Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 250 - Department of Environmental Management › Chapter 140 - Waste and Materials Management › Subchapter 05 - Solid Waste › Part 4 - Incinerators and Resource Recovery Facilities (250-RICR-140-05-4) › Section 250-RICR-140-05-4.2 - Incinerator and Resource Recovery Facility Design Standards

Current through June 14, 2024
A. On-Site Roads and Vehicle Areas: The
				  facility shall be designed in a manner which prevents traffic backups and
				  related traffic hazards on access roads serving the facility and allows for an
				  even and fluid vehicle flow on-site. The on-site roadway design configuration
				  and layout shall provide sufficient roadway for unobstructed vehicular
				  passages. Unobstructed vehicle passage shall be achieved and/or enhanced using
				  parking areas, providing maneuvering space in the loading and unloading areas,
				  and with traffic control measures (i.e. lane delineations, signals, directional
				  and speed signs, and barriers, etc.). All on-site roadways used by refuse and
				  residue vehicles shall be constructed and surfaced in accordance with standards
				  for heavy truck usage.
B. Fencing
				  and Gates: The facility shall be designed with perimeter security fencing,
				  where necessary, and with gate controls to prevent unauthorized access to the
				  site and to control the off-site escape of litter. Metallic chain link fencing,
				  or its equivalent, extending to a height of six feet, shall be the minimum
				  design standard.
C. Emergency
				  Access: Provisions for emergency access, including roads if necessary, for
				  fire, police, rescue, etc., must be included in facility design.
D. Waste Size Reduction Equipment: All such
				  equipment which, due to the nature of its operation, may have the potential for
				  explosion, shall be designed and equipped with an effective explosion detection
				  and suppression system which shall be situated within the facility in such a
				  manner so as to prevent the explosion and/or directionalize the force of any
				  explosion in order to effectively minimize potential of human injury and
				  minimize damage to the building.
E.
				  Waste and Residue Storage Area Features: All tipping floors, sorting pads,
				  waste or residue storage areas, bunkers and pits, where heavy vehicle usage
				  will be employed, shall be constructed of concrete or other similar quality
				  material and be able to maintain traction in wet and dry conditions. Floor
				  drains shall be provided in all such areas and surfaces shall be appropriately
				  graded to facilitate wash down operations. Floor drains shall be designed to
				  recycle wastewater for appropriate uses or into a collection and treatment
				  system approved by the Department and/or other appropriate authorities. If
				  waste or residue storage pits are utilized, the base and sidewalls shall be
				  sufficiently waterproofed to prevent groundwater intrusion. Tipping floors
				  shall be designed with suitable wheel stops to prevent vehicles overdriving the
				  pit edge.
F. Prohibited Waste in
				  Refuse Pit: A part of the tipping floor shall include an area designed to
				  accept prohibited waste or other waste that, for any reason, gets into the
				  storage pit and needs to be unloaded from the pit.
G. Waste Storage Capacity: The facility shall
				  be designed with sufficient internal storage areas for unprocessed incoming
				  solid waste. The design shall account for maximum anticipated facility loading
				  rate.
H. Temporary Holding and
				  Storage Areas for Non-Processed Waste: The facility design shall include
				  temporary holding areas for hot loads and prohibited loads, and temporary
				  storage area of sufficient capacity and appropriate design for bypassed,
				  separated, or recycled solid waste, where applicable.
I. Random Load Inspection Area: An area shall
				  be included in the facility design for random inspection of incoming waste
				  loads.
J. Hazardous Waste Storage
				  Area: A hazardous waste storage area is required. The temporary storage area
				  must be in compliance with hazardous waste regulations governing temporary
				  storage areas for generators of hazardous waste.
K. Dust and Odors: Storage areas for solid
				  waste to be incinerated at the facility shall be designed with the capability
				  of maintaining interior pressure below that of the exterior atmosphere and
				  shall employ a system of delivery doors, designed and operated to minimize the
				  potential for migration of odors and dust outside the confines of the waste
				  receiving and storage building. Air drawn off, as a result of maintaining
				  negative pressure, shall be directed to the combustion chamber.
L. Feed Hoppers: The waste loading system
				  servicing the combustion chambers shall be designed and equipped in such a
				  manner as to prevent the occurrence of backfire into the feed hopper. The feed
				  hopper shall also be designed to allow removal of refuse in case of equipment
				  failure or plant shutdown.
