N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law § 27-0704: Land burial and disposal in the counties of Nassau and Suffolk; special provisions

§ 27-0704. Land burial and disposal in the counties of Nassau and

Suffolk; special provisions.

1. Definitions. As used in this section the following terms shall have

the following meanings:

a. "Clean fill" shall mean material consisting of concrete, steel,

wood, sand, dirt, soil, glass, or other inert material designated by the

commissioner.

b. A "deep flow recharge area" shall mean a sensitive recharge area

within the counties of Nassau and Suffolk within the boundaries of

hydrogeologic zones I, II and III as defined in the Long Island

Comprehensive Waste Treatment Management Plan of nineteen hundred

seventy-eight.

c. "Downtime waste" shall mean any treatable or burnable waste

accumulated during a scheduled or unscheduled maintenance period of a

treatment facility.

d. "Hazardous waste" shall be defined as promulgated by the provisions

of section 27-0903 of this article.

e. "Landfill" shall mean a disposal facility at which solid waste, or

its residue after treatment, is intentionally placed and at which, waste

shall remain after closure.

f. "Long Island Comprehensive Waste Treatment Management Plan of

nineteen hundred seventy-eight" shall mean the study prepared by the

Long Island Regional Planning Board pursuant to section two hundred

eight of the federal water pollution control act.

g. "Treatment facility" shall mean resource recovery, incineration,

composting, or other process as approved by the commissioner through

which solid waste is put in order to reduce volume and toxicity.

h. "Untreatable waste" shall mean that material that because of its

size or composition cannot be processed by a treatment facility.

2. The Long Island Comprehensive Waste Treatment Management Plan of

nineteen hundred seventy-eight shall be kept on file in the office of

the commissioner. The hydrogeologic zones and their attendant boundaries

as specified in the aforementioned plan are hereby adopted. Any changes

made in the boundaries and accepted by the commissioner shall be

considered as automatically adopted for the purposes of this section.

3. On or after the effective date of this section and except as

provided herein, no person shall commence operation, including site

preparation, of a new landfill or of an expansion to an existing

landfill which is located in a deep flow recharge area. However, the

commissioner, after conducting a public hearing, may approve a limited

expansion of any existing landfill in a deep flow recharge area for the

sole purpose of providing for solid waste disposal capacity prior to the

implementation of a resource recovery system. The commissioner shall not

approve any such expansion unless he finds that the owner of such

landfill is a municipality that is implementing a resource recovery

system which is acceptable to the commissioner and which will be

operational no later than seven years after the effective date of this

section and that no other feasible means of solid waste management is

available, taking into account technological, economic and other

essential factors.

4. On or after the effective date of this section, no person shall

commence operation, including site preparation, of a new landfill or of

an expansion to an existing landfill, which is located in the county of

Nassau or Suffolk outside of deep flow recharge areas unless:

a. The commissioner has made an affirmative determination that such

landfill will not pose a threat to groundwater quality; and

b. The owner or operator of the landfill has posted a financial

guarantee such as, but not limited to, pollution liability insurance,

sureties, performance bonds and/or trust funds acceptable to the

commissioner securing the cost of corrective treatment, or the

development of alternative water sources, should such landfill become a

source of groundwater, surface water, or air pollution. The size of the

financial guarantee, the financial stability of the surety, and the

terms of posting shall be determined by the commissioner. Financial

surety shall also be arranged to ensure the proper operation and

maintenance of leachate and other collection and treatment systems for a

period of time, as determined by the commissioner, after a landfill is

closed; and

c. The landfill is underlain by two or more natural and/or synthetic

liners each with provisions for leachate collection, and has a treatment

and disposal system, all of which are approved by the commissioner. Any

natural clay liners shall have a minimum compacted thickness of two feet

and all liners shall have a maximum hydraulic conductivity not to exceed

one times ten to the minus seven centimeters per second. If the landfill

uses two synthetic liners, the department shall require that the liners

are of different chemical compositions; and

d. The landfill is designed and operated to minimize the migration of

methane gas or other gases beyond the facility boundaries so as to avert

the creation of a nuisance or a danger to property or public health; and

e. The landfill is prohibited from accepting industrial, commercial or

institutional solid or liquid waste that is hazardous; and

f. The landfill is not located in a freshwater wetland, tidal wetland

or floodplain as identified by the department.

g. Except as provided herein, the landfill accepts only material which

is the product of resource recovery, incineration or composting.

