General Requirements for General Permits and Recycling, Composting and Conversion Permits

(1) Compliance Certification Requirements. (a) Compliance Certification Schedule. 1. New or Newly Acquired Operations. The owner or operator of each new recycling, composting or conversion operation that handles recyclable or organic materials, which qualifies for a general permit, pursuant to 310 CMR 16.04, or RCC permit issued by the Department, pursuant to 310 CMR 16.05, shall submit a compliance certification to the Department with a copy to the board of health, in accordance with 310 CMR 16.06(1)(b) 30 days prior to the commencement of a new operation or the acquisition of such an operation. 2. Existing Operations. The owner or operator of each operation in existence on or before November 23, 2012 shall submit a certification by February 15, 2014, unless the owner or operator has a Determination of Need issued before [the effective date of these regulations], in which case the owner and operator shall comply with the schedules set forth in 310 CMR 16.01(12) for submission of a certification for the operation. 3. Annual Certification Requirement. The owner or operator of an operation for which a certification is required to be submitted by 310 CMR 16.06(1)(a)1. or 2. shall submit a new annual compliance certification to the Department on or before February 15 of th each calendar year on a form provided by the Department. (b) Certification Requirements. The owner or operator shall ensure that a responsible official for either the owner or operator of each operation shall submit a certification. Each certification shall be on a form prescribed by the Department and shall address compliance with the performance standards and conditions to which the operation is subject. The certification form may include specialized forms for specific categories of operation, and any owner or operator required to submit a certification pursuant to 310 CMR 16.06(1(a)) shall submit all applicable forms. The certification shall: 1. state whether the operation is in compliance with the applicable requirements as listed on the certification form and contained in 310 CMR 16.00; 2. include a commitment to identify to the Department any violations of 310 CMR 16.00 that occur; 3. if the operation is out of compliance, state what the owner and operator will do to return to compliance and the date by which compliance will be achieved; and 4. include the following statement: “I, [name of responsible official], attest under the pains and penalties of perjury: a. that I have personally examined and am familiar with the information contained in this submittal, including any and all documents accompanying this certification statement; b. that, based on my inquiry of those individuals responsible for obtaining the information, the information contained in this submittal is to the best of my knowledge, true, accurate, and complete; c. that systems to maintain compliance are in place at the operation and will be maintained even if processes or operating procedures are changed; d. that I am fully authorized to make this attestation on behalf of this operation; and e. that I am aware that there are significant penalties, including, but not limited to possible fines and imprisonment, for submitting false, inaccurate, or incomplete information”.