(a) (1) No putrescible solid waste transfer station shall be operated unless it has obtained a permit pursuant to 16 RCNY § 4-14, and is in compliance with the terms thereof, this section, and any other applicable law, rule or regulation.
(2) A putrescible solid waste transfer station shall be operated and maintained in a safe and sanitary manner so as to avoid any nuisance or condition hazardous to public health or safety.
(3) The putrescible solid waste transfer station shall be operated and maintained in a manner consistent with the site plan submitted to the Department.
(4) The putrescible solid waste transfer station shall be operated and maintained in a manner consistent with the engineer's report submitted to the Department.
(b) The Permittee shall prohibit any transport vehicle required to be licensed or permitted pursuant to Title 20 of the Administrative Code from depositing solid waste at or removing solid waste from the putrescible solid waste transfer station, unless such transport vehicle is appropriately licensed or permitted. Entrance into or exit from a putrescible solid waste transfer station by a transport vehicle shall be permitted only when an attendant is on duty. The loading or unloading of any transport vehicle shall be continuously supervised by an attendant to avoid unauthorized deposit or removal of solid waste and injury to persons in such station.
(c) The Permittee shall regularly schedule and provide maintenance of equipment. Records of such maintenance shall be included in operational records required by subsection (f) of this section.
(d) In the event that the putrescible solid waste transfer station is unable, for any reason, to receive solid waste or process solid waste previously received, an alternative site, designated pursuant to subparagraph (14) of subsection (b) of 16 RCNY § 4-14, shall be used to receive and process such solid waste. The Permittee shall notify the Department immediately of its use of an alternative site.
(e) Putrescible solid waste transfer stations shall be kept free of vectors, including, but not limited to, rodents, insects and other pests and of any condition conducive to vectors. Written confirmation of at least weekly engagement of a certified exterminator shall be available at all times, and shall be included in operational records required by subsection (f) of this section.
(f) (1) The Permittee shall maintain operational records including, but not limited to, all asset liability and capital and proprietary accounts, operating expenses, administrative expenses, tax returns and equipment expenses. Such records shall also include a clear and legible daily log of the quantity of solid waste received and removed, specifying the point of origin and destination of the solid waste transported daily, as well as the quantity and type of material which has been brought to the putrescible solid waste transfer station for separation and/or processing. The daily log shall also include the names and addresses of the owner and/or operator of transport vehicles entering or exiting the transfer station. Such records shall be maintained on the premises and be readily available for inspection by representatives of the Department. An annual report shall be provided to the Department with any application for renewal of any permit required under these Rules. This report shall contain the daily weight and volume of solid waste received, according to type, daily point of origin of the solid waste, daily destination of the solid waste, daily weight and volume and type of material recovered, any changes in operation that have occurred during the previous year, and all other information specified to be included by this subchapter, including that required by subsections (c) and (e) of this section, and paragraph ii of this subsection. The Permittee shall submit to the Department a copy of any annual or quarterly report required to be filed with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 360.
(2) A permittee that is authorized by the New York state department of environmental conservation to receive source separated organic waste and that receives such waste in accordance with subdivision d of § 16-306.1 of the Administrative Code and rules promulgated pursuant thereto, and that is not authorized to process organic waste at its own facility, shall deliver such organic waste or have such organic waste delivered directly to an organic waste processing facility, excluding waste that cannot be processed at an organic waste processing facility. Unless the permittee is authorized to process organic waste at its own facility, the permittee shall enter into a written agreement with an organics processing facility, or other transfer facility, at which organic waste will be received. A copy of such written agreement shall be available to the Department for inspection upon request. Operators of putrescible solid waste transfer stations that receive organic waste shall maintain the separation of organic waste before its transfer to another location. A permittee that receives source separated organic waste shall include in the quarterly reports submitted to the Department pursuant to paragraph (i) of this subsection the following information, calculated on a monthly basis by weight or volume: the total amount of organic waste received; the origin of such organic waste; and the destination facility of the organic waste removed, together with the name of the owner of such facility and his or her business contact information. Such quarterly reports shall be submitted on forms prescribed by or acceptable to the Department. The report for the quarter ending on March 31 shall be due on April 30; the report for the quarter ending on June 30 shall be due on July 30; the report for the quarter ending September 30 shall be due on October 30; and the report for the quarter ending December 31 shall be due on January 30.
