Section 096-400-3 - Solid Waste Licensing ProcessThe Department shall issue a license for a solid waste facility or activity whenever it finds that the facility or activity satisfies all applicable requirements of the Maine Solid Waste Laws, all applicable requirements of this Chapter, and other chapters of these rules.
A. Processing of Applications. Applications will be processed in accordance with the requirements of 06-096 CMR2 unless otherwise specified in these rules.B. Types of Licenses for Solid Waste Facilities and Activities(1)Permits for new solid waste facilities or activities and for expanded solid waste disposal facilities. Applicants for new solid waste facilities and activities and for expanded solid waste disposal facilities required to be licensed under these rules shall comply with the following: (a)Full Facility Licensing. Full licensing is the application procedure subject to all of the standards and requirements of this Chapter and the relevant facility chapters (06-096 CMR 401 through 419, inclusive). New solid waste facilities and new or expanded solid waste disposal facilities are subject to full facility licensing provisions unless the reduced procedures licensing provisions or permit-by-rule notification provisions of the relevant facility chapter apply;(b)Reduced Procedures Licensing. Reduced procedures licensing is a license application procedure that, depending upon the type of facility or activity, involves fewer requirements in one or more of the following areas: (i) Siting and/or operational information submitted in the application; or(ii) Licensing application processing time frame; and Standards for licensing through reduced procedures for specific solid waste facilities or activities are found in the individual chapters of these rules.
(c)Permit by Rule Notifications. The Department has designated certain licensing actions involving solid waste facilities or activities under the permit-by-rule authority of 38 M. R. S. A. §344(7) provided that these facilities or activities strictly conform to the standards prescribed in these rules. A permit-by-rule is generally obtained by notifying the Department of the proposed action by way of a permit-by-rule notification form; (i) Prior to acceptance of a permit-by-rule notification for processing, an applicant shall demonstrate to the Department's satisfaction sufficient title, right or interest in all of the property which is proposed for development or use pursuant to this Chapter, section 4(A). (ii) Except for specific submission requirements for each type of solid waste facility or activity designated as permit-by-rule in these rules, the Department assumes that those facilities or activities meet the general siting criteria of section 4 because of their small scale or the siting, design, or operational limitations placed on them. No variances to the standards, criteria, or requirements for facilities licensed under a permit-by-rule process may be granted.(iii) Within 30 days prior to filing, an applicant for a permit-by-rule facility or activity shall give public notice of intent to file a permit-by-rule notification with the Department. The notice must be mailed by certified mail or Certificate of Mailing to the municipal office of the municipality(ies) where the project will be located. A copy of the public notice must be submitted to the Department with the permit-by-rule notification. The public notice must include the following information:
a. Name, address and telephone number of the applicant;b. Citation of the statutes or rules under which the permit-by-rule notification is being processed;c. Location of the activity;d. Summary of the activity;e. Anticipated date for filing the permit-by-rule notification with the Department; andf. A statement that public comments on the permit-by-rule notification may be provided to the Department within 10 days of the filing of the permit-by-rule notification, together with the mailing address of the Department. Public notice for permit-by-rule notifications does not include the publishing of a notice in a newspaper or the serving of a notice upon abutters to the project unless required by specific permit-by-rule provisions of these rules.
(2)Alterations to Existing Licensed Solid Waste Facilities. The license holder of any solid waste facility or activity that has a valid solid waste license from the Department must comply with the following provisions prior to altering the solid waste facility or activity in a manner not previously identified and approved in the license. Alterations fall into one of the following categories: (a)Amendments. An application for a license amendment must be submitted for any proposal to significantly increase the capacity of the facility; significantly alter the siting, design, construction or operation of the facility; or significantly alter the nature of an activity to an extent that would require the Department to modify any findings with respect to any of the licensing criteria. An application to increase the approved final elevations at solid waste landfills must be processed as a license amendment application;(b)Minor Revisions. An application for a minor revision must be submitted for any proposed alteration that does not require a license amendment but that, in the Department's judgment, requires Department approval due to the potential of the proposed alteration to impact the environment, public health or welfare, or to create a nuisance; or(c)Other Alterations. Other alterations are minor alterations that in the Department's judgment do not have a potential to impact the environment, public health or welfare, or to create a nuisance and therefore do not require a license amendment or minor revision application.(3)License Transfers. A person may not transfer a solid waste facility license without obtaining Department approval for the transfer. In the case of a solid waste disposal facility, Department approval must be obtained prior to transfer of ownership of the facility. The Department, at its discretion, may require that the proposed new licensee apply for a new license or may approve the transfer of the existing license upon a satisfactory showing that the new licensee can abide by the license terms and conditions, comply with the provisions of 38 M. R. S. A. §1310- Q, satisfactorily meet the criminal and civil law enforcement background requirements, and satisfactorily meet the technical and financial ability provisions of this Chapter. A license transfer application is subject to all of the application processing requirements of 06-096 CMR 2, including the public notice requirement.