Section 3734.05 | Licensing requirements.

• Effective: September 29, 2017
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 49 - 132nd General Assembly

(A)(1) Except as provided in divisions (A)(6) and (7) of this section, no person shall operate or maintain a solid waste facility without a license issued under this division by the board of health of the health district in which the facility is located or by the director of environmental protection when the health district in which the facility is located is not on the approved list under section 3734.08 of the Revised Code.

During the month of December, but before the first day of January of the next year, every person proposing to continue to operate an existing solid waste facility shall procure a license under this division to operate the facility for that year from the board of health of the health district in which the facility is located or, if the health district is not on the approved list under section 3734.08 of the Revised Code, from the director. The application for such a license shall be submitted to the board of health or to the director, as appropriate, on or before the last day of September of the year preceding that for which the license is sought. In addition to the application fee prescribed in division (A)(2) of this section, a person who submits an application after that date shall pay an additional ten per cent of the amount of the application fee for each week that the application is late. Late payment fees accompanying an application submitted to the board of health shall be credited to the special fund of the health district created in division (B) of section 3734.06 of the Revised Code, and late payment fees accompanying an application submitted to the director shall be credited to the general revenue fund. A person who has received a license, upon sale or disposition of a solid waste facility, and upon consent of the board of health and the director, may have the license transferred to another person. The board of health or the director may include such terms and conditions in a license or revision to a license as are appropriate to ensure compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it. The terms and conditions may establish the authorized maximum daily waste receipts for the facility. Limitations on maximum daily waste receipts shall be specified in cubic yards of volume for the purpose of regulating the design, construction, and operation of solid waste facilities. Terms and conditions included in a license or revision to a license by a board of health shall be consistent with, and pertain only to the subjects addressed in, the rules adopted under division (A) of section 3734.02 and division (D) of section 3734.12 of the Revised Code.

(2)(a) Except as provided in divisions (A)(2)(b), (6), and (7) of this section, each person proposing to open a new solid waste facility or to modify an existing solid waste facility shall submit an application for a permit with accompanying detail plans and specifications to the environmental protection agency for required approval under the rules adopted by the director pursuant to division (A) of section 3734.02 of the Revised Code and applicable rules adopted under division (D) of section 3734.12 of the Revised Code at least two hundred seventy days before proposed operation of the facility and shall concurrently make application for the issuance of a license under division (A)(1) of this section with the board of health of the health district in which the proposed facility is to be located.

(b) On and after the effective date of the rules adopted under division (A) of section 3734.02 of the Revised Code and division (D) of section 3734.12 of the Revised Code governing solid waste transfer facilities, each person proposing to open a new solid waste transfer facility or to modify an existing solid waste transfer facility shall submit an application for a permit with accompanying engineering detail plans, specifications, and information regarding the facility and its method of operation to the environmental protection agency for required approval under those rules at least two hundred seventy days before commencing proposed operation of the facility and concurrently shall make application for the issuance of a license under division (A)(1) of this section with the board of health of the health district in which the facility is located or proposed.

(c) Each application for a permit under division (A)(2)(a) or (b) of this section shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of four hundred dollars that shall be credited to the general revenue fund. Each application for an annual license under division (A)(1) or (2) of this section shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of one hundred dollars. If the application for an annual license is submitted to a board of health on the approved list under section 3734.08 of the Revised Code, the application fee shall be credited to the special fund of the health district created in division (B) of section 3734.06 of the Revised Code. If the application for an annual license is submitted to the director, the application fee shall be credited to the general revenue fund. If a permit or license is issued, the amount of the application fee paid shall be deducted from the amount of the permit fee due under division (Q) of section 3745.11 of the Revised Code or the amount of the license fee due under division (A)(1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of section 3734.06 of the Revised Code.

(d) As used in divisions (A)(2)(d), (e), and (f) of this section, "modify" means any of the following:

(i) Any increase of more than ten per cent in the total capacity of a solid waste facility;

(ii) Any expansion of the limits of solid waste placement at a solid waste facility;

(iii) Any increase in the depth of excavation at a solid waste facility;

(iv) Any change in the technique of waste receipt or type of waste received at a solid waste facility that may endanger human health, as determined by the director by rules adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

