The secretary must assess the location impacts of a commercial hazardous waste facility before a permit is issued and may deny the permit if certain site risks are found.
§2178. Authority of the secretary to assess location A. The secretary shall prior to the issuance of any permit for a commercial hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility, assess the impact of the location of the facility on the citizens in the surrounding area, the local infrastructure, and on the environment. He shall adopt rules and regulations consistent with this Section establishing criteria for making this determination and prior to any determination on the permit issue a report summarizing his findings. He shall also request from the local governmental subdivision a report detailing the impact of the facility on the local infrastructure including but not limited to roads and transportation systems, schools, medical institutions, police and fire departments, and such other matters as the local government may determine will be impacted by the facility. B.(1) The secretary may determine an additional fee schedule applicable to commercial hazardous waste facilities not to exceed five percent of the hazardous waste permit application fee by rule in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. A portion of this additional permit application fee shall be allocated to the local governmental subdivision for the preparation of an infrastructure assessment report as determined by the secretary. When siting a commercial facility, the secretary shall determine whether the local governmental subdivision should be compensated for any reasonable and necessary cost for preparation of the infrastructure report. The purpose of the report shall be to adequately assess the capability of the local communities to effectively manage and monitor the ongoing operations of the proposed commercial facility and to respond to emergencies which may potentially threaten the health, safety, or welfare of the communities or any of their inhabitants. The report may propose alternate siting for the facility and propose actions to mitigate any infrastructure deficiencies found by the report. (2) With regard to the siting area of the proposed commercial facility, the report prepared by the secretary shall include a determination of whether or not: (a) The area is environmentally sensitive. An area may be deemed environmentally sensitive for the following nonexclusive reasons: (i) The area is a wetland or immediately adjacent to a wetland. (ii) The area is in close proximity to any wildlife management area or wildlife preserve. (iii) The area is, or is adjacent to, any aquifer recharge zone. (b) The facility or proposed commercial facility poses undue health risks because of potential human exposure. A facility or proposed facility may be deemed to pose undue health risks for the following nonexclusive reasons: (i) Proximity of the facility or proposed commercial facility to schools or day care centers. (ii) Proximity of the facility or proposed commercial facility to hospitals or nursing homes. (iii) Proximity of the facility or proposed commercial facility to any facility or structure used to store or contain any foodstuffs for human or animal consumption. (iv) Proximity of the facility or proposed commercial facility to public buildings or entertainment facilities. (v) Proximity to a residential area. (vi) Proximity to a prison. (vii) The number and density of existing hazardous waste disposal facilities, solid waste disposal facilities, and inactive and abandoned hazardous waste sites in the area. (viii) The number and density of existing industrial facilities that discharge hazardous or toxic substances into the air or water. (ix) The existence of any community health problem that may be aggravated by the operation of a commercial hazardous waste disposal facility. (c) Siting of the facility in the area may reasonably be determined to preclude the economic development of the area by businesses or industries because of undue risk associated with establishing such operations of such entities adjacent to said facility. C. The secretary shall consider the local infrastructure report and may deny an application for a commercial hazardous waste disposal permit if he finds that the proposed siting area is environmentally sensitive, the facility or proposed facility poses undue health risks, the siting of the facility may preclude economic development of the area by businesses or industries, or the facility or proposed facility fails to meet the criteria established by the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this Section. Acts 1989, No. 776, §1, eff. July 9, 1989. {{NOTE: SEE ACTS 1989, NO. 776, §3.}}