Mich. Comp. Laws § 324.11503 — MI Code / Chapter 324 / Act Act-451-of-1994 / Section 324.11503
Definitions; D to G.
Status: in_force

Sec. 11503.

(1) "De minimis" refers to a small amount of material or number of items, as applicable, incidentally commingled with inert material for beneficial use by-products or with source separated material or incidentally disposed of with other solid waste.

(2) "Department", subject to section 11554, means the department of environment, Great Lakes, and energy.

(3) "Depolymerization" means a manufacturing process in which post-use polymers are broken into smaller molecules such as monomers and oligomers or raw, intermediate, or final products, plastic and chemical feedstocks, basic and unfinished chemicals, waxes, lubricants, or coatings.

(4) "Designated planning agency" or "DPA" means the planning agency designated under section 11571(10). Designated planning agency does not mean a regional planning agency unless the county approval agency identifies the regional planning agency as the DPA.

(5) "Director" means the director of the department.

(6) "Discharge" includes, but is not limited to, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing of a substance into the environment that is or may become injurious to the environment, natural resources, or the public health, safety, or welfare.

(7) "Disposal area", subject to section 11555(6), means 1 or more of the following that accepts solid waste at a location as defined by the boundary identified in its construction permit, in engineering plans approved by the department, or in a notification or registration:

(a) A solid waste processing and transfer facility.

(b) A municipal solid waste incinerator.

(c) A landfill.

(d) A coal ash impoundment.

(e) Any other solid waste handling or disposal facility utilized in the disposal of solid waste, as determined by the department.

(8) "Diverted waste" means waste that meets all of the following requirements:

(a) Is generated by households, businesses, or governmental entities.

(b) Can lawfully be disposed of at a licensed landfill or municipal solid waste incinerator.

(c) Is separated from other waste.

(d) Is 1 or more of the following:

( i ) Hazardous material.

( ii ) Liquid waste.

( iii ) Pharmaceuticals.

( iv ) Electronics.

( v ) Batteries.

( vi ) Light bulbs.

( vii ) Pesticides.

( viii ) Thermostats, switches, thermometers, or other devices that contain elemental mercury.

( ix ) Sharps.

( x ) Other waste approved by the department that can be readily separated from solid waste for diversion to preferred methods of management and disposal.

(9) "Enforceable mechanism" means a legal method that authorizes this state, a county, a municipality, or another person to take action to guarantee compliance with a materials management plan. Enforceable mechanisms include agreements, laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations.

(10) "EPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

(11) "Escrow account" means an account that is managed by a bank or other financial institution whose account operations are regulated and examined by a federal or state agency and that complies with section 11523b.

(12) "Existing coal ash impoundment" means a coal ash impoundment that received coal ash before December 28, 2018, and that, as of that date, had not initiated elements of closure that include dewatering, stabilizing residuals, or placement of an engineered cover or otherwise closed pursuant to its part 31 permit or pursuant to R 299.4309 of the MAC and, therefore, is capable of receiving coal ash in the future. A coal ash impoundment that has initiated closure is considered an open dump unless the owner or operator has completed closure of the coal ash impoundment under section 11519b or obtained an operating license for the coal ash impoundment by December 28, 2020.

(13) "Existing coal ash landfill" means a coal ash landfill to which either of the following applies:

(a) The landfill received coal ash both before and after October 19, 2015.

(b) Construction of the landfill commenced before October 19, 2015, and the landfill received coal ash on or after October 19, 2015. For the purposes of this subdivision, construction of a landfill commenced before October 19, 2015 if both of the following requirements were met before that date:

( i ) The owner or operator obtained the federal, state, and local approvals or permits necessary to begin physical construction.

( ii ) A continuous, on-site physical construction program began.

(14) "Existing disposal area" means any of the following:

(a) A disposal area that has in effect a construction permit under this part.

(b) A disposal area that had engineering plans approved by the director before January 11, 1979.

(c) An industrial waste landfill that was authorized to operate by the director or by court order before October 9, 1993.

(d) An industrial waste pile that was located at the site of generation on October 9, 1993.

(e) An existing coal ash impoundment.

(15) "Existing landfill unit" or "existing unit" means any landfill unit that received solid waste on or before October 9, 1993.

(16) "Farm" means that term as defined in section 2 of the Michigan right to farm act, 1981 PA 93, MCL 286.472.

(17) "Farm operation" means that term as defined in section 2 of the Michigan right to farm act, 1981 PA 93, MCL 286.472.

(18) "Fats, oils, or greases" means organic polar compounds that meet all of the following requirements:

(a) Contain multiple carbon chain triglyceride molecules.

