Sec. 26.13.05.02. General Facility Standards

A. Applicability. This regulation applies to owners and operators of all hazardous waste facilities, except as Regulation .01A provides otherwise.

B. Identification Number. Every facility owner or operator shall apply to the State for an EPA identification number.

C. Required Notices.

(1) The owner or operator of a facility that has arranged to receive hazardous waste from a foreign source shall notify the Secretary in writing at least 4 weeks in advance of the date the waste is expected to arrive at the facility. Notice of subsequent shipments of the same waste from the same foreign source is not required.

(2) Before transferring ownership or operation of a facility during its operating life, or of a disposal facility during the post-closure period, the owner or operator shall notify the new owner or operator in writing of the requirements of this chapter and COMAR 26.13.07.

(3) The owner or operator of a facility that receives hazardous waste from an off-site source, unless the owner or operator is also the generator, shall inform the generator in writing that the appropriate permit or permits for the facility have been obtained, or that the facility has qualified for interim status, and that the waste the generator is shipping will be accepted. The owner or operator shall keep a copy of this written notice as part of the operating record.

(4) Hazardous Waste Received at a Recovery Facility from a Foreign Source.

(a) For the purposes of this subsection:

(i) "Competent authorities" has the meaning stated in 40 CFR §262.81(a);

(ii) "Concerned countries" has the meaning stated in 40 CFR §262.81(b);

(iii) "Notifier" has the meaning stated in 40 CFR §262.81(g);

(iv) "Recovery facility" has the meaning stated in 40 CFR §262.81(j); and

(v) "Tracking document" means a document that meets the requirements of 40 CFR §262.84, which is incorporated by reference in COMAR 26.13.01.05B(1)(d).

(b) The owner or operator of a recovery facility that has arranged to receive hazardous waste subject to COMAR 26.13.03.07-5, which deals with international agreements concerning shipments of hazardous waste, shall provide a copy of the tracking document bearing all required signatures, within 3 working days of receipt of the shipment to:

(i) The notifier;

(ii) The U.S. EPA at the address given in 40 CFR §264.12(a)(2); and

(iii) The competent authorities of all other concerned countries.

(c) A person required to distribute copies of a tracking document under §C(4)(b) of this regulation shall maintain the original of the signed tracking document at the facility for at least 3 years.

D. General Waste Analysis.

(1) Chemical and Physical Analysis.

(a) Before an owner or operator treats, stores, or disposes of any hazardous waste, or non-hazardous waste if applicable under Regulation .07D(6) of this chapter, the owner or operator shall obtain a detailed chemical and physical analysis of a representative sample of the waste. At a minimum, this analysis shall contain all the information which is needed to treat, store, or dispose of the waste in accordance with the requirements of this chapter or with the conditions of a permit issued pursuant to COMAR 26.13.07.

(b) The analysis may include data developed under COMAR 26.13.02, existing published or documented data on the hazardous waste or on waste generated from similar processes.

(c) The owner or operator shall repeat the analysis required by §D(1)(a) of this regulation to ensure that it is accurate and up to date, and, in doing so, repeat the analysis at a minimum:

(i) When the owner or operator is notified, or has reason to believe, that the process or operation generating the hazardous waste, or non-hazardous waste if applicable under Regulation .07D(6) of this chapter, has changed; and

(ii) For off-site facilities, when the results of the inspection required in §D(1)(d), of this regulation, indicate that the hazardous waste received at the facility does not match the waste designated on the accompanying manifest or shipping paper.

(d) The owner or operator of an off-site facility shall inspect and, if necessary, analyze each hazardous waste movement received at the facility to determine whether it matches the identity of the waste specified on the accompanying manifest or shipping paper.

(2) Written Analysis. The owner or operator shall:

(a) Develop and follow a written waste analysis plan which describes the procedures which the owner or operator will carry out to comply with §D(1) of this regulation.

(b) Keep the waste analysis plan required by §D(2)(a) of this regulation at the facility;

(c) Assure that the plan required by §D(2) of this regulation specifies, at a minimum:

(i) The parameters for which each hazardous waste, or non-hazardous waste if applicable under Regulation .07D(6) of this chapter, will be analyzed and the rationale for the selection of these parameters, explaining how analysis for these parameters will provide sufficient information on the waste's properties to comply with §D(1) of this regulation;

(ii) The test methods which will be used to test for these parameters;

(iii) The sampling method which will be used to obtain a representative sample of the waste to be analyzed, which may be either one of the sampling methods described in COMAR 26.13.02.20 or an equivalent sampling method;

