| Land Management Division |
The Land Management Division is comprised of
two sections and one unit: the Waste Management
Section, the Remediation Section, and the
Planning and Aid Unit. Both Waste Management and
Remediation sections share responsibilities for
hazardous waste (RCRA), Superfund, voluntary
remediation, and integrated waste management
programs. Several wasterelated grant programs
are administered by the Planning and Aid Unit.
Following is a summary of Waste Management
Division programs. |
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Integrated Waste Management Program
Solid Waste regulations are incorporated in NDEQ
Title 132 - Integrated Solid Waste Management
Regulations. The purpose of the program is to
ensure proper management of solid waste. Solid
waste includes municipal solid waste typically
collected and disposed in municipal landfills,
and other nonhazardous waste. The regulations
provide technical criteria for land disposal
areas and solid waste processing facilities.
Duties assigned to this program include: 1)
Permit issuance, renewal and modification; 2)
Response to inquiries related to facility
operations; 3) Compliance inspections and
enforcement actions; 4) Investigation of citizen
complaints; 5) Alternate waste management method
approvals; 6) Groundwater investigations and
groundwater/soil remediation projects for
permitted and nonpermitted facilities; 7) Gas
emissions monitoring related to landfills and
other permitted sites; 8) Closure inspections
and monitoring of closure and post-closure
activities; 9) Conducting public information
sessions and hearings related to permits; 10)
Financial assurance review and monitoring
compliance; and 11) Assisting regulated
facilities and the general public in recycling,
re-use and proper management of waste-like
materials. |
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Waste Tire Management Program
The Department also administers the waste tire
management program. Approved beneficial uses of
waste tires are outlined in Department
regulations. Waste tire haulers are required to
obtain individual permits annually and are
required to post financial assurance. Financial
assurance is designed to provide adequate funds
to clean up any waste tires that are illegally
disposed by the transporter. Waste tire
management facilities (except tire dealers) are
allowed to accumulate up to 500 tires without
further requirements, other than mosquito
control and fire prevention measures.
Speculative accumulation of more than 500 waste
tires is prohibited. |
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Waste Planning and Aid
Waste Planning and Aid includes the following
programs: the Waste Reduction and Recycling
Incentive Grants Program; the Litter Reduction
and Recycling Grant Program; the Illegal
Dumpsite Cleanup Program; and the Landfill
Disposal Fee Rebate Program. |
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Waste Reduction and Recycling Incentive Grants Program
In 1990, the Nebraska Legislature passed
Legislative Bill 163, the Waste Reduction and
Recycling Act, which created the Waste Reduction
and Recycling Incentive Grants Program.
There are three sources of revenue for this
program:
A business fee on sales of tangible personal
property, which generates about $500,000
annually.
A $1 per tire fee on the retail sale of new
tires in Nebraska, which generates about $1.9
million annually;
Fifty percent of the $1.25 per ton disposal fee
on solid waste disposed of in permitted
landfills, which generates approximately $1.2
million annually for grant awards.
The Waste Reduction and Recycling Incentive Fund
provides grants to assist in financing sound
integrated waste management programs and
projects. These programs and projects may
include but are not limited to: recycling
systems; market development for recyclable
materials; intermediate processing facilities
and facilities using recyclable materials in new
products; yard waste composting and composting
with sewage sludge; waste reduction and waste
exchange; household hazardous waste programs;
the consolidation of solid waste disposal
facilities and use of transfer stations; and
incineration for energy recovery. A portion of
the grants is also obligated to fund scrap tire
recycling or reduction projects and a portion of
the grants are available to smaller cities and
counties for abandoned building deconstruction. |
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Litter Reduction and Recycling Grant Program
The Litter Reduction and Recycling Grant Program
has been in existence since 1979. Its purpose is
to provide funds to support programs to reduce
litter, provide education, and promote recycling
in Nebraska.
Funds from this program are provided from an
annual fee assessed to manufacturers,
wholesalers, and retailers having gross receipts
of at least $100,000, on products that commonly
contribute to litter. For manufacturers, the
annual litter fee is equal to $175 for each
million dollars of products manufactured. The
annual litter fee for wholesalers and retailers
is equal to $175 for each million dollars of
sales made in the state. Approximately $1.8
million is received annually. |
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Illegal Dumpsite Cleanup Program
The Illegal Dumpsite Cleanup Program,
established in 1997, is a cleanup program that
provides funding assistance to political
subdivisions for the cleanup of solid waste
disposed of along public roadways or ditches.
