2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 30 - GOVERNMENT - COUNTY (§§ 30-1-101 — 30-35-906) › COUNTY POWERS AND FUNCTIONS (§§ 30-11-101 — 30-26-513) › GENERAL (§§ 30-11-101 — 30-24-104) › Article 20 - PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS (§§ 30-20-100.5 — 30-20-1418) › Part 1 - SOLID WASTES DISPOSAL SITES AND FACILITIES (§§ 30-20-100.5 — 30-20-124) › Section 30-20-109 - Commission to promulgate rules - definitions

(1)
The solid and hazardous waste commission shall promulgate rules for the engineering design and operation of solid wastes disposal sites and facilities, which may include:
(a)
The establishment of engineering design criteria applicable, but not limited, to protection of surface and subsurface waters, suitable soil characteristics, distance from solid wastes generation centers, access routes, distance from water wells, disposal facility on-site traffic control patterns, insect and rodent control, methods of solid wastes compaction in the disposal fill, confinement of windblown debris, recycling operations, fire prevention, and final closure of the compacted fill;
(b)
The establishment of criteria for solid wastes disposal sites and facilities which will place into operation the engineering design for such disposal sites and facilities;
(c)
(Deleted by amendment, L. 91, p. 958, § 3, effective July 1, 1991.)
(d)
The establishment of a reviewing fee to be charged by the department for the review of any written recommendation and findings of a private contractor who has acted in lieu of the department to review an application for a solid wastes disposal site and facility under the provisions of section
30-20-103.7
for compliance with the state's requirements. Such fee shall not exceed actual and reasonable costs and shall not exceed five thousand dollars.
(e)
The establishment of a fee for the technical review described in section
30-20-119 (2)
, which fee shall not exceed ten thousand dollars, or the actual cost of such technical review.
(1.5)
(a)
As used in this subsection (1.5):
(I)
"EP waste" means exploration and production waste, as that term is defined in section
34-60-103
, C.R.S.
(II)
"EP waste disposal facility" means a commercial solid wastes disposal site and facility that accepts the deposit of EP waste.
(b)
The solid and hazardous waste commission shall promulgate rules that are specifically applicable to the deposit of EP waste at an EP waste disposal facility. The rules shall include the following:
(I)
Mandatory set-backs of EP waste disposal facilities of one-half mile from all residences, educational facilities, day care centers, hospitals, nursing homes, jails, hotels, motels, other occupied structures, or outside activity areas such as parks and playing fields as designated in the rules;
(II)
Mandatory fabricated liners and monitoring requirements as necessary to prevent the migration of EP waste to groundwater;
(III)
Waste analysis and reporting requirements to ensure that only EP waste is disposed of at an EP waste disposal facility;
(IV)
Fencing and netting requirements to prevent the public and wildlife from accessing EP waste disposal facilities;
(V)
Contingency plans to respond to emergencies, including adequate freeboard, overflow ponds, or both; and
(VI)
Financial assurance requirements that are adequate to cover closure and reclamation costs.
(c)
Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this subsection (1.5), an EP waste disposal facility that accepted EP waste on or before June 4, 2008, and that had not begun closure by June 4, 2008, shall:
(I)
File an application pursuant to section
30-20-103
within three months after the rules promulgated pursuant to this subsection (1.5) become effective with the governing body having jurisdiction to amend the facility's certificate of designation to incorporate the requirements specified in the rules; and
(II)
Comply with the rules promulgated pursuant to this subsection (1.5) within twenty-four months after they become effective, unless the EP waste disposal facility demonstrates to the department no later than eighteen months after the rules become effective why it cannot timely comply with the rules and the department agrees to a compliance schedule. In such case, the department may extend the compliance deadline to no more than thirty-six months after the rules become effective; except that nothing in this subsection (1.5) shall be deemed to:
(A)
Require an EP waste disposal facility that lawfully accepted EP waste on or before June 4, 2008, to comply with the set-back requirements of this subsection (1.5); or
(B)
Place an EP waste disposal facility into noncompliance because of an alleged violation of a set-back requirement of this subsection (1.5) due solely to the fact that a residential or other occupied structure or a designated outside activity area is established within the set-back distance on or after issuance of the certificate of designation pursuant to this subsection (1.5).