(iv) The frequency with which the initial analysis of the waste will be reviewed or repeated to ensure that the analysis is accurate and up to date;

(v) For off-site facilities, the waste analyses that hazardous waste generators have agreed to supply; and

(vi) When applicable, the methods which will be used to meet the additional waste analysis requirements for specific waste management methods as specified in §H of this regulation and Regulations .14N and .16D of this chapter; and

(d) Assure that, for off-site facilities, the waste analysis plan required in §D(2)(a) of this regulation at a minimum:

(i) Specifies the procedures which will be used to inspect and, if necessary, analyze each movement of hazardous waste received at the facility to ensure that it matches the identity of the waste designated on the accompanying manifest or shipping paper;

(ii) Describes the procedures which will be used to determine the identity of each movement of waste managed at the facility; and

(iii) Describes the sampling method which will be used to obtain a representative sample of the waste to be identified, if the identification method includes sampling.

E. Security.

(1) The owner or operator shall prevent the unknowing entry, and minimize the possibility for the unauthorized entry, of persons or livestock onto the active portion of his facility, unless it can be demonstrated to the Secretary that:

(a) Physical contact with the waste, structures, or equipment within the active portion of the facility does not injure unknowing or unauthorized persons or livestock which may enter the active portion of a facility; and

(b) Disturbance of the waste or equipment, by the unknowing or unauthorized entry of persons or livestock onto the active portion of a facility, does not cause a violation of the requirements of this chapter.

(2) Unless exempt under §E(1)(a) and (b), of this regulation, a facility shall have:

(a) A 24-hour surveillance system (for example, television monitoring or surveillance by guards or facility personnel) which continuously monitors and controls entry onto the active portion of the facility; or

(b) An artificial or natural barrier (for example, a fence in good repair or a fence combined with a cliff), which completely surrounds the active portion of the facility; and

(c) A means to control entry, at all times, through the gates or other entrances to the active portion of the facility (for example, an attendant, television monitors, locked entrance, or controlled roadway access to the facility).

(3) Unless exempt under §E(1)(a) and (b), of this regulation, a sign with the legend "Danger-Unauthorized Personnel Keep Out", shall be posted at every entrance to the active portion of a facility, and at other locations, in sufficient numbers to be seen from any approach to this active portion. The legend shall be written in English and in any other language predominant in the area surrounding the facility and must be legible from a distance of at least 25 feet. Existing signs with a legend other than "Danger-Unauthorized Personnel Keep Out" may be used if the legend on the sign indicates that only authorized personnel are allowed to enter the active portion, and that entry onto the active portion can be dangerous.

F. General Inspection Requirements.

(1) The owner or operator shall inspect his facility for malfunctions and deterioration, operator errors, and discharges which may be causing, or may lead to, a release of hazardous waste constituents to the environment or may be causing, or may lead to, a threat to human health. The owner or operator shall conduct these inspections often enough to identify problems in time to correct them before they harm human health or the environment.

(2) Development of Written Schedule.

(a) The owner or operator shall develop and follow a written schedule for inspecting all monitoring equipment, safety and emergency equipment, security devices, and operating and structural equipment (such as dikes and sump pumps) that are important to preventing, detecting, or responding to environmental or human health hazards.

(b) The owner shall keep this schedule at the facility.

(c) The schedule shall identify the types of problems (for example, malfunctions or deterioration) which are to be looked for during the inspection (for example, inoperative sump pump, leaking fitting, eroding dike, etc.).

(d) The owner or operator:

(i) May develop an inspection schedule on which the frequency of inspection for the items on the schedule varies;

(ii) Shall base the frequency of inspection on the rate of possible deterioration of the equipment and the probability of an environmental or human health incident if the deterioration or malfunction or any operator error goes undetected between inspections;

(iii) Shall inspect areas subject to spills, such as loading and unloading areas, daily when in use; and

(iv) Shall include in the inspection schedule, at a minimum, the items and frequencies called for in Regulations .09E, .10D, .10-4G, .11F, .12E, .13D, .14C, .16I, and .16-1C of this chapter.

(3) The owner or operator shall remedy any deterioration or malfunction of equipment or structures which the inspection reveals on a schedule which ensures that the problem does not lead to an environmental or human health hazard. When a hazard is imminent or has already occurred, remedial action shall be taken immediately.

(4) The owner or operator shall record inspections in an inspection log or summary. He shall keep these records for at least 3 years from the date of inspection. At a minimum, these records shall include the date and time of the inspection, the name of the inspector, a notation of the observations made, and the date and nature of any repairs or other remedial actions.

