NAC444.6795. Location restrictions: Unstable areas.

     1. The owner or operator of a new or existing municipal solid waste landfill unit or a lateral expansion located in an unstable area shall maintain proof that engineering measures have been incorporated into the structural design of the unit or lateral expansion to ensure that the integrity of the unit or lateral expansion will not be disrupted. The owner or operator shall place the proof in the design report and the operating records of the unit and notify the solid waste management authority that the proof has been placed in the operating records.

     2. To determine if an area is unstable, the owner or operator shall consider:

     (a) Conditions of the soil on or near the site which may result in a significant differential settling;

     (b) Geologic or geomorphic features on or near the site; and

     (c) Artificially created features or events which are on the surface or subsurface.

     3. As used in this section:

     (a) “Areas susceptible to mass movement” means those areas where the movement of earth material at, beneath or adjacent to the unit, because of natural or artificially created features, results in the downslope movement of soil and rock by means of gravitational influence. The term includes, but is not limited to, areas with landslides, avalanches, debris, slides and flows, block slidings and rock falls.

     (b) “Karst terranes” means areas where karst topography, with its characteristic surface and subterranean features, is developed as the result of the dissolution of limestone, dolomite or soluble rock. The term includes, but is not limited to, areas with sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, large springs and blind valleys.

     (c) “Poor foundation conditions” means those areas with features which indicate that a natural or human-caused event may result in an inadequate foundation for the structural components of a municipal solid waste landfill unit or lateral expansion.

     (d) “Structural components” means liners, systems for leachate collection, final cover, systems for runon or runoff and any other component used in the construction and operation of a municipal solid waste landfill unit which is necessary for the protection of public health and safety and the environment.

     (e) “Unstable area” means a location which is susceptible to natural or artificially created features that are capable of impairing the integrity of some or all of the structural components of a municipal solid waste landfill unit that will prevent the release of the solid waste, or any by-product thereof, from that landfill. The term includes poor foundation conditions, areas susceptible to mass movements and karst terranes.

     (Added to NAC by Environmental Comm’n, eff. 11-8-93)