(1) The solid and
hazardous waste commission shall promulgate rules for the engineering design and
operation of solid wastes disposal sites and facilities, which may include:
(a) The establishment of engineering design criteria applicable, but not
limited, to protection of surface and subsurface waters, suitable soil
characteristics, distance from solid wastes generation centers, access routes,
distance from water wells, disposal facility on-site traffic control patterns, insect
and rodent control, methods of solid wastes compaction in the disposal fill,
confinement of windblown debris, recycling operations, fire prevention, and final
closure of the compacted fill;
(b) The establishment of criteria for solid wastes disposal sites and facilities
which will place into operation the engineering design for such disposal sites and
facilities;
(c) (Deleted by amendment, L. 91, p. 958, � 3, effective July 1, 1991.)
(d) The establishment of a reviewing fee to be charged by the department
for the review of any written recommendation and findings of a private contractor
who has acted in lieu of the department to review an application for a solid wastes
disposal site and facility under the provisions of section 30-20-103.7 for compliance
with the state's requirements. Such fee shall not exceed actual and reasonable
costs and shall not exceed five thousand dollars.
(e) The establishment of a fee for the technical review described in section
30-20-119 (2), which fee shall not exceed ten thousand dollars, or the actual cost of
such technical review.
(1.5) (a) As used in this subsection (1.5):
(I) EP waste means exploration and production waste, as that term is
defined in section 34-60-103, C.R.S.
(II) EP waste disposal facility means a commercial solid wastes disposal
site and facility that accepts the deposit of EP waste.
(b) The solid and hazardous waste commission shall promulgate rules that
are specifically applicable to the deposit of EP waste at an EP waste disposal
facility. The rules shall include the following:
(I) Mandatory set-backs of EP waste disposal facilities of one-half mile from
all residences, educational facilities, day care centers, hospitals, nursing homes,
jails, hotels, motels, other occupied structures, or outside activity areas such as
parks and playing fields as designated in the rules;
(II) Mandatory fabricated liners and monitoring requirements as necessary to
prevent the migration of EP waste to groundwater;
(III) Waste analysis and reporting requirements to ensure that only EP waste
is disposed of at an EP waste disposal facility;
(IV) Fencing and netting requirements to prevent the public and wildlife from
accessing EP waste disposal facilities;
(V) Contingency plans to respond to emergencies, including adequate
freeboard, overflow ponds, or both; and
(VI) Financial assurance requirements that are adequate to cover closure
and reclamation costs.
(c) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this subsection (1.5), an EP waste
disposal facility that accepted EP waste on or before June 4, 2008, and that had not
begun closure by June 4, 2008, shall:
(I) File an application pursuant to section 30-20-103 within three months
after the rules promulgated pursuant to this subsection (1.5) become effective with
the governing body having jurisdiction to amend the facility's certificate of
designation to incorporate the requirements specified in the rules; and
(II) Comply with the rules promulgated pursuant to this subsection (1.5)
within twenty-four months after they become effective, unless the EP waste
disposal facility demonstrates to the department no later than eighteen months
after the rules become effective why it cannot timely comply with the rules and the
department agrees to a compliance schedule. In such case, the department may
extend the compliance deadline to no more than thirty-six months after the rules
become effective; except that nothing in this subsection (1.5) shall be deemed to:
(A) Require an EP waste disposal facility that lawfully accepted EP waste on
or before June 4, 2008, to comply with the set-back requirements of this subsection
(1.5); or
(B) Place an EP waste disposal facility into noncompliance because of an
alleged violation of a set-back requirement of this subsection (1.5) due solely to the
fact that a residential or other occupied structure or a designated outside activity
area is established within the set-back distance on or after issuance of the
certificate of designation pursuant to this subsection (1.5).
(d) The department shall:
(I) Coordinate with the energy and carbon management commission created
in section 34-60-104.3 (1), governing bodies having jurisdiction, and the federal
bureau of land management to identify potential EP waste disposal sites that are
located reasonably close to oil and gas operation areas on either federal or
nonfederal land and that meet the set-back requirements of this subsection (1.5);
and
(II) To the extent practicable, encourage governing bodies having jurisdiction
and the federal bureau of land management to approve the siting of EP waste
disposal sites at locations identified pursuant to this paragraph (d) when so
requested by a commercial operator.
(e) (I) Upon the recommendation of the department, the solid and hazardous
waste commission may waive, for individual impoundments, the requirement
imposed pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (1.5) that an EP waste disposal
facility that accepted EP waste on or before June 4, 2008, but had not begun
closure by that date, must install fabricated liners. The department may
recommend a waiver only if all of the following conditions are met:
(A) There have been no unpermitted discharges to groundwater or surface
water from the operation of the facility;
(B) Each impoundment for which a waiver is requested is located more than
one thousand feet from any public or private water well or surface water;
(C) The owner or operator complies with mandatory monitoring and reporting
requirements as determined by the department, including, but not limited to,
individual impoundment leak detection monitoring; and
(D) The owner or operator is not subject to any outstanding compliance
orders or enforcement actions with regard to the design, operation, or closure of
the facility.