G. Personnel Training.

(1) Program of Instruction or Training.

(a) Facility personnel shall successfully complete a program of classroom instruction or on-the-job training that teaches them to perform their duties in a way that ensures the facility's compliance with the requirements of this chapter. The owner or operator shall ensure that this program includes all the elements described in the document required under §G(4)(c), of this regulation.

(b) This program shall be directed by a person trained in hazardous waste management procedures, and shall include instruction which teaches facility personnel hazardous waste management procedures (including contingency plan implementation) relevant to the positions in which they are employed.

(c) At a minimum the training program shall be designed to ensure that facility personnel are able to respond effectively to emergencies by familiarizing them with emergency procedures, emergency equipment, and emergency systems, including, when applicable:

(i) Procedures for using, inspecting, repairing, and replacing facility emergency and monitoring equipment;

(ii) Key parameters for automatic waste feed cutoff systems;

(iii) Communications or alarm systems;

(iv) Response to fires or explosions;

(v) Response to ground water contamination incidents; and

(vi) Shutdown of operations.

(2) Facility personnel shall successfully complete the program required in §G(1), of this regulation, within 6 months after the effective date of these regulations or 6 months after the date of their employment or assignment to a facility, or to a new position at a facility, whichever is later. Employees hired after the effective date of these regulations may not work in unsupervised positions until they have completed the training requirements of §G(1), of this regulation.

(3) Facility personnel shall take part in an annual review of the initial training required in §G(1), of this regulation.

(4) The owner or operator shall maintain the following documents and records at the facility:

(a) The job title for each position at the facility related to hazardous waste management, and the name of the employee filling each job.

(b) A written job description for each position listed under §G(4)(a), of this regulation. This description may be consistent in its degree of specificity with descriptions for other similar positions in the same company location or bargaining unit, but shall include the requisite skill, education, or other qualifications, and duties of employees assigned to each position.

(c) A written description of the type and amount of both introductory and continuing training that will be given to each person filling a position listed under §G(4)(a), of this regulation.

(d) Records that document that the training or job experience required under §G(1), (2), and (3) of this regulation, has been given to, and completed by, facility personnel.

(5) Training records on current personnel shall be kept until closure of the facility. Training records on former employees shall be kept for at least 3 years from the date the employee last worked at the facility. Personnel training records may accompany personnel transferred within the same company.

H. General Requirements for Ignitable, Reactive, or Incompatible Wastes.

(1) The owner or operator shall take precautions to prevent accidental ignition or reaction of ignitable or reactive waste. This waste shall be separated and protected from the sources of ignition or reaction including, but not limited to open flames, smoking, cutting and welding, hot surfaces, frictional heat, sparks (static, electric, or mechanical), spontaneous ignition (for example, from heat-producing chemical reactions), and radiant heat. While ignitable or reactive waste is being handled, the owner or operator shall confine smoking and open flame to specially designated locations. "No smoking" signs shall be conspicuously placed wherever there is a hazard from ignitable or reactive waste.

(2) When specifically required by this subtitle, the treatment, storage, or disposal of ignitable or reactive waste, and the mixture or commingling of incompatible wastes, or incompatible wastes and materials, shall be conducted so that it does not:

(a) Generate extreme heat or pressure, fire or explosion, or violent reaction;

(b) Produce uncontrolled toxic mists, fumes, dusts, or gasses in sufficient quantities to threaten human health or the environment;

(c) Produce uncontrolled flammable fumes or gasses in sufficient quantities to pose a risk of fire or explosions;

(d) Damage the structural integrity of the device or facility containing the waste; or

(e) Through other like means threaten human health or the environment.

(3) When required to comply with §H(1) or (2), of this regulation, the owner or operator shall document that compliance. This documentation may be based on references to published scientific or engineering literature, data from trial tests (for example, bench scale or pilot scale tests), waste analysis according to §D of this regulation, or the results of the treatment of similar wastes by similar treatment processes and under similar operating conditions.

I. Aisle Space.

(1) The facility owner or operator shall provide sufficient aisle space to allow for:

(a) Inspections by the Department;

(b) Inspections under §F of this regulation; and

(c) Compliance with Regulation .03F of this regulation.

(2) At a minimum, the aisle space shall be no less than 2 feet in width.

J. Transportation Certification.

(1) Unless §J(2), of this regulation, applies, a facility shall only accept CHS from a certified hauler who has the following:

(a) The CHS hauler certification;

(b) His or her CHS driver certification; and

(c) The vehicle certification.

(2) A facility shall only accept CHS from a hauler without a certification upon approval from the Department.