(g) The presence at a putrescible solid waste transfer station of solid waste containing asbestos or of material defined in paragraph (2) of the definition of "solid waste" set forth in 16 RCNY § 4-11 is prohibited.
(h) All putrescible solid waste received at a putrescible solid waste transfer station, including putrescible solid waste which has been baled or loaded into transport vehicles, shall be removed within forty-eight hours of its receipt. Only non-putrescible solid waste, and putrescible solid waste which has been baled or loaded into a transport vehicle, may be stored off the tipping area of a putrescible solid waste transfer station.
(i) The tipping area of all putrescible solid waste transfer stations shall be free of solid waste for a thirty-minute period each day during its hours of operation and shall have been thoroughly cleaned, swept, washed and deodorized immediately prior to such period. The Permittee may choose such period and such period shall be set forth in the permit as a permit condition.
(j) Odors shall not be emitted so as to violate the performance standards of the Zoning Resolution of the City of New York or the applicable provisions of the Air Pollution Control Code of the Administrative Code of the City of New York or to create a public nuisance. Odor control measures required in subsection (b) of 16 RCNY § 4-16 shall be fully operational and shall effectively neutralize odor.
(k) Solid waste shall be received, processed, compacted and stored only in the areas specifically designated pursuant to subparagraph (1) of subsection (b) of 16 RCNY § 4-13. Solid waste shall not be permitted to spill beyond areas in which it is permitted by this Rule and by the site plan and engineering report submitted to the Department of Environmental Conservation pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 360. Any solid waste which spills beyond the areas in which it is permitted shall be removed immediately.
(l) Equipment used in the operation of the putrescible solid waste transfer station shall be contained within the property line, and under no circumstances shall such equipment be stored on city streets, or public highways as defined in § 134 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law.
(m) All drainage systems, including but not limited to trench drains in the floor drain system, and grit and grease traps, shall be kept clean, unclogged and functioning. In no case shall any leachate or wash water be permitted to accumulate on the floor or flow onto city streets, or public highways as defined in § 134 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law.
(n) Noise levels generated by operation of and at the putrescible solid waste transfer station must be controlled to prevent sound levels beyond the putrescible solid waste transfer station property line from exceeding the following Leq decibel (A) weighted energy equivalent ambient sound levels:
Impacted Zones | Time of Day | |
7 a.m. - 10 p.m. | 10 p.m. - 7 a.m. | |
R1 - R3 | 62 decibels | 52 decibels |
All other residential, commercial, or manufacturing zones | 67 decibels | 57 decibels |
(1) If the existing ambient sound level, excluding any contributions from the putrescible solid waste transfer station, exceeds these limits, the operation of the putrescible solid waste transfer station must not cause the Leq sound level to be increased;
(2) Leq is the equivalent steady-state sound level which contains the same acoustic energy as the time varying sound level during any one-hour period exceeded no more than ten percent of the time;
(3) The (A) weighted sound level shall be measured with the slow metering response characteristic of a sound level meter which complies with standards established by the American National Standards Institute specifications for sound level measurement; and
(4) Mufflers are required on all internal combustion-powered equipment used at the putrescible solid waste transfer station, and sound levels for such equipment must not exceed 80dB(A) at a distance of fifty feet from the operating equipment; provided that the decibel level beyond the property line of the putrescible solid waste transfer station shall not exceed the decibel levels set forth above.
(o) A sign, no smaller than four feet by four feet, shall be posted at all entrances to the putrescible solid waste transfer station and shall conspicuously indicate the putrescible solid waste transfer station's hours of operation, the types of waste it accepts and does not accept, the expiration date of its permits to operate pursuant to § 16-130 of the Administrative Code and 6 NYCRR Part 360, and the Department of Sanitation's complaint telephone number.
