1. (a) The definitions in Subsections R315-319-53(a)(1) through R315-319-53(a)(71) apply to Rule R315-319. Terms not defined in Section R315-319-53 have the meaning given in Rule R315-301.
2. (1) "Acre foot" means the volume of one acre of surface area to a depth of one foot.

3. (2) "Active facility or active electric utilities or independent power producers" means any facility subject to the requirements of Sections R315-319-50 through R315-319-107 that is in operation on October 14, 2015. An electric utility or independent power producer is in operation if it is generating electricity that is provided to electric power transmission systems or

   to electric power distribution systems on or after October 14, 2015. An off-site disposal facility is in operation if it is accepting or managing CCR on or after October 14, 2015.

4. (3) "Active life or in operation" means the period of operation beginning with the initial placement of CCR in the CCR unit and ending at completion of closure activities in accordance with Section R315-319-102.
5. (4) "Active portion" means that part of the CCR unit that has received or is receiving CCR or non-CCR waste and that has not finished closure in accordance with Section R315-319-102.
6. (5) "Aquifer" means a geologic formation, group of formations, or portion of a formation capable of yielding usable quantities of groundwater to wells or springs.
7. (6) "Area-capacity curves" means graphic curves that readily show the reservoir water surface area, in acres, at different elevations from the bottom of the reservoir to the maximum water surface, and the capacity or volume, in acre-feet, of the water contained in the reservoir at various elevations.
8. (7) "Areas susceptible to mass movement" means those areas of influence, that is, areas characterized as having an active or substantial possibility of mass movement, where, because of natural or human-induced events, the movement of earthen material at, beneath, or adjacent to the CCR unit results in the downslope transport of soil and rock material by gravitational influence. Areas of mass movement include landslides, avalanches, debris slides and flows, soil fluctuation, block sliding, and rock fall.

9. (8) "Beneficial use of CCR" means the CCR meet each of the conditions in Subsections R315-319-53(a)(8)(i) through R315-319-53(a)(8)(iv):

   1. (i) the CCR shall provide a functional benefit;

      1. (ii) the CCR shall substitute for the use of a virgin material, conserving natural resources that would otherwise need to be gotten through practices, such as extraction;
      2. (iii) the use of the CCR shall meet relevant product specifications, regulatory standards or design standards if available, and if standards are not available, the CCR is not used in excess quantities; and
      3. (iv) if unencapsulated use of CCR involves placement on the land of 12,400 tons or more in non-roadway applications, the user shall demonstrate and keep records, and provide the documentation upon request, that environmental releases to groundwater, surface water, soil and air are comparable to or lower than those from analogous products made without CCR, or that environmental releases to groundwater, surface water, soil and air will be at or below relevant regulatory and health-based benchmarks for human and ecological receptors during use in accordance with Rule R315-101.
10. (9) "Closed" means placement of CCR in a CCR unit has stopped, and the owner or operator has finished closure of the CCR unit in accordance with Section R315-319-102 and has initiated post-closure care in accordance with Section R315-319-104.
11. (10) "Coal combustion residuals (CCR)" means fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas desulfurization materials generated from burning coal to generate electricity by electric utilities and independent power producers.
12. (11) "CCR fugitive dust" means solid airborne particulate matter that contains or is derived from CCR, emitted from any source other than a stack or chimney.
13. (12) "CCR landfill or landfill" means an area of land or an excavation that receives CCR and that is not a surface impoundment, an underground injection well, a salt dome formation, a salt bed formation, an underground or surface coal mine, or a cave. For Rule R315-319, a CCR landfill also includes sand and gravel pits and quarries that receive CCR, CCR piles, and any practice that does not meet the definition of a beneficial use of CCR.
14. (13) "CCR pile or pile" means any non-containerized accumulation of solid, non-flowing CCR that is placed on the land. CCR that is beneficially used off-site is not a CCR pile.
15. (14) "CCR surface impoundment or impoundment" means a natural topographic depression, man-made excavation, or diked area, that is designed to hold an accumulation of CCR and liquids, and the unit treats, stores, or disposes of CCR.
16. (15) "CCR unit" means any CCR landfill, CCR surface impoundment, or lateral expansion of a CCR unit, or a combination of more than one of these units, based on the context of the subsection in which it is used. This term includes both new and existing units, unless otherwise specified.
17. (16) "Dike" means an embankment, berm, or ridge of either natural or man-made materials used to prevent the movement of liquids, sludges, solids, or other materials.
18. (17) "Displacement" means the relative movement of any two sides of a fault measured in any direction.
19. (18) "Disposal" is defined in Subsection 19-6-102(6), disposal does not include the storage or the beneficial use of CCR.
20. (19) "Downstream toe" means the junction of the downstream slope or face of the CCR surface impoundment with the ground surface.
21. (20) "Encapsulated beneficial use" means a beneficial use of CCR that binds the CCR into a solid matrix that minimizes its mobilization into the surrounding environment.

