§2154. Powers; duties; restrictions; prohibitions; penalties

A. The department is hereby directed:

(1) To prepare and develop a general solid waste management plan which shall encourage the maximum practicable use of resource recovery procedures.

(2) To promote the planning and application of recycling and resource recovery systems which preserve and enhance the quality of the air, water, and other natural resources of the state.

(3) By appropriate order to control and regulate pollution of the environment caused by solid waste disposal practices.

(4) To develop rules, regulations, and standards for the disposal of sewage sludge in sludge lagoons, dedicated land farms, surface disposal facilities, composting facilities, or processing facilities when the sewage sludge is admixed with other wastes regulated pursuant to this Chapter.

(5) To provide for the disposal of incinerator ash derived from the thermal treatment of sewage sludge.

B. The secretary is hereby directed:

(1)(a) To adopt and promulgate rules, regulations, and standards for the transportation, processing, resource recovery, and disposal of solid wastes consistent with the general solid waste management plan adopted by the department. Such rules and regulations shall include but not be limited to the disposal site location, construction, operation, compliance deadlines, siting of stations for the off-loading and trans-loading of treated solid waste and sewage sludges destined for disposal, and maintenance of the disposal process as necessary to implement the purpose and intent of this Chapter.

(b) However, such rules and regulations shall not include any of the following:

(i) Wastewaters in tanks, sumps, and existing ditches as defined by rule, upstream or downstream of designated internal or final state or federal wastewater discharge points which require no further treatment to meet applicable state or federal permit limits.

(ii) Wastewaters in tanks, sumps, and existing ditches as defined by rule, which require only pH adjustment to meet applicable pH permit limits or solids settling to meet total suspended solids permit limits.

(2)(a) To adopt by regulation a system for the registration and permitting of all solid waste disposal facilities within the state and to delegate the authority to issue or deny registrations, permits, and licenses to the appropriate assistant secretary when such delegation is deemed appropriate by the secretary. The authority to execute minor permit actions and to issue registrations, certifications, notices of deficiency, and notification of inclusion under a general permit or a regulatory permit may be delegated by the secretary or the appropriate assistant secretary to an authorized representative, notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 30:2050.26.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person registered, licensed, or permitted as a commercial solid waste disposal facility under the system authorized pursuant to this Section and duly promulgated by the secretary, to receive solid waste from the cleanup of a site listed on the National Priorities List by the United States Environmental Protection Agency at a commercial solid waste facility without notifying the secretary thirty days prior to the arrival of such waste.

(c) Any person who operates a permitted commercial solid waste facility in this state shall publish in the official journal of the parish in which the facility is located not less than thirty days prior to commencement of disposal a notice of the pending disposal of any nonhazardous waste generated from the remediation of sites listed on the National Priorities List by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

(d) The system adopted by the secretary as provided in Subparagraph (2)(a) of this Paragraph shall include a requirement that a permittee or licensee of a commercial solid waste facility notify the secretary, on a form provided by the secretary, of the arrival of any shipment of waste for disposal, treatment, or processing, at the permittee's or licensee's facility if the waste from a single event or one-time removal that exceeds twenty-thousand cubic yards and is from the remediation of a Superfund site listed on the National Priorities List by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The notice shall describe the amounts and kind of substances contained in the wastes, their origin, and the method and identification of their transportation. The notice shall be received by the secretary thirty days prior to the arrival of the waste at the facility. The secretary shall forward a copy of such notice to the local governing authority where the shipment is destined.

(e) Violations of this Paragraph may be subject to a fine of up to five hundred dollars per violation.

(f) The provisions of Subparagraphs (2)(b), (d), and (e) of this Paragraph shall become effective January 1, 1993, and shall affect the disposal of solid wastes from a Superfund site at any commercial solid waste facility on or after thirty days from that date.

(g) The effects of this Subparagraph shall become null and void on January 1, 2012. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the secretary shall not register or permit a solid waste disposal facility in St. Helena Parish, except those facilities disposing or processing non-industrial waste or wood waste or facilities disposing or processing industrial waste generated and disposed on site. Notwithstanding any provision of this Subparagraph, if the parish of St. Helena sites and permits its own solid waste disposal facility, such parish shall receive and dispose of any and all residential, commercial, and industrial solid waste produced in the parish.

