§2154. Powers; duties; restrictions; prohibitions; penalties
A. The department is hereby directed:
(1) To prepare and develop a general solid waste management plan which shall
encourage the maximum practicable use of resource recovery procedures.
(2) To promote the planning and application of recycling and resource recovery
systems which preserve and enhance the quality of the air, water, and other natural resources
of the state.
(3) By appropriate order to control and regulate pollution of the environment caused
by solid waste disposal practices.
(4) To develop rules, regulations, and standards for the disposal of sewage sludge
in sludge lagoons, dedicated land farms, surface disposal facilities, composting facilities, or
processing facilities when the sewage sludge is admixed with other wastes regulated pursuant
to this Chapter.
(5) To provide for the disposal of incinerator ash derived from the thermal treatment
of sewage sludge.
B. The secretary is hereby directed:
(1)(a) To adopt and promulgate rules, regulations, and standards for the
transportation, processing, resource recovery, and disposal of solid wastes consistent with
the general solid waste management plan adopted by the department. Such rules and
regulations shall include but not be limited to the disposal site location, construction,
operation, compliance deadlines, siting of stations for the off-loading and trans-loading of
treated solid waste and sewage sludges destined for disposal, and maintenance of the disposal
process as necessary to implement the purpose and intent of this Chapter.
(b) However, such rules and regulations shall not include any of the following:
(i) Wastewaters in tanks, sumps, and existing ditches as defined by rule, upstream
or downstream of designated internal or final state or federal wastewater discharge points
which require no further treatment to meet applicable state or federal permit limits.
(ii) Wastewaters in tanks, sumps, and existing ditches as defined by rule, which
require only pH adjustment to meet applicable pH permit limits or solids settling to meet
total suspended solids permit limits.
(iii) Advanced recycling or facilities that store post-use polymers or recovered
feedstocks or that convert post-use polymers and recovered feedstocks through advanced
recycling. However, prior to conducting any advanced recycling activities as defined by this
Chapter, the person conducting such activities shall submit written notification to the
department.
(2)(a) To adopt by regulation a system for the registration and permitting of all solid
waste disposal facilities within the state and to delegate the authority to issue or deny
registrations, permits, and licenses to the appropriate assistant secretary when such
delegation is deemed appropriate by the secretary. The authority to execute minor permit
actions and to issue registrations, certifications, notices of deficiency, and notification of
inclusion under a general permit or a regulatory permit may be delegated by the secretary or
the appropriate assistant secretary to an authorized representative, notwithstanding the
provisions of R.S. 30:2050.26.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person registered, licensed, or permitted as a
commercial solid waste disposal facility under the system authorized pursuant to this Section
and duly promulgated by the secretary, to receive solid waste from the cleanup of a site listed
on the National Priorities List by the United States Environmental Protection Agency at a
commercial solid waste facility without notifying the secretary thirty days prior to the arrival
of such waste.
(c) Any person who operates a permitted commercial solid waste facility in this state
shall publish in the official journal of the parish in which the facility is located not less than
thirty days prior to commencement of disposal a notice of the pending disposal of any
nonhazardous waste generated from the remediation of sites listed on the National Priorities
List by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(d) The system adopted by the secretary as provided in Subparagraph (2)(a) of this
Paragraph shall include a requirement that a permittee or licensee of a commercial solid
waste facility notify the secretary, on a form provided by the secretary, of the arrival of any
shipment of waste for disposal, treatment, or processing, at the permittee's or licensee's
facility if the waste from a single event or one-time removal that exceeds twenty-thousand
cubic yards and is from the remediation of a Superfund site listed on the National Priorities
List by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The notice shall describe the
amounts and kind of substances contained in the wastes, their origin, and the method and
identification of their transportation. The notice shall be received by the secretary thirty days
prior to the arrival of the waste at the facility. The secretary shall forward a copy of such
notice to the local governing authority where the shipment is destined.
(e) Violations of this Paragraph may be subject to a fine of up to five hundred dollars
per violation.
(f) The provisions of Subparagraphs (2)(b), (d), and (e) of this Paragraph shall
become effective January 1, 1993, and shall affect the disposal of solid wastes from a
Superfund site at any commercial solid waste facility on or after thirty days from that date.
