§342H-52  Prohibitions; buffer zones.  (a)  No person, including any federal agency, the State, or any county, shall construct, operate, modify, expand, or close a municipal solid waste landfill unit, or any component of a municipal solid waste landfill unit, without first obtaining a permit from the director.  All permits for municipal solid waste landfill units shall be subject to any terms and conditions that the director determines are necessary to protect human health or the environment.

     (b)  Beginning July 1, 2025, no person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a landfill unit or component of a landfill unit without first establishing a buffer zone of no less than one-half mile around the landfill unit or component of a landfill unit.  This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing landfill unit or component of a landfill unit that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the landfill unit or component of a landfill unit requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.

     (c)  Beginning July 1, 2025, no person, including the State or any county, shall construct, modify, or expand a landfill unit or any component of a landfill unit inland of an underground injection control line in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand.  This subsection shall not apply to the continued operation of an existing landfill unit or any component of a landfill unit that is properly permitted; provided that continued operation does not require physical expansion, vertical or horizontal, of the landfill unit or component of a landfill unit requiring additional permitting review and a permit modification.

     (d)  For the purposes of this section:

     "Buffer zone" means the distance between the edge of the landfill unit or component of the landfill unit and the nearest residential, school, or hospital property line.

     "Landfill unit" means a municipal solid waste landfill unit or a construction and demolition landfill unit.

     "Underground injection control line" means the line determined by the department under rules adopted or regulations promulgated pursuant to section 340E-2. [L 1992, c 245, pt of §1; am L 2020, c 73, §2; am L 2022, c 9, §2; am L 2025, c 255, §4]