The Management of Extractive Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2010

Construction and management: duties of operator

22.—(1) The operator of any waste facility shall ensure, in constructing a new waste facility or modifying an existing waste facility, that the following requirements are met—

(a) the management of the waste facility is in the hands of a competent person;

(b) the requisite technical development and training of staff is provided;

(c) the waste facility is suitably located, taking into account in particular Community or national obligations relating to protected areas, and geological, hydrological, seismic and geotechnical factors and is designed to meet the necessary conditions for, in the short and long term perspectives, preventing pollution of the soil, air, groundwater or surface water in accordance with Directives 76/464/EEC, 80/68/EEC and 2000/60/EC and ensuring efficient collection of contaminated water and leachate as and when required under the planning permission, and reducing erosion caused by water or wind as far as it is technically possible and economically viable;

(d) the waste facility is suitably constructed, managed and maintained to ensure its physical stability and to prevent pollution or contamination of soil, air, surface water or groundwater in the short and long‑term perspectives as well as to minimise as far as possible damage to landscape;

(e) there are suitable plans and arrangements for regular monitoring and inspection of the waste facility by competent persons and for taking action in the event of results indicating instability or water or soil contamination;

(f) up-to-date records are kept of all waste management operations, which are available for inspection by the planning authority on request;

(g) suitable arrangements are made for the rehabilitation of the land and the closure of the waste facility; and

(h) suitable arrangements are made for the after‑closure phase of the waste facility.

(2) In relation to paragraph (1)(e) the operator shall—

(a) keep records of the monitoring and inspections along with documentation relating to the conditions attached to the planning permission, in order to ensure the appropriate hand‑over of information, particularly in the event of a change of operator; and

(b) report to the planning authority, at a frequency to be determined by it, but in any event no less than once a year, all monitoring results on the basis of aggregated data, in order to demonstrate compliance with the conditions attached to the planning permission and to increase knowledge of waste and waste facility behaviour.

(3) In the event of a change of operator during the management of a waste facility the operator shall ensure that there is a transfer of relevant up‑to‑date information and records relating to the waste facility.

(4) Where the operator identifies any events likely to affect the stability of the waste facility or any significant adverse environmental effects revealed by the control and monitoring procedures in paragraph (1)(e), the operator shall—

(a) notify the local authority, without undue delay and no later than 48 hours after they have been identified of those events or effects;

(b) implement the internal emergency plan referred to in regulation 18(1), where applicable;

(c) follow any instruction from the local authority as to the corrective measures to be taken; and

(d) be liable for the costs of the measures undertaken.