(a) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may issue, deny, modify, renew, suspend, revoke or transfer a permit, under such conditions as he may prescribe and upon submission of such information as he may require, for the construction, alteration and operation of solid waste facilities, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the commissioner shall not issue (1) a permit for a solid waste land disposal facility on former railroad property until July 1, 1989, unless the commissioner makes a written determination that such facility is necessary to meet the solid waste disposal needs of the state and will not result in a substantial excess capacity of solid waste land disposal areas or disrupt the orderly transportation of or disposal of solid waste in the area affected by the facility, or (2) an operational permit for a resources recovery facility unless the applicant has submitted a plan pursuant to § 22a-208g for the disposal or recycling of ash residue expected to be generated at the facility in the first five years of operation. In making a decision to grant or deny a permit to construct a solid waste land disposal facility, including a vertical or horizontal landfill expansion, the commissioner shall consider the character of the neighborhood in which such facility is located and may impose requirements for hours and routes of truck traffic, security and fencing and for measures to prevent the blowing of dust and debris and to minimize insects, rodents and odors. In making a decision to grant or deny a permit to construct or operate a new transfer station, the commissioner shall consider whether such transfer station will result in disproportionately high adverse human health or environmental effects. In making a decision to grant or deny a permit to construct an ash residue disposal area, the commissioner shall consider any provision which the applicant shall make for a double liner, a leachate collection or detection system and the cost of transportation and disposal of ash residue at the site under consideration.

(b) Except as provided in § 22a-208cc, no person or municipality shall establish, construct or operate a solid waste facility without a permit issued by the commissioner under this section. An application for such permit shall be submitted on a form prescribed by the commissioner, include such information as the commissioner may require, including, but not limited to, a closure plan for such facility, and be accompanied by a fee prescribed in regulations adopted in accordance with chapter 54. Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes or any regulation adopted pursuant to said statutes, references to a permit to construct or a permit to operate in a regulation adopted pursuant to § 22a-209 shall be deemed to mean a permit as required by this subsection. The applicant shall send a written notification of any application for such permit to the chief elected official of each municipality in which the proposed facility is to be located, within five business days of the date on which any such application is filed.

(c) Upon written notice from the commissioner and in accordance with a schedule specified by the commissioner in such written notice, any person or municipality that owns an unpermitted solid waste disposal area shall (1) submit a closure plan for the commissioner’s review and written approval, provide public notice of such proposed plan in a manner prescribed by regulations adopted pursuant to § 22a-133k and close and maintain such area after closure in accordance with the approved closure plan, or (2) remediate such disposal area in accordance with a remediation plan approved by the commissioner or verified by a licensed environmental professional pursuant to § 22a-133x, 22a-133y or 22a-134a or pursuant to an order of the commissioner. A fee of three thousand dollars shall accompany any closure plan submitted pursuant to this subsection. The commissioner may require the owner of a solid waste disposal area to post sufficient performance bond or other security to ensure compliance with the approved closure plan. The commissioner may approve a modification to a closure plan for a solid waste disposal area. A fee of five hundred dollars shall accompany the request for such modification. The commissioner may reduce or waive the fees required by this subsection in cases of financial hardship and may modify such fees in regulations adopted in accordance with chapter 54. The commissioner may require a person or municipality to provide public notice of a proposed modification of a closure plan if the modification involves any activity that would disrupt the solid waste or change the use of the solid waste disposal area. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, the commissioner may order a person or municipality that establishes or constructs a solid waste disposal area without first obtaining a permit as required by subsection (b) of this section to remove any solid waste disposed at such area, to remediate any pollution caused by such waste, and to properly dispose of such waste at a lawfully operated solid waste facility.