Not later than forty-five days after submitting an application under division (A)(2)(a) or (b) of this section for a permit to open a new or modify an existing solid waste facility, the applicant, in conjunction with an officer or employee of the environmental protection agency, shall hold a public meeting on the application within the county in which the new or modified solid waste facility is or is proposed to be located or within a contiguous county. Not less than thirty days before holding the public meeting on the application, the applicant shall publish notice of the meeting in each newspaper of general circulation that is published in the county in which the facility is or is proposed to be located. If no newspaper of general circulation is published in the county, the applicant shall publish the notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. The notice shall contain the date, time, and location of the public meeting and a general description of the proposed new or modified facility. Not later than five days after publishing the notice, the applicant shall send by certified mail a copy of the notice and the date the notice was published to the director and the legislative authority of each municipal corporation, township, and county, and to the chief executive officer of each municipal corporation, in which the facility is or is proposed to be located. At the public meeting, the applicant shall provide information and describe the application and respond to comments or questions concerning the application, and the officer or employee of the agency shall describe the permit application process. At the public meeting, any person may submit written or oral comments on or objections to the application. Not more than thirty days after the public meeting, the applicant shall provide the director with a copy of a transcript of the full meeting, copies of any exhibits, displays, or other materials presented by the applicant at the meeting, and the original copy of any written comments submitted at the meeting.

(e) Except as provided in division (A)(2)(f) of this section, prior to taking an action, other than a proposed or final denial, upon an application submitted under division (A)(2)(a) of this section for a permit to open a new or modify an existing solid waste facility, the director shall hold a public information session and a public hearing on the application within the county in which the new or modified solid waste facility is or is proposed to be located or within a contiguous county. If the application is for a permit to open a new solid waste facility, the director shall hold the hearing not less than fourteen days after the information session. If the application is for a permit to modify an existing solid waste facility, the director may hold both the information session and the hearing on the same day unless any individual affected by the application requests in writing that the information session and the hearing not be held on the same day, in which case the director shall hold the hearing not less than fourteen days after the information session. The director shall publish notice of the public information session or public hearing not less than thirty days before holding the information session or hearing, as applicable. The notice shall be published in each newspaper of general circulation that is published in the county in which the facility is or is proposed to be located. If no newspaper of general circulation is published in the county, the director shall publish the notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. The notice shall contain the date, time, and location of the information session or hearing, as applicable, and a general description of the proposed new or modified facility. At the public information session, an officer or employee of the environmental protection agency shall describe the status of the permit application and be available to respond to comments or questions concerning the application. At the public hearing, any person may submit written or oral comments on or objections to the approval of the application. The applicant, or a representative of the applicant who has knowledge of the location, construction, and operation of the facility, shall attend the information session and public hearing to respond to comments or questions concerning the facility directed to the applicant or representative by the officer or employee of the environmental protection agency presiding at the information session and hearing.

(f) The solid waste management policy committee of a county or joint solid waste management district may adopt a resolution requesting expeditious consideration of a specific application submitted under division (A)(2)(a) of this section for a permit to modify an existing solid waste facility within the district. The resolution shall make the finding that expedited consideration of the application without the public information session and public hearing under division (A)(2)(e) of this section is in the public interest and will not endanger human health, as determined by the director by rules adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. Upon receiving such a resolution, the director, at the director's discretion, may issue a final action upon the application without holding a public information session or public hearing pursuant to division (A)(2)(e) of this section.

(3) The director may issue an order in accordance with Chapter 3745. of the Revised Code to the owner or operator of a solid waste facility requiring the person to submit to the director updated engineering detail plans, specifications, and information regarding the facility and its method of operation for approval under rules adopted under division (A) of section 3734.02 of the Revised Code and applicable rules adopted under division (D) of section 3734.12 of the Revised Code if, in the director's judgment, conditions at the facility constitute a substantial threat to public health or safety or are causing or contributing to or threatening to cause or contribute to air or water pollution or soil contamination. Any person who receives such an order shall submit the updated engineering detail plans, specifications, and information to the director within one hundred eighty days after the effective date of the order.

(4) The director shall act upon any updated engineering plans, specifications, and information submitted under division (A)(3) of this section within one hundred eighty days after receiving them. If the director issues an order disapproving the plans, specifications, and information submitted under division (A)(3) of this section, the order shall include all of the following requirements:

(a) That the owner or operator submit a plan for closure and post-closure care of the facility to the director for approval within six months after issuance of the order;

(b) That the owner or operator cease accepting solid wastes for disposal or transfer at the facility; and

(c) The owner or operator commence closure of the facility not later than one year after issuance of the order.

