49-772. Location restrictions for solid waste landfills; definitions

A. A solid waste facility that is required to obtain approval pursuant to section 49-762 shall not be issued a permit pursuant to section 49-241, subsection A, receive a plan approval pursuant to section 49-762 or be placed on any site if any of the following applies:

1. An irrigation grandfathered right created pursuant to title 45, chapter 2, article 5 is appurtenant to all or any part of the site.

2. Any part of that facility is within one-half mile of a one hundred-year floodplain that has one hundred year flows in excess of twenty-five thousand cubic feet per second, as determined by the federal emergency management agency, except for a site used for any of the following activities:

(a) Reclamation of land through the introduction of landscaping rubble or inert material.

(b) Material produced in connection with a mining or mineral processing operation.

(c) Agricultural on-site disposal as provided in section 49-766.

(d) Solid waste transfer or recycling or any other use that does not involve treatment or disposal of solid waste.

(e) Receipt of solid waste for application to agricultural land as fertilizer or other beneficial soil amendment.

(f) The storage, treatment or processing of solid waste at a site that is not open to the general public and that is in existence on October 9, 1993.

B. Owners and operators of new and existing solid waste landfills that are not municipal solid waste landfills and that are located within ten thousand feet of any airport runway end used by turbojet aircraft or within five thousand feet of any airport runway end used by only piston-type aircraft shall demonstrate in the facility plan that the facility is designed and operated so that it does not pose a bird hazard to aircraft. Owners and operators of solid waste landfills that are located within a five mile radius of any airport runway end used by turbojet or piston-type aircraft shall notify the affected airport and the federal aviation administration.

C. In addition to siting requirements established pursuant to subsection A of this section, owners and operators of new and existing solid waste landfills that are not municipal solid waste landfills and that are located in a one hundred-year floodplain shall demonstrate in the facility plan that the facility will not restrict the flow of the one hundred-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 and the environment.

D. New solid waste landfills that are not municipal solid waste landfills shall not be located in wetlands, unless the owner or operator can demonstrate all of the following:

1. A practicable alternative site that does not involve wetlands is not available.

2. The construction and operation of the solid waste landfill does not cause, contribute to the violation of any applicable state water quality standard, toxic effluent standard or prohibition, or jeopardize endangered or threatened species or critical habitat.

3. The construction and operation of the facility do not cause or contribute to significant degradation of wetlands.

4. To the extent required under section 404 of the clean water act or applicable state wetland laws, steps have been taken to attempt to achieve no net loss of wetlands as defined in acreage and function by first avoiding impacts to wetlands to the maximum extent practicable pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection and offsetting remaining unavoidable wetland impacts through all appropriate and practicable compensatory mitigation actions.

E. New solid waste landfills that are not municipal solid waste landfills shall not be located:

1. Within two hundred feet of a fault that has had displacement in holocene time unless the owner or operator can demonstrate in the facility plan that an alternative setback distance of less than two hundred feet will prevent damage to the structural integrity of the facility and will protect public health and the environment.

2. In seismic impact zones unless the owner or operator can demonstrate in the facility plan that all 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.

F. Owners and operators of new and existing solid waste landfills that are not municipal solid waste landfills and that are located in an unstable area shall demonstrate in the facility plan 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, including at a minimum an analysis of the following:

1. On-site or local soil conditions that may result in significant differential settling.

2. On-site or local geologic or geomorphologic features.

3. On-site or local man-made surface or subsurface features or events.

G. Subsections C through F and H of this section apply until the director adopts rules for solid waste landfills that are not municipal solid waste landfills.

H. For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

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

2. " Areas susceptible to mass movement" means those areas of influence where the movement of earth material at, beneath or adjacent to the solid waste landfill because of natural or human-induced events results in the downslope transport of soil and rock material due to gravity. Areas of mass movement may include landslides, avalanches, debris slides and flows, soil fluxion, block sliding and rock fall.

3. " Bird hazard" means an increase in the likelihood of bird and aircraft collisions that may cause damage to the aircraft or injuries to its occupants.

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

5. " Fault" means a fracture or a zone of fractures in any material along which strata on one side have been displaced with respect to that on the other side.

6. " Floodplain" means the areas adjoining inland waters or including areas where drainage is or may be restricted by man-made structures that have been or may be covered partially or wholly by floodwaters from the one hundred-year flood.

7. " Holocene" means the most recent epoch of the quaternary period, extending from the end of the pleistocene epoch to the present.

8. " Karst terranes" means areas where karst topography with its characteristic surface and subterranean features is developed as a result of dissolution of limestone, dolomite or other soluble rock. Characteristic physiographic features present in karst terranes include sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, large springs and blind valleys.

9. " Lithified earth material" means all rock, including all naturally occurring and naturally formed aggregates or masses of minerals or small particles of older rock that formed by crystallization of magma or by induration of loose sediments. Lithified earth material does not include man-made materials such as fill, concrete and asphalt or unconsolidated earth materials, soil or regolith lying at or near the earth surface.

10. " Maximum horizontal acceleration in lithified earth material" means the maximum expected horizontal acceleration depicted on a seismic hazard map, with a ninety per cent or greater probability that the acceleration will not be exceeded in two hundred fifty years, or the maximum expected horizontal acceleration based on a site specific seismic risk assessment.

11. " One hundred-year flood" or " base flood" means a flood that has a one per cent chance of being equalled or exceeded in a one-year period, based on criteria established by the director of the department of water resources.

12. " Poor foundation conditions" means those areas where features exist that indicate that a natural or human-induced event may result in inadequate foundation support for the structural components of a solid waste disposal facility.

13. " Seismic impact zone" means an area with a ten per cent or greater probability that the maximum horizontal acceleration in lithified earth material, expressed as a percentage of the earth's gravitational pull, will exceed 0.10g in two hundred fifty years.

14. " Structural components" means liners, leachate collection systems, final covers, run-on or run-off systems, flood control components and any other components used in the construction and operation of the solid waste disposal facility that are necessary for protection of public health and the environment.

15. " Unstable area" means a location that is susceptible to natural or human-induced events or forces capable of impairing the integrity of some or all of the landfill structural components responsible for preventing releases from a landfill. Unstable areas may include poor foundation conditions, areas susceptible to mass movements and karst terranes.

16. " Washout" means the carrying away of solid waste by surface water runoff.

17. " Wetlands" means those areas that are defined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations section 232.2(r).