Section 33-24-05-554 - Staging piles1. A staging pile is an accumulation of solid, nonflowing remediation waste (as defined in section 33-24-01-04) that is not a containment building and is used only during remedial operations for temporary storage at a facility. A staging pile must be located within the contiguous property under the control of the owner or operator where the wastes to be managed in the staging pile originated. Staging piles must be designated by the department according to the requirements in this section. a. For the purposes of this section, storage includes mixing, sizing, blending, or other similar physical operations as long as they are intended to prepare the wastes for subsequent management or treatment.2. A staging pile may be used to store hazardous remediation waste (or remediation waste otherwise subject to land disposal restrictions) only if the owner or operator follows the standards and design criteria the department has designated for that staging pile. The department must designate the staging pile in a permit or, at an interim status facility, in a closure plan or order (consistent with the applicable requirements of subsection 5 of section 33-24-06-16). The department must establish conditions in the permit, closure plan, or order that comply with subsections 4 through 11. 3. An owner or operator that is seeking a staging pile designation must provide the following information: a. Sufficient and accurate information to enable the department to impose standards and design criteria for the staging pile according to subsections 4 through 11;b. Certification by a qualified professional engineer for technical data, such as design drawings and specifications, and engineering studies, unless the department determines, based on information that the owner or operator provided, that this certification is not necessary to ensure that a staging pile will protect human health and the environment; andc. Any additional information the department determines is necessary to protect human health and the environment.4. Performance criteria for a staging pile. The department must establish the standards and design criteria for the staging pile in the permit, closure plan, or order.a. The standards and design criteria as established by the department in the permit closure plan or order must comply with the following:(1) The staging pile must facilitate a reliable, effective, and protective remedy;(2) The staging pile must be designed so as to prevent or minimize releases of hazardous wastes and hazardous constituents into the environment, and minimize or adequately control cross-media transfer, as necessary to protect human health and the environment (for example, through the use of liners, covers, and runoff and run-on controls, as appropriate); and(3) The staging pile may not operate for a period of more than two years, except when the department grants an operating term extension under subsection 9. The owner or operator must measure the two-year limit, or other operating term specified by the department in the permit, closure plan, or order, from the first time remediation waste is placed into a staging pile. The owner or operator must maintain a record of the date when remediation waste is first placed into the staging pile for the life of the permit, closure plan, or order, or for three years, whichever is longer.b. In setting the standards and design criteria, the department must consider the following factors:(1) Length of time the staging pile will be in operation;(2) Volumes of wastes the owner or operator intends to store in the staging pile;(3) Physical and chemical characteristics of the wastes to be stored in the unit;(4) Potential for releases from the unit;(5) Hydrogeological and other relevant environmental conditions at the facility that may influence the migration of any potential releases; and(6) Potential for human and environmental exposure to potential releases from the unit.5. Ignitable or reactive remediation waste are prohibited from being placed in a staging pile. The owner or operator must not place ignitable or reactive remediation waste in a staging pile unless: a. The owner or operator has treated, rendered, or mixed the remediation waste before being placed in the staging pile so that: (1) The remediation waste no longer meets the definition of ignitable or reactive under section 33-24-02-11 or 33-24-02-13; and(2) The owner or operator has complied with subsection 2 of section 33-24-05-08; orb. The owner or operator manages the remediation waste to protect it from exposure to any material or condition that may cause it to ignite or react.6. Management of incompatible remediation wastes in a staging pile. The owner or operator must comply with the following requirements for incompatible wastes (as defined in section 33-24-01-04) in staging piles: a. The owner or operator may not place incompatible remediation wastes in the same staging pile unless the owner or operator has complied with subsection 2 of section 33-24-05-08;b. If remediation waste in a staging pile is incompatible with any waste or material stored nearby in containers, other piles, open tanks, or land disposal units (for example, surface impoundments), the owner or operator must separate the incompatible materials, or protect them from one another by using a dike, berm, wall, or other device; andc. The owner or operator must not pile remediation waste on the same base where incompatible wastes or materials were previously piled, unless the base has been decontaminated sufficiently to comply with subsection 2 of section 33-24-05-08.7. Land disposal restrictions and minimum technological requirements are not triggered by placing hazardous remediation wastes into a staging pile.8. Staging pile operation time limits. The department may allow a staging pile to operate for up to two years after hazardous remediation waste is first placed into the pile. The owner or operator may use a staging pile no longer than the length of time designated by the department in the permit, closure plan, or order except as provided in subsection 9.9. Extension of operation time limits. a. The department may grant one operating term extension of up to one hundred eighty days beyond the operating term limit contained in the permit, closure plan, or order (see subsection 12 for modification procedures). To justify to the department the need for an extension, the owner or operator must provide sufficient and accurate information to enable the department to determine that continued operation of the staging pile: (1) Will not pose a threat to human health and the environment; and(2) Is necessary to ensure timely and efficient implementation of remedial actions at the facility.b. The department may, as a condition of the extension, specify further standards and design criteria in the permit, closure plan, or order, as necessary, to ensure protection of human health and the environment.10. Closure requirements for a staging pile located in a previously contaminated area.a. Within one hundred eighty days after the operating term of the staging pile expires, the owner or operator must close a staging pile located in a previously contaminated area of the site by removing or decontaminating all: (2) Contaminated containment system components; and(3) Structures and equipment contaminated with waste and leachate.b. The owner or operator must also decontaminate contaminated subsoils in a manner and according to a schedule that the department determines will protect human health and the environment.c. The department must include the above requirements in the permit, closure plan, or order in which the staging pile is designated.11. Closure requirements for a staging pile located in an uncontaminated area.a. Within one hundred eighty days after the operating term of the staging pile expires, the owner or operator must close a staging pile located in an uncontaminated area of the site according to subsection 1 of section 33-24-05-135 and section 33-24-05-60.b. The department must include the above requirements in the permit, closure plan, or order in which the staging pile is designated.12. Modifications to an existing permit, closure plan, or order to allow use of a staging pile. a. A permit, other than a remedial action plan, may be modified to incorporate a staging pile or staging pile operating term extension, by either:(1) The department may initiate the modification in accordance with section 33-24-06-12; or(2) The owner or operator may request a class 2 modification under section 33-24-06-14.b. A remedial action plan may be modified to incorporate a staging pile or staging pile operating term extension when the owner or operator submits a request pursuant to subsections 1 and 2 of section 33-24-06-33.c. The owner or operator must follow the applicable requirements under subsection 3 of section 33-24-05-61 to modify a closure plan to incorporate a staging pile or staging pile operating term extension.d. To modify an order to incorporate a staging pile or staging pile operating term extension, the owner or operator must follow the terms of the order and the applicable requirements of subsection 5 of section 33-24-06-16.13. The department shall document the rationale for designating a staging pile or staging pile operating term extension and shall make such documentation available to the public.N.D. Admin Code 33-24-05-554
Effective December 1, 2003.Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 2016-359, January 2016, effective 1/1/2016.General Authority: NDCC 23-20.3-03
Law Implemented: NDCC 23-20.3-03, 23-20.3-04