"Solid waste" means : sludge unregulated under the Clean Water Act or Clean Air Act; sludge from a waste water treatment works, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility; garbage, rubbish, refuse, special waste, or other discarded material resulting from domestic, industrial, commercial, mining, agricultural, or government operations. Materials not regulated as solid waste pursuant to this Chapter are; recovered materials, nuclear source or byproduct materials regulated under Chapter 404, Florida Statutes, or under the Federal Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as amended; suspended or dissolved materials in domestic sewage effluent or irrigation return flows, or other regulated point source discharges; regulated air emissions; and fluids or wastes associated with natural gas or crude oil exploration or production.

All waste that is not a Listed Hazardous or Characteristic Hazardous Waste is a solid waste. Refer to the Hazardous Waste Program summary for specifics.

Other Definitions:

"Clean Debris" means any solid waste which is virtually inert, which is not a pollution threat to ground water or surface waters, is not a fire hazard, and is likely to retain its physical and chemical structure under expected conditions of disposal or use. The term includes brick, glass, ceramics, and uncontaminated concrete including embedded pipe or steel. means any solid waste which is virtually inert, which is not a pollution threat to ground water or surface waters, is not a fire hazard, and is likely to retain its physical and chemical structure under expected conditions of disposal or use. The term includes brick, glass, ceramics, and uncontaminated concrete including embedded pipe or steel.

"Special wastes" means solid waste that can require special handling and management, including but not limited to, white goods, waste tires, used oil, lead acid batteries, construction and demolition debris, ash residue, yard trash and biological wastes. Other special wastes identified through recent Department policies include fluorescent light bulbs, mercury containing devices such as thermostats and bilge pumps, mercury containing lamps, and dry cell and rechargeable batteries. means solid waste that can require special handling and management, including but not limited to, white goods, waste tires, used oil, lead acid batteries, construction and demolition debris, ash residue, yard trash and biological wastes. Other special wastes identified through recent Department policies include fluorescent light bulbs, mercury containing devices such as thermostats and bilge pumps, mercury containing lamps, and dry cell and rechargeable batteries.

"Recovered materials" means metal, paper, glass, plastic, textile, or rubber materials that have known recycling potential, can be feasibly recycled, and have been diverted and source separated or have been removed from the solid waste stream for sale, use, or reuse as raw materials, whether or not the materials require subsequent processing or separation from each other, but does not include materials destined for any use that constitutes disposal. Recovered materials as described above are not solid waste. means metal, paper, glass, plastic, textile, or rubber materials that have known recycling potential, can be feasibly recycled, and have been diverted and source separated or have been removed from the solid waste stream for sale, use, or reuse as raw materials, whether or not the materials require subsequent processing or separation from each other, but does not include materials destined for any use that constitutes disposal. Recovered materials as described above are not solid waste.

PERMITTING SECTION

In accordance with FS 62-701.320 "No solid waste management facility shall be constructed, operated, maintained, modified, or closed without a permit issued by the Department."

The management of a solid waste facility requires a specific authorization through a permit issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. In addition to an application and fee for permitting of a solid waste facility the Department requires that a comprehensive engineering report and an operational plan be submitted and approved by the Department. The engineering report and operational plan shall include, but not limited to, a geological and hydrogeological investigation, groundwater monitoring plan, stormwater system design, compliance procedures with the prohibitions as noted in FS 62-701.300, comprehensive engineering drawings for the liner and the leachate collection system, verification of training requirements, hours of operation, waste screening procedures, contingency plans, waste quantity reports, litter control, erosion control, and gas monitoring. The permitting engineers are tasked with permitting and reviewing all submittals to assure compliance with all applicable regulations.

All solid waste facilities are permitted by the Southwest District solid waste section in the following Counties:

Citrus Pasco  DeSoto Pinellas

Hardee Polk  Hernando Sarasota

Hillsborough Sumter

Manatee       Marion (West of I-75 only)

As of July 1, 1998 the Southwest District solid waste section regulates 142 solid waste facilities. The following is a list of types of solid waste facilities permitted and their respective Florida Statute:

Solid Waste Facility Florida Statute

Class I Landfill 62-701

Class II Landfill 62-701

Class III Landfill 62-701

Construction & Demolition Disposal Facility 62-701

Transfer Stations 62-701

Composting Facilities 62-709

Material Recycling Facility 62-701

Waste Tire Collection Centers 62-711

Waste Tire Processing Facilities 62-711

MSW Resource Recovery Facilities 62-702

Incinerators 62-702

All Closed Landfills closed under a permit 62-701

The Department utilizes a permit application tracking system (PA) to monitor the permit process.

COMPLIANCE/ENFORCEMENT SECTION

The compliance/enforcement section is tasked with performing all compliance inspections in accordance with the following Level of Service to assure that solid waste facilities are operating in compliance with their permit and State regulations:

Facility Type Inspections/year

Class I Landfills 3

Class II Landfills 3

Class III Landfills 3

Closed Landfills 1

Construction/Demolition Disposal Facilities 3

Transfer Stations 2

Composting Facilities 2

Material Recycling Facilities 3

Waste-to-Energy Plants 3

Waste Tire Collection Centers 2

Waste Tire Processing Facilities 2

Resource Recovery Facilities & Incinerators 3

A facility inspection may result in a warning letter (WL) for violations identified during the inspection. The Department requires a facility to address the minor violations in a specified timeframe. Facility inspections resulting with major violations or repetitive minor violations of the Department Rules and permit conditions require the permittee to enter into a consent order (CO) with the Department which may include specific time periods required to bring the facility back into compliance. The consent order will have penalties and/or costs associated with it. If the Department requires a facility to resolve a major violation immediately a Notice of Violation (NOV) will be issued. This document may also revoke a permit if the facility has demonstrated lack of compliance with repetitive major violations.

In addition to our compliance, enforcement and permitting activities technical assistance is provided to the public, facility owners, consultants, and law enforcement officials. The Department also regulates all activities on old closed landfills.