CCLME.ORG - Solid waste handling standards

State
Washington Regulations
Chapter 173-350 WAC Solid waste handling standards

Last Update: 5/10/05

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173-350-010
Purpose.
This chapter is adopted under the authority of chapter 70.95 RCW, Solid waste management -- Reduction and recycling, to protect public health, to prevent land, air, and water pollution, and conserve the state's natural, economic, and energy resources by:

(1) Setting minimum functional performance standards for the proper handling and disposal of solid waste originating from residences, commercial, agricultural and industrial operations and other sources;

(2) Identifying those functions necessary to assure effective solid waste handling programs at both the state and local level;

(3) Following the priorities for the management of solid waste as set by the legislature in chapter 70.95 RCW, Solid waste management -- Reduction and recycling.

(4) Describing the responsibility of persons, municipalities, regional agencies, state and local government related to solid waste;

(5) Requiring solid waste handling facilities to be located, designed, constructed, operated and closed in accordance with this chapter;

(6) Promoting regulatory consistency by establishing statewide minimum standards for solid waste handling; and

(7) Encouraging the development and operation of waste recycling facilities and activities needed to accomplish the management priority of waste recycling.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.95 RCW. 03-03-043 (Order 99-24), § 173-350-010, filed 1/10/03, effective 2/10/03.]

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173-350-020
Applicability.
This chapter applies to facilities and activities that manage solid wastes as that term is defined in WAC 173-350-100. This chapter does not apply to the following:

(1) Overburden from mining operations intended for return to the mine;

(2) Wood waste used for ornamental, animal bedding, mulch and plant bedding, or road building purposes;

(3) Wood waste directly resulting from the harvesting of timber left at the point of generation and subject to chapter 76.09 RCW, Forest practices;

(4) Land application of manures and crop residues at agronomic rates;

(5) Home composting as defined in WAC 173-350-100;

(6) Single-family residences and single-family farms whose year round occupants engage in solid waste disposal regulated under WAC 173-351-700(4);

(7) Clean soils and clean dredged material as defined in WAC 173-350-100;

(8) Dredged material as defined in 40 CFR 232.2 that is subject to:

(a) The requirements of a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or an approved state under section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344);

(b) The requirements of a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under section 103 of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1413); or

(c) In the case of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works projects, the administrative equivalent of the permits referred to in (a) and (b) of this subsection, as provided for in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulations, including, for example, 33 CFR 336.1, 336.2, and 337.6;

(9) Biosolids that are managed under chapter 173-308 WAC, Biosolids management;

(10) Domestic septage taken to a sewage treatment plant permitted under chapter 90.48 RCW, Water pollution control;

(11) Liquid wastes, the discharge or potential discharge of which, is regulated under federal, state or local water pollution permits;

(12) Domestic wastewater facilities and industrial wastewater facilities otherwise regulated by federal, state, or local water pollution permits;

(13) Dangerous wastes fully regulated under chapter 70.105 RCW, Hazardous waste management, and chapter 173-303 WAC, Dangerous waste regulations;

(14) Special incinerator ash regulated under chapter 173-306 WAC, Special incinerator ash management standards;

(15) PCB wastes regulated under 40 CFR Part 761, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Manufacturing, Processing, Distribution in Commerce, and Use Prohibitions, except for:

(a) PCB household waste; and

(b) PCB bulk product wastes identified in 40 CFR Part 761.62 (b)(1) that are disposed of in limited purpose landfills;

(16) Radioactive wastes, defined by chapter 246-220 WAC, Radiation protection -- General provisions, and chapter 246-232 WAC, Radioactive protection -- Licensing applicability;

(17) Landfilling of municipal solid waste regulated under chapter 173-351 WAC, Criteria for municipal solid waste landfills;

(18) Drop boxes used solely for collecting recyclable materials;

(19) Intermodal facilities as defined in WAC 173-350-100; and

(20) Solid waste handling facilities that have engaged in closure and closed before the effective date of this chapter.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.95 RCW. 03-03-043 (Order 99-24), § 173-350-020, filed 1/10/03, effective 2/10/03.]

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173-350-025
Owner responsibilities for solid waste.
The owner, operator, or occupant of any premise, business establishment, or industry shall be responsible for the satisfactory and legal arrangement for the solid waste handling of all solid waste generated or accumulated by them on the property.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.95 RCW. 03-03-043 (Order 99-24), § 173-350-025, filed 1/10/03, effective 2/10/03.]

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173-350-030
Effective dates.
(1) Effective dates. These standards apply to all facilities, except existing facilities, upon the effective date of this chapter.

(2) Effective dates - Existing facilities.

