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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 9. Environment
Agency 20. Virginia Waste Management Board
Chapter 81. Solid Waste Management Regulations
11/5/2024

9VAC20-81-320. Siting requirements.

The siting of all compost facilities, solid waste transfer stations, centralized waste treatment facilities, materials recovery facilities, waste to energy and incineration facilities, and waste piles shall be governed by the standards as set forth in this section.

A. Facilities shall be adjacent to or have direct access to roads that are paved or surfaced and capable of withstanding anticipated load limits. Solid waste management facilities storing or treating solid waste in piles such as but not limited to compost facilities and waste piles may also have direct access to gravel roads.

B. Facilities shall not be sited or constructed in areas subject to base floods. For materials recovery facilities, this siting prohibition does not apply to facilities recovering materials from industrial wastewater received from offsite.

C. No facility activity shall be closer than:

1. 50 feet to its property boundary;

2. 200 feet to any residence, a health care facility, school, recreational park area, or similar type public institution;

3. 50 feet to any perennial stream or river. For materials recovery facilities, this siting prohibition does not apply to those facilities recovering materials from industrial wastewater received from offsite; and

4. For facilities treating or storing solid waste in piles, no closer than 50 feet to any wetland.

D. Sites shall provide room to minimize traffic congestion and allow for safe operation.

E. In addition to subsections A through D of this section, for waste piles, unless the waste piles are located inside or under a structure that provides protection from precipitation so that neither run-off nor leachate is generated, such waste piles shall be provided with an adequate area to allow for proper management in accordance with 9VAC20-81-330 F and 9VAC20-81-340 F.

F. In addition to subsections A through D of this section, for compost facilities:

1. Acceptable sites must have area and terrain to allow for proper management of run-on, run-off, and leachate, and to allow for a buffer zone with the minimum size of 100 feet between the property boundary and the actual composting activity.

2. Type B facilities shall not be located in areas that are geologically unstable or where the site topography is heavily dissected.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1402 of the Code of Virginia; 42 USC § 6941 et seq.; 40 CFR Part 258.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 27, Issue 12, eff. March 16, 2011.

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