Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2180 – General powers and duties of the secretary
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2180
- Assistant secretary: means the assistant secretary to whom a given function or responsibility has been allocated by this Subtitle or delegated by the secretary. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Department: means the Department of Environmental Quality. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Disposal: means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any hazardous waste into or on any land or water so that such waste, or any constituent thereof, may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including ground waters. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2173
- Facility: means a pollution source or any public or private property or facility where an activity is conducted which is required to be regulated under this Subtitle and which does or has the potential to do any of the following:
(a) Emit air contaminants into the atmosphere. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Hazardous waste: means any waste, or combination of wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration, physical, or chemical characteristics may cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness, or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2173
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
- Person: means any individual, municipality, public or private corporation, partnership, firm, the United States Government, and any agent or subdivision thereof or any other juridical person, which shall include, but not be limited to, trusts, joint stock companies, associations, the state of Louisiana, political subdivisions of the state of Louisiana, commissions, and interstate bodies. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Storage: means the containment of hazardous waste on a temporary basis, for such time as may be permitted by regulations, in such a manner as not to constitute disposal of such hazardous waste. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2173
- Transportation: means the movement of hazardous wastes from the point of generation or storage to the point of treatment, storage, or disposal by any means of commercial or private transport. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2173
- Treatment: means any method, technique, or process, including neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition of any hazardous waste so as to neutralize such waste or render it nonhazardous, safer for transport, amenable for recovery or storage, or reduced in volume. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2173
- Violation: means a failure to comply with the requirements of this Subtitle, the rules issued under this Subtitle, and conditions of permits under this Subtitle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Waste: means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility, and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, or agricultural operations, and from community activities, but does not include solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources subject to permits under Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2173
A. In addition to any other authority or responsibility vested in him by this Chapter, the secretary shall have the following powers:
(1) From time to time to adopt, amend, or repeal the standards and regulations authorized by this Chapter in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.
(2) To issue, continue in effect, revoke, modify, or deny in accordance with regulations, hazardous waste transporter licenses and hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facility permits and schedules of compliance, and when the secretary deems it advisable, to delegate the power to issue or deny such permits, licenses, variances, or compliance schedules to the appropriate assistant secretary, subject to his continuing oversight. The authority to execute minor permit actions and to issue registrations, certifications, notices of deficiency, and notification of inclusion under a general permit may be delegated by the secretary or the appropriate assistant secretary to an authorized representative, notwithstanding the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 30:2050.26.
(3) To exercise all incidental powers necessary to assure that the state program is consistent with any federal laws or regulations applicable thereto.
(4) To determine and set reasonable schedules of compliance with performance guidelines for the conformance of transportation equipment and treatment, storage, and disposal facilities with the operating standards and rules and regulations of the secretary.
(5) To adopt rules and regulations relative to tracking and regulating the generation, transportation, or disposition of reuseable material.
(6) To regulate all surface and waste storage facilities incidental to hazardous waste injection wells, in such a manner as to prevent the escape of the waste into any area surrounding the surface facility.
(7) To regulate all hazardous waste transfer facilities in such a manner as to prevent the escape of waste into any area surrounding the transfer facilities.
(8) To adopt rules and regulations which set forth standards applicable to persons who produce, burn for purposes of energy recovery, distribute, or market fuel containing hazardous waste. This Subparagraph shall not apply to petroleum refinery wastes containing oil which are converted into petroleum coke at the same facility at which such wastes were generated, unless the resulting coke product would exceed one or more characteristics by which a substance would be identified as a hazardous waste. Regulations adopted pursuant to this Subparagraph, applicable to petroleum refinery and production wastes which result from normal petroleum refining, production and transportation practices, and which are classified as recyclable materials by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, shall be consistent with federal regulations applicable thereto.
B. The department is hereby directed to formulate plans and procedures for testing, sampling, analysis, containment, control, and abatement of sites which it suspects have been abandoned or which are declared abandoned under the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 30:2204.
C. In order to achieve and maintain uniform and comprehensive statewide regulation in conformity with the provisions of this Chapter, the state shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the generation, transportation, or disposal of hazardous wastes, and no subordinate political subdivision of this state shall enact, pass, or otherwise approve any ordinance or other regulatory measure regulating or purporting to regulate any activity pertaining to the generation, transportation, or disposal of hazardous wastes. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to deny such local body authority over the siting of facilities pursuant to any general land use planning, zoning, or solid waste disposal ordinances.
D.(1) The secretary shall promulgate rules in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act to regulate the transportation, incineration, cleanup, remediation, and disposal of infectious waste.
(2) The rules adopted pursuant to this Subsection shall provide for the following:
(a) The designation of waste categories and a determination of which waste categories are considered to be infectious waste.
(b) The separation of infectious waste at the point of origin for management and treatment purposes.
(c) The use of distinctive containers or plastic bags with the universal biological hazard symbol, as appropriate. The packaging and method of packaging for infectious waste are to be appropriate for the different types of wastes and are to maintain their integrity during storage and transportation.
(d) The storage of infectious waste for a minimal amount of time in a clearly marked limited access area free of rodents and vermin.
(e) The transportation and handling of infectious waste in a manner that avoids rupture of the packaging and any leaking of the waste from the packaging or the transporter.
(f) The treatment of infectious waste by steam sterilization, incineration, thermal inactivation, chemical disinfection, irradiation sterilization, or any other method, technique, or process designed to change the biological character or composition of the waste and the use of biological indicators to monitor the treatment. The rules shall not, however, require that incinerators used for the disposal of infectious waste have a temperature range capability greater than sixteen hundred to two thousand degrees Fahrenheit and a gas phase retention time in the secondary chamber greater than one and one-half seconds.
(g) The disposal of infectious waste that has been treated in an appropriate manner and in accordance with law, including the rendering of body parts unrecognizable before land disposal.
(h) Permits and permit fees in order to effectuate the provisions of this Subsection.
(i) The cleanup or remediation of any infectious waste that spills or discharges as a result of an accident, incident, or improper disposal in violation of this Subtitle. The department shall be entitled to recover the reasonable cost of cleanup or remediation from the transporter of the infectious waste or any other person who is responsible for such spills or discharges. The generator of the infectious medical waste shall be responsible for any costs incurred by the department for any spills or discharges where the transporter was not licensed or permitted by the Louisiana Department of Health as required by law and the regulations.
(3) Repealed by Acts 1990, No. 1012, §2.
(4) Repealed by Acts 2020, No. 163, §2, eff. June 9, 2020.
Acts 1983, No. 97, §1, eff. Feb. 1, 1984; Acts 1984, No. 795, §1, eff. July 13, 1984; Acts 1985, No. 669, §1; Acts 1986, No. 781, §1, eff. July 10, 1986; Acts 1987, No. 615, §1, eff. July 9, 1987; Acts 1988, No. 962, §1, eff. July 27, 1988; Acts 1989, No. 233, §1, eff. June 26, 1989; Acts 1989, No. 583, §1, eff. July 6, 1989; Acts 1990, No. 1006, §1, eff. July 26, 1990; Acts 1990, No. 1012, §§1, 2; Acts 1991, No. 21, §1, eff. June 14, 1991; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 36, §1, eff. May 7, 1996; Acts 1997, No. 27, §1; Acts 1999, No. 303, §1, eff. June 14, 1999; Acts 2001, No. 820, §1; Acts 2020, No. 163, §2, eff. June 9, 2020.