                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PERMIT REQUIRED; OPEN DUMPS PROHIBITED (§ 10.1-1408.1)

A. No person shall operate any sanitary landfill or other facility for the
disposal, treatment or storage of nonhazardous solid waste without a permit from
the Director.

B. No application for (i) a new solid waste management facility permit or (ii)
application for a permit amendment or variance allowing a category 2 landfill,
as defined in this section, to expand or increase in capacity shall be complete
unless it contains the following:

   1. Certification from the governing body of the county, city or town in which
   the facility is to be located that the location and operation of the facility
   are consistent with all applicable ordinances. The governing body shall inform
   the applicant and the Department of the facility&#8217;s compliance or
   noncompliance not more than 120 days from receipt of a request from the
   applicant. No such certification shall be required for the application for the
   renewal of a permit or transfer of a permit as authorized by regulations of
   the Board;

   2. A disclosure statement, except that the Director, upon request and in his
   sole discretion, and when in his judgment other information is sufficient and
   available, may waive the requirement for a disclosure statement for a captive
   industrial landfill when such a statement would not serve the purposes of this
   chapter;

   3. If the applicant proposes to locate the facility on property not governed
   by any county, city or town zoning ordinance, certification from the governing
   body that it has held a public hearing, in accordance with the applicable
   provisions of &#xA7; 15.2-2204, to receive public comment on the proposed
   facility. Such certification shall be provided to the applicant and the
   Department within 120 days from receipt of a request from the applicant;

   4. If the applicant proposes to operate a new sanitary landfill or transfer
   station, a statement, including a description of the steps taken by the
   applicant to seek the comments of the residents of the area where the sanitary
   landfill or transfer station is proposed to be located, regarding the siting
   and operation of the proposed sanitary landfill or transfer station. The
   public comment steps shall be taken prior to filing with the Department the
   notice of intent to apply for a permit for the sanitary landfill or transfer
   station as required by the Department&#8217;s solid waste management
   regulations. The public comment steps shall include publication of a public
   notice once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general
   circulation serving the locality where the sanitary landfill or transfer
   station is proposed to be located and holding at least one public meeting
   within the locality to identify issues of concern, to facilitate communication
   and to establish a dialogue between the applicant and persons who may be
   affected by the issuance of a permit for the sanitary landfill or transfer
   station. The public notice shall include a statement of the applicant&#8217;s
   intent to apply for a permit to operate the proposed sanitary landfill or
   transfer station, the proposed sanitary landfill or transfer station site
   location, the date, time and location of the public meeting the applicant will
   hold and the name, address and telephone number of a person employed by the
   applicant, who can be contacted by interested persons to answer questions or
   receive comments on the siting and operation of the proposed sanitary landfill
   or transfer station. The first publication of the public notice shall be at
   least fourteen days prior to the public meeting date.
   				The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to applicants for a
   permit to operate a new captive industrial landfill or a new
   construction-demolition-debris landfill;

   5. If the applicant is a local government or public authority that proposes to
   operate a new municipal sanitary landfill or transfer station, a statement,
   including a description of the steps taken by the applicant to seek the
   comments of the residents of the area where the sanitary landfill or transfer
   station is proposed to be located, regarding the siting and operation of the
   proposed sanitary landfill or transfer station. The public comment steps shall
   be taken prior to filing with the Department the notice of intent to apply for
   a permit for the sanitary landfill or transfer station as required by the
   Department&#8217;s solid waste management regulations. The public comment
   steps shall include the formation of a citizens&#8217; advisory group to
   assist the locality or public authority with the selection of a proposed site
   for the sanitary landfill or transfer station, publication of a public notice
   once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation
   serving the locality where the sanitary landfill or transfer station is
   proposed to be located, and holding at least one public meeting within the
   locality to identify issues of concern, to facilitate communication and to
   establish a dialogue between the applicant and persons who may be affected by
   the issuance of a permit for the sanitary landfill or transfer station. The
   public notice shall include a statement of the applicant&#8217;s intent to
   apply for a permit to operate the proposed sanitary landfill or transfer
   station, the proposed sanitary landfill or transfer station site location, the
   date, time and location of the public meeting the applicant will hold and the
   name, address and telephone number of a person employed by the applicant, who
   can be contacted by interested persons to answer questions or receive comments
   on the siting and operation of the proposed sanitary landfill or transfer
   station. The first publication of the public notice shall be at least fourteen
   days prior to the public meeting date. For local governments that have zoning
   ordinances, such public comment steps as required under &#xA7;&#xA7; 15.2-2204
   and 15.2-2285 shall satisfy the public comment requirements for public
   hearings and public notice as required under this section. Any applicant which
   is a local government or public authority that proposes to operate a new
   transfer station on land where a municipal sanitary landfill is already
   located shall be exempt from the public comment requirements for public
   hearing and public notice otherwise required under this section;