22. (21) "Eligible unlined CCR surface impoundment" means an existing CCR surface impoundment that:

    1. (i) the owner or operator has documented that the CCR unit complies with the location restrictions specified under Sections R315-319-60 through R315-319-64;

       1. (ii) the owner or operator has documented that the CCR unit complies with the periodic safety factor assessment requirements under Subsections R315-319-73(e) and R315-319-73(f); and
       2. (iii) no constituent listed in Appendix IV to Rule R315-319 has been detected at a statistically significant level exceeding a groundwater protection standard defined under Subsection R315-319-95(h).
23. (22) "Existing CCR landfill" means a CCR landfill that receives CCR both before and after October 14, 2015, or for which construction began before October 14, 2015 and receives CCR on or after October 14, 2015. A CCR landfill has began construction if the owner or operator has received the federal, state, and local approvals or permits necessary to begin physical construction and a continuous on-site, physical construction program had begun before October 14, 2015.
24. (23) "Existing CCR surface impoundment" means a CCR surface impoundment that receives CCR both before and after October 14, 2015, or for which construction began before October 14, 2015 and receives CCR on or after October 14, 2015. A CCR surface impoundment has began construction if the owner or operator has received the federal, state, and local approvals or permits necessary to begin physical construction and a continuous on-site, physical construction program had begun October 14, 2015.
25. (24) "Facility" means the contiguous land, and structures, other appurtenances, and improvements on the land, used for treating, storing, disposing, or otherwise conducting solid waste management of CCR. A facility may consist of several treatment, storage, or disposal operational units, for example, one or more landfills, surface impoundments, or combinations of them.
26. (25) "Factor of safety," "Safety factor," means the ratio of the forces tending to resist the failure of a structure to the forces tending to cause the failure as determined by accepted engineering practice.
27. (26) "Fault" means a fracture or a zone of fractures in any material along which strata on one side have been displaced with respect to that on the other side.
28. (27) "Flood hydrograph" means a graph showing, for a given point on a stream, the discharge, height, or other characteristic of a flood as a function of time.
29. (28) "Freeboard" means the vertical distance between the lowest point on the crest of the impoundment dike and the surface of the waste contained therein.
30. (29) "Free liquids" means liquids that readily separate from the solid portion of a waste under ambient temperature and pressure.
31. (30) "Groundwater" means water below the land surface in a zone of saturation.

32. (31) "Hazard potential classification" means the possible adverse incremental consequences that result from the release of water or stored contents due to failure of the diked CCR surface impoundment or mis-operation of the diked CCR surface impoundment or its appurtenances. The hazardous potential classifications include high hazard potential CCR surface impoundment, significant hazard potential CCR surface impoundment, and low hazard potential CCR surface impoundment, which terms mean:

    1. (i) "High hazard potential CCR surface impoundment" means a diked surface impoundment where failure or mis-operation will probably cause loss of human life.

