OAR 340-094-0040: Operating Criteria

(1) If a municipal solid waste landfill is subject to 40 CFR, Part 258 as provided in 40 CFR, §258.1, the owner or operator shall comply with landfill operating criteria in 40 CFR, Part 258, Subpart C. Except as otherwise provided in OAR 340, division 94, any person who maintains or operates any municipal solid waste landfill must do so in conformance with the operating requirements of this rule. (2) Open Burning. No person shall conduct the open burning of solid waste at a landfill. The Department may authorize the infrequent burning of land-clearing debris such as tree stumps and limbs, brush and other wood waste, except that open burning of industrial wood waste is prohibited. (3) Surface Water: (a) No person shall cause a discharge of pollutants from a landfill into public waters including wetlands, in violation of any applicable state or federal water quality rules or regulations; (b) Each landfill permittee shall ensure that surface runoff and leachate seeps are controlled so as to minimize discharges of pollutants into public waters. (4) Surface Drainage Control. Each permittee shall ensure that: (a) The landfill is maintained so that drainage will be diverted around or away from active and completed operational areas; (b) The surface contours of the landfill are maintained such that ponding of surface water is minimized. (5) Gas Control: (a) No person shall operate or maintain a landfill except in conformance with the provisions for gas control in OAR 340-094-0060(4); (b) Monitoring: (A) Where the Department finds that a landfill’s location and geophysical condition indicate that there is a reasonable probability of potential adverse effects on public health or the environment, the Department may require a permittee to provide monitoring wells to determine the effects of the landfill on the concentration of methane gas in the soil; (B) In addition to the requirements of 40 CFR, §258.23, if the Department determines that monitoring wells are required at a landfill, the permittee shall provide and maintain the wells at the locations specified by the Department and shall submit a copy of the geologic log and record of well construction to the Department within 30 days of completion of construction; (C) In addition to the requirements of 40 CFR, §258.23, where the Department determines that self-monitoring is practicable, the Department may require that the permittee collect and analyze samples of gas, at intervals specified and in a manner approved by the Department, and submit the results in a format and within a time frame specified by the Department; (D) In addition to the requirements of 40 CFR, §258.23, the Department may require permittees who do self-monitoring to periodically split samples with the Department for the purpose of quality control. (6) Floodplains. No permittee of a landfill located in a floodplain shall allow the facility to restrict the flow of the base flood, reduce the temporary water storage capacity of the floodplain, or result in washout of solid waste so as to pose a hazard to human life, wildlife or land or water resources. (7) Cover Material. Each permittee shall provide adequate quantities of cover material of a type approved by the Department for the covering of deposited solid waste at a landfill in accordance with the approved operations plan, and permit conditions and OAR 340, divisions 93 and 94. (8) Cover Frequency. Each permittee shall place a compacted layer of at least six inches of approved cover material over the compacted wastes in a landfill at intervals specified in the permit. An applicant may propose and the Department may approve alternative cover designs or procedures which are equally protective. In evaluating such a proposal for alternative cover design or procedures, the Department may consider such factors as the volume and types of waste received, hydrogeologic setting of the facility, climate, proximity of residences or other occupied buildings, site screening, availability of equipment and cover material, any past operational problems and any other relevant factor. (9) Access Control. Each permittee shall insure that the landfill has a perimeter barrier or topographic constraints adequate to restrict unauthorized entry. (10) Vector and Bird Control: (a) Each permittee shall ensure that effective means such as the periodic application of earth cover material or other techniques as appropriate are taken at the landfill to control or prevent the propagation, harborage, or attraction of flies, rodents, or other vectors and to minimize bird attraction; (b) No permittee of a landfill disposing of putrescible wastes that may attract birds and which is located within 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) of any airport runway used by turbojet aircraft or within 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) of any airport used by only piston-type aircraft shall allow the operation of the landfill to increase the likelihood of bird/aircraft collisions. (11) In addition to the requirements of 40 CFR, Part 258, Subpart C, any person who maintains or operates any municipal solid waste landfill must do so in conformance with the following: (a) Permitted Wastes. Only the waste types listed in the solid waste permit or the approved operations plan, or wastes previously approved by the Department in writing, may be accepted for disposal. In certain cases the Department may also require approval of the source(s) of the waste. Written requests for authorization to accept additional waste types shall be submitted to and approved by the Department prior to disposal of such waste. Requests for authorization to accept additional waste types shall include the following information: (A) Waste characterization with detailed physical and chemical characteristics of the waste type such as percent solids, results of the paint filter test, Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (“TCLP”) results, polychlorinated biphenyl content, and test results for ignitability, reactivity, corrosivity, etc., as appropriate; (B) The approximate volume of waste to be disposed of on a daily and yearly basis; (C) The source of the wastes and a description of the processes which generated the waste; (D) Special handling and disposal procedures, to be incorporated into the Special Waste Management Plan pursuant to paragraph (11)(b)(J) of this rule. (b) Operations Plan. Each permittee shall maintain a detailed operations plan which describes the proposed method of operation and