Virginia Law

A. Solid waste compost facilities.

1. The standards in this part shall apply to owners and operators of facilities producing compost from municipal solid waste/refuse or combinations of municipal solid waste/refuse with animal manures.

a. Composting facilities that employ the enclosed vessel method are referred to as Type A (confined) compost facilities. Facilities that employ the windrow or aerated static pile method are referred to as Type B compost facilities. The only composting processes that may be employed are those with prior operational performance in the United States. Any other proposed composting process shall conform to the standards contained in 9VAC20-81-395 and will require an experimental solid waste management facility permit.

b. Use of solid waste containing hazardous waste, regulated medical waste, or nonbiodegradable waste is prohibited.

2. The standards contained in this part are not applicable to composting exempt under 9VAC20-81-95.

3. The feedstocks for composting are classified on the basis of the type of waste used in the composting process. The categories of feedstocks are as follows:

a. Category I - Plant or plant-derived preconsumer materials such as:

(1) Agriculture crop residues including, but not limited to, harvesting residuals, straw, and cornstalks;

(2) Livestock feed including, but not limited to, hay, grain, silage, cottonseed meal, soybean meal;

(3) Nonfood agricultural processing waste including, but not limited to, cotton gin trash, wool carding residue, field corn cobs;

(4) Source-separated preconsumer food wastes including but not limited to wholesale and retail market residuals (e.g., overripe, damaged, or otherwise rejected fruit or vegetables, food preparation wastes including prepared but unserved foods) and institutional kitchen culls;

(5) Food processing wastes including culls, peelings, hulls, stems, pits, seed, pulp, shucks, nut shells, apple pomace, corn cobs, cranberry filter cake, olive husks, potato tops, cocoa shells, fruit and vegetable processing waste, rejected products, and bakery wastes;

(6) Source-separated clean waste paper;

(7) Vegetative waste; and

(8) Yard waste.

b. Category II - Animal-derived waste material such as:

(1) Dairy processing wastes including but not limited to spoiled milk, cheese, curd, and yogurt.

(2) Fish processing wastes including but not limited to eggs, fish gurry and racks, clam bellies, fish shells, fish processing sludge, fish breading crumbs, mussel, crab, lobster, and shrimp wastes.

c. Category III - Animal and postconsumer food wastes with pathogen potential such as:

(1) Source-separated wastes including but not limited to restaurant waste, institutional kitchen wastes, plate scrapings;

(2) Animal manures including but not limited to spoiled stable straw bedding, livestock feedlot, holding pen and cage scrapings, dairy manure semi-solids, poultry litter and manure; and

(3) Rendered animals.

d. Category IV - Other wastes such as:

(1) Nonrendered animal meat waste including but not limited to animal carcasses, slaughterhouse waste, paunch manure;

(2) Mixed nonsource separated organic wastes including but not limited to municipal solid waste; and

(3) Industrial sludge.

B. Solid waste transfer stations. The standards in this part shall apply to owners and operators of solid waste transfer stations.

C. Centralized waste treatment facilities. The standards in this part shall apply to owners and operators of solid waste management facilities who operate a treatment system to solidify nonhazardous solid waste to meet the disposal criteria of 9VAC20-81-140 where the waste is generated offsite, and such treatment system must have no discharge. The requirements of this section shall not apply to solidification operations at active landfills that are authorized in the landfill's solid waste permit.

D. Materials recovery facilities.

1. The standards in this part shall apply to owners and operators of solid waste management facilities that operate to reclaim solid waste.

2. The regulations of this part do not apply to:

a. The landfill gas recovery systems operated at active and closed solid waste disposal facilities that are regulated under 9VAC20-81-200;

b. The storage and treatment facilities associated with the management of materials conditionally exempt from this chapter on the basis of 9VAC20-81-95 F;

c. The facilities that use materials in a manner that constitutes disposal that are regulated under Part VI (9VAC20-81-610 et seq.) of this chapter; or

d. The disposal of residues from the materials recovery facilities that is regulated under Part III (9VAC20-81-100 et seq.) of this chapter.

E. Waste to energy and incineration facilities.

1. The standards in this part shall apply to owners and operators of solid waste and process residue storage and handling facilities associated with the energy recovery from or incineration of solid wastes.

2. The regulations of this part do not apply to:

a. The design and operation of the combustor units regulated by the Air Pollution Control Board; or

b. The disposal of residues from the waste to energy or incineration facilities that is regulated under Part III (9VAC20-81-100 et seq.) of this chapter.

F. Surface impoundments and lagoons.

1. Lagoons and surface impoundments are regulated under State Water Control Law. During the operating life of these facilities, this chapter does not apply. If the operator intends to close such a facility by burial of sludges and residue in place, this chapter shall not apply where the regulating agency establishes the closure requirements in accordance with water pollution control regulations. The standards in this section shall apply to owners and operators of lagoons and surface impoundments only if new wastes, not contained in the lagoon or impoundment, are proposed to be disposed with the residue. In those cases, the operation and closure of the facility constitutes construction and operation of a landfill and must be accomplished as specified in Part III (9VAC20-81-100 et seq.) of this chapter.

2. Leachate lagoons are regulated under Part III (9VAC20-81-100 et seq.) of this chapter and are subject to the requirements for liners in 9VAC20-81-210 C.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision 1 of this subsection, this chapter, in accordance with 9VAC20-81-45, applies to CCR surface impoundments in addition to the requirements under the State Water Control Law.

G. Waste piles.

1. The standards in this part shall apply to owners and operators of facilities that store or treat nonputrescible solid waste in piles.

2. Owners or operators of waste piles that will be closed with wastes left in place are subject to regulations contained in Part III (9VAC20-81-100 et seq.) of this chapter.

3. This part does not apply if materials will be actively composted according to all the requirements for compost facilities in Part IV (9VAC20-81-300 et seq.) of this chapter.

4. The regulations in this part do not apply to the management of industrial co-products in piles. A material shall be considered an industrial co-product if a demonstration can be made consistent with 9VAC20-81-95 or 9VAC20-81-97 that the material is not a solid waste.

5. The regulations in this part do not apply to active logging operations subject to regulation under the provisions of §§ 10.1-1181.1 and 10.1-1181.2 of the Code of Virginia.