§ 18-65. Permitting procedures for construction and demolition or land clearing debris solid waste disposal facilities.

A permit shall be required for the construction or operation of a construction and demolition debris or land clearing debris solid waste disposal facility in Santa Rosa County. No permit shall be issued for a Class I, Class II or Class III Landfill. The construction or operation of a construction and demolition debris or land clearing debris facility without obtaining the appropriate permit shall be a violation of this article.

All permit holders shall submit quarterly reports to Santa Rosa County specifying the quantity of materials disposed of and the quantity and type of materials recycled.

(1)

Permitting procedures for construction and demolition or land clearing debris:

a.

A construction and demolition debris, or land clearing debris permit application may be obtained from the director.

b.

All applications shall be signed and sealed by a Florida registered engineer or geologist and shall be accompanied by proof of ownership or the right to the use of the proposed site for the term of the permit requested, survey of the property and an approved fire suppression plan must be submitted with the application.

c.

Upon receipt of a completed application, the director or his designee shall make a site inspection and if satisfactory the application shall be forwarded, the Director shall forward the application, with written recommendations to the Board for final consideration.

d.

All new permit applications shall submit a permit fee in the amount of $5,000.00 for construction and demolition debris facilities, with construction and demolition renewal fees of $250.00, or $250.00 for land clearing debris facilities with renewal fees of $150.00 or such other amount as determined by resolution of the board of county commissioners. Said permit fee shall be for the purpose of funding the costs of enforcement/inspections by Santa Rosa County pursuant to this [article].

e.

Financial responsibility for construction and demolition debris facilities.

1.

Upon receipt of the application, necessary supporting documents and the application fee, the county engineer shall estimate the total cost of closure, post-closure care, and intermediate corrective action (based on standards adopted by the board of county commissioners ) of the permitted construction and demolition debris facility site. The county engineer reserves the right to require applicants to submit their own cost estimates using a Florida registered engineer, who shall sign and seal the said estimates. The county engineer shall use this estimates provided for informational purposes and shall not be required to rely upon them. The estimates, together with the application and supporting documents, shall then be forwarded to the county for approval. The intent is that the amount of financial assurance required by the county shall be equal to or greater than that required by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for construction and demolition debris disposal facilities.

2.

Applicant shall establish financial assurance to the satisfaction of the county for the cost of closure, post-closure care and intermediate corrective action of construction and demolition debris facilities by providing a trust fund of the entire cost and signing a trust fund agreement provided by the county or by providing a bond for the faithful performance of permittee's obligations, which bond shall be in a form acceptable to the county in its sole discretion. All said bonds shall be for the benefit of the county solely, and county shall not be a joint obligee thereon, unless an interlocal agreement between the county and Florida Department of Environmental Protection shall authorize or permit such joint financial assurance.

3.

The financial assurance must ensure that funds necessary to meet the costs of closure post-closure (long-term) care and intermediate corrective action are available to the county when needed and that the funds are accessible to allow the county to close or remediate the site in the event that the site is abandoned, that operations at the site are halted because permits are denied or revoked, or that the site or the site's operation is non-compliant with federal, state or county guidelines. Regardless, the permittee is responsible for all costs to properly close the solid waste management facility and ancillary operations. Except in emergency circumstances, as determined by the board of county commissioners, the county administrator, or his designee, shall issue a notice that the county intends to call on the financial assurance funds within 30 days of receipt of the notice by the permittee, unless the permittee makes other arrangements satisfactory to the county administrator to close or otherwise provide long-term care, as required by county ordinances and state law. In the event that the permittee believes that the notice of intent to call on financial assurance funds is premature or otherwise inappropriate, the permittee may file an appeal from this administrative determination. The appeal will be filed with the zoning board and will be processed pursuant to LDC section 2.03.013-D, Santa Rosa County Code.

f.

All new permit applicants and renewal applicants, if not individuals, must demonstrate that they are authorized to do business in Florida and are in good standing with the Florida Department of State.

g.

All new permit applicants and renewal applicants must demonstrate that all applicable taxes on the requested site(s) are paid current as of the date of the application.

(2)

Permitting site criteria for land clearing debris facilities:

a.

All facilities shall have a perimeter road constructed around the pit wherever possible.

b.

All facilities shall maintain an on-site fire suppression system. The intent of the system is to provide immediate response to fires anywhere on the facility and could consist of stockpiled dirt, at least 600 cubic yards or a foam system with enough volume to adequately suppress an average fire. Additionally, a plan must be developed and kept at the facility which states how additional materials will be made available in the event of a large scale fire. For an existing operation, compliance shall be achieved within six (6) months of enactment of this article.

c.

All LCD facilities shall be at least two hundred (200) feet from all water wells.

d.

All LCD facilities must comply with the Santa Rosa County Land Development Code.

(3)

Permitted site criteria for construction and demolition debris facilities.

a.

All C&D sites must comply with the permitted site criteria listed within this article for land clearing debris facilities, in addition to the following, unless otherwise stated.

b.

Minimum design standards. The requirements of this article are the minimum standards for constructing a landfill. Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent the county from imposing more stringent standards as necessary to protect the environment or solid waste disposal unit.

c.