(b) Are derived from animal or plant sources.

(c) Are generated at food manufacturing and food service establishments.

(d) Are generated by-products from food preparation activities.

(19) "Financial assurance" means the mechanisms used to demonstrate that the funds necessary to meet the cost of closure, postclosure maintenance and monitoring, and corrective action will be available to the department whenever they are needed for those purposes.

(20) "Financial test" means a corporate or local government financial test or guarantee approved under subtitle D of the solid waste disposal act, 42 USC 6941 to 6949a and regulations promulgated thereunder. An owner or operator may use a single financial test for more than 1 facility. Information submitted to the department to document compliance with the financial test shall include a list showing the name and address of each facility and the amount of funds assured by the financial test for each facility. For purposes of the financial test, the owner or operator shall aggregate the sum of the closure, postclosure, and corrective action costs it seeks to assure with any other environmental obligations assured by a financial test under state or federal law.

(21) "Finished compost" means organic matter that meets all of the following requirements:

(a) Has undergone biological decomposition and has been stabilized to a degree that is beneficial to plant growth without creating a nuisance.

(b) Is used or sold for use as a soil amendment, fertilizer, topsoil blend, growing medium amendment, or other similar use.

(c) With any compost additives, does not contain more than 1%, by weight, of foreign matter that will remain on a 4-millimeter screen or more than a de minimis amount of viable weed seeds.

(22) "Flue gas desulfurization material" means the material recovered from air pollution control systems that capture sulfur dioxide from the combustion of wood, coal, or fossil fuels, or other combustible materials, if the other combustible materials constitute less than 50% by weight of the total material combusted and the department determines in writing that the other combustible materials do not materially affect the character of the residue. Flue gas desulfurization material includes synthetic gypsum.

(23) "Food processing residuals" means any of the following:

(a) Residuals of fruits, vegetables, aquatic plants, or field crops, including such residuals generated by a brewery or distillery.

(b) Otherwise unusable parts of fruits, vegetables, aquatic plants, or field crops from the processing thereof.

(c) Otherwise unusable food products that do not meet size, quality, or other product specifications and that were intended for human or animal consumption.

(24) "Food waste" means an accumulation of animal or vegetable matter that was used or intended for human or animal food or that results from the preparation, use, cooking, dealing in, or storing of animal or vegetable matter for human or animal food if the accumulation is or is intended to be discarded. Food waste does not include fats, oils, or greases.

(25) "Foreign matter" means organic and inorganic constituents, other than sticks and stones, that will not readily decompose during composting and do not aid in producing compost, including glass, textiles, rubber, metal, ceramics, noncompostable plastic, and painted, laminated, or treated wood.

(26) "Foundry sand" means silica sand used in the metal casting process, including binding material or carbonaceous additives, from ferrous or nonferrous foundries.

(27) "Functional stability" means the stage at which a landfill does not pose a significant risk to the environment, natural resources, or the public health, safety, or welfare at a point of exposure, in the absence of active control systems.

(28) "GAAMPS" means generally accepted agricultural and management practices under the Michigan right to farm act, 1981 PA 93, MCL 286.471 to 286.474.

(29) "Gasification" means a manufacturing process in which post-use polymers are heated in an oxygen-controlled atmosphere and converted to syngas (carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2)) and the syngas is converted into valuable raw materials or intermediate or final products, including, but not limited to, plastic monomers, chemicals, waxes, lubricants, coatings, and plastic and chemical feedstocks.

(30) "General permit" means a permit that does both of the following:

(a) Covers a category of activities that the department determines will not negatively impact public health, safety, or welfare and will not have more than minimal short-term adverse impacts on the environment or natural resources.

(b) Includes requirements for a site plan, an operations plan, a facility final closure plan, and financial assurance.

(31) "General use compost" means finished compost that is produced from 1 of the following:

(a) Class 1 compostable material.

(b) Class 2 compostable material, including any combination of class 1 compostable material and class 2 compostable material, that meets the requirements listed in section 11553(5).

History: 1994, Act 451, Eff. Mar. 30, 1995; Am. 1996, Act 359, Imd. Eff. July 1, 1996; Am. 1998, Act 466, Imd. Eff. Jan. 4, 1999; Am. 2007, Act 212, Eff. Mar. 26, 2008; Am. 2014, Act 24, Imd. Eff. Mar. 4, 2014; Am. 2014, Act 178, Eff. Sept. 16, 2014; Am. 2018, Act 640, Imd. Eff. Dec. 28, 2018; Am. 2020, Act 85, Imd. Eff. May 15, 2020; Am. 2022, Act 243, Eff. Mar. 29, 2023