progressive development of trenches and/or landfill lifts or cells. Said plan shall include at least the following: (A) A description of the types and quantities of waste materials that will be received (estimated maximum daily and average annual quantities); (B) A program for detecting and preventing the disposal at the facility of regulated hazardous wastes and polychlorinated biphenyl wastes and any other unacceptable wastes as determined by the Department; (C) Methods of waste unloading, placement, compaction and covering; (D) Areas and/or procedures to be used for disposal of waste materials during inclement weather; (E) Types and weights of equipment to be used for site operation; (F) Detailed description of any salvaging or resource recovery operations to take place at the facility; (G) Such measures for the collection, containment, treatment or disposal of leachate as may be required; (H) Provisions for managing surface drainage; (I) Measures to be used for the control of fire, dust, decomposition gases, birds, disease vectors, scavenging, access, flooding, erosion, and blowing debris, as pertinent; and (J) A Special Waste Management Plan if certain wastes are received, which due to their unique characteristics, require special handling. Such wastes may present personnel safety hazards, create odor and vector problems, generate excessive leachate, lead to excessive settlement, puncture or tear the landfill liner, pose a fire hazard, or increase the toxicity of landfill leachate. The Special Waste Management Plan shall describe special acceptance, waste characterization, handling, storage, recordkeeping and disposal procedures for those materials. Wastes to be included in a Special Waste Management Plan include: (i) Cleanup materials contaminated with hazardous substances pursuant to OAR 340-093-0170; (ii) Wastes requiring special management pursuant to OAR 340-093-0190(1); (iii) Additional wastes authorized for disposal by the Department pursuant to subsection (11)(a) of this rule; and (iv) Large dead animals, sewage sludges and grit, septage, industrial solid wastes and other materials which may be hazardous or difficult to manage by virtue of their character or large volume, unless special provisions for such disposal are otherwise approved by the Department. (c) Leachate. Any person constructing, operating or maintaining a landfill shall ensure that leachate production is minimized. Where required by the Department, leachate shall be collected and treated or otherwise controlled in a manner approved by the Department; (d) Endangered Species. No person shall operate a landfill in a manner that will affect endangered species in any of the ways specified in OAR 340-094-0030(3); (e) Access Roads. Each permittee shall ensure that roads from the landfill property line to the active operational area and roads within the operational area are constructed and maintained so as to minimize traffic hazards, dust and mud and to provide reasonable all-weather access for vehicles using the site; (f) Site Screening. To the extent practicable, each permittee shall screen the active landfill area from public view by trees, shrubbery, fence, stockpiled cover material, earthen berm, or other appropriate means; (g) Fire Protection: (A) Each landfill permittee shall make arrangements with the local fire control agency to immediately acquire their services when needed and shall provide adequate on-site fire protection as determined by the local fire control agency; (B) In case of accidental fires at the site, the operator shall be responsible for initiating and continuing appropriate fire-fighting methods until all smoldering, smoking and burning ceases; (C) No operator shall permit the dumping of combustible materials within the immediate vicinity of any smoldering, smoking or burning conditions at a landfill, or allow dumping activities to interfere with fire-fighting efforts. (h) Signs. Each permittee of a landfill open to the public shall post a clearly visible and legible sign or signs at the entrance to the disposal site specifying the name of the facility, the hours and days the site is open to the public, an emergency phone number and listing the general types of materials which either will be accepted or will not be accepted; (i) Truck Washing Facilities. Each permittee shall ensure that any truck washing areas at a landfill are hard surfaced and that any on-site disposal of wash waters is accomplished in a manner approved by the Department; (j) Sewage Disposal. Each landfill permittee shall ensure that any on-site disposal of sewage is accomplished in a manner approved by the Department; (k) Salvage. A permittee may conduct or allow the recovery of materials such as metal, paper and glass from the landfill only when such recovery is conducted in a planned and controlled manner approved by the Department in the facility’s operations plan; (l) Litter: (A) Each permittee shall ensure that effective measures such as compaction, the periodic application of cover material or the use of portable fencing or other devices are taken to minimize the blowing of litter from the active working area of the landfill; (B) Each landfill operator shall collect windblown materials from the disposal site and adjacent property and properly dispose of same at sufficient frequency to prevent aesthetically objectionable accumulations. (12) Weighing. The Department may require that landfill permittees provide scales and weigh incoming loads of solid waste, to facilitate solid waste management planning and decision making and accurate reporting. (13) Records. The Department may require records and reports it considers reasonably necessary to ensure compliance with conditions of a permit, OAR 340, divisions 93 through 97 or provisions of OAR 340, divisions 90 and 91. All records must be kept for a minimum of five years. In the case of a change in ownership of the permitted facility, the new permittee is responsible for ensuring that the records are transferred from the previous permittee and maintained for the required five years. At a minimum, the following records are required: (A) Daily listing by load of the volume or weight of solid waste received; and (B) Monthly and quarterly accumulations of amounts of daily waste received. (14) Modifications in Name or Address. The permittee shall notify the Department of any name or address change of the owner or operator of the facility within ten days of the change. [ED. NOTE: To view attachments referenced in rule text, click here to view rule.]