       1. (ii) "Low hazard potential CCR surface impoundment" means a diked surface impoundment where failure or mis-operation results in no probable loss of human life and low economic or environmental losses, or both. Losses are principally limited to the surface impoundment owner's property.
       2. (iii) "Significant hazard potential CCR surface impoundment" means a diked surface impoundment where failure or mis-operation results in no probable loss of human life, but can cause economic loss, environmental damage, disruption of lifeline facilities, or impact other concerns.
33. (32) "Height" means the vertical measurement from the downstream toe of the CCR surface impoundment at its lowest point to the lowest elevation of the crest of the CCR surface impoundment.
34. (33) "Holocene" means the most recent epoch of the Quaternary period, extending from the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, at 11,700 years before present, to present.
35. (34) "Hydraulic conductivity" means the rate that water can move through a permeable medium, that is, the coefficient of permeability.
36. (35) "Inactive CCR surface impoundment" means a CCR surface impoundment that no longer receives CCR on or after October 14, 2015 and still contains both CCR and liquids on or after October 14, 2015.
37. (36) "Incised CCR surface impoundment" means a CCR surface impoundment that is constructed by excavating entirely below the natural ground surface, holds an accumulation of CCR entirely below the adjacent natural ground surface, and does not consist of any constructed diked portion.
38. (37) "Inflow design flood" means the flood hydrograph that is used in the design or modification of the CCR surface impoundments and its appurtenant works.
39. (38) "In operation" see "Active life."
40. (39) "Karst terrain" means an area where karst topography, with its characteristic erosional surface and subterranean features, is developed as the result of dissolution of limestone, dolomite, or other soluble rock. Characteristic physiographic features present in karst terranes include dolines, collapse shafts or sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, seeps, large springs, and blind valleys.
41. (40) "Lateral expansion" means a horizontal expansion of the waste boundaries of an existing CCR landfill or existing CCR surface impoundment made after October 14, 2015.
42. (41) "Liquefaction factor of safety" means the factor of safety, safety factor, determined using analysis under liquefaction conditions.

43. (42) "Lithified earth material" means any rock, including naturally occurring and naturally formed aggregates or masses of minerals or small particles of older rock that formed by crystallization of magma or by induration of loose sediments.

    This term does not include man-made materials, such as fill, concrete, and asphalt, or unconsolidated earth materials, soil, or regolith lying at or near the earth surface.