(a) The owner or operator of existing facilities shall:

(i) Meet all applicable operating, environmental monitoring, closure and post-closure planning, and financial assurance requirements of this chapter within twenty-four months of the effective date of this chapter; and

(ii) Meet all applicable performance and design requirements, other than location or setback requirements, within thirty-six months of the effective date of this chapter.

(b) These standards apply to all new solid waste handling units at existing facilities upon the effective date of this chapter.

(c) The owner or operator of existing facilities shall initiate the permit modification process outlined in WAC 173-350-710(4) within eighteen months after the effective date of this chapter. If a permit modification is necessary, every application for a permit modification shall describe the date and methods for altering an existing facility to meet (a)(i) through (iii) of this subsection.

(d) The jurisdictional health department shall determine if a new permit application is required based on the extent of the changes needed to bring the facility into compliance.

(e) An existing facility completing closure within twelve months of the effective date of this chapter may close in compliance with the requirements of chapter 173-304 WAC, Minimum functional standards for solid waste handling. Any facility that does not complete closure within twelve months of the effective date of this chapter shall close in compliance with applicable requirements of this chapter.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.95 RCW. 03-03-043 (Order 99-24), § 173-350-030, filed 1/10/03, effective 2/10/03.]

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173-350-040
Performance standards.
The owner or operator of all solid waste facilities subject to this chapter shall:

(1) Design, construct, operate, and close all facilities in a manner that does not pose a threat to human health or the environment;

(2) Comply with chapter 90.48 RCW, Water pollution control and implementing regulations, including chapter 173-200 WAC, Water quality standards for ground waters of the state of Washington;

(3) Conform to the approved local comprehensive solid waste management plan prepared in accordance with chapter 70.95 RCW, Solid waste management -- Reduction and recycling, and/or the local hazardous waste management plan prepared in accordance with chapter 70.105 RCW, Hazardous waste management;

(4) Not cause any violation of emission standards or ambient air quality standards at the property boundary of any facility and comply with chapter 70.94 RCW, Washington Clean Air Act; and

(5) Comply with all other applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.95 RCW. 03-03-043 (Order 99-24), § 173-350-040, filed 1/10/03, effective 2/10/03.]

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173-350-100
Definitions.
When used in this chapter, the following terms have the meanings given below.

"Active area" means that portion of a facility where solid waste recycling, reuse, treatment, storage, or disposal operations are being, are proposed to be, or have been conducted. Setbacks shall not be considered part of the active area of a facility.

"Agricultural composting" means composting of agricultural waste as an integral component of a system designed to improve soil health and recycle agricultural wastes. Agricultural composting is conducted on lands used for farming.

"Agricultural wastes" means wastes on farms resulting from the raising or growing of plants and animals including, but not limited to, crop residue, manure and animal bedding, and carcasses of dead animals weighing each or collectively in excess of fifteen pounds.

"Agronomic rates" means the application rate (dry weight basis) that will provide the amount of nitrogen or other critical nutrient required for optimum growth of vegetation, and that will not result in the violation of applicable standards or requirements for the protection of ground or surface water as established under chapter 90.48 RCW, Water pollution control and related rules including chapter 173-200 WAC, Water quality standards for ground waters of the state of Washington, and chapter 173-201A WAC, Water quality standards for surface waters of the state of Washington.

"Air quality standard" means a standard set for maximum allowable contamination in ambient air as set forth in chapter 173-400 WAC, General regulations for air pollution sources.

"Below ground tank" means a device meeting the definition of "tank" in this chapter where a portion of the tank wall is situated to any degree within the ground, thereby preventing visual inspection of that external surface of the tank that is in the ground.

"Beneficial use" means the use of solid waste as an ingredient in a manufacturing process, or as an effective substitute for natural or commercial products, in a manner that does not pose a threat to human health or the environment. Avoidance of processing or disposal cost alone does not constitute beneficial use.

"Biosolids" means municipal sewage sludge that is a primarily organic, semisolid product resulting from the wastewater treatment process, that can be beneficially recycled and meets all applicable requirements under chapter 173-308 WAC, Biosolids management. Biosolids includes a material derived from biosolids and septic tank sludge, also known as septage, that can be beneficially recycled and meets all applicable requirements under chapter 173-308 WAC, Biosolids management.

"Buffer" means a permanently vegetated strip adjacent to an application area, the purpose of which is to filter runoff or overspray from the application area and protect an adjacent area.

"Cab cards" means a license carried in a vehicle that authorizes that vehicle to legally pick up waste tires and haul to a permitted, licensed facility or an exempt facility for deposit.