(g) Terminated by Acts 2004, No. 150, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2012.
(h)(i) In addition to any other rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to this
Chapter, no solid waste landfill or any other solid waste disposal facility which receives
residential or commercial solid waste shall store, process, or dispose of such waste within
three hundred feet from the inside of the facility's property line where such property line is
adjacent to a structure currently being used as a church. In order for this Subparagraph to
apply, the church shall have been utilized as such prior to the department's receipt of the
facility's permit application. The department may promulgate rules and regulations providing
for a waiver of the provisions of this Subparagraph upon the consent from all landowners
having an ownership interest in property otherwise subject to this Subparagraph.
(ii) The provisions of this Subparagraph shall not apply to any landfill or disposal
facility existing prior to April 1, 2010, to any portion of such facility that has been closed or
that has ceased operations, or to future expansions of the permitted disposal area of any such
facility.
(3) To adopt regulations to require that all presently existing solid waste disposal
facilities be upgraded to operate as sanitary landfills within five years from the effective date
of regulations under this Chapter and that all solid waste disposal facilities constructed after
the effective date of this Chapter shall be sanitary landfills or utilize any other
environmentally sound technique.
(4) Facilities for the disposal of solid waste shall register with the department when
the regulations promulgated by the secretary under Paragraph (2) of this Subsection become
effective and shall apply for a permit in accordance with the requirements of such
regulations. State permits granted to solid waste disposal facilities prior to the effective date
of the regulations under Paragraph (2) shall continue in effect until the issuance or denial of
a new permit under such regulations.
(5) To adopt and promulgate rules, regulations, and standards for the processing,
resource recovery, and use for agricultural, horticultural, or silvicultural purposes, of those
solid wastes except sewage sludges which are capable of beneficial agricultural, horticultural,
or silvicultural use and which will not pose a threat to the environment or to human health
or safety. The secretary shall adopt and promulgate rules, regulations, and standards which
provide for all of the following:
(a) Procedure and criteria for selecting solid waste application sites, including
providing the opportunity for public comment and public hearing as provided in R.S. 49:950
et seq.
(b) Requirements for solid waste treatment and processing before such solid waste
is applied.
(c) Methods and minimum frequency for analyzing solid waste, and soil to which
solid waste is applied.
(d) Records that a solid waste applicator must keep.
(e) Restrictions on public access to and cropping of land on which solid waste has
been applied.
(f) Any other requirement necessary to protect surface water, groundwater, public
health, and soil productivity from any adverse effects resulting from solid waste application.
(g) Any other rules or regulations reasonably necessary to implement the purposes
as provided herein.
(6) Repealed by Acts 2001, No. 524, §2.
(7) To adopt and promulgate rules, regulations, and standards for the advance
notification of those local governing authorities whose jurisdiction may be affected by the
siting of stations for the off-loading and trans-loading of treated solid waste and sewage
sludges destined for disposal.
(8)(a) To prohibit the disposal of solid waste, except as exempted by regulation, on
the site of disposal without written authorization by the Department of Environmental
Quality and notice by the department to the local governing authority and the public as
provided in this Paragraph. Such authorization shall contain the types of items authorized for
the on-site disposal. Any such closure shall require delivery by the department of written
notice of the authorization to the parish governing authority and municipal governing
authority, if applicable, in which the solid waste is to be disposed at least fifteen days prior
to the closure, and publication, at the expense of the person granted the authorization, of the
notice of authorization in the official journal of the parish in which the waste is to be
disposed at least fifteen days prior to the disposal.
(b) This Paragraph shall not apply to closure at a solid waste disposal facility
operating pursuant to a permit or an order of the department or a solid waste management
facility regulated pursuant to Chapter 8 or 18 of this Subtitle. This Paragraph shall not apply
to maintenance of public utility rights of way.
(9)(a) To develop regulatory permits for certain waste processing or disposal
facilities provided the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) A regulatory permit shall not preclude the secretary from exercising all powers
and duties as set forth in R.S. 30:2011(D), including but not limited to the authority to
conduct inspections and investigations and enter facilities as provided in R.S. 30:2012, and
to sample, monitor, or assess, for the purposes of assuring compliance with a regulatory
permit or as otherwise authorized by this Subtitle or regulations adopted thereunder, any
substances, pollutants, equipment, or facility at any location covered under the regulatory
permit.
