5.03.050 Permit Requirements for Solid Waste Management Activities

(a) GENERAL PERMIT REQUIREMENTS

Tribal departments or agencies, private enterprises, haulers, or any other persons are required to obtain a permit from the Tribe's Compliance Department to collect and/or transport Solid Waste, or to construct or operate a management facility. Any Permittee shall be required to comply with this chapter, any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, all Tribal Environmental standards and criteria, all relevant guidance documents, all permit conditions, all orders issued by the Tribe's Compliance Department and applicable Tribal laws.

No Tribal department or agency, private enterprise, hauler, or person may collect or transport Solid Wastes, or operate a Management Facility within the Reservation without first having obtained from the Environment Division either (1) a solid waste collection and transportation permit; or (2) a solid waste facility construction and/or operation permit.

In order to provide for Tribal health and safety and to facilitate the conservation of vital Tribal resources, each person living on the Reservation or Tribal business shall provide for the removal of Solid Wastes and recyclables from his/her property on which it is generated either through a service provided by the Tribe or Hauler or by direct haul to a permitted Management Facility approved by the Tribe that is located on the Reservation.

(b) PERMITS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF A MANAGEMENT FACILITY

(1) Management Facility

(A) Public Hearing. No Management Facility permit shall be issued unless there has been a public hearing conducted by the Environment Division and Compliance Department at which the applicant and all interested persons shall have an opportunity to present relevant evidence and be heard on whether the application should be granted, or whether there are any special conditions which should be included in such permit. No application may be submitted until a business permit has been granted and an environmental assessment review has been conducted, as well as any other necessary permits are obtained.

All applications for a solid waste construction and/or operation facility permit, including all documentation required for such permit, shall be available for public review and inspection at least thirty (30) calendar days in advance of the hearing. The Environment Division shall publish a notice of such public hearing on each application at least ten (10) calendar days in advance of the hearing in the locally circulated newspaper. The Environment Division also shall post notice of the public hearing near the proposed permanent site for a management facility, but viewable to the public, at least thirty (30) calendar days in advance of the hearing. The Environment Division may designate issues it deems most relevant in the public notice. Such public hearings shall be recorded.

The Environment Division also may consider, in consultation with the Compliance Department, certain issues that are raised at the hearing. For any issue, which the Environment Division deems contentious it may decide to address them and provide an analysis of alternatives.

The information in every application for a Management Facility must include the following information so as to allow the Environment Division in consultation with the Compliance Department to fulfill its responsibilities under this chapter by:

(i) having details sufficient to determine how the facility will be constructed, operated, and closed and how it will be monitored and maintained after closure;

(ii) provide sufficient detail to ascertain the environmental impact of the proposed project; and

(iii) provide sufficient detail to demonstrate that the design, construction, operation, closure, and post closure monitoring and maintenance of the facility is capable of complying with the applicable requirements of this chapter.

(B) Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, the plans and drawings for all Solid Waste Management Facilities must be submitted using the following format:

(i) the sheet size with title blocks must be 32 by 34 inches or 24 by 26 inches;

(ii) the cover sheet must include the project title, applicant's name, sheet index, legend of symbols, and the engineer's name, address, signature, date of signature and seal;

(iii) the plans relating to the project to its environmental setting must include:

(I) a regional plan or map (having a minimum scale of 1:62,500)

(II) a vicinity plan or map (having a minimum scale of 1:24,000); and

(III) an overall site plan (having a minimum scale of 1:2,400 with a five feet minimum contour interval);

(iv) site plans must contain the location of all property boundaries certified by an individual licensed to practice land surveying in the State of New York;

(v) the engineering reports for all Solid Waste Management Facilities must:

(I) contain a cover sheet stating the project title and location, applicant's name, and the engineer's name, address, signature, date of signature and seal;

(a) have its text printed on 8-1/2 x 11-inch pages (paginated consecutively);

(b) contain a table of contents or index describing the body of the report and the appendices;

(d) include all appendices.

