"Article 14: On the Sanitary Operating Permit: The Health Governing Areas (Áreas Rectoras de Salud) shall be responsible for processing and issuing the sanitary operating permit. For the granting of the operating permit mentioned in Article 8 of these provisions, apart from the procedures established in that numeral, any sanitary landfill project, regardless of its type and size, must comply at a minimum with the following technical requirements:
- a)Guarantee of stability of the terrain and the landfill against landslides.
- b)Internal access roads, ballasted or paved, passable at any time of the year, with information signs.
- c)Peripheral fencing that delimits the terrain and prevents the entry of animals and persons unrelated to the landfill, with a gate and restricted entry.
- d)Preparation of the terrain with an impermeable base, with slopes towards the drainage lines.
- e)Peripheral channels for stormwater.
- f)Drainage for leachate liquids (líquidos lixiviados) and vents for gases and fumes.
- g)Installations to capture and treat or recirculate over the landfill the leachate liquids.
- h)Control booth, warehouse, sanitary services, and other basic infrastructure.
- i)Sufficient and adequately trained personnel. Qualified supervision.
- j)The cover over the waste must be daily, using a soil that allows infiltration to the lower layers and with a minimum thickness of 15 cm. An alternative material to soil may be used as a daily cover material, with a lesser thickness, which must have the following characteristics:
1. Possess a capacity similar to or greater than that of natural earth to isolate the waste from the surrounding environment, control the proliferation of vectors, the emanations of biogas and offensive odors, fire risks, and the entry of rainwater into the lower layers; 2. Non-combustible; 3. Resistant to erosion and wind drag; 4. Not contain hazardous substances or materials nor be capable of releasing pollutants into the environment.
5 Resistant to surface runoff.
6. Does not produce adverse effects on the stability of the cells, k) Final cover of the landfill with a layer of cover material 60 cm thick, with an additional layer 20 cm thick capable of sustaining vegetation and with sufficient inclination to prevent the entry of stormwater into the waste.
- l)Design of different phases of operation of the landfill site, m) Design of the final configuration of the site, with its landscape treatment, n) No subsequent use that involves constructions, for a minimum period of 20 years.
- ñ)Buffer strip (franja de protección) of a minimum of 20 meters between the waste disposal area and the boundary line of neighboring properties.
- o)Be located at a distance that guarantees that aquifer recharge zones or potable water supply sources remain free of contamination, p) Approval of the construction permit according to Article 13 of this Regulation."