(p) Doors allowing vehicles to enter or leave the putrescible solid waste transfer station, including any structure at such station, shall be kept closed except when vehicles are entering or leaving;
(q) The Permittee shall prevent litter or solid waste from accumulating on the streets or other areas abutting the putrescible solid waste transfer station.
(r) The total volume of solid waste, including solid waste that has been processed, at a transfer station shall not exceed the allowable volume as stated in the permit issued pursuant to 16 RCNY § 4-14. The allowable volume at any transfer station shall be calculated by the Department and shall be based on the storage capacity (estimated in total cubic yardage) of the transfer station. In no event shall such allowable volume exceed that granted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
(s) The transfer station shall employ effective dust control measures to ensure that dust generation is suppressed at all times.
(t) No solid waste, construction and demolition debris, fill material, dust or other material shall be tracked from the transfer station site onto a city street, or public highway as defined in § 134 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law.
(u) Within one hundred eighty days of the effective date of the rule that added this sentence, a motor vehicle tire cleaning procedure shall be adopted that shall prevent the tracking of solid waste, dust or other material from the transfer station site onto a city street, or public highway as defined in § 134 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law.
(v) No stationary equipment at the transfer station that operates outdoors shall cause or permit the emission of an air contaminant of:
(1) i) A density that appears as dark or darker than number two on the standard smoke chart, or 40% opacity, or of an opacity that obscures vision to a degree equal to or greater than smoke of number two density on the standard smoke chart, or 40% opacity; or
(ii) A density that appears as dark or darker than number one on the standard smoke chart, or 20% opacity, but less than number two on said chart, or 40% opacity, or of an opacity that obscures vision to a degree equal to or greater than smoke of number one density on the standard smoke chart, or 20% opacity, but less than number two on said chart, or 40% opacity, if such an emission continues for longer than two minutes in the aggregate in any sixty minute period.
(2) The density or opacity of an air contaminant emitted from stationary equipment that operates outdoors shall be measured at the point of its emission, except that when the point of emission cannot be readily observed, it may be measured at an observable point on the plume nearest the point of emission.
(w) No stationary equipment or nonroad motor vehicle at the transfer station that operates outdoors shall cause or permit the emission of a visible air contaminant past the transfer station property boundary.
(x) No nonroad motor vehicle at the transfer station that operates outdoors shall cause or permit the emission of a visible air contaminant while the vehicle is stationary for longer than ten consecutive seconds.
(y) All stationary equipment and nonroad motor vehicles at the transfer station shall be maintained properly and shall be inspected annually. All stationary equipment and nonroad motor vehicles at the transfer station that operate outdoors shall be inspected annually while in operation by an observer certified in the U.S. EPA Method 9 set forth in Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 60, Appendix A-4 and trained in the U.S. EPA Method 22 set forth in Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 60, Appendix A-7, to ensure the equipment is operating properly to minimize air contaminant emissions, taking into account the model year and design capabilities of the engine. A written record of the inspection and any subsequent corrective measures performed to minimize air contaminant emissions shall be filed with the Department as part of the annual permit renewal application, and shall be included in the operational records required by subsection (f) of 16 RCNY § 4-17.
(z) The transfer station, its equipment and nonroad motor vehicles shall be subject to inspection at all times during its hours of operation. Interference with Department personnel performing any function or duty is prohibited.
(aa) Any putrescible solid waste transfer station permit issued pursuant to this subchapter shall be conditioned upon compliance with any rules regarding the siting and hours of operation of putrescible solid waste transfer stations set forth in Subchapter C of this chapter.
(bb) The Commissioner may grant a variance from one or more provisions of this section, other than subsections (m), (j) and (s) through (y) of this section, if he or she determines, after completion of any applicable environmental review, that granting such variance would not have a significant adverse effect on the environment, provided that granting such variance is not otherwise inconsistent with law.
(Amended City Record 12/18/2015, eff. 1/17/2016)