"Captive insurance companies" means companies that are wholly owned subsidiaries controlled by the parent company and established to insure the parent company or its other subsidiaries.

"Channel migration zone" means the lateral extent of likely movement of a stream or river channel along a stream reach.

"Clean soils and clean dredged material" means soils and dredged material which are not dangerous wastes, contaminated soils, or contaminated dredged material as defined in this section.

"Closure" means those actions taken by the owner or operator of a solid waste handling facility to cease disposal operations or other solid waste handling activities, to ensure that all such facilities are closed in conformance with applicable regulations at the time of such closures and to prepare the site for the post-closure period.

"Closure plan" means a written plan developed by an owner or operator of a facility detailing how a facility is to close at the end of its active life.

"Composted material" means organic solid waste that has undergone biological degradation and transformation under controlled conditions designed to promote aerobic decomposition at a solid waste facility in compliance with the requirements of this chapter. Natural decay of organic solid waste under uncontrolled conditions does not result in composted material.

"Composting" means the biological degradation and transformation of organic solid waste under controlled conditions designed to promote aerobic decomposition. Natural decay of organic solid waste under uncontrolled conditions is not composting.

"Conditionally exempt small quantity generator (CESQG)" means a dangerous waste generator whose dangerous wastes are not subject to regulation under chapter 70.105 RCW, Hazardous waste management, solely because the waste is generated or accumulated in quantities below the threshold for regulation and meets the conditions prescribed in WAC 173-303-070 (8)(b).

"Conditionally exempt small quantity generator (CESQG) waste" means dangerous waste generated by a conditionally exempt small quantity generator.

"Container" means a portable device used for the collection, storage, and/or transportation of solid waste including, but not limited to, reusable containers, disposable containers, and detachable containers.

"Contaminant" means any chemical, physical, biological, or radiological substance that does not occur naturally in the environment or that occurs at concentrations greater than natural background levels.

"Contaminate" means the release of solid waste, leachate, or gases emitted by solid waste, such that contaminants enter the environment at concentrations that pose a threat to human health or the environment, or cause a violation of any applicable environmental regulation.

"Contaminated dredged material" means dredged material resulting from the dredging of surface waters of the state where contaminants are present in the dredged material at concentrations not suitable for open water disposal and the dredged material is not dangerous waste and is not regulated by section 404 of the Federal Clean Water Act (P.L. 95-217).

"Contaminated soils" means soils removed during the cleanup of a hazardous waste site, or a dangerous waste facility closure, corrective actions or other clean-up activities and which contain harmful substances but are not designated dangerous wastes.

"Corrosion expert" means a person certified by the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) or a registered professional engineer who has certification or licensing that includes education and experience in corrosion control.

"Crop residues" means vegetative material leftover from the harvesting of crops, including leftover pieces or whole fruits or vegetables, crop leaves and stems. Crop residue does not include food processing waste.

"Dangerous wastes" means any solid waste designated as dangerous waste by the department under chapter 173-303 WAC, Dangerous waste regulations.

"Department" means the Washington state department of ecology.

"Detachable containers" means reusable containers that are mechanically loaded or handled, such as a dumpster or drop box.

"Disposable containers" means containers that are used once to handle solid waste, such as plastic bags, cardboard boxes and paper bags.

"Disposal" or "deposition" means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, leaking, or placing of any solid waste into or on any land or water.

"Domestic septage" means Class I, II or III domestic septage as defined in chapter 173-308 WAC, Biosolids management.

"Domestic wastewater facility" means all structures, equipment, or processes required to collect, carry away, treat, reclaim, or dispose of domestic wastewater together with such industrial waste as may be present.

"Drop box facility" means a facility used for the placement of a detachable container including the area adjacent for necessary entrance and exit roads, unloading and turn-around areas. Drop box facilities normally serve the general public with loose loads and receive waste from off-site.

"Energy recovery" means the recovery of energy in a useable form from mass burning or refuse-derived fuel incineration, pyrolysis or any other means of using the heat of combustion of solid waste that involves high temperature (above twelve hundred degrees Fahrenheit) processing.

"Existing facility" means a facility which is owned or leased, and in operation, or for which facility construction has begun, on or before the effective date of this chapter and the owner or operator has obtained permits or approvals necessary under federal, state and local statutes, regulations and ordinances.

"Facility" means all contiguous land (including buffers and setbacks) and structures, other appurtenances, and improvements on the land used for solid waste handling.

"Facility construction" means the continuous on-site physical act of constructing solid waste handling unit(s) or when the owner or operator of a facility has entered into contractual obligations for physical construction of the facility that cannot be canceled or modified without substantial financial loss.