(d)
The department shall:
(I)
Coordinate with the energy and carbon management commission created in section
34-60-104.3 (1)
, governing bodies having jurisdiction, and the federal bureau of land management to identify potential EP waste disposal sites that are located reasonably close to oil and gas operation areas on either federal or nonfederal land and that meet the set-back requirements of this subsection (1.5); and
(II)
To the extent practicable, encourage governing bodies having jurisdiction and the federal bureau of land management to approve the siting of EP waste disposal sites at locations identified pursuant to this paragraph (d) when so requested by a commercial operator.
(e)
(I)
Upon the recommendation of the department, the solid and hazardous waste commission may waive, for individual impoundments, the requirement imposed pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (1.5) that an EP waste disposal facility that accepted EP waste on or before June 4, 2008, but had not begun closure by that date, must install fabricated liners. The department may recommend a waiver only if all of the following conditions are met:
(A)
There have been no unpermitted discharges to groundwater or surface water from the operation of the facility;
(B)
Each impoundment for which a waiver is requested is located more than one thousand feet from any public or private water well or surface water;
(C)
The owner or operator complies with mandatory monitoring and reporting requirements as determined by the department, including, but not limited to, individual impoundment leak detection monitoring; and
(D)
The owner or operator is not subject to any outstanding compliance orders or enforcement actions with regard to the design, operation, or closure of the facility.
(II)
If, at any time, the department determines that one or more of the conditions specified in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (e) are no longer met, the department may bring the relevant information to the solid and hazardous waste commission with a recommendation to rescind the waiver of the requirement to install fabricated liners. If the solid and hazardous waste commission determines that one or more of the conditions are no longer being met, the solid and hazardous waste commission may rescind the waiver and instruct the department to establish a compliance schedule for the owner or operator to install fabricated liners.
(2)
The solid and hazardous waste commission may promulgate rules concerning:
(a)
The establishment of an initial examination of each application for a solid wastes disposal site and facility to establish the completeness of the information submitted. Such initial examination shall be completed within thirty days after the department receives such application, and the department shall mail written notification to an applicant and to the governing body having jurisdiction within such time period stating the decision of the department to begin its review of such application or to reject the application based on incompleteness.
(b)
The establishment of a fee for the review of solid wastes disposal site and facility submittals and the preoperation inspection for such site and facility, for the attendance of department staff at public meetings and associated activities, and for the assessment of remediation activities concerning closed or old disposal sites or spill and incident clean-ups. The total fee charged for the review of an application or amendments to an application shall not exceed the actual documented costs incurred by the department in the performance of these activities and shall be subject to the maximum levels established in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2.5) of this section. Such review shall be completed within one hundred fifty days from date of issuance of the department's decision to begin its review. Moneys from the collection of such fees shall be credited to the solid waste management fund pursuant to the provisions of section
30-20-118
. Such moneys shall be used solely to support the application review process and to support the staff of the department involved with such process.
(c)
(Deleted by amendment, L. 98, p. 882, § 9, effective July 1, 1998.)
(d)
The establishment of criteria for composting sites and facilities for which a certificate of designation is not required under section
30-20-102 (8)
.
(2.5)
The solid and hazardous waste commission shall promulgate rules pertaining to the assessment of annual fees and document review and activity fees to offset program costs from solid waste disposal sites and facilities in accordance with the following requirements:
(a)
Annual fees shall be established for solid waste disposal sites and facilities that are not required to pay solid waste user fees imposed pursuant to section
25-16-104.5
, C.R.S. The fee imposed by this paragraph (a) shall not exceed five thousand dollars per year per facility; except that a monofill facility that contains coal combustion products shall be exempt from the fee imposed by this paragraph (a). The annual fee shall be uniform among owners of the same type of, and similarly sized, facility and shall consider the department's level of effort in regulating the facilities.