If the director determines that closure of the facility within that one-year period would result in the unavailability of sufficient solid waste management facility capacity within the county or joint solid waste management district in which the facility is located to dispose of or transfer the solid waste generated within the district, the director in the order of disapproval may postpone commencement of closure of the facility for such period of time as the director finds necessary for the board of county commissioners or directors of the district to secure access to or for there to be constructed within the district sufficient solid waste management facility capacity to meet the needs of the district, provided that the director shall certify in the director's order that postponing the date for commencement of closure will not endanger ground water or any property surrounding the facility, allow methane gas migration to occur, or cause or contribute to any other type of environmental damage.

If an emergency need for disposal capacity that may affect public health and safety exists as a result of closure of a facility under division (A)(4) of this section, the director may issue an order designating another solid waste facility to accept the wastes that would have been disposed of at the facility to be closed.

(5) If the director determines that standards more stringent than those applicable in rules adopted under division (A) of section 3734.02 of the Revised Code and division (D) of section 3734.12 of the Revised Code, or standards pertaining to subjects not specifically addressed by those rules, are necessary to ensure that a solid waste facility constructed at the proposed location will not cause a nuisance, cause or contribute to water pollution, or endanger public health or safety, the director may issue a permit for the facility with such terms and conditions as the director finds necessary to protect public health and safety and the environment. If a permit is issued, the director shall state in the order issuing it the specific findings supporting each such term or condition.

(6) Divisions (A)(1) and (2)(a) of this section do not apply to a solid waste compost facility that accepts exclusively source separated yard wastes and that is registered under division (C) of section 3734.02 of the Revised Code or, unless otherwise provided in rules adopted under division (N)(3) of section 3734.02 of the Revised Code, to a solid waste compost facility if the director has adopted rules establishing an alternative system for authorizing the establishment, operation, or modification of a solid waste compost facility under that division.

(7) Divisions (A)(1) to (5) of this section do not apply to scrap tire collection, storage, monocell, monofill, and recovery facilities. The approval of plans and specifications, as applicable, and the issuance of registration certificates, permits, and licenses for those facilities are subject to sections 3734.75 to 3734.78 of the Revised Code, as applicable, and section 3734.81 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) No person shall operate or maintain an infectious waste treatment facility without a license issued by the board of health of the health district in which the facility is located or by the director when the health district in which the facility is located is not on the approved list under section 3734.08 of the Revised Code.

(2)(a) During the month of December, but before the first day of January of the next year, every person proposing to continue to operate an existing infectious waste treatment facility shall procure a license to operate the facility for that year from the board of health of the health district in which the facility is located or, if the health district is not on the approved list under section 3734.08 of the Revised Code, from the director. The application for such a license shall be submitted to the board of health or to the director, as appropriate, on or before the last day of September of the year preceding that for which the license is sought. In addition to the application fee prescribed in division (B)(2)(c) of this section, a person who submits an application after that date shall pay an additional ten per cent of the amount of the application fee for each week that the application is late. Late payment fees accompanying an application submitted to the board of health shall be credited to the special infectious waste fund of the health district created in division (C) of section 3734.06 of the Revised Code, and late payment fees accompanying an application submitted to the director shall be credited to the general revenue fund. A person who has received a license, upon sale or disposition of an infectious waste treatment facility and upon consent of the board of health and the director, may have the license transferred to another person. The board of health or the director may include such terms and conditions in a license or revision to a license as are appropriate to ensure compliance with the infectious waste provisions of this chapter and rules adopted under them.

(b) Each person proposing to open a new infectious waste treatment facility or to modify an existing infectious waste treatment facility shall submit an application for a permit with accompanying detail plans and specifications to the environmental protection agency for required approval under the rules adopted by the director pursuant to section 3734.021 of the Revised Code two hundred seventy days before proposed operation of the facility and concurrently shall make application for a license with the board of health of the health district in which the facility is or is proposed to be located. Not later than ninety days after receiving a complete application under division (B)(2)(b) of this section for a permit to open a new infectious waste treatment facility or modify an existing infectious waste treatment facility to expand its treatment capacity, or receiving a complete application under division (A)(2)(a) of this section for a permit to open a new solid waste incineration facility, or modify an existing solid waste incineration facility to also treat infectious wastes or to increase its infectious waste treatment capacity, that pertains to a facility for which a notation authorizing infectious waste treatment is included or proposed to be included in the solid waste incineration facility's license pursuant to division (B)(3) of this section, the director shall hold a public hearing on the application within the county in which the new or modified infectious waste or solid waste facility is or is proposed to be located or within a contiguous county. Not less than thirty days before holding the public hearing on the application, the director shall publish notice of the hearing in each newspaper that has general circulation and that is published in the county in which the facility is or is proposed to be located. If there is no newspaper that has general circulation and that is published in the county, the director shall publish the notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. The notice shall contain the date, time, and location of the public hearing and a general description of the proposed new or modified facility. At the public hearing, any person may submit written or oral comments on or objections to the approval or disapproval of the application. The applicant, or a representative of the applicant who has knowledge of the location, construction, and operation of the facility, shall attend the public hearing to respond to comments or questions concerning the facility directed to the applicant or representative by the officer or employee of the environmental protection agency presiding at the hearing.

