La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § V-4703

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

Section V-4703 - Design and Operating Standards

A. All containment buildings must comply with the following design standards:

1. the containment building must be completely enclosed with a floor, walls, and a roof to prevent exposure to the elements, (e.g., precipitation, wind, run-on) and to ensure containment of managed wastes;

2. the floor and containment walls of the unit, including the secondary containment system if required under LAC 33:V.4703.B, must be designed and constructed of materials of sufficient strength and thickness to support themselves, the waste contents, and any personnel and heavy equipment that operate within the unit and to prevent failure due to pressure gradients, settlement, compression, uplift, physical contact with the hazardous wastes to which they are exposed, climatic conditions, and the stresses of daily operation, including the movement of heavy equipment within the unit and contact of such equipment with containment walls. The unit must be designed so that it has sufficient structural strength to prevent collapse or other failure. All surfaces to be in contact with hazardous wastes must be chemically compatible with those wastes. The administrative authority will consider standards established by professional organizations which are generally recognized by the industry, such as the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM), in judging the structural integrity requirements of LAC 33:V.4703.A. If appropriate to the nature of the waste management operation to take place in the unit, an exception to the structural strength requirement may be made for light-weight doors and windows that meet these criteria:

a. they provide an effective barrier against fugitive dust emissions under LAC 33:V.4703.C.1.d; and

b. the unit is designed and operated in a fashion that ensures that wastes will not actually come in contact with these openings;

3. incompatible hazardous wastes or treatment reagents must not be placed in the unit or its secondary containment system if they could cause the unit or secondary containment system to leak, corrode, or otherwise fail; and

4. a containment building must have a primary barrier designed to withstand the movement of personnel, waste, and handling equipment in the unit during the operating life of the unit and appropriate for the physical and chemical characteristics of the waste to be managed.

B. For a containment building used to manage hazardous wastes containing free liquids or treated with free liquids (the presence of which is determined by the paint filter test, a visual examination, or other appropriate means), the owner or operator must include:

1. a primary barrier designed and constructed of materials to prevent the migration of hazardous constituents into the barrier (e.g. a geomembrane covered by a concrete wear surface);

2. a liquid collection and removal system to prevent the accumulation of liquid on the primary barrier of the containment building:

a. the primary barrier must be sloped to drain liquids to the associated collection system; and

b. liquids and waste must be collected and removed to minimize hydraulic head on the containment system at the earliest practicable time that protects human health and the environment;

3. a secondary containment system, including a secondary barrier designed and constructed to prevent migration of hazardous constituents into the barrier, and a leak detection system that is capable of detecting failure of the primary barrier and collecting accumulated hazardous wastes and liquids at the earliest practicable time:

a. the requirements of the leak detection component of the secondary containment system are satisfied by installation of a system that is, at a minimum:

i. constructed with a bottom slope of 1 percent or more; and

ii. constructed of a granular drainage material with a hydraulic conductivity of 1 x 10^-2 cm/sec or more and a thickness of 12 inches (30.5 cm) or more, or constructed of synthetic or geonet drainage materials with a transmissivity of 3 x 10^-5 m²/sec or more;

b. if treatment is to be conducted in the building, an area in which such treatment will be conducted must be designed to prevent the release of liquids, wet materials, or liquid aerosols to other portions of the building;

c. the secondary containment system must be constructed of materials that are chemically resistant to the waste and liquids managed in the containment building and of sufficient strength and thickness to prevent collapse under the pressure exerted by overlaying materials and by any equipment used in the containment building. (Containment buildings can serve as secondary containment systems for tanks placed within the building under certain conditions. A containment building can serve as an external liner system for a tank, provided it meets the requirements of LAC 33:V.4437.E.1. In addition, the containment building must meet the requirements of LAC 33:V.4437.B and C to be considered an acceptable secondary containment system for a tank.); and

4. for existing units other than 90-day generator units, the administrative authority may delay the secondary containment requirement for up to two years, based on a demonstration by the owner or operator that the unit substantially meets the standards of this Subchapter. In making this demonstration, the owner or operator must:

a. provide written notice to the administrative authority of their request by February 18, 1993. This notification must describe the unit and its operating practices with specific reference to the performance of existing containment systems and specific plans for retrofitting the unit with secondary containment;

b. respond to any comments from the administrative authority on these plans within 30 days; and

c. fulfill the terms of the revised plans, if such plans are approved by the administrative authority.