Any new construction and demolition debris facility or lateral expansion of existing airspace, shall have lined cells as described below:

Liners shall consist of at least a single 60-mil minimum average thickness HDPE geomembrane. In the sumps located inside the disposal facility footprint and in the leachate collection trenches, the geomembrane shall be placed on a geosynthetic clay liner with a saturated hydraulic conductivity of less than or equal to 1 × 10-9 cm/sec. The liner shall be placed on a prepared and compacted subgrade, that will not damage the geomembrane liner or the geosynthetic clay liner. A primary leachate collection and removal system and drainage layer shall be installed above the geomembrane liner. Except in sumps and leachate collection trenches, the system shall be designed to limit leachate head above the liner during routine facility operation after placement of initial cover to no greater than twelve (12) inches. The liner system must be constructed in accordance with the requirements of paragraphs 62-701.400(3)(a), (d), (e), (f), (4), (7), and (8) F.A.C. Any alternative liner system may be approved only in accordance with applicable provisions of section 62-701.400. F.A.C. Alternative systems, such as soil liners, at a minimum, shall be at least two (2) feet in depth throughout the site, to include the bottom and the side slopes. The three (3) foot thick soil liner shall be clay with an in-place saturated hydraulic conductivity not greater than 1 × 10-7 cm/sec. Testing of the saturated hydraulic conductivity shall be performed in accordance with test methods given in EPA pub. SW-870, or other approved ASTM testing procedure such as D-5084. The design shall demonstrate proper liner grades so as to limit the hydraulic head to twelve (12) inches or less throughout the liner bottom. Soil shall not have cracks, channels, or other structural inconsistencies than can cause saturated conductivity greater than 1 × 10-7 cm/sec. Clay shall be placed in six (6) inch lifts and each lift approved before beginning the next lift. Quality Assurance, certification procedures shall comply with 62-701.400(7) and (8) of the FAC. When using in-situ soils, uniformity of the existing clay liner, along with a saturated conductivity not greater than 1 × 10-7 cm/sec, shall be demonstrated by uniformly sampling every six thousand (6,000) square feet of surface area. Sampling and testing shall comply with 62-701.400(7) and (8) at a minimum and must be conducted and submitted to the county by a Florida registered engineer, results signed and sealed. Completed designs and associated calculations for C&D landfills shall be submitted to the county for review and approval prior to final permitting. The professional engineer in charge of construction quality assurance shall provide a signed, sealed final report with record drawings to the county stating that the liner system and all it's components have been installed in conformance with plans and specifications for the liner system. All C&D sites must comply with the permitted site criteria listed above in items 1. and 2. for land clearing debris facilities, in addition to the following, unless otherwise stated.

d.

All C&D facilities shall maintain operational lifts restricted to a height of twenty (20) feet or less.

e.

All C&D facilities must be a minimum of five hundred (500) feet from private water wells and one thousand (1,000) feet from community water wells.

f.

Ensuring that all debris at construction and demolition facilities shall be spread, compacted and covered weekly with a minimum of six (6) inches of soil. Cover shall be installed in such a way so as to prevent oxygen exchange relative to landfill fires and to prevent rodents from entering the debris.

g.

All side slopes shall be maintained at three (3) horizontal to one (1) vertical (3:1) or flatter throughout the life of the facility to include daily operations. At no time during the operational or closed life of the facility shall permitted vertical height (based on a 3:1 ratio for outside slopes as a maximum) be exceeded.

h.

All C&D facilities must comply with the Santa Rosa County Land Development Code.

(4)

General site guidelines for land clearing debris facilities and construction and demolition debris facilities:

The permittee of each permitted site shall be responsible for:

a.

Preventing public access and illegal dumping in the site.

b.

Immediate removal to an appropriate facility of any unauthorized material dumped on the site.

c.

Appropriate fire protection. No open burning shall be conducted at the disposal site without prior approval from the enforcement agency. The permittee shall be responsible for extinguishing any fires that occur at the disposal site. All permit holders agree to reimburse the county for any costs incurred by the county in controlling or extinguishing fires occurring at a permitted disposal sited.

d.

Litter control measures as required to prevent windblown litter onto adjacent property and/or as required by the director.

e.

Not authorizing, granting permission to or failing to prevent any person, including subcontractors of the permittee, from the disposing of any solid waste in the permitted site without prior approval.

f.

Upon completion, the disposal facility shall be closed in accordance with all applicable state and federal environmental and solid waste regulations.

g.

Complying with all applicable federal, state and local regulations, in existence on the effective date of this article or thereafter enacted.

(5)

Inspections. An annual inspection of each permitted site shall be conducted by the county. More frequent inspections may be made as deemed necessary by the director. Written corrective notices may be issued for violations observed.

(6)

Notice. All permittees shall file a notice of disposal and a copy of the permit in the public records of Santa Rosa County.

(7)

Permit renewal. Permits shall be renewed annually on the anniversary of the original permit issuance. Renewal permits shall be issued by the director upon determination that the facility is in compliance with all applicable regulations. The facility shall provide a current copy of their last FDEP site inspection along with a list of any notice of violations (NOV) or required corrective actions. Prior to issuing a county permit renewal or approving annual inspection, all NOV's and applicable corrective actions must be resolved to FDEP satisfaction and written documentation provided to the county.

(8)

Permit modification. A permittee shall apply for a permit modification if the site is expanded, sold or conveyed.

(9)

Exceptions: No permit for disposal of construction and demolition debris shall be granted:

a.

To a person for disposal of such debris in an area subject to frequent and/or periodic flooding unless drainage improvements as approved by the county and the department of environmental regulation are installed.

b.

For any site in any natural or artificial body of water including ground water.

(10)

Permit not required. No permit is required for the following, provided no public nuisance or any condition adversely affecting the environment or public health is created and the activity does not violate other state or local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations or orders.

a.

Disposal of solid waste resulting from normal farming operations as defined by rule of the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation.

b.

The use of clean debris as fill material in any area. However, this paragraph does not affect a person's responsibility to dispose of clean debris in permitted areas if it is not to be used as fill material.

(Ord. No. 2007-16, § 5, 6-28-07; Ord. No. 2011-29, § 1, 12-8-11; Ord. No. 2012-09, § 1, 4-12-12; Ord. No. 2013-07, § 1, 3-28-13)