# Title 33.1 — Department of Environmental Quality

## Article 33.1-20 — Solid Waste Management and Land Protection

## Chapter 33.1-20-07.1 — Small Volume Industrial Waste Landfills and Special Waste Landfills

### § 33.1-20-07.1-01. Performance and design criteria.

In addition to the requirements of section 33.1-20-01.1-11 and chapter 33.1-20-04.1, the owner or
operator of an industrial waste landfill or a special waste landfill, excluding CCR landfills subject to
chapter 33.1-20-08, shall comply with the design, construction, and operating standards as follows:
1. On all areas of the landfill where final cover or additional solid waste will not be placed within
six months, eight inches [20.3 centimeters] or more of compacted clay-rich soil material,
similar material, or a synthetic cover must be placed to prevent ponding of surface water, to
minimize infiltration of surface water, and to control windblown dust.
2. Solid waste disposal in industrial waste landfills and special waste landfills must be limited to
those wastes identified in the permit application or permit. Regulated infectious waste, used oil
as a free liquid, and hazardous waste may not be accepted for disposal at the landfill.
TENORM waste may only be accepted under the provisions of chapter 33.1-20-11.
3. All solid wastes deposited at the landfill must be spread and compacted as densely as
practicable to minimize waste volume and promote drainage of surface water.
4. Any new or lateral expansion of an industrial waste landfill or special waste landfill must be
designed with an appropriate hydraulic barrier and leachate management system capable of
collecting and removing leachate and contaminated surface water within the disposal unit.
a. The liner and leachate removal system must be compatible with the waste and leachate.
b. The liner and leachate removal system must maintain its integrity during the operating
period and through the postclosure period.
c. The system must have a collection efficiency of ninety percent or better and must be
capable of maintaining a hydraulic head of twelve inches [30.5 centimeters] or less above
the liner.
d. For landfills that receive wastes containing water soluble constituents, the liner must
consist of at least four feet [1.2 meters] of compacted natural soil having a hydraulic
conductivity not to exceed 1 x 10-7 centimeters per second.
e. A composite liner is required for landfills receiving TENORM waste or wastes which may
contain leachable organic constituents. The liner must consist of at least three feet
[91.4 centimeters] of recompacted clay with a hydraulic conductivity not to exceed
1 x 10-7 centimeters per second overlain with at least a sixty mil flexible membrane liner.
f. The drainage layer must have a hydraulic conductivity of 1 x 10-3 centimeters per second
or greater throughout. The drainage layer must have a sufficient thickness to provide a
transmissivity of 3 x 10-2 centimeters squared per second or greater.
g. The liner and leachate removal system in combination with the final cover must achieve a
site efficiency of at least ninety-eight and one-half percent or better for collection or
rejection of the precipitation that falls on the site.

h. The requirements of this subsection for a liner, leachate collection system, or both liner
and leachate collection system may be modified by the department if the permit applicant
demonstrates that, based on factors such as geology and hydrology of the site,
characteristics of the waste, and engineering design, any leachate migration can be
prevented or controlled.
History: Effective January 1, 2019; amended effective July 1, 2020.
General Authority: NDCC 23.1-03-04, 23.1-08-03; S.L. 2017, ch. 199, § 1
Law Implemented: NDCC 23.1-03-03, 23.1-03-04, 23.1-08-03, 23.1-08-09; S.L. 2017, ch. 199, §§ 18,
### § 33.1-20-07.1-02. Closure criteria.

In addition to sections 33.1-20-04.1-05 and 33.1-20-04.1-09, at closure, an owner or operator shall
cover an existing unit with a layer of compacted soil material having a thickness of eighteen inches
[45.7 centimeters] or more, and a saturated hydraulic conductivity of 1 x 10-7 centimeters per second or
less. A second layer of twelve inches [30.5 centimeters] or more of clay-rich soil material suitable for
serving as a plant root zone must be placed over the compacted layer. At least six inches [15.2
centimeters] of suitable plant growth material must be placed over the covered landfill and the facility
planted with adapted grasses. The total depth of final cover must be three feet [91.4 centimeters] or
more. The requirements of this section may be modified by the department if the permit applicant
demonstrates that an alternative design will appropriately limit percolation of liquid into the waste. The
owners or operators of CCR landfills subject to chapter 33.1-20-08 are excluded from the provisions of
this section.
1. If the permit applicant wishes to pursue an alternative cover design, one of the following
methods shall be used to demonstrate that the alternative cover design will appropriately limit
the amount of percolation that may enter the waste:
a. Hydrologic modeling;
b. Lysimetry or instrumentation using a field-scale test section;
c. Comparison of the soil and climatic conditions of the site with the soil and climatic
conditions at a site where the department has previously approved the same alternative
cover design; or
d. Other method approved by the department.
2. To demonstrate that an alternative cover design will appropriately limit percolation of liquid into
the waste, the alternative cover design must be shown to limit the average rate of percolation
of liquid into wastes to an equal or lower value than the final cover design described in this
section or to an average long-term percolation rate less than 0.2 inches [5.0 millimeters] per
year.
History: Effective January 1, 2019; amended effective July 1, 2020.
General Authority: NDCC 23.1-08-03; S.L. 2017, ch. 199, § 1
Law Implemented: NDCC 23.1-08-03; S.L. 2017, ch. 199, § 23