C. Owners or operators of all containment buildings must:

1. use controls and practices to ensure containment of the hazardous waste within the unit and, at a minimum:

a. maintain the primary barrier to be free of significant cracks, gaps, corrosion, or other deterioration that could cause hazardous waste to be released from the primary barrier;

b. maintain the level of the stored/treated hazardous waste within the containment walls of the unit so that the height of any containment wall is not exceeded;

c. take measures to prevent the tracking of hazardous waste out of the unit by personnel or equipment used in handling the waste. An area must be designated to decontaminate equipment and any rinsate must be collected and properly managed; and

d. take measures to control fugitive dust emissions such that any openings (doors, windows, vents, cracks, etc.) exhibit no visible emissions. In addition, all associated particulate collection devices (e.g., fabric filter, electrostatic precipitator) must be operated and maintained with sound air pollution control practices. This state of no visible emissions must be maintained effectively at all times during normal operating conditions, including when vehicles and personnel are entering and exiting the unit;

2. obtain and keep on-site a certification by a qualified professional engineer that the containment building design meets the requirements of Subsections A-C of this Section;

3. throughout the active life of the containment building, if the owner or operator detects a condition that could lead to or has caused a release of hazardous waste, repair the condition promptly, in accordance with the following procedures:

a. upon detection of a condition that has led to a release of hazardous waste (e.g., upon detection of leakage from the primary barrier) the owner or operator must:

i. enter a record of the discovery in the facility operating record;

ii. immediately remove the portion of the containment building affected by the condition from service;

iii. determine what steps must be taken to repair the containment building, remove any leakage from the secondary collection system, and establish a schedule for accomplishing the cleanup and repairs; and

iv. within seven days after the discovery of the condition, notify the Office of Environmental Services of the condition and, within 14 working days, provide a written notice to the administrative authority with a description of the steps taken to repair the containment building and the schedule for accomplishing the work;

b. the administrative authority will review the information submitted, make a determination regarding whether the containment building must be removed from service completely or partially until repairs and cleanup are complete, and notify the owner or operator of the determination and the underlying rationale in writing; and

c. upon completing all repairs and cleanup, the owner or operator must notify the Office of Environmental Services in writing and provide a verification, signed by a qualified, registered professional engineer, that the repairs and cleanup have been completed according to the written plan submitted in accordance with LAC 33:V.4703.C.3.a.iv; and

4. inspect and record in the facility's operating record, at least once every seven days, data gathered from monitoring equipment, leak detection equipment, and containment building and the area immediately surrounding it to detect signs of releases of hazardous waste.

D. For containment buildings having areas both with and without secondary containment, the owner or operator must:

1. design and operate each area in accordance with the requirements in LAC 33:V.4703.A-C;

2. take measures to prevent the release of liquids or wet materials into areas without secondary containment; and

3. maintain, in the facility's operating log, a written description of the operating procedures used to maintain the integrity of areas without secondary containment.

E. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Subchapter, the administrative authority may waive requirements for secondary containment for a permitted containment building where the owner or operator demonstrates that the only free liquids in the unit are limited amounts of dust-suppression liquids required to meet occupational health and safety requirements and where containment of managed wastes and liquids can be ensured without a secondary containment system.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § V-4703

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Solid and Hazardous Waste, Hazardous Waste Division, LR 21:266 (March 1995), amended by the Office of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Planning Division, LR 26:2509 (November 2000), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs Division, LR 33:2136 (October 2007), LR 34:635 (April 2008), LR 34:1008 (June 2008).

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