"Facility structures" means constructed infrastructure such as buildings, sheds, utility lines, and piping on the facility.

"Garbage" means animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, storage, sale, preparation, cooking, and serving of foods.

"Ground water" means that part of the subsurface water that is in the zone of saturation.

"Holocene fault" means a plane along which earthen material on one side has been displaced with respect to that on the other side and has occurred in the most recent epoch of the Quaternary period extending from the end of the Pleistocene to the present.

"Home composting" means composting of on-site generated wastes, and incidental materials beneficial to the composting process, by the owner or person in control of a single-family residence, or for a dwelling that houses two to five families, such as a duplex or clustered dwellings.

"Household hazardous wastes" means any waste which exhibits any of the properties of dangerous wastes that is exempt from regulation under chapter 70.105 RCW, Hazardous waste management, solely because the waste is generated by households. Household hazardous waste can also include other solid waste identified in the local hazardous waste management plan prepared pursuant to chapter 70.105 RCW, Hazardous waste management.

"Hydrostratigraphic unit" means any water-bearing geologic unit or units hydraulically connected or grouped together on the basis of similar hydraulic conductivity which can be reasonably monitored; several geologic formations or part of a geologic formation may be grouped into a single hydrostratigraphic unit; perched sand lenses may be considered a hydrostratigraphic unit or part of a hydrostratigraphic unit, for example.

"Incineration" means reducing the volume of solid wastes by use of an enclosed device using controlled flame combustion.

"Incompatible waste" means a waste that is unsuitable for mixing with another waste or material because the mixture might produce excessive heat or pressure, fire or explosion, violent reaction, toxic dust, fumes, mists, or gases, or flammable fumes or gases.

"Industrial solid wastes" means solid waste generated from manufacturing operations, food processing, or other industrial processes.

"Industrial wastewater facility" means all structures, equipment, or processes required to collect, carry away, treat, reclaim, or dispose of industrial wastewater.

"Inert waste" means solid wastes that meet the criteria for inert waste in WAC 173-350-990.

"Inert waste landfill" means a landfill that receives only inert wastes.

"Intermediate solid waste handling facility" means any intermediate use or processing site engaged in solid waste handling which is not the final site of disposal. This includes material recovery facilities, transfer stations, drop boxes, baling and compaction sites.

"Intermodal facility" means any facility operated for the purpose of transporting closed containers of waste and the containers are not opened for further treatment, processing or consolidation of the waste.

"Jurisdictional health department" means city, county, city-county or district public health department.

"Land application site" means a contiguous area of land under the same ownership or operational control on which solid wastes are beneficially utilized for their agronomic or soil-amending capability.

"Land reclamation" means using solid waste to restore drastically disturbed lands including, but not limited to, construction sites and surface mines. Using solid waste as a component of fill is not land reclamation.

"Landfill" means a disposal facility or part of a facility at which solid waste is permanently placed in or on land including facilities that use solid waste as a component of fill.

"Leachate" means water or other liquid within a solid waste handling unit that has been contaminated by dissolved or suspended materials due to contact with solid waste or gases.

"Limited moderate risk waste" means waste batteries, waste oil, and waste antifreeze generated from households.

"Limited moderate risk waste facility" means a facility that collects, stores, and consolidates only limited moderate risk waste.

"Limited purpose landfill" means a landfill which is not regulated or permitted by other state or federal environmental regulations that receives solid wastes limited by type or source. Limited purpose landfills include, but are not limited to, landfills that receive segregated industrial solid waste, construction, demolition and landclearing debris, wood waste, ash (other than special incinerator ash), and dredged material. Limited purpose landfills do not include inert waste landfills, municipal solid waste landfills regulated under chapter 173-351 WAC, Criteria for municipal solid waste landfills, landfills disposing of special incinerator ash regulated under chapter 173-306 WAC, Special incinerator ash management standards, landfills regulated under chapter 173-303 WAC, Dangerous waste regulations, or chemical waste landfills used for the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) regulated under Title 40 CFR Part 761, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Manufacturing, Processing, Distribution in Commerce, and Use Prohibitions.

"Liquid" means a substance that flows readily and assumes the form of its container but retains its independent volume.

"Liquid waste" means any solid waste which is deemed to contain free liquids as determined by the Paint Filter Liquids Test, Method 9095, in "Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods," EPA Publication SW-846.

"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. This term does not include man-made materials, such as fill, concrete or asphalt, or unconsolidated earth materials, soil or regolith lying at or near the earth's surface.

"Local fire control agency" means a public or private agency or corporation providing fire protection such as a local fire department, the department of natural resources or the United States Forest Service.