(h)(i) In addition to any other rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to this Chapter, no solid waste landfill or any other solid waste disposal facility which receives residential or commercial solid waste shall store, process, or dispose of such waste within three hundred feet from the inside of the facility's property line where such property line is adjacent to a structure currently being used as a church. In order for this Subparagraph to apply, the church shall have been utilized as such prior to the department's receipt of the facility's permit application. The department may promulgate rules and regulations providing for a waiver of the provisions of this Subparagraph upon the consent from all landowners having an ownership interest in property otherwise subject to this Subparagraph.

(ii) The provisions of this Subparagraph shall not apply to any landfill or disposal facility existing prior to April 1, 2010, to any portion of such facility that has been closed or that has ceased operations, or to future expansions of the permitted disposal area of any such facility.

(3) To adopt regulations to require that all presently existing solid waste disposal facilities be upgraded to operate as sanitary landfills within five years from the effective date of regulations under this Chapter and that all solid waste disposal facilities constructed after the effective date of this Chapter shall be sanitary landfills or utilize any other environmentally sound technique.

(4) Facilities for the disposal of solid waste shall register with the department when the regulations promulgated by the secretary under Paragraph (2) of this Subsection become effective and shall apply for a permit in accordance with the requirements of such regulations. State permits granted to solid waste disposal facilities prior to the effective date of the regulations under Paragraph (2) shall continue in effect until the issuance or denial of a new permit under such regulations.

(5) To adopt and promulgate rules, regulations, and standards for the processing, resource recovery, and use for agricultural, horticultural, or silvicultural purposes, of those solid wastes except sewage sludges which are capable of beneficial agricultural, horticultural, or silvicultural use and which will not pose a threat to the environment or to human health or safety. The secretary shall adopt and promulgate rules, regulations, and standards which provide for all of the following:

(a) Procedure and criteria for selecting solid waste application sites, including providing the opportunity for public comment and public hearing as provided in R.S. 49:950 et seq.

(b) Requirements for solid waste treatment and processing before such solid waste is applied.

(c) Methods and minimum frequency for analyzing solid waste, and soil to which solid waste is applied.

(d) Records that a solid waste applicator must keep.

(e) Restrictions on public access to and cropping of land on which solid waste has been applied.

(f) Any other requirement necessary to protect surface water, groundwater, public health, and soil productivity from any adverse effects resulting from solid waste application.

(g) Any other rules or regulations reasonably necessary to implement the purposes as provided herein.

(6) Repealed by Acts 2001, No. 524, §2.

(7) To adopt and promulgate rules, regulations, and standards for the advance notification of those local governing authorities whose jurisdiction may be affected by the siting of stations for the off-loading and trans-loading of treated solid waste and sewage sludges destined for disposal.

(8)(a) To prohibit the disposal of solid waste, except as exempted by regulation, on the site of disposal without written authorization by the Department of Environmental Quality and notice by the department to the local governing authority and the public as provided in this Paragraph. Such authorization shall contain the types of items authorized for the on-site disposal. Any such closure shall require delivery by the department of written notice of the authorization to the parish governing authority and municipal governing authority, if applicable, in which the solid waste is to be disposed at least fifteen days prior to the closure, and publication, at the expense of the person granted the authorization, of the notice of authorization in the official journal of the parish in which the waste is to be disposed at least fifteen days prior to the disposal.

(b) This Paragraph shall not apply to closure at a solid waste disposal facility operating pursuant to a permit or an order of the department or a solid waste management facility regulated pursuant to Chapter 8 or 18 of this Subtitle. This Paragraph shall not apply to maintenance of public utility rights of way.

(9)(a) To develop regulatory permits for certain waste processing or disposal facilities provided the following conditions are satisfied:

(i) A regulatory permit shall not preclude the secretary from exercising all powers and duties as set forth in R.S. 30:2011(D), including but not limited to the authority to conduct inspections and investigations and enter facilities as provided in R.S. 30:2012, and to sample, monitor, or assess, for the purposes of assuring compliance with a regulatory permit or as otherwise authorized by this Subtitle or regulations adopted thereunder, any substances, pollutants, equipment, or facility at any location covered under the regulatory permit.

(ii) A regulatory permit shall require compliance with all applicable provisions of the department's rules and regulations, any applicable sections of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and all Federal Aviation Administration safety guidelines, rules, regulations, or recommendations. Violation of the terms and conditions of a regulatory permit may constitute a violation of such regulation or act.

(iii) A regulatory permit may not authorize the operation or maintenance of a nuisance or a danger to public health or safety. All equipment maintained at the facility shall be maintained in good condition and shall be operated properly.