(c) Each application for a permit under division (B)(2)(b) of this section shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of four hundred dollars that shall be credited to the general revenue fund. Each application for an annual license under division (B)(2)(a) of this section shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of one hundred dollars. If the application for an annual license is submitted to a board of health on the approved list under section 3734.08 of the Revised Code, the application fee shall be credited to the special infectious waste fund of the health district created in division (C) of section 3734.06 of the Revised Code. If the application for an annual license is submitted to the director, the application fee shall be credited to the general revenue fund. If a permit or license is issued, the amount of the application fee paid shall be deducted from the amount of the permit fee due under division (Q) of section 3745.11 of the Revised Code or the amount of the license fee due under division (C) of section 3734.06 of the Revised Code.

(d) The director may issue an order in accordance with Chapter 3745. of the Revised Code to the owner or operator of an infectious waste treatment facility requiring the person to submit to the director updated engineering detail plans, specifications, and information regarding the facility and its method of operation for approval under rules adopted under section 3734.021 of the Revised Code if, in the director's judgment, conditions at the facility constitute a substantial threat to public health or safety or are causing or contributing to or threatening to cause or contribute to air or water pollution or soil contamination. Any person who receives such an order shall submit the updated engineering detail plans, specifications, and information to the director within one hundred eighty days after the effective date of the order.

(e) The director shall act on any updated engineering plans, specifications, and information submitted under division (B)(2)(d) of this section within one hundred eighty days after receiving them. If the director disapproves any such updated engineering plans, specifications, and information, the director shall include in the order disapproving the plans the requirement that the owner or operator cease accepting infectious wastes for treatment at the facility.

(3) Division (B) of this section does not apply to a generator of infectious wastes that meets any of the following conditions:

(a) Treats, by methods, techniques, and practices established by rules adopted under division (B)(2)(a) of section 3734.021 of the Revised Code, any of the following wastes:

(i) Infectious wastes that are generated on any premises that are owned or operated by the generator;

(ii) Infectious wastes that are generated by a generator who has staff privileges at a hospital as defined in section 3727.01 of the Revised Code;

(iii) Infectious wastes that are generated in providing care to a patient by an emergency medical services organization as defined in section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.

(b) Holds a license or renewal of a license to operate a crematory facility issued under Chapter 4717. and a permit issued under Chapter 3704. of the Revised Code;

(c) Treats or disposes of dead animals or parts thereof, or the blood of animals, and is subject to any of the following:

(i) Inspection under the "Federal Meat Inspection Act," 81 Stat. 584 (1967), 21 U.S.C.A. 603, as amended;

(ii) Chapter 918. of the Revised Code;

(iii) Chapter 953. of the Revised Code.

Nothing in division (B) of this section requires a facility that holds a license issued under division (A) of this section as a solid waste facility and that also treats infectious wastes by the same method, technique, or process to obtain a license under division (B) of this section as an infectious waste treatment facility. However, the solid waste facility license for the facility shall include the notation that the facility also treats infectious wastes.

The director shall not issue a permit to open a new solid waste incineration facility unless the proposed facility complies with the requirements for the location of new infectious waste incineration facilities established in rules adopted under division (B)(2)(b) of section 3734.021 of the Revised Code.

(C) Except for a facility or activity described in division (E)(3) of section 3734.02 of the Revised Code, a person who proposes to establish or operate a hazardous waste facility shall submit a complete application for a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit and accompanying detail plans, specifications, and such information as the director may require to the environmental protection agency at least one hundred eighty days before the proposed beginning of operation of the facility. The applicant shall notify by certified mail the legislative authority of each municipal corporation, township, and county in which the facility is proposed to be located of the submission of the application within ten days after the submission or at such earlier time as the director may establish by rule. If the application is for a proposed new hazardous waste disposal or thermal treatment facility, the applicant also shall give actual notice of the general design and purpose of the facility to the legislative authority of each municipal corporation, township, and county in which the facility is proposed to be located at least ninety days before the permit application is submitted to the environmental protection agency.