"Lower explosive limits" means the lowest percentage by volume of a mixture of explosive gases that will propagate a flame in air at twenty-five degrees centigrade and atmospheric pressure.

"Material recovery facility" means any facility that collects, compacts, repackages, sorts, or processes for transport source separated solid waste for the purpose of recycling.

"Mobile systems and collection events" means activities conducted at a temporary location to collect moderate risk waste.

"Moderate risk waste (MRW)" means solid waste that is limited to conditionally exempt small quantity generator (CESQG) waste and household hazardous waste (HHW) as defined in this chapter.

"MRW facility" means a solid waste handling unit that is used to collect, treat, recycle, exchange, store, consolidate, and/or transfer moderate risk waste. This does not include mobile systems and collection events or limited MRW facilities that meet the applicable terms and conditions of WAC 173-350-360 (2) or (3).

"Municipal solid waste (MSW)" means a subset of solid waste which includes unsegregated garbage, refuse and similar solid waste material discarded from residential, commercial, institutional and industrial sources and community activities, including residue after recyclables have been separated. Solid waste that has been segregated by source and characteristic may qualify for management as a non-MSW solid waste, at a facility designed and operated to address the waste's characteristics and potential environmental impacts. The term MSW does not include:

? Dangerous wastes other than wastes excluded from the requirements of chapter 173-303 WAC, Dangerous waste regulations, in WAC 173-303-071 such as household hazardous wastes;

? Any solid waste, including contaminated soil and debris, resulting from response action taken under section 104 or 106 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601), chapter 70.105D RCW, Hazardous waste cleanup -- Model Toxics Control Act, chapter 173-340 WAC, the Model Toxics Control Act cleanup regulation or a remedial action taken under those rules; nor

? Mixed or segregated recyclable material that has been source-separated from garbage, refuse and similar solid waste. The residual from source separated recyclables is MSW.

"Natural background" means the concentration of chemical, physical, biological, or radiological substances consistently present in the environment that has not been influenced by regional or localized human activities. Metals at concentrations naturally occurring in bedrock, sediments and soils due solely to the geologic processes that formed the materials are natural background. In addition, low concentrations of other persistent substances due solely to the global use or formation of these substances are natural background.

"New solid waste handling unit" means a solid waste handling unit that begins operation or facility construction, and significant modifications to existing solid waste handling units, after the effective date of this chapter.

"Nuisance odor" means any odor which is found offensive or may unreasonably interfere with any person's health, comfort, or enjoyment beyond the property boundary of a facility.

"One hundred year flood plain" means any land area that is subject to one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year from any source.

"Open burning" means the burning of solid waste materials in an open fire or an outdoor container without providing for the control of combustion or the control of emissions from the combustion.

"Overburden" means the earth, rock, soil, and topsoil that lie above mineral deposits.

"Permeability" means the ease with which a porous material allows liquid or gaseous fluids to flow through it. For water, this is usually expressed in units of centimeters per second and termed hydraulic conductivity.

"Permit" means an authorization issued by the jurisdictional health department which allows a person to perform solid waste activities at a specific location and which includes specific conditions for such facility operations.

"Person" means an individual, firm, association, copartnership, political subdivision, government agency, municipality, industry, public or private corporation, or any other entity whatever.

"Pile" means any noncontainerized accumulation of solid waste that is used for treatment or storage.

"Plan of operation" means the written plan developed by an owner or operator of a facility detailing how a facility is to be operated during its active life.

"Point of compliance" means a point established in the ground water by the jurisdictional health department as near a possible source of release as technically, hydrogeologically and geographically feasible.

"Post-closure" means the requirements placed upon disposal facilities after closure to ensure their environmental safety for at least a twenty-year period or until the site becomes stabilized (i.e., little or no settlement, gas production, or leachate generation).

"Post-closure plan" means a written plan developed by an owner or operator of a facility detailing how a facility is to meet the post-closure requirements for the facility.

"Premises" means a tract or parcel of land with or without habitable buildings.

"Private facility" means a privately owned facility maintained on private property solely for the purpose of managing waste generated by the entity owning the site.

"Processing" means an operation to convert a material into a useful product or to prepare it for reuse, recycling, or disposal.

"Product take-back center" means a retail outlet or distributor that accepts household hazardous waste of comparable types as the products offered for sale or distributed at that outlet.

"Public facility" means a publicly or privately owned facility that accepts solid waste generated by other persons;

"Putrescible waste" means solid waste which contains material capable of being readily decomposed by microorganisms and which is likely to produce offensive odors.