   6. If the application is for a new municipal solid waste landfill or for an
   expansion of an existing municipal solid waste landfill, a statement, signed
   by the applicant, guaranteeing that sufficient disposal capacity will be
   available in the facility to enable localities within the Commonwealth to
   comply with solid waste management plans developed pursuant to &#xA7;
   10.1-1411, and certifying that such localities will be allowed to contract for
   and to reserve disposal capacity in the facility. This provision shall not
   apply to permit applications from one or more political subdivisions for new
   landfills or expanded landfills that will only accept municipal solid waste
   generated within those political subdivisions&#8217; jurisdiction or municipal
   solid waste generated within other political subdivisions pursuant to an
   interjurisdictional agreement;

   7. If the application is for a new municipal solid waste landfill or for an
   expansion of an existing municipal solid waste landfill, certification from
   the governing body of the locality in which the facility would be located that
   a host agreement has been reached between the applicant and the governing body
   unless the governing body or a public service authority of which the governing
   body is a member would be the owner and operator of the landfill. The
   agreement shall, at a minimum, have provisions covering (i) the amount of
   financial compensation the applicant will provide the host locality, (ii)
   daily travel routes and traffic volumes, (iii) the daily disposal limit, and
   (iv) the anticipated service area of the facility. The host agreement shall
   contain a provision that the applicant will pay the full cost of at least one
   full-time employee of the locality whose responsibility it will be to monitor
   and inspect waste transportation and disposal practices in the locality. The
   host agreement shall also provide that the applicant shall, when requested by
   the host locality, split air and water samples so that the host locality may
   independently test the sample, with all associated costs paid for by the
   applicant. All such sampling results shall be provided to the Department. For
   purposes of this subdivision, &#8220;host agreement&#8221; means any lease,
   contract, agreement or land use permit entered into or issued by the locality
   in which the landfill is situated which includes terms or conditions governing
   the operation of the landfill;

   8. If the application is for a locality-owned and locality-operated new
   municipal solid waste landfill or for an expansion of an existing such
   municipal solid waste landfill, information on the anticipated (i) daily
   travel routes and traffic volumes, (ii) daily disposal limit, and (iii)
   service area of the facility; and

   9. If the application is for a new solid waste management facility permit or
   for modification of a permit to allow an existing solid waste management
   facility to expand or increase its capacity, the application shall include
   certification from the governing body for the locality in which the facility
   is or will be located that: (i) the proposed new facility or the expansion or
   increase in capacity of the existing facility is consistent with the
   applicable local or regional solid waste management plan developed and
   approved pursuant to &#xA7; 10.1-1411; or (ii) the local government or solid
   waste management planning unit has initiated the process to revise the solid
   waste management plan to include the new or expanded facility. Inclusion of
   such certification shall be sufficient to allow processing of the permit
   application, up to but not including publication of the draft permit or permit
   amendment for public comment, but shall not bind the Director in making the
   determination required by subdivision D 1.

C. Notwithstanding any other provision of law:

   1. Every holder of a permit issued under this article who has not earlier
   filed a disclosure statement shall, prior to July 1, 1991, file a disclosure
   statement with the Director.

   2. Every applicant for a permit under this article shall file a disclosure
   statement with the Director, together with the permit application or prior to
   September 1, 1990, whichever comes later. No permit application shall be
   deemed incomplete for lack of a disclosure statement prior to September 1,
   1990.

   3. Every applicant shall update its disclosure statement quarterly to indicate
   any change of condition that renders any portion of the disclosure statement
   materially incomplete or inaccurate.

   4. The Director, upon request and in his sole discretion, and when in his
   judgment other information is sufficient and available, may waive the
   requirements of this subsection for a captive industrial waste landfill when
   such requirements would not serve the purposes of this chapter.

