Comprehensive Revisions and Enhancements to Title 6 NYCRR Part 360 Regulations

New York State's Solid Waste Management Regulations, 6 NYCRR Part 360 (Part 360) are the authority by which the State sets design standards and operational criteria for all solid waste management facilities. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (Department) has prepared a Part 360 pre-proposal draft of revised express terms which includes technical amendments and clarifications, as well as updated language due to legal and policy developments. The pre-proposal draft reflects the Department's experience in implementing regulations since the last major revision in 1992.

The current Part 360 Regulations will remain in effect until such time as the rulemaking process is complete.

What Types of Changes Have Been Incorporated?

Changes to all portions of Part 360 have been made. The pre-proposal draft includes the addition of new provisions for several solid waste management activities/ or waste streams that are not currently regulated by Part 360, including vehicle dismantlers and mobile car crushers, biohazard incident waste, and electronics handling and recovery facilities. Draft language has also been added to address rail-haul facilities in New York State. Due to current federal laws which may preempt the issuance of solid waste management facility permits in certain instances, the Department is constrained as to the requirements it can impose upon rail-haul facilities which may be afforded the preemption. Notwithstanding the federal laws on this topic, the Department may, and has proposed in this draft, to impose design and operational requirements relating to our police powers. Comments are encouraged and welcome with regard to rail-haul facilities in particular and the draft regulations as a whole.

The draft also proposes a change to one of the current mechanisms used for regulating solid waste management facilities, specifically, a change from the use of registration provisions to permit-by-rule provisions is proposed. The pre-proposal draft also includes relaxation or elimination of certain provisions of the current regulation addressing requirements that have proven to be overly burdensome to the regulated community and have provided little or no incremental benefit of environmental protection. Additionally, this rulemaking includes minor revisions to 6 NYCRR Part 364 Waste Transporter Permits.

New Format Proposed

The pre-proposal draft includes a re-formatting of the existing structure of Part 360 into a Part 360 series, enumerated as Parts 360-369. The information contained in the current Part 360 regulations has been subdivided into Parts to better organize solid waste topics, and to make future revisions to specific topics less burdensome. The newly assigned Parts are as follows:

Part 360 General Provisions (PDF, 333kb)

Part 361 Solid Waste & Material Recovery Facilities (PDF, 194kb)

Subpart 361-1 Recyclable Handling & Recovery Facilities
Subpart 361-2 Land Application and Associated Storage Facilities
Subpart 361-3 Organic Waste Processing Facilities
Subpart 361-4 Construction and Demolition Debris Handling and Recovery Facilities
Subpart 361-5 Vehicle Dismantlers and Mobile Car Crushers
Subpart 361-6 Waste Tire Handling & Recovery Facilities
Subpart 361-7 Electronics Handling & Recovery Facilities

Part 362 Solid Waste Combustion, Transfer and Processing Facilities (PDF, 133kb)

Subpart 362-1 Solid Waste Combustion, Incineration, and Thermal Treatment Facilities
Subpart 362-2 Transfer Facilities
Subpart 362-3 Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facilities
Subpart 362-4 Waste Oil Handling Facilities

Part 363 Solid Waste Landfills - (PDF, 426kb)

Part 364 Waste Transporters - (PDF, 41kb)

Part 365 Biohazard Waste Management Facilities - (PDF, 132kb)

Subpart 365-1 Regulated Medical Waste Management Facilities
Subpart 365-2 Household Medical Waste Sharps Collection Facilities
Subpart 365-3 Biohazard Incident Waste Management Facilities
Subpart 365-4 Animal Prion Waste Management Facilities

Part 366 Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Planning - (PDF, 42kb)

Part 369 Solid Waste State Assistance Projects - (PDF, 113kb)

Part 360 Series Pre-Proposal Draft

The pre-proposal draft is subject to change based on your comments and additional Department review. After these comments have been evaluated, the proposed rulemaking package will be provided to the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform (GORR) for their approval to file as a proposed agency action. The formal public comment period will begin after the proposed agency action is published in the Environmental Notice Bulletin and the State Register.

Where to Send Suggestions for Proposed Changes

The Department will accept comments on the pre-proposal draft until July 31, 2006. Comments and proposed changes may be emailed to swreg@gw.dec.state.ny.us or mailed to the following address:

Melissa Treers, P.E.
Division of Solid & Hazardous Materials
625 Broadway, 9th Floor
Albany, New York 12233-7253

Copies of the Part 360 series pre-proposal draft are also available on CD by contacting the above.

This web site will be updated regularly to include new information regarding the development of the regulations.