WAC 173-350-310 - Intermediate solid waste handling facilities
Agendas and meeting notes from the advisory committee on section 310 on the WAC 173-350 rulemaking.
WAC 173-350-310 - Intermediate solid waste handling facilities
Ecology staff lead: Dawn Marie Maurer, Gary Bleeker, Allison Kingfisher
Focus: This section includes Materials Recovery Facilities, Transfer Stations, Baling and Compaction sites, and Drop Box Facilities. A work group will be formed to evaluate this section. Membership will evolve from efforts on the definitions of Solid Waste, Recyclable Materials, and Recycling.
Both materials recovery facilities and recycling facilities manage recyclable materials. Some engage in both activities. The work group will consider whether the Material Recovery Facilities language in this section should be moved to the Recycling section (WAC 173-350-210), or perhaps merged in a new section.
In order to qualify for permit exemptions, facilities must meet specific criteria. Notification requirements in section 310 may not adequately address questions of compliance. Some forms of materials recovery do not qualify for exemption under the rule, yet they should not be classified as transfer stations.
Additionally, the work group will discuss design standards for transfer stations to include an impervious floor, leachate collection and storage, and vector control. The group may also discuss whether to allow scavenging at some facilities with permission from the owner/operator and the Jurisdictional Health Department.
Update: This group is also addressing section 210 - Recycling. The workgroup met in July 2015 and at that meeting suggested the focus of input should come from local health jurisdictions and regulators. Ecology staff received written comments from local jurisdictions which have informed the current draft.
Late Update: Many of the facilities covered under this section are solid waste transfer stations and drop boxes. The standards for these intermediate solid waste handling facilities have worked well over the past decade and Ecology received very little interest in changing these standards.
The only area of inquiry in this section revolved around material recovery facilities, or MRFs. As part of the work on issues relating to the crossover between recycling and material recovery, the MRF standards were moved to section 173-350-210 (now "Recycling and material recovery facilities").
This reorganization created clearer delineation between facilities primarily sending waste to disposal, like transfer stations, and facilities primarily recovering materials for other uses.
Only the most minimal changes were made to the substantive requirements of transfer stations and drop box facilities, but the format was updated to be easier to read and interpret. Please send questions to w2rrulemaking@ecy.wa.gov.
Work group meetings and notes
July 7, 2015 meeting, 1-5 p.m., Ecology Headquarters, Lacey