44. (43) "Maximum horizontal acceleration in lithified earth material" means the maximum expected horizontal acceleration at the ground surface as depicted on a seismic hazard map, with a 98% or greater probability that the acceleration will not be exceeded in 50 years, or the maximum expected horizontal acceleration based on a site-specific seismic risk assessment.
45. (44) "New CCR landfill" means a CCR landfill or lateral expansion of a CCR landfill that first receives CCR or begins construction after October 14, 2015. A new CCR landfill has begun construction if the owner or operator has received the federal, state, and local approvals or permits necessary to begin physical construction and a continuous on-site, physical construction program had begun after October 14, 2015. Overfills are also considered new CCR landfills.
46. (45) "New CCR surface impoundment" means a CCR surface impoundment or lateral expansion of an existing or new CCR surface impoundment that first receives CCR or begins construction after October 14, 2015. A new CCR surface impoundment has begun construction if the owner or operator has received the federal, state, and local approvals or permits necessary to begin physical construction and a continuous on-site, physical construction program had begun after October 14, 2015.
47. (46) "Operator" means the person responsible for the overall operation of a CCR unit.
48. (47) "Overfill" means a new CCR landfill constructed over a closed CCR surface impoundment.
49. (48) "Owner" means the person who owns a CCR unit or part of a CCR unit.
50. (49) "Poor foundation conditions" mean those areas where features exist that show that a natural or human-induced event may result in inadequate foundation support for the structural components of an existing or new CCR unit. For example, failure to maintain static and seismic factors of safety as required in Subsections R315-319-73(e) and R315-319-74(e) would cause a poor foundation condition.
51. (50) "Probable maximum flood" means the flood that may be expected from the most severe combination of critical meteorologic and hydrologic conditions that are reasonably possible in the drainage basin.
52. (51) "Qualified person" means a person trained to recognize specific appearances of structural weakness and other conditions that are disrupting or have the potential to disrupt the operation or safety of the CCR unit by visual observation and, if applicable, to monitor instrumentation.
53. (52) "Qualified professional engineer" means an individual who is licensed in Utah as a professional engineer to practice one or more disciplines of engineering and who is qualified by education, technical knowledge, and experience to make the specific technical certifications required under Sections R315-319-50 through R315-319-107.
54. (53) "Recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices" means engineering maintenance or operation activities based on established codes, widely accepted standards, published technical reports, or a practice widely recommended throughout the industry. These practices generally detail approved ways to perform specific engineering, inspection, or mechanical integrity activities.
55. (54) "Retrofit" means to remove any CCR and contaminated soils and sediments from the CCR surface impoundment, and to ensure the unit complies with the requirements in Section R315-319-72.
56. (55) "Representative sample" means a sample of a universe or whole, for example, waste pile, lagoon, and groundwater, that can be expected to exhibit the average properties of the universe or whole. See EPA publication SW-846, Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods, Chapter 9, available at http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/testmethods/sw846/online/index.htm, for a discussion and examples of representative samples.
57. (56) "Run-off" means any rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that drains over land from any part of a CCR landfill or lateral expansion of a CCR landfill.
58. (57) "Run-on" means any rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that drains over land onto any part of a CCR landfill or lateral expansion of a CCR landfill.
59. (58) "Sand and gravel pit or quarry" means an excavation for the extraction of aggregate, minerals, or metals. The terms sand and gravel pit or quarry do not include subsurface or surface coal mines.
60. (59) "Seismic factor of safety" means the factor of safety, safety factor, determined using analysis under earthquake conditions using the peak ground acceleration for a seismic event with a 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years, equivalent to a return period of about 2,500 years, based on the US Geological Survey (USGS) seismic hazard maps for seismic events with this return period for the region where the CCR surface impoundment is located.
61. (60) "Seismic impact zone" means an area having a 2% or greater probability that the maximum expected horizontal acceleration, expressed as a percentage of the earth's gravitational pull (g), will exceed 0.10 g in 50 years.
62. (61) "Slope protection" means engineered or non-engineered measures installed on the upstream or downstream slope of the CCR surface impoundment to protect the slope against wave action or erosion, including rock riprap, wooden pile, or concrete revetments, vegetated wave berms, concrete facing, gabions, geotextiles, or fascines.
63. (62) "Solid waste management or management" means the systematic administration of the activities that provide for the collection, source separation, storage, transportation, processing, treatment, or disposal of solid waste.
64. (63) "State" means the State of Utah unless otherwise indicated.
65. (64) "Director" means the director of the Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control.
66. (65) "Static factor of safety" means the factor of safety, safety factor, determined using analysis under the long-term, maximum storage pool loading condition, the maximum surcharge pool loading condition, and under the end-of-construction loading condition.
67. (66) "Structural components" mean liners, leachate collection and removal systems, final covers, run-on and run-off systems, inflow design flood control systems, and any other component used in the construction and operation of the CCR unit that is necessary to ensure the integrity of the unit and that the contents of the unit are not released into the environment.
68. (67) "Technically feasible" means possible to do in a way that would likely be successful.
69. (68) "Technically infeasible" means not possible to do in a way that would likely be successful.
70. (69) "Unstable area" means a location that is susceptible to natural or human-induced events or forces capable of impairing the integrity, including structural components of the CCR unit that are responsible for preventing releases from the unit. Unstable areas can include poor foundation conditions, areas susceptible to mass movements, and karst terrains.
71. (70) "Uppermost aquifer" means the geologic formation nearest the natural ground surface that is an aquifer, as well as lower aquifers that are hydraulically interconnected with this aquifer within the facility's property boundary. Upper limit is measured at a point nearest to the natural ground surface to which the aquifer rises during the wet season.
72. (71) "Waste boundary" means a vertical surface located at the hydraulically downgradient limit of the CCR unit. The vertical surface extends down into the uppermost aquifer.

KEY: permit, solid waste, coal ash

Date of Last Change: September 15, 2025

Notice of Continuation: June 16, 2026

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: 19-6-108