In accordance with rules adopted under section 3734.12 of the Revised Code, prior to the submission of a complete application for a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit, the applicant shall hold at least one meeting in the township or municipal corporation in which the facility is proposed to be located, whichever is geographically closer to the proposed location of the facility. The meeting shall be open to the public and shall be held to inform the community of the proposed hazardous waste management activities and to solicit questions from the community concerning the activities.

(D)(1) Except as provided in section 3734.123 of the Revised Code, upon receipt of a complete application for a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit under division (C) of this section, the director shall consider the application and accompanying information to determine whether the application complies with agency rules and the requirements of division (D)(2) of this section. After making a determination, the director shall issue either a draft permit or a notice of intent to deny the permit. The director, in accordance with rules adopted under section 3734.12 of the Revised Code or with rules adopted to implement Chapter 3745. of the Revised Code, shall provide public notice of the application and the draft permit or the notice of intent to deny the permit, provide an opportunity for public comments, and, if significant interest is shown, schedule a public meeting in the county in which the facility is proposed to be located and give public notice of the date, time, and location of the public meeting in a newspaper of general circulation in that county.

(2) The director shall not approve an application for a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit or an application for a modification under division (I)(3) of this section unless the director finds and determines as follows:

(a) The nature and volume of the waste to be treated, stored, or disposed of at the facility;

(b) That the facility complies with the director's hazardous waste standards adopted pursuant to section 3734.12 of the Revised Code;

(c) That the facility represents the minimum adverse environmental impact, considering the state of available technology and the nature and economics of various alternatives, and other pertinent considerations;

(d) That the facility represents the minimum risk of all of the following:

(i) Fires or explosions from treatment, storage, or disposal methods;

(ii) Release of hazardous waste during transportation of hazardous waste to or from the facility;

(iii) Adverse impact on the public health and safety.

(e) That the facility will comply with this chapter and Chapters 3704. and 6111. of the Revised Code and all rules and standards adopted under them;

(f) That if the owner of the facility, the operator of the facility, or any other person in a position with the facility from which the person may influence the installation and operation of the facility has been involved in any prior activity involving transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste, that person has a history of compliance with this chapter and Chapters 3704. and 6111. of the Revised Code and all rules and standards adopted under them, the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976," 90 Stat. 2806, 42 U.S.C.A. 6921, as amended, and all regulations adopted under it, and similar laws and rules of other states if any such prior operation was located in another state that demonstrates sufficient reliability, expertise, and competency to operate a hazardous waste facility under the applicable provisions of this chapter and Chapters 3704. and 6111. of the Revised Code, the applicable rules and standards adopted under them, and terms and conditions of a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit, given the potential for harm to the public health and safety and the environment that could result from the irresponsible operation of the facility. For off-site facilities, as defined in section 3734.41 of the Revised Code, the director may use the investigative reports of the attorney general prepared pursuant to section 3734.42 of the Revised Code as a basis for making a finding and determination under division (D)(2)(f) of this section.

(g) That the active areas within a new hazardous waste facility where acute hazardous waste as listed in 40 C.F.R. 261.33 (e), as amended, or organic waste that is toxic and is listed under 40 C.F.R. 261, as amended, is being stored, treated, or disposed of and where the aggregate of the storage design capacity and the disposal design capacity of all hazardous waste in those areas is greater than two hundred fifty thousand gallons, are not located or operated within any of the following:

(i) Two thousand feet of any residence, school, hospital, jail, or prison;

(ii) Any naturally occurring wetland;

(iii) Any flood hazard area if the applicant cannot show that the facility will be designed, constructed, operated, and maintained to prevent washout by a one-hundred-year flood.

Division (D)(2)(g) of this section does not apply to the facility of any applicant who demonstrates to the director that the limitations specified in that division are not necessary because of the nature or volume of the waste and the manner of management applied, the facility will impose no substantial danger to the health and safety of persons occupying the structures listed in division (D)(2)(g)(i) of this section, and the facility is to be located or operated in an area where the proposed hazardous waste activities will not be incompatible with existing land uses in the area.