(iv) A regulatory permit shall, as appropriate, prescribe operational controls, equipment requirements, personnel requirements, testing requirements, and any other enforceable conditions. A regulatory permit shall also prescribe any necessary monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting provisions necessary for the protection of public health and the environment.

(v) A regulatory permit may require any person seeking such permit to submit a written notification and any fee authorized by this Subtitle and applicable regulations to the secretary. Where required, submission of a written notification and any fee authorized by this Subtitle and applicable regulations shall be in lieu of submission of a permit application. The written notification shall be signed and certified in accordance with LAC 33:VII governing permit application submittal. Any person who submits a written notification and any fee authorized by this Subtitle and applicable regulations shall be authorized to operate under the regulatory permit for which the notification was submitted when notified by the department that the notification was complete.

(vi) All regulatory permits promulgated by the secretary shall establish notification procedures, permit terms, and confirmation of notification by the department and shall be promulgated in accordance with the procedures provided in R.S. 30:2019.

(b) Regulatory permits for landfill facilities and land farm facilities are prohibited except for those facilities that may be authorized under a regulatory permit pertaining to emergency debris sites.

(c) Regulatory permits may authorize emergency debris management sites and activities.

(10) To adopt rules and regulations requiring annual certifications of compliance for all solid waste disposal and processing facilities permitted under the regulations adopted pursuant to this Section. The regulations adopted for annual certifications of compliance shall specify any general compliance conditions such as capacity and total amounts of waste generated, processed, or disposed that shall be certified annually and shall also provide for annual certification of permit conditions for which annual compliance certification is required based on the specific permit issued.

(11)(a) To promulgate regulations, prior to July 1, 2011, for all applicants specifying emergency response requirements that shall include the preparation of an emergency response plan for any applicant seeking a permit to process or dispose of solid waste and shall provide that the requirement for an emergency response plan is satisfied by the applicant's demonstration that it has the ability to meet the response requirements of the applicable sections of the National Fire Protection Association.

(b) All potential applicants who seek to obtain a permit to process or dispose of solid waste shall be required to file an emergency response plan, in compliance with the promulgated regulations, as a special structures plan review with the state fire marshal. No application for a permit to process or dispose of solid waste shall be filed with nor accepted by the department prior to the applicant obtaining approval of the emergency response plan from the state fire marshal's office. The requirements of this Subparagraph shall not apply if the applicant has demonstrated its ability to meet the response requirements of the applicable sections of the National Fire Protection Association.

C.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, the secretary shall not issue any permit or promulgate any rule or regulation which would allow the construction or operation of a medical waste incinerator disposal facility of any type in this state until such rules and regulations are specifically authorized by law.

(2) The prohibition in this Subsection shall not apply to the regulation or permitting of any such facility possessing a permit or interim permit on April 16, 1990 nor to an application which was pending and had not been denied prior to July 1, 1990.

(3) In no event shall any such permit be issued without prior notification of legislators representing the area which includes the proposed site of the facility and prior public hearing in that area.

(4) The department shall promulgate necessary rules and regulations for the permitting of medical waste incinerator disposal facilities within one hundred eighty days after being specifically authorized by law.

D. The secretary shall adopt rules and regulations no later than December 1, 1995, to govern the disposal of oil and gas industry wood board road waste, if by burning, by the use of an air curtain process. Until such rules are adopted, the department shall extend any existing permits, variances, or exemptions annually for such operations, provided that the recipient has complied with the requirements of such permits, variances, or exemptions and has paid the fees required by the department.

Acts 1983, No. 97, §1, eff. Feb. 1, 1984; Acts 1985, No. 318, §1; Acts 1990, No. 716, §1, eff. July 20, 1990; Acts 1990, No. 1010, §1, eff. July 26, 1990; Acts 1990, No. 1074, §1, eff. July 26, 1990; Acts 1992, No. 919, §1; Acts 1993, No. 555, §1, eff. June 10, 1993; Acts 1995, No. 706, §1; Acts 1997, No. 27, §1; Acts 1997, No. 123, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1119, §1; Acts 1999, No. 303, §1; Acts 2001, No. 524, §2; Acts 2004, No. 150, §1, eff. June 10, 2004; Acts 2010, No. 153, §1; Acts 2010, No. 862, §1, eff. July 1, 2010; Acts 2010, No. 982, §1; Acts 2010, No. 983, §1.