Through this program, items such as household
waste, white goods, construction and demolition
waste, and furniture, are removed from the
illegal site and disposed in a permitted
facility or recycled. |
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Landfill Disposal Fee Rebate Program
The Landfill Disposal Fee Rebate Program was
created as an incentive to political
subdivisions to support and encourage the
purchasing of products, materials, or supplies
that are manufactured or produced from recycled
material. Funding for the program is drawn from
the Waste Reduction and Recycling Incentive
Fund. |
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Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Program
NDEQ was authorized in 1985 by EPA to administer
portions of the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) program. RCRA regulations
are incorporated in NDEQ Title 128 - Nebraska
Hazardous Waste Regulations, which is updated as
the Federal RCRA regulations change. There were
no regulatory changes made in fiscal year 2013
to the Title 128 regulations.
The purpose of the RCRA program is to ensure
proper management of hazardous wastes from the
point of generation until final disposal. |
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Superfund Program
The Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) became
federal law in 1980. CERCLA established what has
commonly become known as Superfund to deal with
known or suspected contamination at inactive
commercial/industrial/military facilities or so
called "uncontrolled hazardous waste or
abandoned sites." The nation's most
contaminated sites are listed on the National
Priorities List (NPL). Nebraska currently has
thirteen sites on the National Priorities List.
One site, the Waverly Groundwater Contamination
Site, was removed from the NPL on November 20,
2006 as the cleanup goals for the site have been
achieved. Twelve of the sites are in the cleanup
phase and one site (West Highway 6 & 281 in
Hastings) is relatively new to the National
Priority List and is in the site study stage.
Numerous other non-National Priorities List
sites with known or suspected releases of
hazardous substances exist in the state, but are
not being addressed through the federal
Superfund process.
The investigation and remediation of
contaminated sites are the primary
responsibility of the EPA and other federal
agencies. NDEQ participates in the Superfund
process by serving as a technical support agency
to the EPA and as the environmental
representative for the State of Nebraska. |
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Nebraska Voluntary Cleanup Program
The Remedial Action Plan Monitoring Act (RAPMA),
initially created in 1995, established the
Nebraska Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). The
Voluntary Cleanup Program provides property
owners and parties responsible for contamination
with a mechanism for developing voluntary
environmental cleanup plans that are reviewed
and approved by the Department. The voluntary
cleanup program provides an avenue for
businesses to proceed with cleanup of property
and an opportunity for regulatory review and
oversight that may not be available at the
federal level. In addition, the program serves
as an alternative cleanup program to the more
traditional federal cleanup programs like
Superfund or RCRA.
The Department has a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) with EPA Region VII, which provides
federal approval of voluntary cleanup programs.
Under this agreement, any site that joins the
voluntary cleanup program and successfully
completes the cleanup action is assured that EPA
will not pursue federal enforcement under
CERCLA. |
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Brownfield Assessments and Cleanups
A brownfield site is a vacant or under-used
industrial or commercial property where
expansion or redevelopment is complicated by
unresolved contamination concerns. The voluntary
cleanup program performs assessments and
cleanups at brownfield sites in Nebraska. These
assessments and cleanups are performed by NDEQ,
typically with federal funds, at no cost to
interested parties in Nebraska communities. A
brownfield assessment is a preliminary
investigation to evaluate the environmental
conditions at a property, similar to a Phase I
and Phase II Environmental Site Assessment. The
brownfield assessment can also include surveys
of existing building structures on the property
for the presence of lead-based paint or
asbestos. Cleanups can involve a variety of
measures that are implemented to contain and
reduce contamination at a site. During the past
year, the Department has performed 17 Phase I
assessments, five Phase II assessments, one
lead-based paint survey, and four asbestos
surveys. One of the Phase II assessments,
conducted at Rhylander Park in Plattsmouth,
identified the presence of lead in soil
associated with the former operations of a
Burlington Northern-Sante Fe Rail yard.
Supplemental investigation conducted by the
Department indicated the need for removal of
lead contaminated soil from a wooded area
immediately adjacent to the park. This soil
removal work was recently completed. |
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