(h) That the facility will not be located within the boundaries of a state park established or dedicated under Chapter 1546. of the Revised Code, a state park purchase area established under section 1546.06 of the Revised Code, any unit of the national park system, or any property that lies within the boundaries of a national park or recreation area, but that has not been acquired or is not administered by the secretary of the United States department of the interior, located in this state, or any candidate area located in this state identified for potential inclusion in the national park system in the edition of the "national park system plan" submitted under paragraph (b) of section 8 of "The Act of August 18, 1970," 84 Stat. 825, 16 U.S.C.A. 1a-5, as amended, current at the time of filing of the application for the permit, unless the facility will be used exclusively for the storage of hazardous waste generated within the park or recreation area in conjunction with the operation of the park or recreation area. Division (D)(2)(h) of this section does not apply to the facility of any applicant for modification of a permit unless the modification application proposes to increase the land area included in the facility or to increase the quantity of hazardous waste that will be treated, stored, or disposed of at the facility.

(3) Not later than one hundred eighty days after the end of the public comment period, the director, without prior hearing, shall issue or deny the permit in accordance with Chapter 3745. of the Revised Code. If the director approves an application for a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit, the director shall issue the permit, upon such terms and conditions as the director finds are necessary to ensure the construction and operation of the hazardous waste facility in accordance with the standards of this section.

(E) No political subdivision of this state shall require any additional zoning or other approval, consent, permit, certificate, or condition for the construction or operation of a hazardous waste facility authorized by a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit issued pursuant to this chapter, nor shall any political subdivision adopt or enforce any law, ordinance, or rule that in any way alters, impairs, or limits the authority granted in the permit.

(F) The director may issue a single hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit to a person who operates two or more adjoining facilities where hazardous waste is stored, treated, or disposed of if the application includes detail plans, specifications, and information on all facilities. For the purposes of this section, "adjoining" means sharing a common boundary, separated only by a public road, or in such proximity that the director determines that the issuance of a single permit will not create a hazard to the public health or safety or the environment.

(G) No person shall falsify or fail to keep or submit any plans, specifications, data, reports, records, manifests, or other information required to be kept or submitted to the director by this chapter or the rules adopted under it.

(H)(1) Each person who holds an installation and operation permit issued under this section and who wishes to obtain a permit renewal shall submit a completed application for an installation and operation permit renewal and any necessary accompanying general plans, detail plans, specifications, and such information as the director may require to the director no later than one hundred eighty days prior to the expiration date of the existing permit or upon a later date prior to the expiration of the existing permit if the permittee can demonstrate good cause for the late submittal. The director shall consider the application and accompanying information, inspection reports of the facility, results of performance tests, a report regarding the facility's compliance or noncompliance with the terms and conditions of its permit and rules adopted by the director under this chapter, and such other information as is relevant to the operation of the facility and shall issue a draft renewal permit or a notice of intent to deny the renewal permit. The director, in accordance with rules adopted under this section or with rules adopted to implement Chapter 3745. of the Revised Code, shall give public notice of the application and draft renewal permit or notice of intent to deny the renewal permit, provide for the opportunity for public comments within a specified time period, schedule a public meeting in the county in which the facility is located if significant interest is shown, and give public notice of the public meeting.

(2) Within sixty days after the public meeting or close of the public comment period, the director, without prior hearing, shall issue or deny the renewal permit in accordance with Chapter 3745. of the Revised Code. The director shall not issue a renewal permit unless the director determines that the facility under the existing permit has a history of compliance with this chapter, rules adopted under it, the existing permit, or orders entered to enforce such requirements that demonstrates sufficient reliability, expertise, and competency to operate the facility henceforth under this chapter, rules adopted under it, and the renewal permit. If the director approves an application for a renewal permit, the director shall issue the permit subject to the payment of the annual permit fee required under division (E) of section 3734.02 of the Revised Code and upon such terms and conditions as the director finds are reasonable to ensure that continued operation, maintenance, closure, and post-closure care of the hazardous waste facility are in accordance with the rules adopted under section 3734.12 of the Revised Code.

(3) An installation and operation permit renewal application submitted to the director that also contains or would constitute an application for a modification shall be acted upon by the director in accordance with division (I) of this section in the same manner as an application for a modification. In approving or disapproving the renewal portion of a permit renewal application containing an application for a modification, the director shall apply the criteria established under division (H)(2) of this section.

(4) An application for renewal or modification of a permit that does not contain an application for a modification as described in divisions (I)(3)(a) to (d) of this section shall not be subject to division (D)(2) of this section.

