17.50.1203    SMALL COMMUNITY EXEMPTION

(1) The owner or operator of a new Class II or Class IV landfill unit, existing Class II or Class IV landfill unit, or lateral expansion of an existing Class II or Class IV landfill unit, that disposes of less than 20 tons of municipal solid waste daily, based on an annual average, is exempt from ARM Title 17, chapter 50, subchapters 12 and 13, if there is no evidence of ground water contamination from that unit, or lateral expansion of an existing Class II or Class IV landfill unit, and the unit, or lateral expansion of an existing Class II or Class IV landfill unit, serves:

(a) a community that experiences an annual interruption of at least three consecutive months of surface transportation that prevents access to a regional waste management facility; or

(b) a community that has no practicable waste management alternative and the landfill unit is located in an area that annually receives no more than 25 inches of precipitation. For the purposes of this rule, the lack of a practicable waste management alternative may be demonstrated by the following:

(i) there is no access to a licensed Class II landfill facility within 100 miles of the community; and

(ii) the cost per household of using an alternative disposal method, and the cost per household of complying with the requirements for landfill design and operation, distributed over the estimated active life of the landfill, will each exceed on an annual basis 1% of the median household income for the service area.

(2) The owner or operator of a new Class II or Class IV landfill unit, existing Class II or Class IV landfill unit, or lateral expansion of an existing Class II or Class IV landfill unit, that meets the criteria in (1)(a) or (b) shall place in the operating record information demonstrating this.

(3) Within 14 days after obtaining knowledge of ground water contamination resulting from the unit for which the exemption in (1)(a) or (b) has been claimed, the owner or operator of a new Class II or Class IV landfill unit, existing Class II or Class IV landfill unit, or lateral expansion of an existing Class II or Class IV landfill unit, shall notify the department of such contamination and, thereafter, comply with ARM Title 17, chapter 50, subchapters 12 and 13.

(4) An owner or operator shall demonstrate to the department in writing that the owner or operator meets the requirements of this rule, to obtain approval for a small community exemption.

 

History: 75-10-204, MCA; IMP, 75-10-204, MCA; NEW, 2010 MAR p. 317, Eff. 2/12/10.