(b)
The hourly charge for the document review and activity fees shall be established at a rate comparable to industry rates for performing similar tasks with maximum levels on document review and activity fees that reflect timely and cost-effective reviews.
(c)
The department shall provide a receipt for the fees paid pursuant to this subsection (2.5), shall transmit such payments to the state treasurer, and accept the state treasurer's receipt in return for the payments transmitted. The state treasurer shall credit one hundred percent of the fees transmitted pursuant to this paragraph (c) to the solid waste management fund created in section
30-20-118 (1)
to be used by the department in carrying out its duties and responsibilities concerning solid waste management.
(2.7)
If the department determines that a site or facility is or has been subject to payment of the annual fee requirements pursuant to subsection (2.5) of this section and has not paid any portion of the amount of fees due and owing, in addition to any other remedies the department may have in such circumstances as provided by law, the department may assess the site or facility an additional fee to offset program costs caused by the site or facility, which additional fee shall be equivalent to double the amount of the estimated annual fee, without interest, that the site or facility would have paid the department if the fee had been paid as required by law.
(3)
Any applicant aggrieved by a recommendation of the department concerning an application for a solid wastes disposal site and facility shall be entitled to a hearing and review pursuant to the provisions of the "State Administrative Procedure Act", article
4
of title
24
, C.R.S.
(4)
(a)
Any and all rules promulgated by the department of public health and environment prior to the transfer of its rule-making authority under this section to the state board of health shall remain in full force and effect after the date of such transfer.
(b)
All acts, orders, and rules adopted by the state board of health under the authority of this part 1 prior to July 1, 2006, that were valid prior to said date and not otherwise subject to judicial review shall, to the extent that they are not inconsistent with said part, be deemed and held to be legal and valid in all respects, as though issued by the solid and hazardous waste commission under the authority of this part 1. No provision of this part 1 shall be construed to validate any actions, orders, or rules that were not valid when adopted by the board of health prior to such date.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 235,§ 32, eff. 7/1/2023.
L. 67: p. 761, § 9. C.R.S. 1963: § 36-23-9. L. 71: p. 343, § 10. L. 85: (1)(c) added, p. 1065, § 1, effective July 1. L. 91: Entire section amended, p. 968, § 10, effective June 5; (1)(c) amended and (1)(d) and (2) added, pp. 958, 954, §§ 3, 2, 4, effective July 1. L. 93: (1)(d) amended, p. 475, § 1, effective April 21. L. 94: IP(1), IP(2), and (2)(c)(I) amended and (4) added, p. 33, § 4, effective March 9; (2)(c)(I) and (4) amended, pp. 2616, 2620, 2800, §§ 26, 33, 559, effective July 1. L. 95: IP(2) and (2)(c) amended, p. 156, § 1, effective July 1. L. 96: (2)(c)(I) amended, p. 33, § 1, effective March 18. L. 98: (1)(d), IP(2), (2)(b), and (2)(c) amended and (2)(d) added, p. 882, § 9, effective July 1. L. 2006: IP(1), IP(2), and (4) amended, p. 1136, § 19, effective July 1. L. 2007: (1)(d) and (2)(b) amended and (2.5) and (2.7) added, p. 1144, § 10, effective July 1. L. 2008: (1.5) added, p. 2168, § 2, effective June 4. L. 2009: IP(1.5)(c) amended and (1.5)(e) added, (HB 09 -1056), ch. 301, p. 1607, § 3, effective May 21.
Amendments to this section by Senate Bill 91-160, Senate Bill 91-168, and Senate Bill 91-174 were harmonized. Amendments to subsection (2)(c)(I) by House Bill 94-1077 and House Bill 94-1029 were harmonized.
(1) In 2007, subsections (1)(d) and (2)(b) were amended by the "Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity Act". For the short title and the legislative declaration, see sections 1 and 2 of chapter 278, Session Laws of Colorado 2007. (2) For the legislative declaration contained in the 2008 act enacting subsection (1.5), see section 1 of chapter 421, Session Laws of Colorado 2008.