§ 256.01 Purpose and scope of the guidelines.

(a) The purpose of these guidelines is to assist in the development and implementation of State solid waste management plans, in accordance with section 4002(b) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6942(b)) (the “Act”). These guidelines contain methods for achieving the objectives of environmentally sound management and disposal of solid and hazardous waste, resource conservation, and maximum utilization of valuable resources. (b) These guidelines address the minimum requirements for approval of State plans as set forth in section 4003 of the Act. These are: (1) The plan shall identify, in accordance with section 4006(b), (i) the responsibilities of State, local, and regional authorities in the implementation of the State plan, (ii) the distribution of Federal funds to the authorities responsible for development and implementation of the State plan, and (iii) the means for coordinating regional planning and implementation under the State plan. (2) The plan shall, in accordance with section 4005(c), prohibit the establishment of new open dumps within the State, and contain requirements that all solid waste (including solid waste originating in other States, but not including hazardous waste) shall be (i) utilized for resource recovery or (ii) disposed of in sanitary landfills (within the meaning of section 4004(a)) or otherwise disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. (3) The plan shall provide for the closing or upgrading of all existing open dumps within the State pursuant to the requirements of section 4005. (4) The plan shall provide for the establishment of such State regulatory powers as may be necessary to implement the plan. (5) The plan shall provide that no local government within the State shall be prohibited under State or local law from entering into long-term contracts for the supply of solid waste to resource recovery facilities. (6) The plan shall provide for resource conservation or recovery and for the disposal of solid waste in sanitary landfills or for any combination of practices so as may be necessary to use or dispose of such waste in a manner that is environmentally sound. (c) These guidelines address the requirement of section 4005(c) that a State plan: Shall establish, for any entity which demonstrates that it has considered other public or private alternatives for solid waste management to comply with the prohibition on open dumping and is unable to utilize such alternatives to so comply, a timetable or schedule of compliance for such practice or disposal of solid waste which specifies a schedule of remedial measures, including an enforceable sequence of actions or operations leading to compliance with the prohibition on open dumping of solid waste within a reasonable time (not to exceed five years from the date of publication of the inventory).