D. 1. Except as provided in subdivision D 2, no permit for a new solid waste
management facility nor any amendment to a permit allowing facility expansion or
an increase in capacity shall be issued until the Director has determined, after
an investigation and analysis of the potential human health, environmental,
transportation infrastructure, and transportation safety impacts and needs and
an evaluation of comments by the host local government, other local governments
and interested persons, that (i) the proposed facility, expansion, or increase
protects present and future human health and safety and the environment; (ii)
there is a need for the additional capacity; (iii) sufficient infrastructure
will exist to safely handle the waste flow; (iv) the increase is consistent with
locality-imposed or state-imposed daily disposal limits; (v) the public interest
will be served by the proposed facility&#8217;s operation or the expansion or
increase in capacity of a facility; and (vi) the proposed solid waste management
facility, facility expansion, or additional capacity is consistent with regional
and local solid waste management plans developed pursuant to § 10.1-1411. The
Department shall hold a public hearing within the said county, city or town
prior to the issuance of any such permit for the management of nonhazardous
solid waste. Subdivision D 2, in lieu of this subdivision, shall apply to
nonhazardous industrial solid waste management facilities owned or operated by
the generator of the waste managed at the facility, and that accept only waste
generated by the facility owner or operator. The Board shall have the authority
to promulgate regulations to implement this subdivision.

   2. No new permit for a nonhazardous industrial solid waste management facility
   that is owned or operated by the generator of the waste managed at the
   facility, and that accepts only waste generated by the facility owner or
   operator, shall be issued until the Director has determined, after
   investigation and evaluation of comments by the local government, that the
   proposed facility poses no substantial present or potential danger to human
   health or the environment. The Department shall hold a public hearing within
   the county, city or town where the facility is to be located prior to the
   issuance of any such permit for the management of nonhazardous industrial
   solid waste.

E. The permit shall contain such conditions or requirements as are necessary to
comply with the requirements of this Code and the regulations of the Board and
to protect present and future human health and the environment. To the extent
allowed by federal law, any person holding a permit that is intending to upgrade
the permitted solid waste management facility by installing technology, control
equipment, or other apparatus that the permittee demonstrates to the
satisfaction of the Director will result in improved energy efficiency, protect
waters of the state, including both surface and ground water, and protect air
quality shall not be required to obtain a modified or amended permit.
			The Director may include in any permit such recordkeeping, testing and
reporting requirements as are necessary to ensure that the local governing body
of the county, city or town where the waste management facility is located is
kept timely informed regarding the general nature and quantity of waste being
disposed of at the facility. Such recordkeeping, testing and reporting
requirements shall require disclosure of proprietary information only as is
necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. At least once every ten
years, the Director shall review and issue written findings on the environmental
compliance history of each permittee, material changes, if any, in key
personnel, and technical limitations, standards, or regulations on which the
original permit was based. The time period for review of each category of
permits shall be established by Board regulation. If, upon such review, the
Director finds that repeated material or substantial violations of the permittee
or material changes in the permittee&#8217;s key personnel would make continued
operation of the facility not in the best interests of human health or the
environment, the Director shall amend or revoke the permit, in accordance
herewith. Whenever such review is undertaken, the Director may amend the permit
to include additional limitations, standards, or conditions when the technical
limitations, standards, or regulations on which the original permit was based
have been changed by statute or amended by regulation or when any of the
conditions in subsection B of &#xA7; 10.1-1409 exist. The Director may deny,
revoke, or suspend any permit for any of the grounds listed under subsection A
of &#xA7; 10.1-1409.

F. There shall exist no right to operate a landfill or other facility for the
disposal, treatment or storage of nonhazardous solid waste or hazardous waste
within the Commonwealth. Permits for solid waste management facilities shall not
be transferable except as authorized in regulations promulgated by the Board.
The issuance of a permit shall not convey or establish any property rights or
any exclusive privilege, nor shall it authorize any injury to private property
or any invasion of personal rights or any infringement of federal, state, or
local law or regulation.

G. No person shall dispose of solid waste in an open dump or dispose of or
manage solid waste in an unpermitted facility, including by disposing, causing
to be disposed, or arranging for the disposal of solid waste upon a property for
which the Director has not issued a permit and that is not otherwise exempt from
permitting requirements.

H. No person shall own, operate or allow to be operated on his property an open
dump.

I. No person shall allow waste to be disposed of on his property without a
permit. Any person who removes trees, brush, or other vegetation from land used
for agricultural or forestal purposes shall not be required to obtain a permit
if such material is deposited or placed on the same or other property of the
same landowner from which such materials were cleared. The Board shall by
regulation provide for other reasonable exemptions from permitting requirements
for the disposal of trees, brush and other vegetation when such materials are
removed for agricultural or forestal purposes.
			When promulgating any regulation pursuant to this section, the Board shall
consider the character of the land affected, the density of population, and the
volume of waste to be disposed, as well as other relevant factors.

J. No permit shall be required pursuant to this section for recycling or for
temporary storage incidental to recycling. As used in this subsection,
&#8220;recycling&#8221; means any process whereby material which would otherwise
be solid waste is used or reused, or prepared for use or reuse, as an ingredient
in an industrial process to make a product, or as an effective substitute for a
commercial product.