"Pyrolysis" means the process in which solid wastes are heated in an enclosed device in the absence of oxygen to vaporization, producing a hydrocarbon-rich gas capable of being burned for recovery of energy.

"Recyclable materials" means those solid wastes that are separated for recycling or reuse, including, but not limited to, papers, metals, and glass, that are identified as recyclable material pursuant to a local comprehensive solid waste plan.

"Recycling" means transforming or remanufacturing waste materials into usable or marketable materials for use other than landfill disposal or incineration. Recycling does not include collection, compacting, repackaging, and sorting for the purpose of transport.

"Representative sample" means a sample that can be expected to exhibit the average properties of the sample source.

"Reserved" means a section having no requirements and which is set aside for future possible rule making as a note to the regulated community.

"Reusable containers" means containers that are used more than once to handle solid waste, such as garbage cans.

"Runoff" means any rainwater, leachate or other liquid that drains over land from any part of the facility.

"Run-on" means any rainwater or other liquid that drains over land onto any part of a facility.

"Scavenging" means the removal of materials at a disposal facility, or intermediate solid waste-handling facility, without the approval of the owner or operator and the jurisdictional health department.

"Seismic impact zone" means an area with a ten percent 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.

"Setback" means that part of a facility that lies between the active area and the property boundary.

"Sewage sludge" means solid, semisolid, or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works. Sewage sludge includes, but is not limited to, domestic septage; scum or solids removed in primary, secondary, or advanced wastewater treatment processes; and a material derived from sewage sludge. Sewage sludge does not include ash generated during the firing of sewage sludge in a sewage sludge incinerator or grit and screenings generated.

"Soil amendment" means any substance that is intended to improve the physical characteristics of soil, except composted material, commercial fertilizers, agricultural liming agents, unmanipulated animal manures, unmanipulated vegetable manures, food wastes, food processing wastes, and materials exempted by rule of the department, such as biosolids as defined in chapter 70.95J RCW, Municipal sewage sludge -- Biosolids and wastewater, as regulated in chapter 90.48 RCW, Water pollution control.

"Solid waste" or "wastes" means all putrescible and nonputrescible solid and semisolid wastes including, but not limited to, garbage, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, swill, sewage sludge, demolition and construction wastes, abandoned vehicles or parts thereof, contaminated soils and contaminated dredged material, and recyclable materials.

"Solid waste handling" means the management, storage, collection, transportation, treatment, use, processing or final disposal of solid wastes, including the recovery and recycling of materials from solid wastes, the recovery of energy resources from such wastes or the conversion of the energy in such wastes to more useful forms or combinations thereof.

"Solid waste handling unit" means discrete areas of land, sealed surfaces, liner systems, excavations, facility structures, or other appurtenances within a facility used for solid waste handling.

"Source separation" means the separation of different kinds of solid waste at the place where the waste originates.

"Storage" means the holding of solid waste materials for a temporary period.

"Surface impoundment" means a facility or part of a facility which is a natural topographic depression, man-made excavation, or diked area formed primarily of earthen materials (although it may be lined with man-made materials), and which is designed to hold an accumulation of liquids or sludges. The term includes holding, storage, settling, and aeration pits, ponds, or lagoons, but does not include injection wells.

"Surface water" means all lakes, rivers, ponds, wetlands, streams, inland waters, salt waters and all other surface water and surface water courses within the jurisdiction of the state of Washington.

"Tank" means a stationary device designed to contain an accumulation of liquid or semisolid materials meeting the definition of solid waste or leachate, and which is constructed primarily of nonearthen materials to provide structural support.

"Transfer station" means a permanent, fixed, supplemental collection and transportation facility, used by persons and route collection vehicles to deposit collected solid waste from off-site into a larger transfer vehicle for transport to a solid waste handling facility.

"Treatment" means the physical, chemical, or biological processing of solid waste to make such solid wastes safer for storage or disposal, amenable for recycling or energy recovery, or reduced in volume.

"Twenty-five-year storm" means a storm of twenty-four hours duration and of such intensity that it has a four percent probability of being equaled or exceeded each year.

"Type 1 feedstocks" means source-separated yard and garden wastes, wood wastes, agricultural crop residues, wax-coated cardboard, preconsumer vegetative food wastes, other similar source-separated materials that the jurisdictional health department determines to have a comparable low level of risk in hazardous substances, human pathogens, and physical contaminants.

"Type 2 feedstocks" means manure and bedding from herbivorous animals that the jurisdictional health department determines to have a comparable low level of risk in hazardous substances and physical contaminants when compared to a type 1 feedstock.