(I)(1) As used in this section, "modification" means a change or alteration to a hazardous waste facility or its operations that is inconsistent with or not authorized by its existing permit or authorization to operate. Modifications shall be classified as Class 1, 2, or 3 modifications in accordance with rules adopted under division (K) of this section. Modifications classified as Class 3 modifications, in accordance with rules adopted under that division, shall be further classified by the director as either Class 3 modifications that are to be approved or disapproved by the director under divisions (I)(3)(a) to (d) of this section or as Class 3 modifications that are to be approved or disapproved by the director under division (I)(5) of this section. Not later than thirty days after receiving a request for a modification under division (I)(4) of this section that is not listed in Appendix I to 40 C.F.R. 270.42 or in rules adopted under division (K) of this section, the director shall classify the modification and shall notify the owner or operator of the facility requesting the modification of the classification. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, a modification that involves the transfer of a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit to a new owner or operator for any off-site facility as defined in section 3734.41 of the Revised Code shall be classified as a Class 3 modification. The transfer of a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit to a new owner or operator for a facility that is not an off-site facility shall be classified as a Class 1 modification requiring prior approval of the director.

(2) Except as provided in section 3734.123 of the Revised Code, a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit may be modified at the request of the director or upon the written request of the permittee only if any of the following applies:

(a) The permittee desires to accomplish alterations, additions, or deletions to the permitted facility or to undertake alterations, additions, deletions, or activities that are inconsistent with or not authorized by the existing permit;

(b) New information or data justify permit conditions in addition to or different from those in the existing permit;

(c) The standards, criteria, or rules upon which the existing permit is based have been changed by new, amended, or rescinded standards, criteria, or rules, or by judicial decision after the existing permit was issued, and the change justifies permit conditions in addition to or different from those in the existing permit;

(d) The permittee proposes to transfer the permit to another person.

(3) The director shall approve or disapprove an application for a modification in accordance with division (D)(2) of this section and rules adopted under division (K) of this section for all of the following categories of Class 3 modifications:

(a) Authority to conduct treatment, storage, or disposal at a site, location, or tract of land that has not been authorized for the proposed category of treatment, storage, or disposal activity by the facility's permit;

(b) Modification or addition of a hazardous waste management unit, as defined in rules adopted under section 3734.12 of the Revised Code, that results in an increase in a facility's storage capacity of more than twenty-five per cent over the capacity authorized by the facility's permit, an increase in a facility's treatment rate of more than twenty-five per cent over the rate so authorized, or an increase in a facility's disposal capacity over the capacity so authorized. The authorized disposal capacity for a facility shall be calculated from the approved design plans for the disposal units at that facility. In no case during a five-year period shall a facility's storage capacity or treatment rate be modified to increase by more than twenty-five per cent in the aggregate without the director's approval in accordance with division (D)(2) of this section. Notwithstanding any provision of division (I) of this section to the contrary, a request for modification of a facility's annual total waste receipt limit shall be classified and approved or disapproved by the director under division (I)(5) of this section.

(c) Authority to add any of the following categories of regulated activities not previously authorized at a facility by the facility's permit: storage at a facility not previously authorized to store hazardous waste, treatment at a facility not previously authorized to treat hazardous waste, or disposal at a facility not previously authorized to dispose of hazardous waste; or authority to add a category of hazardous waste management unit not previously authorized at the facility by the facility's permit. Notwithstanding any provision of division (I) of this section to the contrary, a request for authority to add or to modify an activity or a hazardous waste management unit for the purposes of performing a corrective action shall be classified and approved or disapproved by the director under division (I)(5) of this section.

(d) Authority to treat, store, or dispose of waste types listed or characterized as reactive or explosive, in rules adopted under section 3734.12 of the Revised Code, or any acute hazardous waste listed in 40 C.F.R. 261.33(e), as amended, at a facility not previously authorized to treat, store, or dispose of those types of wastes by the facility's permit unless the requested authority is limited to wastes that no longer exhibit characteristics meeting the criteria for listing or characterization as reactive or explosive wastes, or for listing as acute hazardous waste, but still are required to carry those waste codes as established in rules adopted under section 3734.12 of the Revised Code because of the requirements established in 40 C.F.R. 261(a) and (e), as amended, that is, the "mixture," "derived-from," or "contained-in" regulations.

(4) A written request for a modification from the permittee shall be submitted to the director and shall contain such information as is necessary to support the request. Requests for modifications shall be acted upon by the director in accordance with this section and rules adopted under it.

(5) Class 1 modification applications that require prior approval of the director, as provided in division (I)(1) of this section or as determined in accordance with rules adopted under division (K) of this section, Class 2 modification applications, and Class 3 modification applications that are not described in divisions (I)(3)(a) to (d) of this section shall be approved or disapproved by the director in accordance with rules adopted under division (K) of this section. The board of county commissioners of the county, the board of township trustees of the township, and the city manager or mayor of the municipal corporation in which a hazardous waste facility is located shall receive notification of any application for a modification for that facility and shall be considered as interested persons with respect to the director's consideration of the application.

