Section 97. Beneficial use demonstrations

A. The department may consider other waste materials and uses to be beneficial. The generator or proposed user of such materials may request that the department make a case-specific determination that the solid waste may be beneficially used in a manufacturing process to make a product or as an effective substitute for a commercial product. In all such cases, the materials will be managed so they do not create an open dump, hazard, or public nuisance.

1. The requestor shall provide the following information:

a. A description of the solid waste under review and its proposed use;

b. Chemical and physical characteristics of the solid waste under review and of each type of proposed product;

c. A demonstration that there is a known or reasonably probable market for the intended use of the solid waste under review and of all proposed products by providing one or more of the following:

(1) A description of how the proposed product will be used;

(2) A demonstration that the proposed product complies with industry standards and specifications for that product if any; or

(3) Other documentation that a market for the proposed product or use exists; and

d. A demonstration that the management of the solid waste under review will not adversely affect human health and safety, the environment, and natural resources by providing:

(1) A solid waste control plan that describes the following:

(a) The source of the solid waste under review;

(b) Procedures for periodic testing of the solid waste under review and the proposed product to ensure that the proposed product's composition has not changed significantly;

(c) The disposition of any solid waste that may result from the manufacture of the product into which the solid waste under review is intended to be incorporated;

(d) A description of the type of storage (e.g., container, tank, or pile) and the maximum anticipated inventory of the solid waste under review (not to exceed 90 days) before being used;

(e) Procedures for run-on and run-off control of the storage areas for the solid waste under review; and

(f) A program and implementation schedule of best management practices designed to minimize uncontrolled dispersion of the solid waste under review before and during all aspects of its storage as inventory and during beneficial use.

2. Upon receipt of complete information required under subdivision 1 of this subsection, the department will determine in writing within 90 days, on a case-by-case basis, whether the proposal constitutes a beneficial use based on a showing that all of the following criteria have been met:

a. The proposed use of the material constitutes a reuse rather than disposal;

b. For a material that is proposed for incorporation into a manufacturing process, the material is not required to be decontaminated or otherwise specially handled or processed before such incorporation, in order to minimize loss of material or to provide adequate protection, as needed, of public health, safety, or welfare; the environment; or natural resources; and

c. Other criteria as the department shall determine in its discretion to be appropriate. Conversely, the department may determine that owing to the nature of the use, reuse, or reclamation process, some of the informational materials required under subdivision 1 of this subsection may not be required to make the determination.

3. The department will either approve the request, disapprove it, or allow the proposed use of the solid waste under review subject to such conditions as the department may impose. When granting a beneficial use determination, the department shall determine, on a case-by-case basis, the precise point at which the solid waste under review ceases to be solid waste. Unless otherwise determined for the particular solid waste under review, that point occurs when it is used in a manufacturing process to make a product or used as an effective substitute for a commercial product or a fuel. As part of its request, the generator or the proposed user may request that such point occur elsewhere. In such a request, the proponent shall include a demonstration that there is little potential for improper disposal of the material or little potential for the handling, transportation, or storage of the solid waste under review to have an adverse impact upon the public health, safety, or welfare; the environment; or natural resources.

4. The department may revoke any determination made if it finds that one or more of the items of information submitted serving as the basis for the department's determination was incorrect or is no longer valid, the department finds that there has been a violation of any condition that the department attached to such determination, or that the use, reuse, or reclamation process has become a public nuisance.

B. Beneficial use determinations granted by the department before March 16, 2011, shall remain in effect, subject to all conditions contained therein, unless specifically addressed by subsequent department action.

C. Beneficial use determinations involving coal combustion residuals must meet the requirements of beneficial use of CCR as defined in 40 CFR 257.53. Beneficial use determinations for CCR projects involving over 12,400 tons of CCR must provide the required demonstrations identified in the definition of "beneficial use of CCR" to the department for review and approval.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 27, Issue 12, eff. March 16, 2011; amended, Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 09, eff. January 27, 2016.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1402 of the Code of Virginia; 42 USC § 6941 et seq.; 40 CFR Parts 257 and 258.