La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § V-2239

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024

Section V-2239 - Procedures for Case-by-Case Extensions of an Effective Date

A. Any person who generates, treats, stores, or disposes of a hazardous waste may submit an application to the Office of Environmental Services for an extension of the effective date of any applicable prohibition established under this Chapter. The applicant must provide the following, and in each case the burden of proof will be on the applicant:

1. written evidence of a good-faith effort to locate and contract with treatment, recovery, or disposal facilities nationwide to manage his or her waste in accordance with the effective date of the applicable prohibitions established under these regulations;

2. written evidence of a binding contractual commitment to construct or otherwise provide alternative treatment, recovery (e.g., recycling), or disposal capacity that meets the treatment standards specified in LAC 33:V.Chapter 22.Subchapter A or, where treatment standards have not been specified, evidence that such treatment, recovery, or disposal capacity is protective of human health and the environment;

3. written evidence that due to circumstances beyond the applicant's control, such alternative capacity cannot reasonably be made available by the applicable effective date. This demonstration may include a showing that the technical and practical difficulties associated with providing the alternative capacity will result in the capacity not being available by the applicable effective date;

4. written evidence that the capacity that will be provided by the applicant will be sufficient to manage the entire quantity of the waste that is the subject of the application;

5. a detailed schedule for obtaining required operating and construction permits and an outline of how and when alternative capacity will be available;

6. written evidence of arrangements for adequate capacity to manage the subject waste during an extension and documentation of the locations of all sites at which the waste will be managed;

7. documentation to demonstrate that any waste managed in a surface impoundment or landfill during the extension period will meet the requirements of LAC 33:V.2239.I.2; and

8. documentation that he or she has a program or plan in effect to reduce the volume and toxicity of the waste he or she generates and that he or she has sought out the best available technology to reduce the toxicity, corrosiveness, virulent, or infectious character, or volume of the waste and that the waste cannot be further reduced through production modifications, nor can the waste or specific constituents of the waste be reclaimed or reused. The plan shall include:

a. a schedule of implementation and anticipated reductions in quantity and toxicity;

b. a list of technical process reductions considered and those rejected and the reasons for the rejections; and

c. an analysis of the impact of the reduction program or plan on all operations of the facility affecting the environment, including air and water discharges.

B. An authorized representative signing an application described under Subsection A of this Section shall make the following certification.

"I certify under penalty of law that I have personally examined and am familiar with the information submitted in this document and all attachments and that, based on my inquiry of those individuals immediately responsible for obtaining the information, I believe that the information is true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fines and imprisonment."

C. After receiving an application for an extension, the administrative authority may request any additional information that he or she deems necessary to evaluate the application. Failure to segregate waste streams shall not constitute justification for a case-by-case extension for those wastes which are separable and treatable in an available facility.

D. Pending a decision on the application for an extension, the applicant is required to comply with all prohibitions on land disposal under this Chapter, except as may be allowed in LAC 33:V.2233.

E. An extension will apply only to the waste generated at the individual facility covered by the application; it will not apply to prohibited waste from any other facility.

F. On the basis of the information referred to in Subsection A of this Section, after notice and opportunity for public comment, and after consultation with appropriate state agencies in all affected states, the administrative authority may grant an extension of up to one year from the effective date of the prohibition. The administrative authority may renew this extension for up to one additional year at the applicant's request if the demonstration required in Subsection A of this Section can still be made. In no event will an extension extend beyond 24 months from the applicable effective date specified in this Subchapter. The length of any extension authorized will be determined by the administrative authority based on the time required to construct or obtain the type of capacity the applicant needs, as described in the completion schedule discussed in Paragraph A.5 of this Section. The administrative authority will give public notice of the intent to approve or deny a petition or for an extension and will provide an opportunity for public comment as provided in LAC 33:V.2243. The final decision on a petition or extension will be published in the official state journal.

G. Any person granted an extension under this Section must immediately notify the Office of Environmental Services as soon as he or she has knowledge of any change in the conditions certified in the application.

H. Any person granted an extension under this Section shall submit written progress reports at intervals designated by the Office of Environmental Services, which may not exceed six months. Such reports must describe the overall progress made toward constructing or otherwise providing alternative treatment, recovery, or disposal capacity; must identify any event that may cause or has caused a delay in the development of the capacity, and must summarize the steps taken to mitigate the delay. The administrative authority can revoke the extension at any time if the applicant does not make a good-faith effort to meet the schedule for completion, if the department denies or revokes any required permit, if conditions certified in the application change, or for any violation of the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act or regulations promulgated thereto.

I. Whenever the administrative authority establishes an extension to an effective date under this Section, the following will apply during the period that such extension is in effect.

1. The storage prohibitions under LAC 33:V.2205.A are waived.

2. Such hazardous waste may be disposed of in a landfill or surface impoundment only if the unit is in compliance with the technical requirements of the following provisions, regardless of whether such unit is existing, new, or a replacement or lateral expansion.

a. The landfill, if in interim status, is in compliance with the requirements of groundwater interim status standards LAC 33:V.4447-4461 and LAC 33:V.4495-4511 of these regulations.

b. The landfill, if permitted, is in compliance with the requirements of LAC 33:V.Chapter 33 and LAC 33:V.2503.C-E.

c. The surface impoundment, if in interim status, is in compliance with the requirements of LAC 33:V.4447-4461.

d. The surface impoundment, if permitted, is in compliance with the requirements of LAC 33:V.Chapters 29 and 33.

e. The surface impoundment, if newly subject to RCRA Section 3005(j)(1) due to promulgation of additional listings or characteristics for the identification of hazardous waste, is in compliance with the requirements of LAC 33:V.Chapter 43.Subchapter E within 12 months after the promulgation of additional listings or characteristics of hazardous waste, and with the requirements of LAC 33:V.4462.A, C, and D within 48 months after the promulgation of additional listings or characteristics of hazardous waste; and if a national capacity variance is granted during the period the variance is in effect, the surface impoundment, if newly subject to RCRA Section 3005(j)(1) due to the promulgation of additional listings or characteristics of hazardous waste, is in compliance with the requirements of LAC 33:V.Chapter 43.Subchapter E within 12 months after the promulgation of additional listings or characteristics of hazardous waste, and with the requirements of LAC 33:V.4462.A, C, and D within 48 months after the promulgation of additional listings or characteristics of hazardous waste.

f. The landfill, if disposing of containerized liquid hazardous wastes containing PCBs at concentrations greater than or equal to 50 ppm but less than 500 ppm, is also in compliance with the requirements of 40 CFR 761.75 and LAC 33:V.Subpart 1.

J. Pending a decision on the application for an extension, the applicant is required to comply with all prohibitions on land disposal under this Chapter once the effective date has been reached.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § V-2239

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Solid and Hazardous Waste, Hazardous Waste Division, LR 15:378 (May 1989), amended LR 16:1057 (December 1990), LR 17:658 (July 1991), LR 22:22 (January 1996), amended by the Office of Waste Services, Hazardous Waste Division, LR 24:1727 (September 1998), amended by the Office of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Planning Division, LR 26:2477 (November 2000), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs Division, LR 31:2458 (October 2005), LR 33:2108 (October 2007), Amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Division, LR 431144 (6/1/2017).

NOTE: Persons obtaining a case-by-case extension of the effective date of any land disposal prohibition must submit a petition to the EPA administrator or designee in accordance with 40 CFR 268.5.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2180 et seq.