"Type 3 feedstocks" means meat and postconsumer source-separated food wastes or other similar source-separated materials that the jurisdictional health department determines to have a comparable low level of risk in hazardous substances and physical contaminants, but are likely to have high levels of human pathogens.

"Type 4 feedstocks" means mixed municipal solid wastes, postcollection separated or processed solid wastes, industrial solid wastes, industrial biological treatment sludges, or other similar compostable materials that the jurisdictional health department determines to have a comparable high level of risk in hazardous substances, human pathogens and physical contaminants.

"Universal wastes" means universal wastes as defined in chapter 173-303 WAC, Dangerous waste regulations. Universal wastes include, but may not be limited to, dangerous waste batteries, mercury-containing thermostats, and universal waste lamps generated by fully regulated dangerous waste generators or CESQGs.

"Unstable area" means a location that is susceptible to forces capable of impairing the integrity of the facility's liners, monitoring system or structural components. Unstable areas can include poor foundation conditions and areas susceptible to mass movements.

"Vadose zone" means that portion of a geologic formation in which soil pores contain some water, the pressure of that water is less than atmospheric pressure, and the formation occurs above the zone of saturation.

"Vector" means a living animal, including, but not limited to, insects, rodents, and birds, which is capable of transmitting an infectious disease from one organism to another.

"Vermicomposting" means the controlled and managed process by which live worms convert organic residues into dark, fertile, granular excrement.

"Waste tires" means any tires that are no longer suitable for their original intended purpose because of wear, damage or defect. Used tires, which were originally intended for use on public highways that are considered unsafe in accordance with RCW 46.37.425, are waste tires. Waste tires also include quantities of used tires that may be suitable for their original intended purpose when mixed with tires considered unsafe per RCW 46.37.425.

"Wetlands" means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.

"Wood derived fuel" means wood pieces or particles used as a fuel for energy recovery, which contain paint, bonding agents, or creosote. Wood derived fuel does not include wood pieces or particles coated with paint that contains lead or mercury, or wood treated with other chemical preservatives such as pentachlorophenol, copper naphthanate, or copper-chrome-arsenate.

"Wood waste" means solid waste consisting of wood pieces or particles generated as a by-product or waste from the manufacturing of wood products, construction, demolition, handling and storage of raw materials, trees and stumps. This includes, but is not limited to, sawdust, chips, shavings, bark, pulp, hogged fuel, and log sort yard waste, but does not include wood pieces or particles containing paint, laminates, bonding agents or chemical preservatives such as creosote, pentachlorophenol, or copper-chrome-arsenate.

"Yard debris" means plant material commonly created in the course of maintaining yards and gardens and through horticulture, gardening, landscaping or similar activities. Yard debris includes, but is not limited to, grass clippings, leaves, branches, brush, weeds, flowers, roots, windfall fruit, and vegetable garden debris.

"Zone of saturation" means that part of a geologic formation in which soil pores are filled with water and the pressure of that water is equal to or greater than atmospheric pressure.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.95 RCW. 05-11-033 (Order 04-12), § 173-350-100, filed 5/10/05, effective 6/10/05; 03-03-043 (Order 99-24), § 173-350-100, filed 1/10/03, effective 2/10/03.]

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173-350-200
Beneficial use permit exemptions.
(1) Beneficial use permit exemption - Applicability. Any person may apply to the department for exemption from the permitting requirements of this chapter for beneficial use of solid waste. Applications for permit exemptions shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with the requirements of subsections (3) and (4) of this section. Upon the department's approval of an application for permit exemption, all approved beneficial use of solid waste shall be conducted in accordance with the terms and conditions for approval, as well as those general terms and conditions prescribed in subsection (2) of this section.

(2) Beneficial use permit exemption - General terms and conditions.

(a) The following general terms and conditions apply to all permit exempt beneficial uses of solid waste. All persons beneficially using solid waste approved for permit exemption in accordance with this section shall:

(i) Conduct the beneficial use in a manner that does not present a threat to human health or the environment;

(ii) Ensure that the material is not a dangerous waste regulated under chapter 173-303 WAC, Dangerous waste regulations;

(iii) Not dilute a waste, or the residual from treatment of a waste, as a substitute for treatment or disposal;

(iv) Comply with all applicable federal, state, and local rules, regulations, requirements and codes, and local land use requirements;

(v) Immediately notify the department and the jurisdictional health department of any accidental release(s) of contaminants to the environment;

(vi) Separate wastes intended for beneficial use from wastes that are destined for disposal, prior to entering the location where the beneficial use will occur;

(vii) Manage the waste in a manner that controls vector attraction;

(viii) Ensure that solid waste being stored prior to being beneficially used is managed in accordance with the requirements of all applicable sections of this chapter;