Downtime waste and wastes that are untreatable by a resource recovery

system may be disposed of when handled as provided in this paragraph.

Downtime waste and untreatable waste that is landfilled may only be

deposited in a special disposal area that is located and constructed so

as to segregate these wastes and minimize their effect on residents of

the surrounding area. Not more than ten percent of the annual rated

capacity of a resource recovery facility may be disposed of as downtime

waste per year. However, up to ten percent of the annual rated capacity

of more than one resource recovery facility may be so disposed of at a

single landfill.

Any such landfill may also accept wastes other than those authorized

in this subdivision whenever such disposal is approved by the

commissioner based upon a finding made after the opportunity for a

public hearing that (i) no resource recovery facility is available to

accept such waste; (ii) the owner of the landfill is making all

reasonable efforts to implement a resource recovery system acceptable to

the commissioner; and (iii) that the landfilling of such wastes will not

have significant adverse environmental impacts. In granting any such

approval, the commissioner shall impose conditions necessary to mitigate

any adverse environmental impacts to the maximum extent practicable and

shall impose a schedule under which the municipality shall implement an

acceptable resource recovery system.

5. Within seven years of the effective date of this section, no person

shall operate a landfill existing on the effective date of this section

in the counties of Nassau and Suffolk unless:

a. The owner or operator of the landfill has posted a financial

guarantee such as, but not limited to, pollution liability insurance,

sureties, performance bonds and/or trust funds acceptable to the

commissioner securing the cost of corrective treatment, or the

development of alternative water sources, should such landfill become a

source of groundwater, surface water or air pollution. The size of the

financial guarantee, the financial stability of the surety, and the

terms of posting shall be determined by the commissioner. Financial

surety shall also be arranged to ensure the proper operation and

maintenance of leachate and other collection and treatment systems for a

period of time, as determined by the commissioner, after a landfill is

closed; and

b. The landfill is underlain by two or more natural and/or synthetic

liners each with provisions for leachate collection, and has a treatment

and disposal system, all of which are approved by the commissioner. Any

natural clay liners shall have a minimum compacted thickness of two feet

and all liners shall have a maximum hydraulic conductivity not to exceed

one times ten to the minus seven centimeters per second. If the landfill

uses two synthetic liners, the department shall require that the liners

are of different chemical composition; and

c. The landfill is designed and operated to minimize the migration of

methane gas or other gases beyond the facility boundaries so as to avert

the creation of a nuisance or a danger to property or public health; and

d. The landfill does not accept industrial, commercial or

institutional solid or liquid waste that is hazardous; and

e. The landfill is not located in a freshwater wetland, tidal wetland

or floodplain as identified by the department.

f. Except as provided herein, the landfill accepts only material which

is the product of resource recovery, incineration or composting.

Downtime waste and wastes that are untreatable by a resource recovery

system may be disposed of when handled as provided in this paragraph.

Downtime waste and untreatable waste that is landfilled may only be

deposited in a special disposal area that is located and constructed so

as to segregate these wastes and minimize their effect on residents of

the surrounding area. Not more than ten percent of the annual rated

capacity of a resource recovery facility may be disposed of as downtime

waste per year. However, up to ten percent of the annual rated capacity

of more than one resource recovery facility may be so disposed of at a

single landfill.

If the landfill is located outside of the deep flow recharge area,

such landfill may also accept wastes other than those authorized in this

subdivision whenever such disposal is approved by the commissioner based

upon a finding made after the opportunity for a public hearing that (i)

no resource recovery facility is available to accept such waste; (ii)

the owner of the landfill is making all reasonable efforts to implement

a resource recovery system acceptable to the commissioner; and (iii)

that the landfilling of such wastes will not have significant adverse

environmental impacts. In granting any such approval, the commissioner

shall impose conditions necessary to mitigate any adverse environmental

impacts to the maximum extent practicable and shall impose a schedule

under which the municipality shall implement an acceptable resource

recovery system.

6. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, the

commissioner may allow, by permit, the disposal of clean fill material

in the counties of Nassau and Suffolk. Such material shall not be

contaminated with hazardous wastes.