9240_EliteWaste_ApplCompleteReview_DIN27298_20170130

January 30, 2017

Mr. Daniel Wall
Elite Waste Services, LLC
520 Pristine Water Drive
Apex, NC 27539

Subject: Permit Application Completeness and Review
Elite Waste Services Recycling Facility
Proposed Facility 9240-MWP-2017, Wake County, Document ID No. 27298

Dear Mr. Wall:

The Division of Waste Management, Solid Waste Section (Section), has received your permit
application for the proposed Elite Waste Service Recycling Facility (DIN 27233). This letter is
to notify you that the application is considered complete within the context of North Carolina
General Statue (N.C.G.S.) §130A-295.8(e).

A determination of completeness means that the application includes all required components but
does not mean that the required components provide all of the information that is required for the
Section to make a decision on the application. A technical review of your application has been
conducted and the following comments and questions are based on that review.

1. Item 1 of the operation plan states that the facility will accept construction and
demolition debris, inert debris, and all types of wood materials. There is not a
regulatory definition for “wood materials” and such as broad term could be interpreted
to include wood waste from waste types other than construction and demolition (C&D)
waste. Wood waste from other sources may be subject to different management and
disposal requirements. The plan must include the additional waste types or other
definitions or rules that applies if accepting waste other than C&D. For example,
stumps and limbs are “yard waste” as defined in 15A North Carolina Administrative
Code (NCAC) 13B .0101 (56) and should be added to waste accepted if the facility
wants to grind stumps and limbs. “Wooden pallets”, as defined in N.C.G.S. 130A-
290(1)(44a), which could come from commercial sources, should be added if the
facility wants to grind wooden pallets.

Mr. Daniel Wall
Permit Application Completeness and Review – Elite Waste Services Recycling Facility – DIN 27298
Page 2 of 4

2. Clean wood and treated or painted wood must be managed and processed separately
because treated or painted wood cannot be used for some purposes. For example,
ground treated or painted wood cannot be used for mulch. It can be used for boiler fuel,
but there may be restrictions based on the boiler operator’s permits. The separate
management and processing must be addressed in the operation plan.
3. Item 1 of the operation plan states that the facility will accept construction and
demolition debris, inert debris, and all types of wood materials. Item 2 states that the
facility will accept construction and demolition debris, industrial debris, concrete,
asphalt, metals, soils, and wood. These aren’t the same and could lead to confusion. It
is suggested that the waste acceptance be stated as the waste type or specific waste, i.e.,
construction and demolition debris, inert debris, yard waste, wooden pallets, etc., that
have regulatory definitions. It might be beneficial to include the definitions for the
waste types. The definitions can be found in the statues and rules
(http://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/waste-management/waste-management-rules/solid-
waste-rules ).
4. Item 2 in the operation plan indicates that “industrial debris” and item 4 indicates
“industrial materials” will be accepted. These terms are not defined in the statues or
rules. It is not clear what this material is or whether it might be acceptable or not.
Industrial solid waste is defined in 15A NCAC 13B .1602(11) as solid waste generated
by manufacturing or industrial processes that is not a hazardous waste regulated under
Subtitle C of RCRA. Such waste may include, but is not limited to, waste resulting from
the following manufacturing processes: electric power generation; fertilizer/agricultural
chemicals; food and related products/by-products; inorganic chemicals; iron and steel
manufacturing; leather and leather products; nonferrous metals
manufacturing/foundries; organic chemicals; plastics and resins manufacturing; pulp
and paper industry; rubber and miscellaneous plastic products; stone, glass, clay, and
concrete products; textile manufacturing; transportation equipment; and water
treatment. This term does not include mining waste or oil and gas waste. Industrial
waste is included in the definition of municipal solid waste (N.C.G.S 130A-290(a)(18a).
Any industrial waste that is not recycled must be disposed in an industrial or Municipal
Solid Waste (MSW) landfill.
If this is waste from construction and demolition activities, as clarified in the definition
of C&D waste, it is C&D waste and not industrial waste. Please review and revise if
appropriate.
5. Item 2 and 5.d mention the acceptance of soils at the facility. It should be stated in the
operation plan that only “clean” soil can be accepted. Facilities have mistakenly
accepted soil and later found it was from a site cleanup and was contaminated. These
facilities had to remove the contaminated soil and cleanup their facility. Clarifying this
may avoid problems in the future.

