7 Del. Admin. Code § 1370-4.0

Current through Reigster Vol. 28, No. 6, December 1, 2024

Section 1370-4.0 - Location Criteria for Non Land Emplacement Storage, Treatment and Disposal Facilities

4.1 Exclusionary Criteria

4.1.1 Non land emplacement storage, treatment, and disposal units shall be prohibited in the following:

4.1.1.1 The 100 year flood hazard area;

4.1.1.2 Wetlands;

4.1.1.3 Freshwater wetlands;

4.1.1.4 Carbonate bedrock areas;

4.1.1.5 Carbonate bedrock drainage areas;

4.1.1.6 Public water supply watersheds upstream from reservoirs;

4.1.1.7 Significant environmental lands;

4.1.1.8 Areas within 500 feet of a fault that has experienced movement within the last 35,000 years (capable fault);

4.1.1.9 Wellhead protection areas.

4.1.2 The Department shall deny a permit application without further review if the Department determines the proposed unit is located in an excluded area.

4.2 Cautionary Criteria

4.2.1 The location of non land emplacement storage, treatment, and disposal units meeting the criteria listed below shall be considered acceptable.

4.2.1.1 Seismic Risk. A proposed unit within a seismic risk zone shall be designed in accordance with recognized seismic design standards such as API 650 Appendix E.

4.2.1.2 Depth to Groundwater. If, under natural conditions, groundwater may encroach upon any subsurface unit, then that groundwater shall be kept below the bottom of the facility by means of properly designed drainage.

4.2.1.3 Depth to Consolidated Bedrock. At least ten feet of unconsolidated and unsaturated material should lie between the bottommost part of the unit and bedrock.

4.2.1.4 Groundwater Use. Units should be located at least .25 mile from, and not hydraulically upgradient of, any drinking water wells where no effective hydrogeologic barrier to flow exists.

4.2.1.5 Proximity to Population. Sites should be selected such that storage and treatment units are more than 1,500 feet from a residential dwelling.

4.2.1.6 Proximity to Immobile Resident Populations. Units handling toxic, explosive, reactive, or flammable and combustible substances or which are regulated by the Extremely Hazardous Substances Risk Management Act (7 Del.C. Ch. 77) and Delaware Regulations for the Management of Extremely Hazardous Substances should be more than one mile from an immobile resident population. This criterion is not applicable to units handling other types of wastes.

4.2.1.7 Proximity to Existing Waste Management Units or Industrial Facilities Handling Hazardous Materials. Proposed units may be located near existing waste management units or industrial facilities handling hazardous materials only if the potential environmental effects can be distinguished from those of existing units, and if the wastes are not incompatible or dangerous if inadvertently combined in the environment.

4.2.1.8 Emergency Response Facilities. Sites should be selected where emergency response time is adequate for the types of wastes handled.

4.2.1.9 Critical Habitat for Rare and Endangered Species. Units should not be located on lands providing habitat for species listed by the Federal government under the Endangered Species Act, unless adequate mitigation is provided.

4.2.1.10 Proximity to Significant Environmental Lands. Units should be located more than 1,500 feet from such lands.

4.2.1.11 Subcropping Aquifers and Aquifer Recharge Areas. Units should not be located in areas where major pre quaternary coastal plain aquifers outcrop or subcrop beneath surficial sediments and receive or could receive significant recharge by natural or induced ground water flow. These include areas where sands of the Potomac and Maqothy formations; sands of the Rancocas Group: the Cheswold, Frederica, Manokin, and Pocomoke aquifers; and some finer grained aquifers through which substantial leakage may be induced by pumping.

4.2.2 If a proposed facility site does not satisfy each criterion in subsection 4.2.1, the applicant shall submit additional information and justification for the facility's inability to meet each criterion so as to allow the Department to assess what effect, if any, failure to satisfy the criterion has upon the acceptability of the facility site.

4.2.3 The Department shall provide notice to municipal officials and other interested persons in order to solicit additional information regarding potential effects of a failure to meet any of these criteria at the proposed facility site. The Department may undertake additional investigations and after consideration of relevant information, shall determine whether the proposed design, construction, and operation of the facility will successfully mitigate adverse effects which would otherwise be associated with failure to satisfy the criteria.

4.2.4 After evaluating each criteria individually, the Department shall evaluate the facility's overall compliance with these cautionary criteria and shall identify risks that have not been eliminated through mitigative measures. If risks to public health, safety, welfare, and the environment remain, which, in the judgment of the Department, render the proposed facility site unacceptable for a hazardous waste management facility, the Department may include conditions in the approval which eliminate or reduce the identified risks or may deny site approval altogether.

7 Del. Admin. Code § 1370-4.0