Virginia Law

Article 2
Definitions

Section 10.1-1433 of the Code of Virginia defines several words and terms which are used in this chapter. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, those words and terms will have the same meaning when used in this chapter. In addition, the following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Act" means §§ 10.1-1433 through 10.1-1449 of the Code of Virginia.

"Affected communities" means those counties, cities or towns contiguous to the host community which may be affected by the siting of a hazardous waste facility in the host community.

"Applicant" means the person applying for a certification of site suitability or submitting a notice of intent to apply for that. The applicant must be the person that intends to own or operate the proposed facility.

"Application" means an application to the board for a certification of site suitability.

"Board" means the Virginia Waste Management Board.

"Certification of site suitability" or "certification" means the certification issued by the board pursuant to Chapter 14 (§ 10.1-1400 et seq.) of Title 10.1 of the Code of Virginia.

"Construct" or "construction" means (i) with respect to new facilities, the significant alteration of a site to install permanent equipment or structures or the installation of permanent equipment or structures; or (ii) with respect to existing facilities, the alteration or expansion of existing structures or facilities to initially accommodate hazardous waste, any expansion of more than 50% of the area or capacity of an existing hazardous waste facility, or any change in design or process of a hazardous waste facility that will, in the opinion of the board, result in a substantially different type of facility. It does not include preliminary engineering or site surveys, environmental studies, site acquisition, acquisition of an option to purchase or activities normally incident to that.

"Criteria" means the criteria adopted by the board, pursuant to § 10.1-1436 of the Code of Virginia.

"Department" means the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

"Disposal" means the discharge, deposit, injunction, dumping, spilling, leaking or placing of any solid waste or hazardous waste into or on any land or water so that such solid waste or hazardous waste or any constituent thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including groundwaters.

"Emergency situation" means where an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health or the environment is determined.

"Fund" means the technical assistance fund created pursuant to § 10.1-1448 of the Code of Virginia.

"Hazardous waste" means a solid waste classified as a hazardous waste by the Virginia Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, 9VAC20-60.

"Hazardous waste facility" or "facility" means any facility, including land and structures, appurtenances, improvements and equipment for the treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous wastes, which accepts hazardous waste for storage, treatment or disposal. For the purposes of this chapter, it does not include: (i) facilities which are owned and operated by and exclusively for the on-site treatment, storage or disposal of wastes generated by the owner or operator; (ii) facilities for the treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous wastes used principally as fuels in an on-site production process; and (iii) facilities used exclusively for the pretreatment of wastes discharged directly to a publicly-owned sewage treatment works.

"Hazardous waste management facility permit" means the permit for a hazardous waste management facility issued by the director or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"Host community" means any county, city or town within whose jurisdictional boundaries construction of a hazardous waste facility is proposed.

"On-site" means facilities that are located on the same or geographically contiguous property which may be divided by public or private right-of-way, and the entrance and exit between the contiguous properties are at a crossroads intersection so that the access is by crossing, as opposed to going along, the right-of-way. On-site also means noncontiguous properties owned by the same person but connected by a right-of-way which the owner controls and to which the public does not have access.

"Operating characteristics": These include, but are not limited to:

1. Brief description of the nature of the business of the facility, including an estimate of the size of the business (number of employees, etc.);

2. Specification of each hazardous waste involved in the operation of the facility and an estimate of the annual quantity of each;

3. Description of the physical facility (number and size of buildings, tanks and other structures);

4. General description of the process to be used in the treatment, storage, or disposal or both of each hazardous waste;

5. Description of the anticipated traffic to and from the facility (number, type, and capacity of those vehicles transporting hazardous waste as well as other types of vehicles);

6. Short and long term projections for the facility, including its projected life expectancy; and

7. Any other relevant information which will assist the board and other persons to gain a clear understanding of the nature and operation of the facility.

"Operator" means a person who is responsible for the overall operation of a facility.

"Owner" means a person who owns a facility or a part of a facility.

"Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation, including a government corporation, partnership, association, state, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state, interstate body or federal government agency.

"Site plan" means a design of the proposed facility and site. The site plan must accurately represent all structures of the proposed facility. If the site has existing structures, the site plan must designate these and specify the alterations to be made to each. The site plan shall also include a topographic map showing a distance of 1,000 feet around the facility at a scale of 2.5 centimeters (one inch) equal to not more than 61.0 meters (200 feet). Contours shall be shown on the map. The contour interval shall be sufficient to clearly show the pattern of surface water flow in the vicinity of and from each operational unit of the facility, for example, contours with an interval of 1.5 meters (five feet), if relief is greater than 6.1 meters (20 feet) or an interval of 0.6 meters (two feet), if relief is less than 6.1 meters (20 feet). Owners and operators of facilities proposed in mountainous areas should use a larger contour interval to adequately show topographic profiles of facilities. The map shall clearly show the following:

1. Map scale and date;

2. 100 year floodplain area;

3. Surface waters including intermittent streams;

4. Surrounding land uses (residential, commercial, agricultural, recreational);

5. A wind rose (i.e., prevailing wind speed and direction);

6. Orientation of the map (north arrow);

7. Legal boundaries of the facility site;

8. Access control (fences and gates);

9. Injection and withdrawal wells, both on-site and off-site;

10. Buildings; treatment, storage, or disposal operations; or other structures (recreation areas, run-off control systems, access and internal roads; storm, sanitary, and process sewerage systems; loading and unloading areas; fire control facilities, etc.);

11. Barriers for drainage or flood control;

12. Location of operational units within the facility site where hazardous waste is proposed to be treated, stored or disposed, including equipment cleanup areas; and

13. Such additional information as the board deems necessary to carry out its duties as required by the Act.

"Solid waste" means any garbage, refuse, sludge and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining and agricultural operations and from community activities but does not include (i) solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage; (ii) solid or dissolved material in irrigation return flows or in industrial discharges which are sources subject to a permit from the State Water Control Board, or (iii) source, special nuclear, or byproduct material as defined by the Federal Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 USCS § 2011 et seq.), as amended.

"Storage" means the containment or holding of hazardous wastes pending treatment, recycling, reuse, recovery or disposal.

"Treatment" means any method, technique or process, including incineration or neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical or biological character or composition of any hazardous waste to neutralize it or to render it less hazardous or nonhazardous, safer for transport, amenable to recovery or storage, or reduced in volume. Such term includes any activity or processing designed to change the physical form or chemical composition of a hazardous waste so as to render it less hazardous or nonhazardous.