Application for a permit

1. Permit application. Any person who is required to have a permit (including new applicants and permittees with expiring permits) shall complete, sign, and submit an application to the department as described in this section and section 33.1-24-06-17. Persons currently authorized with interim status shall apply for permits when required by the department. Persons covered by permits by rule (section 33.1-24-06-18) need not apply. Procedures for applications, issuance, and administration of emergency permits are found exclusively in section 33.1-24-06-19. Procedures for application, issuance, and administration of research, development, and demonstration permits are found exclusively in section 33.1-24-06-20. Treatment, storage, and disposal facilities that are otherwise subject to permitting and that meet the criteria in subdivision a or subdivision b may be eligible for a standardized permit under sections 33.1-24-06-45 through 33.1-24-06-85. Procedures for application and issuance of standardized permits are found in sections 33.1-24-07-40 through 33.1-24-07-54, and sections 33.1-24-06-45 through 33.1-24-06-85. a. The facility generates hazardous waste and then nonthermally treats, or stores hazardous waste onsite in tanks, containers, or containment buildings; or b. The facility receives hazardous waste generated offsite by a generator under the same ownership as the receiving facility, and then stores, or nonthermally treats the hazardous waste in containers, tanks, or containment buildings. 2. Who must have a permit? North Dakota Century Code chapter 23.1-04 requires that a permit be obtained for the treatment, storage, or disposal of any hazardous waste as identified or listed in chapter 33.1-24-02. Treatment, storage, and disposal facilities that are otherwise subject to permitting and that meet the criteria in subdivisions a and b of subsection 1 of section 33.1-24-06-48, may be eligible for a standardized permit under sections 33.1-24-06-45 through 33.1-24-06-85. Owners and operators of hazardous waste management units must have permits during the active life (including the closure period) of the unit, during any compliance period specified under section 33.1-24-05-53, including any extension of that period under subsection 3 of section 33.1-24-05-53. Owners or operators of surface impoundments, landfills, land treatment units, and waste pile units that received wastes after July 26, 1982, or that certified closure according to section 33.1-24-05-64 after January 26, 1983, must have postclosure permits, unless they demonstrate closure by removal as provided under subdivisions d and e. If a postclosure permit is required, the permit must address applicable chapter 33.1-24-05 ground water monitoring, unsaturated zone monitoring, corrective action, and postclosure care. The denial of a permit for the active life of a hazardous waste management facility or unit does not affect the requirement to obtain a postclosure permit under this section. a. Specific inclusions. Hazardous waste permits are required for: (1) Injection wells that dispose of hazardous waste, and associated surface facilities that treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste (see section 33.1-24-06-20). However, the owner or operator with an underground injection control permit will be deemed to have a hazardous waste permit for the injection well itself if the owner or operator complies with requirements of subsection 1 of section 33.1-24-06-18. (2) Treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste at facilities requiring a North Dakota pollutant discharge elimination system permit. However, the owner or operator of a publicly owned treatment works receiving hazardous waste will be deemed to have a hazardous waste permit for that waste if the owner or operator complies with the requirements of subsection 2 of section 33.1-24-06-18. b. Specific exclusions. Hazardous waste permits are not required for: (1) Generators who accumulate hazardous waste onsite for less than time periods as provided in section 33.1-24-03-12. (2) Farmers who dispose of pesticide containers from their own use as provided in section 33.1-24-03-40. (3) Persons who own or operate facilities solely for the treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste excluded from regulation by section 33.1-24-02-04 or 33.1-24-03-26. (4) Owners or operators of totally enclosed treatment facilities as defined in section 33.1-24-01-04. (5) Owners or operators of elementary neutralization units or wastewater treatment units as defined in section 33.1-24-01-04. (6) Transporters storing manifested shipments of hazardous waste in containers meeting the requirements of section 33.1-24-03-08 at a transfer facility for a period of ten days or less. (7) Persons mixing absorbent material and waste in a container, provided this mixing occurs at the time waste is first placed in the container, and the person complies with sections 33.1-24-05-90 and 33.1-24-05-91, and subsection 2 of section 33.1-24-05-08. (8) Universal waste handlers and universal waste transporters as defined in section 33.1-24-01-04 managing the wastes listed below. These handlers are subject to regulation under sections 33.1-24-05-700 through 33.1-24-05-799. (a) Batteries as described in section 33.1-24-05-702; (b) Pesticides as described in section 33.1-24-05-703; (c) Mercury containing equipment as described in section 33.1-24-05-704; and (d) Lamps as described in section 33.1-24-05-705. (9) Immediate response activities. (a) A person is not required to obtain a hazardous waste permit for treatment or containment activities taken during immediate response to any of the following situations: [1] A discharge of a hazardous waste. [2] An imminent and substantial threat of a discharge of hazardous waste. [3] A discharge of a material which, when discharged, becomes a hazardous waste. [4] An immediate threat to human health, public safety, property, or the environment from the known or suspected presence of military munitions, other explosive material, or an explosive device, as determined by an explosive or munitions emergency response specialist as defined in section 33.1-24-01-04. (b) Any person who continues or initiates hazardous waste treatment or containment activities after the immediate response is over is subject to all applicable requirements of this chapter for those activities. (c) In the case of emergency responses involving military munitions, the responding military emergency response specialist's organizational unit must retain records for three years identifying the dates of the response, the responsible persons