(2) Transfer Stations

In addition to sections 5.1 & 5.2.1, Transfer Stations receiving less than 50,000 cubic yards or 12,500 tons of Solid Waste annually, must meet the following additional conditions:

(A) Only MSW (and recyclables) are accepted at the facility;

(B) A maximum of 1,000 yards or 250 tons of MSW are located on-site at any given time;

(C) All putrescible MSW (organic matter capable of being decomposed by microorganisms) is removed from the transfer station within seven (7) days of receipt, unless prior written approval is received from the Environment Division;

(D) The facility operates only between the hours of sunrise and sunset, or when an attendant is on duty;

(E) The facility is developed, operated and maintained in a safe, nuisance-free manner; and

(F) The facility complies with the applicable operational requirements of Section 5.03.040 of this chapter.

(3) Operational Requirements for Transfer Stations

All Solid Waste Transfer Stations must comply with the following operational requirements:

(A) Acceptable waste. Only MSW shall be accepted at the facility. No industrial wastes, special wastes, or construction and demolition debris shall be accepted unless specifically approved by the Environment Division.

(B) Ultimate disposal of waste. All Solid Waste passing through the Transfer Station must be ultimately treated or disposed of at a facility authorized by the Environment Division if it is located within the Reservation, or by the appropriate governmental agency or agencies if in other states, territories, or nations. In the case of transfer stations at which Solid Waste is intended to be placed on vessels, no Solid Waste shall be placed on a vessel not owned or operated by a City whose population exceeds one million, without having first received written approval from the Environment Division. That approval shall be granted if the operator of the facility submits to the Environment Division the following:

a certified copy of each permit or other authorization pertaining to the operation of the treatment or disposal facility to which the Solid Waste will be brought, issued by each governmental entity having jurisdiction over that facility; and,
original letters from each jurisdiction through which that Solid Waste will pass, and from each jurisdiction in which that Solid Waste will be treated or disposed of, stating that the governmental entity does not object to the Solid Waste being transported through or treated or disposed of within its jurisdiction.

As a condition for the issuance of a Solid Waste collection and transportation permit, the Tribe's Compliance Department shall require every vehicle operated by the Hauler to be conspicuously marked to identify it. Every vehicle shall be marked with the trade name of the Hauler, and the number of the transportation permit issued pursuant to this Section. Every vehicle and driver must be licensed and must comply with all safety and insurance requirements of the state or province from which he/she is licensed.

After placement of Solid Wastes and recyclable materials at the roadside or other designated area approved by the Tribe for collection, such Solid Wastes and recyclable material shall be delivered to the SRMT Transfer Station located at 179 County Route 43, Fort Covington NY. In certain situations, the Hauler may be granted permission to by-pass the SRMT Transfer Station and deliver Solid Waste directly to the Franklin County Landfill. The Hauler must first provide enough historical data to establish a monthly average tonnage of Solid Waste being transported from the Reservation to the landfill. The Hauler will be charged a "Regional Fee". Regional Fees and "Transfer Station Price List" can be found on the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe's webpage (https://www.srmt-nsn.gov/).

As a condition for the issuance of a Solid Waste collection and transportation permit, a Hauler agrees to make an annual report by December 1 of each year, to the Tribe's Compliance Department, indicating the number and type of installations emptied or cleaned, the quantity of Solid Wastes disposed of, the place and manner in which such Solid Wastes were finally disposed, quantity and types of recyclables collected, and such other information as the Compliance Department may require. A renewal application may be denied by the Compliance Department for failure of the Permittee or Hauler to properly and timely file an annual report.

The Compliance Department on a calendar basis must renew solid waste permits for the collection and transportation annually. The Environment Division shall adopt rules and regulations for Solid Waste collection and transportation on the Reservation in consultation with the Compliance Department, including the operation of management facilities, and may impose whatever conditions it deems reasonably necessary to protect the environment, and the health, safety and welfare of the Tribe and its members before issuing any permit under this Section.

(d) COMPLIANCE MONITORING

The Environment Division and/or the Compliance Department shall have the right to request any and all information from any Permittee or Hauler under this chapter, including but not limited to records and technical reports or studies, whether contained in the Permittee's or Hauler's operating record or not, which may be relevant to determine whether a Permittee or Hauler is in compliance with all Tribal Solid Waste requirements, including but not limited to this chapter, any condition contained in a permit, any rules or regulations promulgated under this chapter, any guidance documents, any orders issued pursuant to this chapter, or any Tribal environmental laws. Failure by a Permittee or Hauler to provide the requested information may result in the revocation of his/her permit.