(d) (1) No person or municipality that holds a permit issued under this section shall alter the design or method of operation of the permitted facility without first obtaining a modified permit. For the purposes of this section and sections 22a-208, 22a-208b, 22a-220a, 22a-225 and 22a-226, “alter” means to change to any substantive degree the design, capacity, volume process or operation of a solid waste facility and includes, but is not limited to, changes in the approved capacity or composition of solid waste disposed of, processed, reduced, stored or recycled at the facility. For purposes of this section, “alter” does not include the addition of not more than seventy-five tons per day of mattresses and items designated by the commissioner for recycling pursuant to § 22a-241b and any regulation adopted pursuant to said section, except storage batteries and waste oil, provided the permitted storage capacity of such solid waste facility is not exceeded. The owner or operator of any such facility shall, not later than thirty days after adding such recyclable items, submit a written notification to the commissioner describing such addition. The commissioner may approve, in writing, a modification of a closure plan for a closed permitted solid waste disposal area without modifying the permit for such area. The commissioner may require a person who, or a municipality that, requests such modification to provide public notice of a proposed modification of a closure plan if the modification involves any activity that would disrupt the solid waste or change the use of the solid waste disposal area. A fee of five hundred dollars shall accompany any request for such modification of a closure plan. The commissioner may reduce or waive such fee in cases of financial hardship and may modify such fee in accordance with regulations adopted in accordance with chapter 54.

(2) Changes in design, processes or operations, including the addition of thermal oxidizers or other air pollution control equipment, made to mitigate, correct or abate odors from a solid waste facility that is owned or operated by the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority and that contracts with more than fifty municipalities, shall not be considered an alteration requiring a modified permit or minor permit amendment under this chapter. In addition, notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes or regulation adopted pursuant to said statutes, any such change shall not be considered a modification or new stationary source requiring a permit to construct or operate under chapter 446c or under any regulation adopted pursuant to chapter 446c, unless such change is a major modification or a major stationary source requiring a permit under the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Any person making any such change to an odor control system at such a facility shall, not more than thirty days after making such change, submit a written report to the commissioner fully describing the changes made and the reason for such changes for the commissioner’s review and comment. Nothing in this subdivision shall affect the commissioner’s authority to take any other action to enforce the requirements of this title.

(3) Notwithstanding any provision of this section, the receipt of not more than seventy-five tons per day of containerized food scrap, food processing residuals and soiled or unrecyclable paper and the storage of not more than one hundred fifty cubic yards of containerized food scrap, food processing residuals and soiled or unrecyclable paper at a facility permitted under this subsection shall not require a modification to any permit issued pursuant to this section. The receipt of such food scraps, food processing residuals and soiled or unrecyclable paper shall occur within a fully enclosed building, and such scraps, materials and paper shall remain containerized, except while being transferred, and shall be managed to control odor, leachate and attraction of vectors. The owner or operator of any such facility shall, not later than thirty days after adding such items for receipt by such facility, submit a written notification to the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection describing such addition.

(e) The commissioner may hold a public hearing prior to approving or denying an application if in his discretion the public interest will be best served thereby, and shall hold a hearing upon receipt of a petition signed by at least twenty-five persons. The commissioner may amend a permit to construct or to operate, without hearing, for minor changes in the facility design, practices or equipment that would not in his judgment significantly change the nature of the facility or its impact on the environment. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, the commissioner shall conduct a public hearing on an application for a permit to construct a new solid waste disposal area. Such public hearing shall be commenced in the municipality in which the facility is to be located or a location in close proximity to said municipality. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, if a hearing has been held on and after July 1, 1993, on an application for a permit to construct or alter a solid waste facility, the commissioner shall not hold a hearing on an application for a permit to operate such facility.

(f) The qualifications of the operator or operators of any solid waste facility and any person other than a municipality owning such a facility shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner. The commissioner shall establish requirements for the presence of approved operators at solid waste facilities. The commissioner may develop, offer or sponsor training programs for operators of solid waste facilities and require participation therein.

(g) Whenever the commissioner issues a permit to construct a solid waste facility, he shall cause a certified copy thereof to be filed on the land records in the town wherein the facility will be located.

(h) On and after July 1, 1996, fees required pursuant to this section shall be as prescribed by regulations adopted by the commissioner in accordance with chapter 54. In adopting regulations pursuant to this section, the commissioner shall perform an evaluation of the actual costs necessary to process, review and render a decision on permit applications reflecting the time, resource commitments and expenses to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. A similar review shall be performed for annual fees sufficient to represent the actual time to perform and review routine inspections, perform general monitoring of activities and perform appropriate follow-up on results of such activities. For both application fees and annual fees, the commissioner shall include a description of methods used to calculate the costs associated with similar categories of activities in order to demonstrate that the fees for activities within any category are equitable.

