§ 21.50.300. Conditional use standards—Incinerator facilities and thermal desorption units.

A.

Incinerator facilities which alter or destroy medical waste shall be permitted by conditional use as an accessory use to research institutes, hospitals, nursing or convalescent facilities, or other uses, for which the applicant shall have the burden of proof to demonstrate that the infectious waste incinerator is an accessory use.

B.

Incinerator facilities and thermal desorption units shall meet the following separation distances from residential zoning districts, public, private and parochial academic elementary schools and high schools, or meet the supplemental requirements contained in subsection C.2 of this section:

1.

Separation distances for thermal desorption units are as follows: Facilities with a rated capacity of under 100 tons per hour shall be 400 meters from the nearest emission source. Facilities with a rated capacity of 100 tons per hour or more shall meet the supplemental requirements contained in subsection C.2 of this section.

2.

Separation distances for incinerator facilities are as follows:

	Distance from Nearest Emission Source (meters)
Rated  Capacity (lbs./hour)	400	700	1,000	1,200
Under 500	X
500—1,000		X
1,001—1,500			X
1,501—2,000				X

 

Facilities with a rated capacity greater than 2,000 pounds per hour must meet supplemental requirements contained in subsection C.2 of this section.

C.

In addition to the materials required by section 21.15.030.E, all applicants for a conditional use for an incinerator facility or thermal desorption unit shall submit the following:

1.

The applicant must provide the following information pertaining to the proposed incineration process:

a.

A description of the incineration operation, including equipment to be used.

b.

The type and quantity of material that will be processed.

c.

Operating hours and conditions.

d.

Plans for storing the material to be burned.

e.

A disposal plan for waste generated from the incineration process.

f.

The location of points of vehicular access to the site and projected traffic counts for each.

g.

A description of the permitting process required for operation of the incinerator.

h.

Such other materials as the director of the department of community planning and development may require by regulation pursuant to chapter 3.40.

2.

An analysis of the health risk of the incinerator or thermal desorption unit must be conducted for incinerators which do not meet the residential separation distances contained in subsection B of this section. The intent of the analysis is to provide information regarding the health risks of persons living close to the proposed incineration site. The municipality shall select a contractor to conduct the analysis and the cost will be billed to the petitioner. The analysis shall meet the following requirements:

a.

The analysis shall utilize an EPA-approved dispersion model appropriate for the type of facility, and the given terrain, to estimate the ambient annual average concentration of contaminants from the facility. The model shall be run according to EPA modeling guidelines.

b.

Models shall utilize a full year of local meteorological data (e.g., National Weather Service observations taken at the Anchorage International Airport). If several years worth of meteorological data are obtained, the year providing the highest ambient concentrations shall be used.

c.

All emission factors used in conjunction with the model shall be documented. Acceptable emission factors may be obtained from either a source test conducted by the manufacturer of the same or similar model as the one proposed to be used or must reference a published report (e.g., an article in a peer review scientific journal or EPA publication).

d.

The report shall describe the modelling results in terms of the annual concentration of each identified toxic compound at the boundary of the adjacent residential zoning districts as well as the location and magnitude of the maximum annual average concentrations found within each adjacent residential district.

e.

The report shall also describe the health risks attributable to these concentration levels based on the latest cancer risk values from the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. Cancer risks shall be based on the risk of one additional cancer above the background cancer rate per 100,000 individuals.

D.

Incinerators covered under this section shall not accept any materials that meets the definition of hazardous waste as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the state department of environmental conservation (ADEC).

E.

The planning and zoning commission may approve a conditional use for an incinerator facility or thermal desorption unit that does not meet the residential separation distance requirement contained in subsection B of this section only if the commission finds that the use meets the following standards:

1.

As demonstrated by the submitted health risk analysis, the proposed activity will not pose a lifetime health risk greater than one excess cancer case per 100,000 for individuals living within adjacent residentially zoned areas or attending primary or secondary schools.

2.

The storage plan for the material to be burned and the waste generated by the incineration activity is adequate to prevent any runoff, groundwater contamination, airborne dust or other means for contaminants to migrate off the site.

F.

Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection B of this section, no incinerator facility or thermal desorption unit shall be located less than 400 meters from a residentially zoned district, or primary or secondary school. No new incinerator facility or thermal desorption unit may be located less than 400 meters from existing incinerators or thermal desorption units unless:

1.

It can be demonstrated that the combined percentage rated capacity of all incinerator facilities and thermal desorption units, existing and proposed, does not exceed 100. The combined percentage rated capacity shall be calculated as follows:

(

I 1 + I 2 + … I N _____ 500

+

T 1 + T 2 + … T N _____ 100

)

× 100 = C

 

Where I ₁ + I ₂ + … I _N is the sum of the rated capacities of all incinerator facilities, in pounds per hour, within 400 meters of the proposed facility, and T ₁ + T ₂ + … T _N is the sum of the rated capacities of all thermal desorption units, in tons per hour, within 400 meters of the proposed facility. The proposed incinerator facility or thermal desorption unit shall be included in the calculation of the combined percentage rated capacity, or

2.

It can be demonstrated, through the procedure described in subsection C.2 of this section, that the combined risk of all incinerators and thermal desorption units operating within 400 meters of the proposed facility will not pose a lifetime health risk greater than one excess cancer case per 100,000 for individuals living within adjacent residentially zoned areas or attending primary or secondary schools.

G.

The planning and zoning commission shall attach such conditions to the approval of a conditional use for an incinerator as it finds are necessary to conform the use to the standards set forth in subsection C of this section. These conditions shall also include the following conditions:

1.

All conditional uses granted under this subsection are subject to revocation if the planning and zoning commission determines, based on a recommendation by the Anchorage Health Department, that the operator of the incinerator failed to operate according to the specifications shown in the plans approved by the planning and zoning commission or operate in conformance with the state department of environmental conservation or municipal air quality regulations. In order to determine whether or not this condition is met, the director of the Anchorage Health Department shall have authority to require monitoring for compliance with the conditional use permit and to annually obtain copies of the operator's monitoring or testing records.

2.

The petitioner shall obtain all applicable permits from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state department of environmental conservation, and Anchorage Health Department.

(AO No. 93-148, § 5, 11-16-93; AO No. 2018-118 , § 2, 1-1-19)