K. The Board shall provide for reasonable exemptions from the permitting
requirements, both procedural and substantive, in order to encourage the
development of yard waste composting facilities. To accomplish this, the Board
is authorized to exempt such facilities from regulations governing the treatment
of waste and to establish an expedited approval process. Agricultural operations
receiving only yard waste for composting shall be exempt from permitting
requirements provided that (i) the composting area is located not less than 300
feet from a property boundary, is located not less than 1,000 feet from an
occupied dwelling not located on the same property as the composting area, and
is not located within an area designated as a flood plain as defined in &#xA7;
10.1-600; (ii) the agricultural operation has at least one acre of ground
suitable to receive yard waste for each 150 cubic yards of finished compost
generated; (iii) the total time for the composting process and storage of
material that is being composted or has been composted shall not exceed eighteen
months prior to its field application or sale as a horticultural or agricultural
product; and (iv) the owner or operator of the agricultural operation notifies
the Director in writing of his intent to operate a yard waste composting
facility and the amount of land available for the receipt of yard waste. In
addition to the requirements set forth in clauses (i) through (iv) of the
preceding sentence, the owner and operator of any agricultural operation that
receives more than 6,000 cubic yards of yard waste generated from property not
within the control of the owner or the operator in any twelve-month period shall
be exempt from permitting requirements provided (i) the owner and operator
submit to the Director an annual report describing the volume and types of yard
waste received by such operation for composting and (ii) the operator shall
certify that the yard waste composting facility complies with local ordinances.
The Director shall establish a procedure for the filing of the notices, annual
reports and certificates required by this subsection and shall prescribe the
forms for the annual reports and certificates. Nothing contained in this article
shall prohibit the sale of composted yard waste for horticultural or
agricultural use, provided that any composted yard waste sold as a commercial
fertilizer with claims of specific nutrient values, promoting plant growth, or
of conditioning soil shall be sold in accordance with Chapter 36 (&#xA7;
3.2-3600 et seq.) of Title 3.2. As used in this subsection, &#8220;agricultural
operation&#8221; shall have the same meaning ascribed to it in &#xA7; 3.2-300.
			The operation of a composting facility as provided in this subsection shall
not relieve the owner or operator of such a facility from liability for any
violation of this chapter.

L. The Board shall provide for reasonable exemptions from the permitting
requirements, both procedural and substantive, in order to encourage the
development of facilities for the decomposition of vegetative waste. To
accomplish this, the Board shall approve an expedited approval process. As used
in this subsection, the decomposition of vegetative waste means a natural
aerobic or anaerobic process, active or passive, which results in the decay and
chemical breakdown of the vegetative waste. Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to prohibit a city or county from exercising its existing authority to
regulate such facilities by requiring, among other things, permits and proof of
financial security.

M. In receiving and processing applications for permits required by this
section, the Director shall assign top priority to applications which (i) agree
to accept nonhazardous recycling residues and (ii) pledge to charge tipping fees
for disposal of nonhazardous recycling residues which do not exceed those
charged for nonhazardous municipal solid waste. Applications meeting these
requirements shall be acted upon no later than six months after they are deemed
complete.

N. Every solid waste management facility shall be operated in compliance with
the regulations promulgated by the Board pursuant to this chapter. To the extent
consistent with federal law, those facilities which were permitted prior to
March 15, 1993, and upon which solid waste has been disposed of prior to October
9, 1993, may continue to receive solid waste until they have reached their
vertical design capacity, provided that the facility is in compliance with the
requirements for liners and leachate control in effect at the time of permit
issuance, and further provided that on or before October 9, 1993, the owner or
operator of the solid waste management facility submits to the Director:

   1. An acknowledgement that the owner or operator is familiar with state and
   federal law and regulations pertaining to solid waste management facilities
   operating after October 9, 1993, including postclosure care, corrective action
   and financial responsibility requirements;

   2. A statement signed by a registered professional engineer that he has
   reviewed the regulations established by the Department for solid waste
   management facilities, including the open dump criteria contained therein;
   that he has inspected the facility and examined the monitoring data compiled
   for the facility in accordance with applicable regulations; and that, on the
   basis of his inspection and review, he has concluded that: (i) the facility is
   not an open dump, (ii) the facility does not pose a substantial present or
   potential hazard to human health and the environment, and (iii) the leachate
   or residues from the facility do not pose a threat of contamination or
   pollution of the air, surface water or ground water in a manner constituting
   an open dump or resulting in a substantial present or potential hazard to
   human health or the environment; and