responding, the type and description of material addressed and its disposition. c. Permits for less than an entire facility. The department may issue or deny a permit for one or more units at a facility without simultaneously issuing or denying a permit to all of the units at the facility. The interim status of any unit for which a permit has not been issued or denied is not affected by the issuance or denial of a permit to any other unit at the facility. d. Closure by removal. Owners or operators of surface impoundments, land treatment units, and waste piles closing by removal or decontamination under chapter 33.1-24-05 standards must obtain a postclosure permit unless they can demonstrate to the department that the closure met the standards for closure by removal or decontamination in section 33.1-24-05-122, subsection 5 of section 33.1-24-05-167, or section 33.1-24-05-135 respectively. The demonstration may be made in the following ways: (1) If the owner or operator has submitted a part B application for a postclosure permit, the owner or operator may request a determination, based on information contained in the application, that chapter 33.1-24-05 closure by removal standards were met. If the department believes that chapter 33.1-24-05 standards were met, the department will notify the public of this proposed decision, allow for public comment, and reach a final determination according to the procedures in subdivision e. (2) If the owner or operator has not submitted a part B application for a postclosure permit, the owner or operator may petition the department for a determination that a postclosure permit is not required because the closure met the applicable chapter 33.1-24-05 closure standards. (a) The petition must include data demonstrating that closure by removal or decontamination standards were met, or it must demonstrate that the unit closed under requirements that met or exceeded the chapter 33.1-24-05 closure by removal standard. (b) The department shall approve or deny the petition according to the procedures outlined in subdivision e. e. Procedures for closure equivalency determination. (1) If a facility owner or operator seeks an equivalency demonstration under subdivision d, the department will provide the public, through a newspaper notice, the opportunity to submit written comments on the information submitted by the owner or operator within thirty days from the notice. The department will also, in response to a request, or at the department's own discretion, hold a public hearing whenever such a hearing might clarify one or more issues concerning the equivalence of the closure period. The department will give public notice of the hearing at least thirty days before it occurs (public notice of the hearing may be given at the same time as notice of the opportunity for the public to submit written comments, and the two notices may be combined.) (2) The department will determine whether the chapter 33.1-24-05 closure met the standards for closure by removal or decontamination in section 33.1-24-05-122, subsection 5 of section 33.1-24-05-167, or section 33.1-24-05-135 respectively within ninety days of its receipt. If the department finds that the closure did not meet the applicable chapter 33.1-24-05 standards, the department will provide the owner or operator with a written statement of the reasons why the closure failed to meet chapter 33.1-24-05 standards. The owner or operator may submit additional information in support of an equivalency demonstration within thirty days after receiving such written statement. The department will review any additional information submitted and make a final determination within sixty days. (3) If the department determines that the facility did not close in accordance with chapter 33.1-24-05 closure by removal standards, the facility is subject to postclosure permitting requirements. 3. Who applies? When a facility or activity is owned by one person but is operated by another person, it is the operator's duty to obtain a permit, however, the owner must also sign the permit application. 4. Completeness. The department will not issue a permit before receiving a complete application for a permit, except for permits by rule, or emergency permits. An application for a permit is complete when the department receives an application form and any supplemental information which is completed to the department's satisfaction. The completeness of any application for a permit shall be judged independently of the status of any other permit application or permit for the same facility or activity. An application for a permit is complete notwithstanding the failure of the owner or operator to submit the exposure information described in subsection 10. The department may deny a permit for the active life of a hazardous waste management facility or unit before receiving a complete application for a permit. 5. Information requirements. All applicants for hazardous waste permits shall provide the information required by section 33.1-24-06-17 to the department. 6. Recordkeeping. Applicants shall keep records of all data used to complete permit applications and any supplemental information submitted under this chapter for a period of at least three years from the date the application is signed. 7. When to apply for a permit. a. Existing hazardous waste management facilities. (1) Owners and operators of existing hazardous waste management facilities shall submit part A of their permit application (see subsection 1 of section 33.1-24-06-17) to the department no later than: (a) Six months after the date of publication of rules which first require them to comply with the standards set forth in chapter 33.1-24-05; or (b) Thirty days after the date they first become subject to the standards set forth in chapter 33.1-24-05; whichever occurs first. (2) The department may extend the date by which owners and operators of specified classes of existing hazardous waste management facilities must submit part A of their permit application if it finds that: (a) There has been substantial confusion as to whether the owners and operators of such facilities were required to file a permit application; and (b) Such confusion is attributable to ambiguities in the department's rules in chapters 33.1-24-01 through 33.1-24-05. (3) The department may, by compliance order, extend the date by which the owner or operator of an existing hazardous waste management facility must submit part A of the permit application. (4) The owner and operator of an existing hazardous waste management facility may be required to submit part B of the permit application at any time. Any owner