 Pa.B. 235. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (226691) to (226693).

 (a)  A person or municipality may not dispose of residual waste at a Class III residual waste landfill unless the waste meets all of the following criteria:

   (1)  The residual waste may not be of a type from which the maximum concentration obtained for contaminant, based on a chemical analysis of its leachate submitted under §  287.132 (relating to chemical analysis of waste), and approved by the Department, exceeds the following:

     (i)   For metals and other cations, 25 times the waste classification standard for a contaminant.

     (ii)   For contaminants other than metals and cations, the waste classification standard for a contaminant. If analytical quantitation limits prevent determination of the acceptability of a residual waste under this paragraph, the Department may consider the total analysis of the waste as well as the physical and chemical characteristics of the contaminant in making a determination of acceptability of the waste at the facility.

   (2)  Residual waste may not be disposed of at the facility if the disposal of the waste at the facility will result in a level of groundwater degradation at one or more monitoring points that exceeds the level of degradation that would result at the same monitoring points from the disposal of the waste at the facility if the facility were designed, constructed and operated as a Class II landfill. The Department may approve the disposal of waste at a monofill that contains contaminants other than metals or cations with a maximum concentration that is less than 10 times the waste classification standard for the contaminants, based on a chemical analysis of its leachate submitted under §  287.132, if the following are met:

     (i)   Disposal of the waste will improve preexisting groundwater degradation.

     (ii)   Preexisting degradation did not result from activities of the person or municipality that proposes to dispose of residual waste, or a related party to the person or municipality.

   (3)  Even if a waste meets the requirements of this section, and the Department has previously authorized the disposal of the waste at the facility, the Department may require that the waste be disposed at a Class II or Class I landfill if one of the following applies:

     (i)   Monitoring data indicate that the waste or contaminants of the waste are migrating from the landfill.

     (ii)   The approved chemical and leaching analysis of the waste no longer accurately predict the leachability of the waste.

   (4)  The Department may authorize a facility which disposes of a waste in accordance with a permit under this article to continue to dispose of the waste at the facility although a waste classification standard for a contaminant has been amended in a way that the waste would no longer meet the criteria for disposal of the waste at the facility under paragraph (1), if the operator of the facility demonstrates to the Department’s satisfaction that disposal of the waste will not cause degradation that exceeds the waste classification standard for a contaminant at a monitoring point or groundwater degradation that exceeds background levels at the property boundary for a contaminant.

   (5)  If more than one type of waste or waste contaminants are identified in the chemical and leaching analysis, the waste shall be disposed at the most protective type of facility required for the waste types and waste contaminants identified in the analysis.

   (6)  The residual waste may not be a wastewater treatment sludge, unless it has been stabilized or solidified.

   (7)  The type, volume and concentration of constituents of residual waste being proposed for disposal shall indicate that the waste and its leachate are capable of being attenuated by the soil under the disposal area in a manner that will prevent groundwater degradation.

   (8)  The residual waste will not react, combine or otherwise interact with other waste that is or will be disposed at the facility in a manner that will adversely affect the ability of the attenuating soil to prevent degradation of groundwater.

   (9)  The residual waste may not have a petroleum based oil and grease content that exceeds 1% by dry weight.

   (10)  Except to the extent that leachate recirculation is allowed in the permit, residual waste may not be bulk or noncontainerized liquid waste. Containers holding free liquids may not be accepted unless the container is less than 1 gallon in size, except as otherwise provided in the permit.

   (11)  The residual waste shall have a pH between 5.5 and 9.5 unless otherwise specified by the Department in the permit. The pH may be adjusted to meet this requirement.

   (12)  The residual waste may not be allowed to react, combine or otherwise interact with other waste or materials to endanger public health, safety and welfare or the environment by generating extreme heat or pressure, fire or explosion, or toxic mists, fumes, dusts or vapors. The potential for interaction shall be determined using the procedure in the EPA’s ‘‘A Method for Determining the Compatibility of Hazardous Wastes’’ (EPA-600/2-80-076) or another equivalent method approved by the Department in the permit.