Mr. Daniel Wall
Permit Application Completeness and Review – Elite Waste Services Recycling Facility – DIN 27298
Page 3 of 4

6. The operation plan states that the facility will collect and store alternative daily cover.
Alternative daily cover is described in the C&D Landfill and MSW Landfill rules and is
cover material other than earthen material that can be used for daily cover. Alternative
materials used at a landfill must have been approved by the division. Please specific the
alternative daily cover materials you plan to collect and the type of landfill that is
approved to use the material. Note that approved alternative daily cover materials for
use at sanitary landfills can be found at http://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/waste-
management/waste-management-permit-guidance/solid-waste-section .
7. The operation plan lists the counties that will be the source of waste. The plan does not
indicate where waste that is not recyclable will be shipped for disposal. Waste may
only be disposed in a sanitary landfill that is permitted to receive the type of waste
specified, and whose service area includes the origin of the waste. These restrictions
are based on local government approvals and franchises. For example, of the three open
C&D landfills in Wake County, only one can accept wastes from all the counties listed
in list of waste origins in the operation plan. Therefore, the operation plan should
address the disposal of waste from the facility based on the restrictions.
8. Item 14 states that waste will be placed on the tipping floor. The location of the tipping
floor is not shown on the site plan so it is not known if this is a covered or uncovered
area. Liquid that passes through solid waste and contains soluble, suspend, or miscible
materials removed from the waste is leachate and must be properly treated prior to
discharge. It isn’t clear if there is collection or treatment for leachate. If there is not a
system or if the tipping area is uncovered, the plan must address what will be done to
prevent leachate generation. Waste cannot be placed on an uncovered tipping floor/area
during inclement weather or unloaded or stored in standing water.
9. Recovered materials must be managed as a valuable commodity in a manner consistent
with the desired use or end use and it shall not contain significant concentrations of
foreign constituents that render it unserviceable or inadequate for sale, or it intended use
or reuse. It also shall not be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters including
groundwaters, or otherwise pose a threat to public health and safety (See N.C.G.S
130A-309.05). Clean wood and inert debris can be placed on the ground. Other
materials such cardboard and treated wood need to be stored in covered containers.
Please clarity in the operation plan how the materials will be stored.
10. Seventy-five percent by weight or volume of the recovered material stored at the
facility at the beginning of a calendar year commencing January 1 must be removed
through sale, use, or reuse by December 31 of the same year. This is a statutory
requirement.
11. Financial assurance is required. Financial Assurance is a financial mechanism which
allows the Section to take care of the cleanup of the site should something happen to the
owner/operator. For this type of facility, the amount is estimated as a week of waste
(daily rate x days open in the week) plus the estimated maximum storage on site. This

Mr. Daniel Wall
Permit Application Completeness and Review – Elite Waste Services Recycling Facility – DIN 27298
Page 4 of 4

could be estimated by maximum pile sizes and the number of containers on site. The
week of waste is in addition to the storage and not part of it. It assumes the business is
going under or isn’t being operated according to the plan. The financial assurance is
for a third party to do the work, not the current owner. The quantity should be
multiplied by a unit cost that would cover loading, hauling, and disposal of the waste
plus an overhead for managing the cleanup. Sarah Rice at [phone] can explain
the mechanisms that can be used to establish financial assurance.

Please make changes to the application and resubmit. There may be additional questions and
comments based on the revised application.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact me at [phone] or by email
at [e-mail].

Sincerely,

Patricia Backus, P.E., Environmental Engineer
Division of Waste Management, NCDEQ

cc: Nil Ghosh, Morningstar Law Group
William J. Brian, Jr., Morningstar Law Group
Ed Mussler, P.E., Permitting Branch Head
Drew Hammonds, Eastern District Supervisor
Liz Patterson, Environmental Senior Specialist