or operator must be allowed at least six months from the date of request to submit the application. Any owner or operator of an existing hazardous waste management facility may voluntarily submit an application at any time. (5) Failure to furnish a requested permit application on time or to furnish in full the information required by the application is grounds for termination of the facility's operating status under the procedures of chapter 33.1-24-07. b. New hazardous waste management facilities. (1) No person may begin physical construction of a new hazardous waste management facility without having submitted a complete permit application (including both part A and part B) and having received a finally effective hazardous waste permit. (2) An application for a permit for a new hazardous waste management facility (including both part A and part B) may be filed anytime after promulgation of those standards in sections 33.1-24-05-89, et seq., applicable to such facility. The application must be submitted to the department at least one hundred eighty days before physical construction is expected to commence. 8. Updating permit applications. a. If any owner or operator of a hazardous waste management facility has filed part A of a permit application and has not yet filed part B, the owner or operator shall amend part A of the application with the department: (1) No later than the effective date of regulatory provisions listing or designating wastes as hazardous, if the facility is treating, storing, or disposing of any of those newly listed or designated wastes; or (2) As necessary to comply with the provisions of section 33.1-24-06-16 for changes prior to the department making final administrative disposition of the application. b. The owner or operator of a facility who fails to comply with the updating requirements of subdivision a is not authorized to treat, store, or dispose of those wastes not covered by a duly filed part A of the application. 9. Reapplications. Any hazardous waste management facility with an effective permit shall submit a new application at least one hundred eighty days before the expiration date of the effective permit unless permission for a later date has been granted by the department (the department shall not grant permission for applications to be submitted later than the expiration date of the existing permit). Any hazardous waste management facility with an effective permit and intending to be covered by a standardized permit, shall submit a notice of intent as described in subdivision a of subsection 4 of section 33.1-24-06-02, at least one hundred eighty days before the expiration date of the effective permit unless permission for a later date has been granted by the department. The department shall not grant permission for applications or notices of intent to be submitted later than the expiration date of the existing permit, except as allowed by subdivision b of subsection 4 of section 33.1-24-06-02. 10. Exposure information. a. Any permit part B applications submitted by an owner or an operator of a facility that stores, treats, or disposes of hazardous waste in a surface impoundment or landfill must be accompanied by information, reasonably ascertainable by the owner or operator, on the potential for the public to be exposed to hazardous wastes or hazardous constituents through releases related to the unit. At a minimum, such information must address: (1) Reasonably foreseeable potential releases from both normal operations and accidents at the unit, including releases associated with transportation to or from the unit; (2) The potential pathways of human exposure to hazardous wastes or constituents resulting from the releases described under paragraph 1; and (3) The potential magnitude and nature of the human exposure resulting from such releases. b. Owners and operators of a landfill or surface impoundment who have already submitted a part B application must submit the exposure information required in subdivision a. 11. General requirements. The department may require a permittee or an applicant to submit information in order to establish permit conditions under subdivision b of subsection 2 of section 33.1-24-06-05 and subsection 1 of section 33.1-24-06-06. 12. If the department concludes, based on one or more of the factors listed in subdivision a that compliance with the standards of 40 CFR part 63, subpart EEE alone may not be protective of human health or the environment, the department shall require the additional information or assessments necessary to determine whether additional controls are necessary to ensure protection of human health and the environment. This includes information necessary to evaluate the potential risk to human health or the environment, or both, resulting from both direct and indirect exposure pathways. The department may also require a permittee or applicant to provide information necessary to determine whether such assessments should be required. a. The department shall base the evaluation of whether compliance with the standards of 40 CFR part 63, subpart EEE alone is protective of human health or the environment on factors relevant to the potential risk from a hazardous waste combustion unit, including, as appropriate, any of the following factors: (1) Particular site-specific considerations such as proximity to receptors (such as schools, hospitals, nursing homes, day care centers, parks, community activity centers, or other potentially sensitive receptors), unique dispersion patterns, etc.; (2) Identities and quantities of emissions of persistent, bioaccumulative or toxic pollutants considering enforceable controls in place to limit those pollutants; (3) Identities and quantities of nondioxin products of incomplete combustion most likely to be emitted and to pose significant risk based on known toxicities (confirmation of which should be made through emissions testing); (4) Identities and quantities of other offsite sources of pollutants in proximity of the facility that significantly influence interpretation of a facility-specific risk assessment; (5) Presence of significant ecological considerations, such as the proximity of a particularly sensitive ecological area; (6) Volume and types of wastes, for example wastes containing highly toxic constituents; (7) Other onsite sources of hazardous air pollutants that significantly influence interpretation of the risk posed by the operation of the source in question; (8) Adequacy of any previously conducted risk assessment, given any subsequent changes in conditions likely to affect risk; and (9) Such other factors as may be appropriate. b. [Reserved].