(i) (1) The commissioner may issue a general permit for a category of activities which require a permit under this section, except for an activity which is already covered by an individual permit, provided the issuance of the permit is not inconsistent with the requirements of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The commissioner’s authority to issue a general permit for certain categories of solid waste facilities shall not include the authority to issue a general permit for resources recovery facilities, biomedical waste facilities, solid waste disposal areas or municipal solid waste composting facilities. Any person or municipality conducting an activity for which a general permit has been issued shall not be required to obtain an individual permit under this section, except as provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection. The general permit may regulate a category of activities which (A) involve the same or substantially similar types of operations, (B) involve the transfer, storage, processing or disposal of the same types of substances, (C) require the same operating conditions or standards, and (D) require the same or similar monitoring, and which in the opinion of the commissioner are more appropriately controlled under a general permit than under an individual permit. The general permit may require any person or municipality proposing to conduct any activity under the general permit to register such activity with the commissioner before it is covered by the general permit. Registration shall be on a form prescribed by the commissioner.

(2) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section, or any regulations adopted thereunder, or of chapter 54, the following procedures shall apply to the issuance, renewal, modification, revocation or suspension of a general permit. (A) A general permit shall be issued for a term specified by the permit and shall clearly define the activity covered thereby and may include such conditions and requirements as the commissioner deems appropriate, including but not limited to, operation and maintenance requirements, management practices, and reporting requirements; (B) the commissioner shall publish notice of intent to issue a general permit in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the affected area; (C) there shall be a comment period of thirty days following publication of such notice during which interested persons may submit written comments to the commissioner; and (D) the commissioner shall publish notice of the issuance or decision not to issue a general permit in a newspaper having substantial circulation in the affected area. The commissioner may revoke, suspend or modify a general permit in accordance with the notice and comment procedures for issuance of a general permit specified in this subsection. Any person may request that the commissioner issue, modify, suspend or revoke a general permit in accordance with this subsection.

(3) Subsequent to the issuance of a general permit, the commissioner may require a person or municipality whose activity is or may be covered by the general permit to apply for and obtain an individual permit pursuant to subsections (a), (b), (c) and (d) of this section if he determines that an individual permit would better protect the land, air and waters of the state from pollution. The commissioner may require an individual permit under this subdivision in cases including, but not limited to the following: (A) When the owner or operator is not in compliance with the conditions of the general permit; (B) when a change has occurred in the availability of demonstrated technology or practices for the control or abatement of pollution applicable to the activity; (C) when circumstances have changed since the time of the issuance of the general permit so that the activity is no longer appropriately controlled under the general permit, or either a temporary or permanent reduction or elimination of the authorized activity is necessary; or (D) when a relevant change has occurred in the applicability of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. In making the determination to require an individual permit, the commissioner may consider the location, character and size of the activity, and any other relevant factors. The commissioner may require an individual permit under this subdivision only if the affected person or municipality covered by the general permit has been notified in writing that a permit application is required. This notice shall include a brief statement of the reasons for this decision, an application form, a statement setting a time for the person or municipality to file the application, and a statement that on the effective date of the individual permit the general permit as it applies to the individual permittee shall automatically terminate. The commissioner may grant an extension of time upon the request of the applicant. The applicant shall use his best efforts to obtain the individual permit. Any interested person or municipality may petition the commissioner to take action under this subdivision.

(4) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to carry out the purposes of this subsection.

(j) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may issue an approval for a demonstration project for any activity regulated by the commissioner under this chapter provided the commissioner determines that such demonstration project (1) is necessary to research, develop or promote methods and technologies of solid waste management which are consistent with the goals of the state-wide solid waste management plan; (2) does not pose a significant risk to human health or the environment; and (3) is not inconsistent with the federal Water Pollution Control Act, the federal Rivers and Harbors Act, the federal Clean Air Act or the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. An application for such approval shall be on a form prescribed by the commissioner, be accompanied by a fee of one thousand dollars and shall provide such information as the commissioner deems necessary. Any person applying for such approval shall not commence the project prior to the commissioner’s written approval. The commissioner may impose conditions upon such approval as deemed necessary to adequately protect human health and the environment or to ensure project success and such approval shall be valid for a period of not more than two years. The commissioner may renew such approval provided the total period of approval does not exceed five years. The commissioner may order summary suspension of any such approval in accordance with subsection (c) of § 4-182. Notwithstanding the renewal process, any person may seek, or the commissioner may require, that the project obtain a general or individual permit pursuant to this chapter.