2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 75. Environmental Protection › Chapter 2. Air Quality › Part 2. Standards, Permits, and Variances › 75-2-215. Solid or hazardous waste incineration -- additional permit or registration requirements

75-2-215. Solid or hazardous waste incineration -- additional permit or registration requirements.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), until the department issues an air quality permit pursuant to 75-2-211 or a registration in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to 75-2-234 that includes the conditions required by this section, a person may not construct, install, alter, or use:
(a) a solid or hazardous waste incinerator; or
(b) a boiler or industrial furnace subject to the provisions of 75-10-406.
(2) An existing or permitted solid or hazardous waste incinerator or a boiler or industrial furnace subject to the provisions of 75-10-406 is subject to the provisions of subsection (1) only if it incinerates or uses as fuel or would incinerate or use as fuel solid or hazardous waste in an amount, form, kind, or content that changes the nature, character, or composition of its emissions from its design or permitted operation.
(3) The department may not issue a permit or registration to a facility described in subsection (1) until:
(a) the owner or operator provides to the department's satisfaction:
(i) a characterization of emissions and ambient concentrations of air pollutants, including hazardous air pollutants, from any existing emission source at the facility; and
(ii) an estimate of emissions and ambient concentrations of air pollutants, including hazardous air pollutants, from the incineration of solid or hazardous waste or the use of hazardous waste as fuel for a boiler or industrial furnace, as proposed in the registration, permit application, or permit modification;
(b) if a license is required pursuant to 75-10-221 or a permit is required pursuant to 75-10-406, the applicant has published, in the county where the project is proposed, at least three notices, in accordance with the procedures identified in 7-1-4127, describing the proposed project;
(c) if a license is required pursuant to 75-10-221 or a permit is required pursuant to 75-10-406, the department has conducted a public hearing on an environmental review prepared pursuant to Title 75, chapter 1, and, as appropriate, provided additional opportunities for the public to review and comment on the permit application or permit modification;
(d) except as provided in subsection (7), the department reaches a determination that the projected emissions and ambient concentrations will constitute a negligible risk to the public health, safety, and welfare and to the environment; and
(e) the department issues a license pursuant to 75-10-221 or a permit pursuant to 75-10-406, if a license or permit is required. The decision to issue, deny, or alter a permit pursuant to 75-2-211 and this section must be made within 30 days from when the department issues a license pursuant to 75-10-221 or a permit pursuant to 75-10-406 or within 90 days after the receipt of a complete application for a permit or a permit alteration under 75-2-211 and this section, whichever is later.
(4) The department shall require the application of air pollution control equipment, engineering, or other operating procedures as necessary to provide reductions of air pollutants, including hazardous air pollutants, equivalent to or more stringent than those achieved through the best available control technology.
(5) The department may by rule provide for general air quality permits under the provisions of 75-2-211 and this section. The rules must cover numerous similar classes or categories of incinerators and boilers or industrial furnaces.
(6) This section does not relieve an owner or operator of a solid or hazardous waste incinerator or a boiler or industrial furnace that is not included under subsection (1) from the obligation to obtain any permit otherwise required under this chapter or rules implementing this chapter.
(7) An animal or human crematorium eligible for registration under 75-2-234 is exempt from the determination requirement established in subsection (3)(d).
History: En. Sec. 5, Ch. 696, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 605, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 129, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 639, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 69, Ch. 354, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 324, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 142, L. 2023.