(ix) Allow the department or the jurisdictional health department, at any reasonable time, to inspect the location where a permit exempt solid waste is stored or used to ensure compliance with applicable terms and conditions of this section; and

(x) Prepare and submit a copy of an annual report to the department by April 1st on forms supplied by the department. The annual report shall detail the activities of the exemption holder during the previous calendar year and shall include the following information:

(A) The permit exemption number applicable to the beneficial use activity;

(B) The name, address, and telephone number of the exemption holder;

(C) The amount of solid waste beneficially used;

(D) A certification that the nature of the waste and the operating practices have been in compliance with the terms and conditions of this section and the beneficial use permit exemption during the calendar year; and

(E) Any additional information that may be specified by the department under the beneficial use permit exemption.

(b) In addition to the general terms and conditions established in (a) of this subsection, solid wastes applied to the land for agronomic value or soil amending capability under a beneficial use permit exemption shall:

(i) Meet the metals standards required by the Washington state department of agriculture (WSDA) for registered commercial fertilizers by following the procedures of WAC 16-200-7062 through 16-200-7064, Feeds, fertilizers, and livestock remedies;

(ii) Be applied at an application rate and in a manner that ensures protection of ground water and surface water. At a minimum, the application rate shall take into account the concentration of available nutrients and micronutrients in the soil amendment, other solid waste applied to the land, residual nutrients at the application site(s), additional sources of nutrients, pollutant loading rates, soil and waste pH, soil type, crop type and vertical separation from ground water; and

(iii) Not be stored at an application site during periods when precipitation or wind will cause migration from the storage area, unless the site is specifically designed to accommodate storage during these periods. The quantity stored at an application site shall not exceed the maximum needed to meet the annual needs of the site based on the approved application rate. When a soil amendment is stored at an application site it shall not contain liquid waste unless the requirements of WAC 173-350-330 are met.

(c) The department may require a person operating under any exemption issued under this section to meet additional or more stringent requirements for protection of human health and the environment, or to ensure compliance with other applicable regulations:

(i) At the time the department approves an application for a beneficial use permit exemption; or

(ii) When new information becomes available that warrants additional protections, but in the opinion of the department does not necessitate revocation of the beneficial use permit exemption.

(d) The department shall notify in writing the exempted party and all jurisdictional health departments of any additional or more stringent requirements.

(3) Beneficial use permit exemption - Initial application procedure. Any person(s) interested in obtaining a statewide exemption from solid waste permitting requirements for the beneficial use of a solid waste must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department that the proposed use does not present a threat to human health and the environment. Applications shall be submitted to the department on a form supplied by the department. All application attachments and other submittals must be on paper no larger than 11 inch x 17 inch. The application shall at a minimum contain the following:

(a) The name(s), address(es) and phone number(s) of the waste generator(s);

(b) The name(s), address(es) and phone number(s) of the applicant. If the applicant is a broker or other third party the uniform business identifier number shall also be included;

(c) A list of all product(s) made by the waste generator(s);

(d) A list of all feedstocks used to manufacture the product(s);

(e) A description of the solid waste and the proposed beneficial use;

(f) A description of how the waste will be transported or distributed for the proposed beneficial use;

(g) A description of other materials that contribute or potentially contribute contaminants/pollutants to the waste to be beneficially used;

(h) A schematic and text summary of the waste generator(s) operations, including all points where wastes are generated, treated or stored;

(i) A description of how terms and conditions of subsection (2)(a) of this section will be met;

(j) A State Environmental Policy Act checklist;

(k) If the beneficial use is proposed as a soil amendment, or for other solid wastes beneficially applied to the land, a description of how the terms and conditions of subsection (2)(b) of this section will be met; and

(l) Any additional information deemed necessary by the department.

(4) Beneficial use permit exemption - Secondary application procedure. Beneficial use permit exemptions, approved by the department in accordance with the procedures of subsection (5) of this section, are granted solely to the original applicant(s). Any person, other than the original applicant(s), interested in beneficially using solid waste pursuant to the terms and conditions of an existing permit exemption shall apply to the department by following the procedures described in subsection (3) of this section.

(5) Beneficial use permit exemption - Determination, revocation, and appeals.

(a) The department shall review every application for completeness. Once an application is determined to be complete, the department shall:

(i) Notify the applicant that the application has been determined to be complete.

(ii) Forward a copy of the complete application and supporting documentation to all jurisdictional health departments for review and comment. Within forty-five calendar days, the jurisdictional health departments shall forward their comments and any other information that they deem relevant to thedepartment. (continued)