The operation of the facility shall comply with all of the following operational requirements:

1. (1) Protection of surface water. The facility shall be constructed, maintained and operated to manage run-on and run-off during a 25-year, 24-hour rainfall event and shall prevent discharge into waters in the state of waste materials, stored feedstock material, including but not limited to, in-process and/or processed materials. One foot of freeboard for the 24-hour rainfall event shall be provided. Any waters coming into contact with solid waste, in-process, and processed materials shall be considered leachate. Leachate shall be contained in retention facilities until properly handled. Retention facilities other than storage tanks shall be lined and the liner shall be constructed in compliance with requirements of this section. Leachate and gas condensate shall be treated and processed at an authorized facility or as authorized by a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The use of leachate and gas condensate in any mining process is prohibited. For construction in a floodplain, the following shall be submitted, where applicable:

   1. (A) approval from the governmental entity with jurisdiction under the Texas Water Code, §16.236, as implemented by Chapter 301 of this title (relating to Levee Improvement Districts, District Plans of Reclamation, and Levees and Other Improvements);
   2. (B) a floodplain development permit from the city, county, or other agency with jurisdiction over the proposed improvements;
   3. (C) a Conditional Letter of Map Amendment from The Federal Emergency Management Agency; and
   4. (D) a Corps of Engineers Section 404 Specification of Disposal Sites for Dredged or Fill Material for construction of all necessary improvements.

2. (2) Protection of groundwater. The processing operation shall be designed, constructed, maintained and operated to protect groundwater. Facilities shall install and maintain a liner system constructed in accordance with one of the provisions of subparagraphs (A) or (B) of this paragraph. The liner system shall be provided where receiving, processing, post-processing, screening, and storage areas would be in contact with the ground or in areas where leachate, contaminated materials, contaminated products or contaminated water is stored or retained. The application shall demonstrate the facility is designed so as not to contaminate the groundwater and so as to protect the existing groundwater quality from degradation. For the purposes of these sections, protection of the groundwater includes the protection of perched water or shallow surface infiltration. The liner shall be covered with a material designed to withstand normal traffic from the processing operations. The owner or operator of the facility shall demonstrate that any liner system constructed will not undergo uplift from hydrostatic forces during its construction or operational life and that any existing liner system will not undergo uplift from hydrostatic forces during mining operations. Acceptable demonstration methods are listed within §330.203(a)(1)-(4) of this title (relating to Special Conditions (Liner Design Constraints)).

   1. (A) A composite liner consisting of two components; the upper component must consist of a minimum 30 mil geomembrane and the lower component must consist of at least a two-foot layer of compacted soil with a hydraulic conductivity of no more than 1 x 10[sup]-7[/sup] cm/sec. Geomembrane components consisting of High Density Polyethylene shall be at least 60 mil thick. The geomembrane shall be installed in direct and uniform contact with the soil component.

   2. (B) An alternative design approved by the executive director that is protective of groundwater. When approving a design that complies with this subsection, the executive director shall consider at least the following factors:

      1. (i) the hydrogeologic factors of the area;
      2. (ii) the climatic factors of the area; and
      3. (iii) the volume and physical and chemical characteristics of the waste and leachate.
   3. (C) The owner or operator of the facility shall demonstrate that any liner system constructed will not undergo uplift from hydrostatic forces during its construction or operational life and that any existing liner system will not undergo uplift from hydrostatic forces during mining operations. Acceptable demonstration methods are listed within §330.203(a)(1)-(4) of this title.
3. (3) Prohibited materials. The operator shall operate the recovery process in a manner that will preclude the entry of hazardous constituents. The operator shall not arrange for waste disposal at an unauthorized facility.
4. (4) Access. Access to the facility shall be controlled to prevent unauthorized activities. The facility shall be completely fenced with a gate that is locked when the facility is closed.
5. (5) Nuisance conditions. The facility shall be designed and operated in such a manner as to prevent the potential of nuisance conditions and fire hazards. Where nuisance conditions or fire hazards exist, the operator will immediately take action to abate such conditions or hazards.
6. (6) Waste slopes. Side slopes of excavations into buried waste for the sake of obtaining material to process shall be no steeper than 34 degrees (per Occupational Safety and Health Administration 1926.652) unless otherwise approved.
7. (7) Site sign. Each site shall conspicuously display at all entrances to the site, a sign measuring at least four feet by four feet with letters at least three inches in height stating the type of site, the hours and days of operation, and the registration number or site number. The posting of erroneous or misleading information shall constitute a violation of this section.
8. (8) Access road. The facility access road shall be an all-weather road.
9. (9) Authorization required for significant changes. The operator shall obtain written permission from the commission before changing the processing method or other significant changes to the original registration application.
10. (10) Existing systems. On landfills where leachate collection systems, liners, or gas collection systems exist, care must be taken to not destroy or disrupt these systems if it is planned to retain these features on-site, and these systems must remain operational until they are removed.

11. (11) Soil end-product standards.

    1. (A) Particle sizes found in soil to be beneficially used shall not exceed the screen size and the foreign matter criteria contained §330.418 of this title (relating to Final Soil Product Grades).

    2. (B) The operator shall meet processing testing requirements set forth in §330.417 of this title (relating to Sampling and Analysis Requirements for Final Product), final product grades set forth in §330.418 of this title.

       (l2) Certified operator. The operator shall employ at least one commission-certified landfill operator who shall routinely be available on-site during the hours of operation.

12. (13) Health and safety coordinator. The operator shall employ at least one health and safety coordinator on a full time basis to be on-site at least 70% of the time during excavation and waste processing. The health and safety coordinator shall be trained in hazardous waste and emergency response operations.
13. (14) Personal protection equipment. The operator shall specify personal protection equipment and its operational characteristics and the equipment must be located on-site.
14. (15) Health and safety plan. Operations must be conducted in accordance with an approved health and safety plan.
15. (16) Covered trucks. Covered trucks must be used for transporting excavated material off-site.

Source Note:The provisions of this §330.409 adopted to be effective December 3, 1996, 21 TexReg 11287.