(1) Consistent with the requirements of part 115, the department shall apply this section so as to promote and foster the use of wastes and by-products for recycling or beneficial purposes.

    (2) Any person may request the department, consistent with the definitions and other terms of part 115, to approve a material, a use, or a material and use as a source separated material; a beneficial use by-product for beneficial use 1, 2, 4, or 5; an inert material; a low-hazard industrial waste; nondetrimental material managed for agricultural or silvicultural use; or another material, use, or material and use that can be approved under part 115. Among other things, a person may request the department to approve a use that does not meet the definition of beneficial use 2 under section 11502(8)(a) because the property is not nonresidential property or under section 11502(8)(a), (b), or (c) because the material exceeds 4 feet in thickness. A request under this subsection shall be in writing and contain a description of the material including the process generating it; results of analyses of representative samples of the material for any hazardous substances that the person has knowledge or reason to believe could be present in the material, based on its source, its composition, or the process that generated it; and, if applicable, a description of the proposed use. The analysis and sampling of the material under this subsection shall be consistent with the methods identified in “Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 20th Edition,” (jointly published by the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association, and the Water Environment Federation) or “Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods,” EPA publication SW-846, Third Edition, Final Updates I (1993), II (1995), IIA (1994), IIB (1995), III (1997), IIIA (1999), IIIB (2005), IV (2008), AND V (2015); 1 or more peer-reviewed standards developed by a national or international organization, such as ASTM International; or 1 or more standards or methods approved by the department or the EPA. The department shall approve or deny the request in writing within 150 days after the request is received, unless the parties agree to an extension. If the department determines that the request does not include sufficient information, the department shall, not more than 60 days after receipt of the request, notify the requester. The notice shall specify the additional information that is required. The 150-day period is tolled until the requestor submits the information specified in the notice. If the department approves a request under this subsection, the approval shall include the following statement: “This approval does not require any use of any beneficial use by-product by a governmental entity or any other person.” The department may impose conditions and other requirements consistent with the purposes of part 115 on a material, a use, or a material and use approved under this section that are reasonably necessary for the use. If a request is approved with conditions or other requirements, the approval shall specifically state the conditions or other requirements. If the request is denied, the denial shall, to the extent practical, state with specificity all of the reasons for denial. If the department fails to approve or deny the request within the 150-day period, the request is considered approved. A person requesting approval under this subsection may seek review of any final department decision pursuant to section 631 of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.631.

    (3) The department shall approve a material for a specified use as a beneficial use by-product if all of the following requirements are met:

    (a) The material is an industrial or commercial material that is or has the potential to be generated in high volumes.

    (b) The proposed use serves a legitimate beneficial purpose other than providing a means to discard the material.

    (c) A market exists for the material or there is a reasonable potential for the creation of a new market for the material if it is approved as a beneficial use by-product.

    (d) The material and use meet all federal and state consumer protection and product safety laws and regulations.

    (e) The material meets all of the following requirements:

    (i) Any hazardous substances in the material do not pose a direct contact health hazard to humans.

    (ii) The material does not leach, decompose, or dissolve to form a leachate that exceeds either of the following:

    (A) Part 201 generic residential groundwater drinking water criteria.

    (B) Surface water quality standards established under part 31.

    (iii) The material does not produce emissions that violate part 55 or that create a nuisance.

    (4) The department may approve a material for a specified use as a beneficial use by-product or as restricted use compost if the material meets the requirements of subsection (3)(a), (b), (c), and (d) but fails to meet the requirements of subsection (3)(e) and if the department determines that the material and use are protective of the environment, natural resources, and the public health, safety, and welfare. In making the determination, the department shall consider the potential for exposure and risk to the environment, natural resources, and the public health, safety, and welfare given the nature of the material, its proposed use, and the environmental fate and transport of any hazardous substances in the material in soil, groundwater, or other relevant media.

    (5) The department shall approve a material as inert or as general use compost if all of the following requirements are met:

    (a) The material is proposed to be used for a legitimate purpose other than a means to dispose of the material.

    (b) Substances in the material do not pose a direct contact health hazard to humans.

    (c) The material does not leach, decompose, or dissolve in water or other liquids likely to be found at the area of placement, disposal, or use to form a leachate that exceeds either of the following:

    (i) Part 201 generic residential groundwater drinking water criteria.

    (ii) Surface water quality standards established under part 31.

    (d) The material does not produce emissions that violate part 55 or that create a nuisance.

    (6) The department may approve a material as inert if the material meets the requirements of subsection (5)(a) but fails to meet the requirements of subsection (5)(b), (c), or (d) and if the department determines that the material is protective of the environment, natural resources, and the public health, safety, and welfare. In making the determination, the department shall consider the potential for exposure and risk to the environment, natural resources, and the public health, safety, and welfare given the nature of the material, its proposed use, and the environmental fate and transport of any hazardous substances in the material in soil, groundwater, or other relevant media.

    (7) The department shall approve a material as a low-hazard industrial waste if hazardous substances in representative samples of the material do not leach, using, at the option of the generator, EPA method 1311, “Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure”, EPA method 1312, “Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure”, or any other method approved by the department that more accurately simulates mobility, above the higher of the following:

    (a) One-tenth the hazardous waste toxicity characteristic threshold as set forth in rules promulgated under part 111.

    (b) Ten times the generic residential groundwater drinking water cleanup criteria as set forth in rules promulgated under part 201.

    (8) The department shall approve a material as a source separated material if the person who seeks the designation demonstrates that the material can be recycled or converted into raw materials or new products by being returned to the original process from which it was generated, by use or reuse as an ingredient in an industrial process to make a product, or by use or reuse as an effective substitute for a commercial product. To qualify as a source separated material, the material, product, or reuse must meet all federal and state consumer protection and product safety laws and regulations and must not create a nuisance. If a material will be applied to or placed on land, or will be used to produce products that are applied to or placed on land, the material must qualify as an inert material or beneficial use by-product.

    (9) Any written determination by the department made before September 16, 2014, designating a material as an inert material, an inert material appropriate for general reuse, an inert material appropriate for reuse at a specific location, an inert material appropriate for specific reuse instead of virgin material, a source separated material, a low-hazard industrial waste, or a non-solid-waste material remains in effect according to its terms or until forfeited in writing by the person who received the determination. Upon termination, expiration, or forfeiture of the written determination, the current requirements of part 115 control. The amendments made to this part by 2014 PA 178 do not rescind, invalidate, limit, or modify any such prior determination in any way.

    (10) Notwithstanding any other provision of part 115, a person in possession of material that is designated or approved for beneficial use or as inert material or in possession of material from an industrial facility that is designated or approved as source separated material is not subject to regulation as a materials management facility if the person manages and uses the material as provided in part 115 for that material.