La. Admin. Code tit. 43 § XIX-519

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section XIX-519 - Permit Application Requirements for Commercial Facilities

A. Application and Permit Required

1. Every person who intends to construct and operate a new offsite commercial facility or transfer station, or make a major modification to an existing commercial facility or transfer station, shall file a permit application with the Office of Conservation.

2. A major modification to an existing commercial facility or transfer station permit is one in which the facility requests approval to include ROW fluid operations or make significant technological changes to an existing E and P Waste treatment and/or disposal system, including the construction and operation of additional equipment or systems to treat and/or dispose of E and P waste streams other than those previously accepted by the facility. A major modification request may include a request to expand an existing commercial facility or transfer station onto adjacent property not previously permitted for E and P Waste disposal activities

3. Examples of minor permit modifications include, but are not limited to, requests to add additional Class II disposal wells to an existing facility, to add treatment equipment to supplement existing equipment, or to add land treatment cells within previously permitted facility boundaries. Minor permit modifications shall be approved administratively.

B. Notice of Intent

1. At least 30 days prior to filing such application, the applicant shall publish a notice of intent to apply. Such notice shall contain sufficient information to identify the following:

a. name and address of the applicant;

b. the location of the proposed facility;

c. the nature and content of the proposed E and P waste stream(s);

d. the method(s) of storage, treatment, and/or disposal to be used.

2. The notice of intent shall be published in the official state journal, the official journal of the parish in which the proposed facility will be located, and in the journal of general circulation in the area where the proposed facility is to be located, if different from the official parish journal.

3. Such notice shall be in bold-face type and not less than one-quarter page in size and shall be published on three separate days in each journal.

C. General Information. Except for the filing and hearing fees, the following general information must be provided in duplicate in each application for approval to operate a commercial facility or transfer station:

1. for a commercial Class II injection/disposal well application, the appropriate nonrefundable application fee(s), in the amount(s) required by Statewide Order No. 29-R-00/01, LAC 43:XIX.701 et seq., or successor regulations. New operators must submit Form OR-1 (Organization Report) to receive a permanent Operator Code number (no fee required);

2. a nonrefundable hearing fee in the amount required by Statewide Order No. 29-R-00/01, LAC 43:XIX.701 et seq., or successor regulations;

3. a list of names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the principal officers of the company or corporation and the names and addresses of local governing authorities;

4. to document compliance with the location criteria of §507. A 2, provide a list of the names and addresses of all property owners, residents, off-set operators and industrial facilities within one quarter-mile of the proposed facility or disposal well. Include copies of waivers required by §507 B, where applicable. Include a map drawn to scale showing the following information:

a. property boundaries of the commercial facility or transfer station;

b. the boundaries and ownership of all land adjacent to the commercial facility or transfer station;

c. the location and identification of all residential, commercial, or public buildings or hospitals within 1/4 mile of the facility property boundaries; and

d. all public water supply wells and private water supply wells within 1 mile of the proposed facility;

5. a detailed schematic diagram of the proposed facility of sufficient scale to show the placement of access roads, buildings, and unloading areas, and the location and identification of all storage tanks, barges, and other containers/vessels (including design capacities), treatment system/equipment, levees, flowlines, filters, the Class II disposal well(s), and all other equipment and operational features of the storage, treatment and/or disposal system;

6. for operators proposing the construction and operation of a Class II disposal well, complete the appropriate application form, including all required attachments. To document compliance with the location criteria of §507. A 3, the application must provide strike and dip geologic cross sections intersecting at the location of the disposal well for which a permit is sought. These cross sections must include, at a minimum, available log control, geologic units, and lithology from the surface to the lower confining bed below the injection zone. The sections shall be on a scale sufficient to show the local geology in at least a two-mile radius from the proposed disposal well. The following information must be included on these cross-sections:

a. the base of underground sources of drinking water (USDWs);

b. the vertical and lateral limits of the proposed injection zone (reservoir);

c. the vertical and lateral limits of the upper and lower confining beds; and

d. the location of faults or other geologic structures;

7. documentation of compliance with the applicable location criteria of §507. A.5 and 6, with regard to flood zones and wetland areas;

