North Carolina

North Carolina regulations adopt by reference the federal regulation that exempts CCBs (including fly ash, bottom ash, slag, and flue gas emission control waste generated primarily from the combustion of coal) from classification as hazardous waste. Under North Carolina regulations, CCBs which may be reused include fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas desulfurization residue produced by coal-fired electrical or steam generation units. These CCBs may generally be beneficially reused as an ingredient in an industrial process to make a product, as an effective substitute for a commercial product or natural resource, and in structural fill, if substantive regulatory requirements are met. CCBs may not be accumulated speculatively, and compliance with CCB beneficial reuse regulations does not exempt the owner from other applicable laws.

Contact Information:
William Hocutt
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
401 Oberlin Road, Suite 150, Raleigh, NC, 27605
Phone:   (919) 733-0692 ext. 260
Fax:       (919) 715-3605
Website: www.enr.state.nc.us

Detailed Review of CCB Regulations:
North Carolina regulations adopt by reference the federal regulation which exempts CCPs from classification as hazardous waste. Exempt from hazardous waste regulation are fly ash, bottom ash, slag and flue gas emission control waste generated primarily from the combustion of coal. N.C.ADMIN.CODE 15A r.13A.0106(a). CCPs may be regulated as solid industrial waste in North Carolina and must meet certain landfill requirements if disposed of. N.C. ADMIN. CODE 15A r.13B.0503(2)(d)(ii).

Under North Carolina regulations, CCPs which may be reused are defined to include fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag and flue gas desulfurization residue produced by coal fired electrical or steam generation units. These CCPs may generally be beneficially reused as an ingredient in an industrial process to make a product, as an effective substitute for a commercial product or natural resource, and in structural fill. North Carolina regulations specify the following permissible CCP reuses:

• In structural fill applications which comply with substantive requirements set forth in the regulations. Substantive regulatory requirements for structural fill applications include:
  • Written notice to the state at least 30 days prior to commencement of structural fill projects containing: (1) a description of the nature, purpose, and location of the project, the location of the project on USGS maps, and a DOT map or topographic map showing the project; (2) the estimated start and completion dates for the project; (3) an estimate of the volume of CCPs to be used in the project; (4) TCLP analysis from a sample of each type of CCPs intended for use in the project; (5) a statement by the owner agreeing to comply with the County Recorder of Deed recording requirements in §.1707; and (6) specified information regarding the CCP generator;
  • In projects using more than 10,000 cubic yards of CCPs, written notice to the state at least 30 days prior to commencement of CCP use containing construction plans for the structural fill facility, including a stability analysis when necessary, prepared, signed and sealed by a registered professional engineer;
  • Compliance with location restrictions. CCPs used in structural fills may not be located within 50 feet of a jurisdictional wetland (absent additional regulatory approvals), a perennial stream or other water body, within 25 feet of any property boundary or bedrock outcrop, within two feet of the seasonal high groundwater table, within 100 feet of any drinking water source, or within a 100 year floodplain (absent additional regulatory approvals);
  • Compliance with the following design, construction and operational requirements set forth in §.1705: the structural fill facility must be designed, constructed, operated, closed and maintained to minimize potential releases of CCPs and nuisance conditions; CCPs must be collected and transported to prevent public nuisances and hazards, must be moisture conditioned as needed, and transported in covered trucks to prevent dusting; CCPs must be placed uniformly and compacted in lifts not to exceed one foot in thickness and compacted to standards specified by a registered professional engineer for a specific end use purpose; equipment capable of placing and compacting CCPs and handling earth work must be present when CCPs are received at the area; the structural fill facility must be maintained and operated as a non-discharge system to prevent discharge to surface water and operated to ensure no violations of groundwater standards occur; surface waters resulting from precipitation must be diverted away from active CCP placement areas during filling and construction activity; site development must comply with the North Carolina Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973; dust control measures must be undertaken to minimize airborne emissions and to prevent dust from creating a nuisance or safety hazard, and the project must not violate applicable air quality regulations; all structural fills must be covered with a minimum of 12" compacted earth and an additional surface of six inches of soil capable of supporting native plant growth; and CCPs utilized on an exterior slope of a structural fill shall not be placed with a slope greater than 3.0 horizontal to 1.0 vertical;
  • Compliance with the following closure requirements set forth in §.1706: no later than 30 working days or 60 calendar days, whichever is less after CCP placement has ceased, the final cover must be applied over the area; the final surface of the structural fill must be graded and provided with drainage systems that minimize erosion of cover materials and promote drainage of area precipitation, minimize infiltration and prevent ponding of surface water on the structural fill; other erosion control measures such as temporary mulching, seeding or silt barriers must be installed to ensure no visible CCP product migration to adjacent property; the constructor or operator must submit a certification to the Agency signed and sealed by a registered professional engineer or the secretary of the Department of Transportation certifying that all requirements have been met. The report must be submitted within 30 days of application of final cover; and
  • Compliance with the recording requirements set forth in §.1707 which include: Filing with the Register of Deeds, a statement signed and acknowledged by the landowners identifying the parcel of land, within 90 days of completion of any CCP structural fill project utilizing more than 1,000 cubic yards of CCPs. Transfers of such property must contain a statement that CCPs have been used as fill material on the property in the body of the deed.
• In other applications authorized in §.1708 which include use of CCPs:
  • As soil nutrient additive or other agricultural purpose under the authority of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture;
  • Bottom ash or boiler slag as traction control material or road surface material if the use is approved by the North Carolina Department of Transportation;
  • As material in the manufacturing of another product, such as concrete products, lightweight aggregate, roofing materials, plastics, paint, flowable fill and roller compacted concrete or as a substitute for a product or material resource, including but not limited to, blasting grit, roofing granules, filter cloth, precoat for sludge dewatering and pipe bedding;
  • As a structural fill for the base or subbase under a structure, paved road, parking lot, sidewalk, walkway or similar structure;
  • For the extraction or recovery of materials and compounds contained within the CCPs. (Note: residuals from the processing operations remain solid waste and are subject to regulation); and
  • As a stabilized structural fill product when processed with a cementitious binder and spread and compacted for the construction of a project with a planned end use.

CCPs may not be accumulated speculatively. CCPs are not considered to be accumulated for speculative purposes when a minimum of 75% of the CCPs are removed from the facility and beneficially reused annually. Compliance with CCP beneficial reuse regulations does not exempt the owner from other potentially applicable laws and regulations such as the North Carolina Water Pollution Control regulations.

Annual reporting is required. By October 1 of each year, generators of CCPs must submit an annual report summarizing the volume of CCPs produced, disposed, reused in structural fill and reused in other applications.

N.C. ADMIN. CODE 15A r.13B.1700-.1710