M.
				  Combustion Equipment: The combustion chambers and ancillary support equipment
				  shall be designed with the capability of handling and effectively disposing of
				  those wastes authorized for receipt at the proposed facility, taking into
				  account the expected normal fluctuations in quantity, moisture content, heat
				  release value, and chemical makeup of the wastes.
N. Instrumentation and Controls: Where
				  possible, the facility subsystems shall be equipped with automatic process
				  controls which contain the necessary instrumentation and related feedback
				  mechanisms to ensure that process operational parameters are being met.
				  Automated systems shall be equipped with manual override capabilities.
				  Instrumentation displays and related control mechanisms shall be positioned
				  within the facility in an accessible and highly visible manner for monitoring
				  purposes.
O. Component and System
				  Reliability: Redundant features or other system layout aspects shall be
				  incorporated into the facility design to maximize on-line availability for the
				  receipt of processing of solid waste. Mechanical components shall be
				  constructed of materials that will withstand the rigors of facility operation
				  and shall have a rated capacity that prevents backups and blockages within the
				  related system. Replacement equipment and parts for equipment which is subject
				  to excess wear or frequent breakdown, due to the nature of operation, shall be
				  stored on-site to provide expedient repair. A properly sized parts storage area
				  shall be included in the facility.
P. Facility Support Equipment: Appropriate
				  heavy equipment and other facility operational support equipment, and a storage
				  area for this equipment, shall be provided at the facility.
Q. Ash Design Standards: Design standards for
				  the system of ash handling, collection, transfer and storage are provided in
				  §
										4.4 of
				  this Part.
R. Liquids Spill
				  Control: The facility shall be designed and equipped with appropriate control
				  mechanisms to minimize and contain the accidental spillage of reagents,
				  lubricants or other liquids used in the operation or maintenance of the
				  facility, or any waste generated by such operation.
S. Fire Protection: The facility shall be
				  provided with adequate stationary and portable firefighting equipment designed,
				  sized and located to provide protection throughout the facility. The facility
				  shall be designed with alarm and fire protection systems capable of detecting,
				  controlling, and extinguishing any and all fires that may occur during
				  operation.
T. Communication
				  Systems: The facility shall be designed with adequate communication systems to
				  support normal and emergency operating conditions.
U. Fire Walls: The facility shall be designed
				  with appropriate fire rated walls as required by fire codes and shall provide
				  an adequate design for emergency evacuation routes. The solid waste storage
				  area and tipping area must be separated (by a wall) from the solid waste
				  combustion equipment.
V. Water
				  Supply: The water supply system shall be sized and designed to meet potable,
				  sanitary, irrigation, process, and firefighting needs and shall include design
				  redundancy to preclude interruption of water flow to the facility's internal
				  firefighting water supply system. The sizing and design of this system may
				  include satisfying appropriate types of water needs with non-potable water or
				  recycled wastewater as a water conservation measure.
W. Backup Power Supply: The facility shall be
				  designed with a backup power supply to ensure power supply to meet facility
				  needs during facility outages and to provide adequate power during emergencies,
				  including fires.
X. Plant Interior
				  Layout: Interior layout design for all facilities shall provide for system
				  installations that maximize accessibility for repairs, maintenance, and ease of
				  cleaning, while affording employee safety.
Y. Utilities Demand: The design of the
				  facility shall not place a demand exceeding the remaining use capability of
				  existing utilities including, but not limited to, potable and non-potable water
				  supplies, waste water and storm water collection and treatment (if applicable),
				  energy supply and transmission, transportation systems, or any other site
				  related infrastructure subsystems, except in those cases where plans have been
				  developed or are being implemented to provide for the expansion of existing
				  utility systems or establishment of new utility systems which will meet the
				  additional demand generated by construction and operation of the
				  facility.
Z. Buffer/Setback: A
				  buffer and setback area shall be provided to allow for plant expansion or
				  adequate planning for installation of pollution control equipment that may be
				  required due to future advances in the state-of-the-art. All structures that
				  store or process solid waste shall be designed with a minimum setback of two
				  hundred (200) feet from the facility's property line. All other structures
				  shall be designed with a minimum setback of one hundred (100) feet from the
				  facility's property line.