8. a copy of the title to the property upon which the facility will be located. If a lease, option to lease or other agreement is in effect on the property, a copy of this instrument shall be included in the application;

9. a parish map of sufficient scale to identify the location of the proposed facility;

10. a topographic map showing the location of the proposed site and any highways or roads that abut or traverse the site, all water courses, flood plains, water wells, and pipelines within one mile of the site boundary;

11. as required in §515, provide a detailed E and P Waste management and operations plan that includes, but is not limited to the proposed method of operation of the facility and procedures for the receipt, storage, treatment and/or disposal of E and P Wastes;

12. documentation that the facility and/or disposal well will comply with the applicable design criteria of §509;

13. evidence of financial responsibility for any liability for damages which may be caused to any party by the escape or discharge of any material or E and P Waste from the commercial facility or transfer station, in compliance with the requirements of §511 The application shall contain documentation of the method by which proof of financial responsibility will be provided by the applicant. Where applicable, include a copy of a draft letter of credit, bond, or any other evidence of financial responsibility acceptable to the commissioner. Prior to beginning construction, final (official) documentation of financial responsibility must be submitted to and approved by the commissioner;

14. documentation that a bond or irrevocable letter of credit will be provided for adequate closure of the facility, in compliance with the requirements of §513 The application must include the following:

a. a detailed cost estimate for adequate closure of the proposed facility. The cost estimate must include a detailed description of proposed future closure procedures including, but not limited to plugging and abandonment of the disposal well(s) (if applicable), plugging of any monitor wells according to applicable state regulations, closing out any sumps, storm water retention (sediment) ponds, or land treatment cells, removing all surface equipment, and returning the environment (site) as close as possible to its original state. The closure plan and cost estimate must be prepared by an independent professional consultant, must include provisions for closure acceptable to the commissioner, and must be designed to reflect the costs to the commissioner to complete the approved closure of the facility;

b. a draft irrevocable letter of credit or bond in favor of the state of Louisiana and in a form which includes wording acceptable to the commissioner. Upon completion of the application review process, the commissioner will set the amount of the required bond or irrevocable letter of credit. The bond or letter of credit must be renewable on October 1 of each year and must be submitted to and approved by the commissioner prior to beginning construction;

15. verification that a discharge permit has been obtained from the appropriate state or federal agencies or copies of any applications submitted to such agencies. If a facility does not intend to discharge treated E and P Waste water or other water, a completed and notarized Affidavit of No Discharge, which includes wording acceptable to the commissioner, must be provided;

16. a list of all other licenses and permits needed by the applicant to conduct the proposed commercial activities. Include identification number of applications for those permits or licenses or, if issued, the identification numbers of the permits or licenses;

17. provide the names of all companies currently or formerly owned and/or operated by the applicant (company requesting a permit) and/or the principal officers of the applicant for the receipt, storage, treatment, recycling and/or disposal of E and P Waste or hazardous or nonhazardous industrial or municipal solid waste;

18. provide a list of local, state and/or federal permits currently or formerly held by the applicant and/or any of the principal officers of the applicant for the storage, treatment, recycling and/or disposal of E and P Waste or hazardous or nonhazardous industrial or municipal solid waste;

19. for each permit included on the list required in §519. C 18 above, provide a list of all environmental regulatory violations, if any, cited by applicable local, state or federal regulatory agencies, including all resulting notices of violation, compliance orders, penalty assessments, or other enforcement actions and the current compliance status of each violation. Such list shall include all violations cited within the five years immediately preceding the date of application for a commercial facility or transfer station permit;

20. the names and addresses of the official journal of the parish in which the proposed facility will be located and the journal of general circulation in the area where the proposed facility is to be located, if different from the official parish journal;

21. certification by an authorized representative of the applicant that information submitted in the application is true, accurate and complete to the best of the applicant's knowledge.

La. Admin. Code tit. 43, § XIX-519

Promulgated by the Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation, LR 26:2823 (December 2000), amended LR 27:1905 (November 2001), LR 29:938 (June 2003), LR 36:2570 (November 2010), Amended LR 451601 (11/1/2019), Amended LR 49912 (5/1/2023).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:4 et seq.