(a) The department, acting through the commission, is authorized to promulgate, and may revise when appropriate, rules and regulations, guidelines, criteria and standards for all hazardous waste management practices.
(b) It is unlawful for any person who owns or operates a commercial hazardous waste treatment or disposal facility within this state to dispose or treat any hazardous wastes generated in any state outside the State of Alabama which:
(1) Prohibits by law or regulation the treatment or disposal of hazardous wastes within that state and which has no facility permitted or existing within that state for the treatment or disposal of hazardous wastes; or
(2) Has no facility permitted or existing within that state for the treatment or disposal of hazardous wastes; unless that state has entered into an interstate or regional agreement for the safe disposal of hazardous wastes pursuant to the Federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. The department shall establish and maintain a list of states from which hazardous wastes cannot be accepted for treatment or disposal pursuant to this paragraph and there shall be no liability under the paragraph for disposal of wastes from a state until 15 days after a state has been listed by the department. Such list shall be publicly available and set forth the reasons why each state is listed. The date on which a state is included on such list shall be provided. The list of states shall be revised monthly. The state of generation as shown on the hazardous waste manifest shall be used in determining whether a person has treated or disposed of waste in violation of this subsection, and any person who alters the state of generation on any manifest or misrepresents the state of generation of any hazardous waste for the purpose of circumventing this statute shall be punishable in accordance with Section 22-30-19 herein.
(c) Subsequent to the effective date of Acts 1989, No. 89-788, no commercial hazardous waste treatment or disposal facility operating in this state may contract with states other than the State of Alabama in order to satisfy the capacity assurance programs required by 42 U.S.C. §9604(c)(9) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended.
(d) For the purpose of this section, the following additional terms are defined:
(1) AGREEMENT. Any interstate or regional contract or agreement made pursuant to capacity assurance requirements of Section 42 U.S.C. §9604(c)(9) of CERCLA and which one of the signatories to such contract or agreement is the State of Alabama.
(2) COMMERCIAL HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT OR DISPOSAL FACILITY. A facility which receives for disposal only, or for treatment and disposal, hazardous wastes that are not generated on-site and to which facility a fee is paid or other consideration given for such treatment or disposal.
(3) OPERATOR. The person responsible for overall operations of a commercial hazardous waste treatment or disposal facility.
(4) REGION(AL). Region(al) shall mean any or all of the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
(5) STATE OF GENERATION. A state of the United States in which the hazardous waste is generated in the form in which it is received by a commercial hazardous waste treatment or disposal facility located in Alabama for treatment or disposal.
Last modified: May 3, 2021