(4)Limited Licenses. The Department may grant any of the following limited licenses. These types of license approvals are only available for one-time or limited term activities as described below. (a)One-Time Activities. One-time activity licenses may be issued approving the one-time distribution or use of a solid waste for agronomic utilization or beneficial use, or the one-time disposal of special waste;(b)Pilot. A pilot permit may be issued in order for an applicant to collect technical information concerning the environmental and practical feasibility of a proposed innovative disposal or utilization facility or activity; or(c)Experimental. An experimental permit may be issued by the Board pursuant to 38 M. R. S. A. §362-A in order for an applicant to undertake fundamental research in an area of solid waste management or pollution control. This would not necessarily lead to the application for a specific permanent facility or activity. (5)Ongoing Special Waste Acceptance Licenses. An application for a special waste acceptance license must be submitted for any proposal to accept any special waste at a licensed solid waste facility on an ongoing basis, when acceptance of that special waste has not been previously approved by license for that facility. The Department may require an amendment application be submitted instead if the scope of the proposal meets the criteria in section 2(a) above. C. Application Requirements.The application is subject to the following requirements: (1)Title, Right or Interest. The application, unless otherwise specified in these rules, must show that the applicant demonstrates sufficient title, right or interest in all of the property which is proposed for development or use;(2)All Phases Shown. The application must describe all phases of the development;(3)Department Forms. The application must be submitted on current forms provided by the Department;(4)Complete Application. The application must include all information required under the appropriate chapter and section of these rules for the particular type of facility or activity involved;(5)Requirements of persons preparing application. All work to support the investigation, design, and construction of solid waste facilities must be undertaken by individuals whose training, experience and professional certification is appropriate to accomplish the specific tasks with accuracy and technical proficiency. Reports, plans or other materials submitted in support of the application must bear the signature and, if appropriate, the seal of the individual who drafted or supervised the drafting of each document;(6)Signatory Requirement. The application must be signed by the applicant or the applicant's duly authorized officer or agent and must include the certification required in 06-096 CMR2, section 11(E); and(7)Fees. The application must be accompanied by the appropriate fee payment as required in 38 M. R. S. A. §§352 and 353. D. Licensing Criteria for Solid Waste Facilities. The Department shall issue a license for a solid waste facility whenever it finds, based upon substantial evidence in the record, that the solid waste facility will not contaminate any water of the State, contaminate the ambient air, constitute a hazard to health or welfare, or create a nuisance. The Department must also find that the solid waste facility satisfies all the applicable requirements and criteria of the Maine Solid Waste Laws and these rules. Licensing standards include those listed in section 4 of this Chapter and those in the relevant facility chapters. (1)Facilities Not Subject to Siting or Design Criteria. The following solid waste facilities are not subject to the siting and design requirements of these rules: (a) A solid waste disposal facility established prior to October 3, 1973 that does not apply for an expansion under these rules;(b) A solid waste facility previously licensed under the Site Location of Development and Maine Solid Waste Laws;(c) Agronomic utilization sites previously licensed under 06-096 CMR 567, Rules for Land Application of Sludge and Residuals; and(d) An increase in approved final elevations not associated with a lateral development of a licensed solid waste landfill if the applicant demonstrates that the proposed increase will not compromise the physical integrity and functioning of the existing solid waste disposal facility and its systems. The applicant will be required to design the increase in approved final elevations to meet the design requirements of these rules if the Department finds that imposition of design requirements is necessary to prevent contamination of any water of the State, contamination of the ambient air, a hazard to health or welfare, or a nuisance. NOTE: All solid waste disposal facility expansions must comply with the siting and design requirements of these rules.
(2)Additional Criteria For Solid Waste Disposal Facilities. In addition to the above requirements, a new or expanded solid waste disposal facility is subject to the following:(a)Public Benefit. The Department must determine in accordance with 38 M. R. S. A. §1310- N(3-A) and section 5 of this Chapter whether the solid waste disposal facility provides a substantial public benefit;(b)Recycling and Source Reduction. Except for expansions of commercial solid waste landfills that accept only special waste, the Department must determine that the facility will be operated so that the volume of waste and the risks related to its handling and disposal have been reduced to the maximum practical extent by recycling and source reduction prior to disposal, as required under 38 M. R. S. A. §1310- N(5-A) and section 6 of this Chapter;(c)Host Community Benefits and Intervenor Grants. The applicant must comply with the provisions required in section 7 of this Chapter;(d)Liability Insurance. The applicant must have proof of liability insurance as required under section 10; and(e)Financial Assurance. The applicant must meet the financial assurance requirements of section 11. E. License Term and Annual Reporting Requirements. A solid waste license, issued pursuant to rules in effect on or after May 24, 1989, remains in effect unless modified, revoked or suspended under 38 M. R. S. A. §341- D(3). Such a licensee is subject to the following licensing and reporting requirements: (1) The licensee must: (a) Comply with applicable operating rules;(b) Pay the annual license fee pursuant to 38 M. R. S. A. §352; and(c) Comply with annual facility or activity reporting rules and pay all required reporting fees. NOTE: Failure to pay an annual license fee within 45 days of the billing date contained in the Department's billing notification is sufficient grounds for modification, revocation or suspension of a license.
(2) Annual reports and annual reporting fees as required by the Department's rules shall be due on the following dates: February 28
Chapter 419, Agronomic utilization of solid waste
Chapter 418, Beneficial use licenses
Chapter 409, Processing facility licenses
Chapter 410, Composting facility licenses
April 30
Chapter 401, Landfill facility licenses,
Chapter 403, Incineration facility licenses
Chapter 402, Transfer station facility and solid waste storage licenses, unless part of and reported with another facility.
F. License Conditions. The Department may impose any requirement as a license condition to assure compliance with State law or these rules. Standard license conditions for solid waste facilities are contained in Appendix C.06-096 C.M.R. ch. 400, § 3