(a) The department, acting through the commission, is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations establishing such standards, applicable to owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal facilities as may be necessary to protect human health or the environment. In establishing such standards, the department may, where appropriate, distinguish in such standards between requirements appropriate for new facilities and for facilities in existence on the date of promulgation of such regulations. Such standards shall include but not be limited to the following:
(1) Unless exempted from regulation by this chapter or rules promulgated under authority of this chapter, obtaining a permit from the department or interim status for each treatment, storage or disposal facility;
(2) Assuring that all hazardous wastes are stored, treated or disposed of in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations, standards, criteria and guidelines promulgated by the department;
(3) Maintaining records of all hazardous wastes stored, treated or disposed of, the manner in which such wastes were stored, treated or disposed of and the reporting of any new processing or disposal monthly;
(4) Developing contingency plans for effective action to minimize unanticipated damage from treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous waste;
(5) Satisfactory reporting, monitoring, and inspection for and compliance with the manifest system;
(6) Compliance with rules and regulations of the department concerning the location, design and construction of such hazardous waste treatment, disposal or storage facilities;
(7) Establishing and maintaining financial assurance in such form and amount as the department may specify by rule or regulation. The department may provide that, among other forms, such financial assurance may be established and maintained by a corporate guarantee from the owner's or operator's parent corporation.
(8) Requirements for disposing of nonhazardous liquid wastes in landfills subject to the permitting or interim status requirements of Section 22-30-12;
(9) Prohibiting the storage of hazardous waste which has been prohibited from one of more methods of land disposal by the RCRA or regulations promulgated thereunder unless such storage is solely for the purpose of accumulation of such quantities of hazardous waste as are necessary to facilitate proper recovery, treatment or disposal;
(10) Monitoring and control of air emissions at hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities, including but not limited to open tanks, surface impoundments and landfills, as may be necessary to protect human health or the environment; and
(11) The maintenance and operation of such facilities and observance of such additional qualifications as to ownership, methods of operation, training of personnel and financial responsibility, including financial responsibility for corrective action, as may be deemed necessary or desirable by the department.
(b) Financial responsibility as required by subdivisions (7) and (11) of subsection (a) of this section and subsection (f) of Section 22-30-12 shall be subject to the following:
(1) In any case where the owner or operator is in bankruptcy, reorganization or arrangement pursuant to the Federal Bankruptcy Code or where, with reasonable diligence, jurisdiction in any state or federal court cannot be obtained over an owner or operator likely to be solvent at the time of judgment, any claim arising from conduct for which evidence of financial responsibility must be provided under this section or Section 22-30-12 or rules or regulations promulgated under said sections may be asserted directly against the guarantor providing such evidence of financial responsibility. In the case of any action pursuant to this subsection, such guarantor shall be entitled to invoke all rights and defenses which would have been available to the owner or operator if an action had been brought against the owner or operator by the claimant and which would have been available to the guarantor if an action had been brought against the guarantor by the owner or operator.
(2) The total liability of any guarantor shall be limited to the aggregate amount which the guarantor has provided as evidence of financial responsibility to the owner or operator under the requirements of this section or Section 22-30-12 or rules or regulations promulgated under said sections. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit any other statutory, contractual or common law liability of a guarantor to its owner or operator.
(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the term "guarantor" means any person, other than the owner or operator, who provides evidence of financial responsibility for an owner or operator under this section or Section 22-30-12 or rules or regulations promulgated under said sections.
(c) Standards promulgated under this section and permits issued under authority of Section 22-30-12 shall require corrective action for all releases of hazardous waste or constituents from any solid waste management unit at a treatment, storage, or disposal facility seeking a permit under this chapter, regardless of the time at which waste was placed in such unit. Where corrective action cannot be completed prior to issuance of such permit, the permit shall contain schedules of compliance for such corrective actions and assurances of financial responsibility for completing such corrective actions.
(d) The standards for corrective actions at treatment, storage and disposal facilities shall require that corrective action be taken beyond the facility boundary where necessary to protect human health or the environment unless the owner or operator of the facility concerned demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department that, despite the owner or operator's best efforts, the owner or operator was unable to obtain the necessary permission to undertake such action. Such rules and regulations shall apply to:
(1) All facilities operating under permits issued under Section 22-30-12; and
(2) All landfills, surface impoundments and waste pile units, including any new units, replacements of existing units or lateral expansions of existing units, which receive or have received waste after July 26, 1982.
(e) The department, acting through the commission, is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations establishing such standards as are necessary to assure that hazardous wastes passing through sewer systems to publicly owned treatment works are adequately controlled to protect human health or the environment.
Structure Code of Alabama
Title 22 - Health, Mental Health, and Environmental Control.
Title 1 - Health and Environmental Control Generally.
Chapter 30 - Hazardous Wastes Management.
Section 22-30-1 - Short Title.
Section 22-30-2 - Legislative Findings; Purpose and Intent of Chapter.
Section 22-30-3 - Definitions.
Section 22-30-5.2 - Construction of Provisions.
Section 22-30-6 - State Department to Regulate and Supervise Storage, Disposal, etc., Sites.
Section 22-30-9 - General Responsibilities of State Department.
Section 22-30-10 - Development and Revision of Criteria for Determining Hazardous Wastes.
Section 22-30-12 - Permit Program.
Section 22-30-14 - Responsibilities of Generators.
Section 22-30-15 - Regulations as to Transporters.
Section 22-30-15.1 - Penalty for Violation of Safety and Hazardous Materials Regulations.
Section 22-30-18 - Reporting of Wastes Generated; When Reports Deemed Trade Secrets.
Section 22-30-19 - Penalties and Remedies.
Section 22-30-20 - Administration of Chapter.
Section 22-30-21 - Certain Transporters Exempted From Applicability of Chapter.