As used in division (I) of this section:

(a) "Owner" means the person who owns a majority or controlling interest in a facility.

(b) "Operator" means the person who is responsible for the overall operation of a facility.

The director shall approve or disapprove an application for a Class 1 modification that requires the director's approval within sixty days after receiving the request for modification. The director shall approve or disapprove an application for a Class 2 modification within three hundred days after receiving the request for modification. The director shall approve or disapprove an application for a Class 3 modification within three hundred sixty-five days after receiving the request for modification.

(6) The approval or disapproval by the director of a Class 1 modification application is not a final action that is appealable under Chapter 3745. of the Revised Code. The approval or disapproval by the director of a Class 2 modification or a Class 3 modification is a final action that is appealable under that chapter. In approving or disapproving a request for a modification, the director shall consider all comments pertaining to the request that are received during the public comment period and the public meetings. The administrative record for appeal of a final action by the director in approving or disapproving a request for a modification shall include all comments received during the public comment period relating to the request for modification, written materials submitted at the public meetings relating to the request, and any other documents related to the director's action.

(7) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a change or alteration to a hazardous waste facility described in division (E)(3)(a) or (b) of section 3734.02 of the Revised Code, or its operations, is a modification for the purposes of this section. An application for a modification at such a facility shall be submitted, classified, and approved or disapproved in accordance with divisions (I)(1) to (6) of this section in the same manner as a modification to a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit.

(J)(1) Except as provided in division (J)(2) of this section, an owner or operator of a hazardous waste facility that is operating in accordance with a permit by rule under rules adopted by the director under division (E)(3)(b) of section 3734.02 of the Revised Code shall submit either a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit application for the facility or a modification application, whichever is required under division (J)(1)(a) or (b) of this section, within one hundred eighty days after the director has requested the application or upon a later date if the owner or operator demonstrates to the director good cause for the late submittal.

(a) If the owner or operator does not have a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit for any hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal activities at the facility, the owner or operator shall submit an application for such a permit to the director for the activities authorized by the permit by rule. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the director shall approve or disapprove the application for the permit in accordance with the procedures governing the approval or disapproval of permit renewals under division (H) of this section.

(b) If the owner or operator has a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit for hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal activities at the facility other than those authorized by the permit by rule, the owner or operator shall submit to the director a request for modification in accordance with division (I) of this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the director shall approve or disapprove the modification application in accordance with division (I)(5) of this section.

(2) The owner or operator of a boiler or industrial furnace that is conducting thermal treatment activities in accordance with a permit by rule under rules adopted by the director under division (E)(3)(b) of section 3734.02 of the Revised Code shall submit a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit application if the owner or operator does not have such a permit for any hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal activities at the facility or, if the owner or operator has such a permit for hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal activities at the facility other than thermal treatment activities authorized by the permit by rule, a modification application to add those activities authorized by the permit by rule, whichever is applicable, within one hundred eighty days after the director has requested the submission of the application or upon a later date if the owner or operator demonstrates to the director good cause for the late submittal. The application shall be accompanied by information necessary to support the request. The director shall approve or disapprove an application for a hazardous waste facility installation and operation permit in accordance with division (D) of this section and approve or disapprove an application for a modification in accordance with division (I)(3) of this section, except that the director shall not disapprove an application for the thermal treatment activities on the basis of the criteria set forth in division (D)(2)(g) or (h) of this section.

(3) As used in division (J) of this section:

(a) "Modification application" means a request for a modification submitted in accordance with division (I) of this section.

(b) "Thermal treatment," "boiler," and "industrial furnace" have the same meanings as in rules adopted under section 3734.12 of the Revised Code.

(K) The director shall adopt, and may amend, suspend, or rescind, rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code in order to implement divisions (H) and (I) of this section. Except when in actual conflict with this section, rules governing the classification of and procedures for the modification of hazardous waste facility installation and operation permits shall be substantively and procedurally identical to the regulations governing hazardous waste facility permitting and permit modifications adopted under the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976," 90 Stat. 2806, 42 U.S.C.A. 6921, as amended.

Available Versions of this Section

• September 5, 2012 – Senate Bill 294 - 129th General Assembly
• September 14, 2016 – Senate Bill 293 - 131st General Assembly
• September 29, 2017 – Amended by House Bill 49 - 132nd General Assembly