(ii) A regulatory permit shall require compliance with all applicable provisions of
the department's rules and regulations, any applicable sections of the federal Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act, and all Federal Aviation Administration safety guidelines,
rules, regulations, or recommendations. Violation of the terms and conditions of a regulatory
permit may constitute a violation of such regulation or act.
(iii) A regulatory permit may not authorize the operation or maintenance of a
nuisance or a danger to public health or safety. All equipment maintained at the facility shall
be maintained in good condition and shall be operated properly.
(iv) A regulatory permit shall, as appropriate, prescribe operational controls,
equipment requirements, personnel requirements, testing requirements, and any other
enforceable conditions. A regulatory permit shall also prescribe any necessary monitoring,
recordkeeping, and reporting provisions necessary for the protection of public health and the
environment.
(v) A regulatory permit may require any person seeking such permit to submit a
written notification and any fee authorized by this Subtitle and applicable regulations to the
secretary. Where required, submission of a written notification and any fee authorized by
this Subtitle and applicable regulations shall be in lieu of submission of a permit application.
The written notification shall be signed and certified in accordance with LAC 33:VII
governing permit application submittal. Any person who submits a written notification and
any fee authorized by this Subtitle and applicable regulations shall be authorized to operate
under the regulatory permit for which the notification was submitted when notified by the
department that the notification was complete.
(vi) All regulatory permits promulgated by the secretary shall establish notification
procedures, permit terms, and confirmation of notification by the department and shall be
promulgated in accordance with the procedures provided in R.S. 30:2019.
(b) Regulatory permits for landfill facilities and land farm facilities are prohibited
except for those facilities that may be authorized under a regulatory permit pertaining to
emergency debris sites.
(c) Regulatory permits may authorize emergency debris management sites and
activities.
(10) To adopt rules and regulations requiring annual certifications of compliance for
all solid waste disposal and processing facilities permitted under the regulations adopted
pursuant to this Section. The regulations adopted for annual certifications of compliance
shall specify any general compliance conditions such as capacity and total amounts of waste
generated, processed, or disposed that shall be certified annually and shall also provide for
annual certification of permit conditions for which annual compliance certification is
required based on the specific permit issued.
(11)(a) To promulgate regulations, prior to July 1, 2011, for all applicants specifying
emergency response requirements that shall include the preparation of an emergency
response plan for any applicant seeking a permit to process or dispose of solid waste and
shall provide that the requirement for an emergency response plan is satisfied by the
applicant's demonstration that it has the ability to meet the response requirements of the
applicable sections of the National Fire Protection Association.
(b) All potential applicants who seek to obtain a permit to process or dispose of solid
waste shall be required to file an emergency response plan, in compliance with the
promulgated regulations, as a special structures plan review with the state fire marshal. No
application for a permit to process or dispose of solid waste shall be filed with nor accepted
by the department prior to the applicant obtaining approval of the emergency response plan
from the state fire marshal's office. The requirements of this Subparagraph shall not apply
if the applicant has demonstrated its ability to meet the response requirements of the
applicable sections of the National Fire Protection Association.
C.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, the secretary
may only issue any permit which would allow the construction or operation of a medical
waste incinerator disposal facility of any type in parishes with a population below fifty
thousand according to the latest federal decennial census. In such parishes, a permit may be
only issued after prior notification of legislators representing the area which includes the site
of the facility, or the proposed site of the facility and after a prior public hearing in that area.
(2) The department shall promulgate necessary rules and regulations, in accordance
with the Administrative Procedure Act, for the permitting of medical waste incinerator
disposal facilities.
D. The secretary shall adopt rules and regulations no later than December 1, 1995,
to govern the disposal of oil and gas industry wood board road waste, if by burning, by the
use of an air curtain process. Until such rules are adopted, the department shall extend any
existing permits, variances, or exemptions annually for such operations, provided that the
recipient has complied with the requirements of such permits, variances, or exemptions and
has paid the fees required by the department.