   3. A statement signed by the owner or operator (i) that the facility complies
   with applicable financial assurance regulations and (ii) estimating when the
   facility will reach its vertical design capacity.
   				The facility may not be enlarged prematurely to avoid compliance with
   state or federal regulations when such enlargement is not consistent with past
   operating practices, the permit or modified operating practices to ensure good
   management.
   				Facilities which are authorized by this subsection to accept waste for
   disposal beyond the waste boundaries existing on October 9, 1993, shall be as
   follows:
   				Category 1: Nonhazardous industrial waste facilities that are located on
   property owned or controlled by the generator of the waste disposed of in the
   facility;
   				Category 2: Nonhazardous industrial waste facilities other than those that
   are located on property owned or controlled by the generator of the waste
   disposed of in the facility, provided that the facility accepts only
   industrial waste streams which the facility has lawfully accepted prior to
   July 1, 1995, or other nonhazardous industrial waste as approved by the
   Department on a case-by-case basis; and
   				Category 3: Facilities that accept only construction-demolition-debris
   waste as defined in the Board&#8217;s regulations.
   				The Director may prohibit or restrict the disposal of waste in facilities
   described in this subsection which contains hazardous constituents as defined
   in applicable regulations which, in the opinion of the Director, would pose a
   substantial risk to health or the environment. Facilities described in
   category 3 may expand laterally beyond the waste disposal boundaries existing
   on October 9, 1993, provided that there is first installed, in such expanded
   areas, liners and leachate control systems meeting the applicable performance
   requirements of the Board&#8217;s regulations, or a demonstration is made to
   the satisfaction of the Director that such facilities satisfy the applicable
   variance criteria in the Board&#8217;s regulations.
   				Owners or operators of facilities which are authorized under this
   subsection to accept waste for disposal beyond the waste boundaries existing
   on October 9, 1993, shall ensure that such expanded disposal areas maintain
   setback distances applicable to such facilities under the Board&#8217;s
   current regulations and local ordinances. Prior to the expansion of any
   facility described in category 2 or 3, the owner or operator shall provide the
   Director with written notice of the proposed expansion at least sixty days
   prior to commencement of construction. The notice shall include recent
   groundwater monitoring data sufficient to determine that the facility does not
   pose a threat of contamination of groundwater in a manner constituting an open
   dump or creating a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or
   the environment. The Director shall evaluate the data included with the
   notification and may advise the owner or operator of any additional
   requirements that may be necessary to ensure compliance with applicable laws
   and prevent a substantial present or potential hazard to health or the
   environment.
   				Facilities, or portions thereof, which have reached their vertical design
   capacity shall be closed in compliance with regulations promulgated by the
   Board.
   				Nothing in this subsection shall alter any requirement for groundwater
   monitoring, financial responsibility, operator certification, closure,
   postclosure care, operation, maintenance or corrective action imposed under
   state or federal law or regulation, or impair the powers of the Director
   pursuant to &#xA7; 10.1-1409.

O. Portions of a permitted solid waste management facility used solely for the
storage of household hazardous waste may store household hazardous waste for a
period not to exceed one year, provided that such wastes are properly contained
and are segregated to prevent mixing of incompatible wastes.

P. Any permit for a new municipal solid waste landfill, and any permit amendment
authorizing expansion of an existing municipal solid waste landfill, shall
incorporate conditions to require that capacity in the landfill will be
available to localities within the Commonwealth that choose to contract for and
reserve such capacity for disposal of such localities&#8217; solid waste in
accordance with solid waste management plans developed by such localities
pursuant to &#xA7; 10.1-1411. This provision shall not apply to permit
applications from one or more political subdivisions for new landfills or
expanded landfills that will only accept municipal solid waste generated within
the political subdivision or subdivisions&#8217; jurisdiction or municipal solid
waste generated within other political subdivisions pursuant to an
interjurisdictional agreement.

Q. No application for coverage under a permit-by-rule or for modification of
coverage under a permit-by-rule shall be complete unless it contains
certification from the governing body of the locality in which the facility is
to be located that the facility is consistent with the solid waste management
plan developed and approved in accordance with &#xA7; 10.1-1411.

HISTORY: 1988, cc. 696, 891; 1989, c. 623; 1990, cc. 360, 781, 919; 1992, c.
286; 1993, cc. 214, 469, 476, 496; 1994, c. 614; 1995, c. 442; 1996, c. 236;
1997, c. 875; 1999, cc. 580, 584, 611, 613, 947; 2000, cc. 420, 422; 2006, c.
62; 2007, c. 23; 2012, c. 581; 2020, c. 621.