   (13)  Municipal waste may not be stored, processed or disposed at the facility, except as follows:

     (i)   The Department may, in the permit, approve the storage or disposal of construction/demolition waste generated by the operator.

     (ii)   The Department may permit water treatment plant sludge monofills or waste tire monofills.

   (14)  The physical characteristics of the waste will not cause or contribute to structural instability or other operating problems at the site.

 (b)  A person or municipality may not dispose of hazardous waste at a Class III residual waste landfill.

 (c)  A person or municipality may not dispose of solid waste at a Class III residual waste landfill if the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C.A. § §  2601—2629) prohibits the disposal of the solid waste at the residual waste landfill.

 (d)  Nothing in this section limits otherwise applicable design, construction and operation requirements under §  288.621 (relating to basic requirements).

   The provisions of this §  288.623 amended January 12, 2001, effective January 13, 2001, 31 Pa.B. 235. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (226693) to (226696).

 (a)  Disposal of residual waste. Residual waste may not be disposed at a Class III residual waste landfill, unless attenuating soil exists in the disposal area or has been placed on the entire disposal area.

   (1)  At least 4 feet separate the seasonal high water table, perched water table or bedrock from the lowest area where waste is deposited. Soil mottling may indicate the presence of a seasonal high water table. The seasonal high water table and perched water table may not be artificially manipulated. The seasonal high water table may not be located within the attenuating soil base.

   (2)  At least 8 vertical feet separate the regional groundwater table from the lowest area where waste is deposited. The regional groundwater table may not be artificially manipulated. The regional groundwater table may not be located within the attenuating soil base.

 (b)  Standards of performance. The attenuating soil shall meet the following standards of performance:

   (1)  The attenuating soil shall prevent migration of contaminants to the surface and groundwater to the greatest degree that is technologically possible.

   (2)  The performance of the attenuating soil may not be affected by the physical or chemical characteristics of the waste.

   (3)  The attenuating soil shall cover the bottom and sidewalls of the facility.

 (c)  Alternative design requirements. Unless alternative design requirements to meet the performance standards in subsection (b) are approved as part of the permit under §  287.231 (relating to equivalency review procedure) where site-specific conditions are included in the demonstration, the attenuating soil shall meet the requirements of subsection (d). If a design under this section is modified, the modification shall be a major permit modification.

 (d)  Requirements. The attenuating soil required by this section shall meet the following requirements:

   (1)  The soil shall fall within the United States Department of Agriculture textural classes of sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, silty clay loam, loamy sand and silt loam.

   (2)  At least 40% by weight of the fragments in the soil shall be capable of passing through a 2 millimeter, No. 10 mesh sieve.

   (3)  The soil may not include rock fragments greater than 6 inches in diameter.

   (4)  The soil shall have a cation exchange capacity of at least 10 milliequivalents per 100 grams of soil.

   (5)  The soil shall have an organic carbon content of at least 0.1%.

   The provisions of this §  288.624 amended January 12, 2001, effective January 13, 2001, 31 Pa.B. 235. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (226696).

 The operator shall immediately notify the Department and describe remedial steps to be taken whenever:

   (1)  Operation of the facility in accordance with the approved plan cannot prevent violation of the terms of its permits, The Clean Streams Law or regulations thereunder.

   (2)  The quality or quantity of waste being disposed at the site changes from that set forth in the permit.

   This section cited in 25 Pa. Code §  288.621 (relating to basic requirements).

APPENDIX A

TABLE I

MINIMUM LINER DESIGN STANDARDS

   * Percentage of maximum when using Standard Proctor method of design (Pa. PTM No. 106, Method B).

   This table cited in 25 Pa. Code §  288.434 (relating to secondary liner); 25 Pa. Code §  288.436 (relating to primary liner); and 25 Pa. Code §  288.439 (relating to surface mined areas).

TABLE II

MINIMUM LINER DESIGN STANDARDS

   * Percentage of maximum when using Standard Proctor method of design (Pa. PTM No. 106, Method B).

   This table cited in 25 Pa. Code §  288.234 (relating to final cover and grading); 25 Pa. Code §  288.535 (relating to liner); and 25 Pa. Code §  288.538 (relating to surface mined areas).