(II) If, at any time, the department determines that one or more of the
conditions specified in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (e) are no longer met, the
department may bring the relevant information to the solid and hazardous waste
commission with a recommendation to rescind the waiver of the requirement to
install fabricated liners. If the solid and hazardous waste commission determines
that one or more of the conditions are no longer being met, the solid and hazardous
waste commission may rescind the waiver and instruct the department to establish
a compliance schedule for the owner or operator to install fabricated liners.
(2) The solid and hazardous waste commission may promulgate rules
concerning:
(a) The establishment of an initial examination of each application for a solid
wastes disposal site and facility to establish the completeness of the information
submitted. Such initial examination shall be completed within thirty days after the
department receives such application, and the department shall mail written
notification to an applicant and to the governing body having jurisdiction within
such time period stating the decision of the department to begin its review of such
application or to reject the application based on incompleteness.
(b) The establishment of a fee for the review of solid wastes disposal site
and facility submittals and the preoperation inspection for such site and facility, for
the attendance of department staff at public meetings and associated activities,
and for the assessment of remediation activities concerning closed or old disposal
sites or spill and incident clean-ups. The total fee charged for the review of an
application or amendments to an application shall not exceed the actual
documented costs incurred by the department in the performance of these
activities and shall be subject to the maximum levels established in accordance
with the provisions of subsection (2.5) of this section. Such review shall be
completed within one hundred fifty days from date of issuance of the department's
decision to begin its review. Moneys from the collection of such fees shall be
credited to the solid waste management fund pursuant to the provisions of section
30-20-118. Such moneys shall be used solely to support the application review
process and to support the staff of the department involved with such process.
(c) (Deleted by amendment, L. 98, p. 882, � 9, effective July 1, 1998.)
(d) The establishment of criteria for composting sites and facilities for which
a certificate of designation is not required under section 30-20-102 (8).
(2.5) The solid and hazardous waste commission shall promulgate rules
pertaining to the assessment of annual fees and document review and activity fees
to offset program costs from solid waste disposal sites and facilities in accordance
with the following requirements:
(a) Annual fees shall be established for solid waste disposal sites and
facilities that are not required to pay solid waste user fees imposed pursuant to
section 25-16-104.5, C.R.S. The fee imposed by this paragraph (a) shall not exceed
five thousand dollars per year per facility; except that a monofill facility that
contains coal combustion products shall be exempt from the fee imposed by this
paragraph (a). The annual fee shall be uniform among owners of the same type of,
and similarly sized, facility and shall consider the department's level of effort in
regulating the facilities.
(b) The hourly charge for the document review and activity fees shall be
established at a rate comparable to industry rates for performing similar tasks with
maximum levels on document review and activity fees that reflect timely and cost-effective reviews.
(c) The department shall provide a receipt for the fees paid pursuant to this
subsection (2.5), shall transmit such payments to the state treasurer, and accept
the state treasurer's receipt in return for the payments transmitted. The state
treasurer shall credit one hundred percent of the fees transmitted pursuant to this
paragraph (c) to the solid waste management fund created in section 30-20-118 (1)
to be used by the department in carrying out its duties and responsibilities
concerning solid waste management.
(2.7) If the department determines that a site or facility is or has been
subject to payment of the annual fee requirements pursuant to subsection (2.5) of
this section and has not paid any portion of the amount of fees due and owing, in
addition to any other remedies the department may have in such circumstances as
provided by law, the department may assess the site or facility an additional fee to
offset program costs caused by the site or facility, which additional fee shall be
equivalent to double the amount of the estimated annual fee, without interest, that
the site or facility would have paid the department if the fee had been paid as
required by law.
(3) Any applicant aggrieved by a recommendation of the department
concerning an application for a solid wastes disposal site and facility shall be
entitled to a hearing and review pursuant to the provisions of the State
Administrative Procedure Act, article 4 of title 24, C.R.S.
(4) (a) Any and all rules promulgated by the department of public health and
environment prior to the transfer of its rule-making authority under this section to
the state board of health shall remain in full force and effect after the date of such
transfer.
(b) All acts, orders, and rules adopted by the state board of health under the
authority of this part 1 prior to July 1, 2006, that were valid prior to said date and not
otherwise subject to judicial review shall, to the extent that they are not
inconsistent with said part, be deemed and held to be legal and valid in all respects,
as though issued by the solid and hazardous waste commission under the authority
of this part 1. No provision of this part 1 shall be construed to validate any actions,
orders, or rules that were not valid when adopted by the board of health prior to
such date.