In the past, every city, town, and village had its own waste disposal area, known as the town dump. In 1953 the Indiana General Assembly [PDF] authorized the Board of Commissioners of any county to adopt ordinances for the protection of public health. The act specifically mentions the disposal of garbage and rubbish on any land which is situated outside the corporate limits of any city or town. Eventually counties adopted ordinances to regulate waste disposal at the county level. For example, Jay County adopted an ordinance [PDF] in 1967, which cites the 1953 authorization.
The practice at that time was to burn the waste in local dumps, just as individual citizens burned their waste in a burn barrel on their property. Today we call these waste deposits “burn dumps.” As a result of burning waste, air pollution laws affected solid waste disposal. In 1961 the Indiana General Assembly enacted the Indiana Air Pollution Control Law, Chapter 171, Acts of 1961. In October 1965 federal Public Law 89-272 amended the Clean Air Act to “require standards for controlling the emission of pollutants from certain motor vehicles, to authorize a research and development program with respect to solid waste disposal, and for other purpose.” Title II of this Law is titled the “Solid Waste Disposal Act” [PDF] (page 6) and it became the impetus for the development of science-based regulation of solid waste disposal at the state and county level.
On December 6, 1968, Indiana promulgated Air Pollution Control Regulations APC 1 through 7 [PDF]. These regulations identify “refuse dumps and piles” as an “Air Contaminant Source.” Additionally, APC 2 states “No person shall burn any refuse in any open fire except as follows:
- Campfires and fires used solely for recreation purposes where such fires are properly controlled by a responsible person.
- Backyard incineration.
- Burning of rubbish on a farm, derived from an agricultural operation, when the prevailing winds, at the time of burning, are away from populated areas and no nuisance is created.
- Open burning, in remote areas, of highly explosive or other dangerous materials for which there is no other known method of disposal or for special purposes when approved by the Board.
The exceptions apply in all areas where they are not prohibited by local ordinances or by other officials having jurisdiction such as local fire officials.”
Senate Enrolled Act No. 420 [PDF], dated March 13, 1969 authorized “cities and towns to establish and maintain facilities for the collection and disposal of refuse.” This Act establishes rules for waste disposal fees.
On March 15, 1969 the Indiana General Assembly amended the Air Pollution Control Law with Chapter 357, Acts of 1969 [PDF]. This law reiterates that “refuse dumps and piles” are an “Air Contaminant Source” and established the first Air Pollution Control Board.
In July 1969, the Indiana State Board of Health amended the 1953 “Ordinance Regulating the Public Disposal of Garbage and Rubbish on Any Land Which is Situated Outside the Corporate Limits of Any City or Town.” This amendment provided a Model Ordinance [PDF] for counties to help regulate waste disposal in rural areas and it contained the first landfill design and operating standards. The Model Ordinance also required operators of sanitary landfills to obtain approval prior to opening a new disposal site. Approval letters were issued from 1969 through 1974.
The Model Ordinance indicates that waste disposal was a free service provided to citizens by local government: “Section 205: No fee shall be charged for a state, county, or municipally-owned and operated public refuse disposal site in _____ County. “
In 1971 the Indiana State Board of Health created the “Minimum Requirements for the Selection and Operation of a Sanitary Landfill” [PDF], which appears partially based on the 1969 Model Ordinance language. This document contained landfill siting and operating standards and was 3 pages long.
In 1974 the Indiana Stream Pollution Control Board promulgated the first official solid waste rule, Stream Pollution Control Regulation 18 [PDF], also known as SPC-18. This rule required the first official landfill permits. 1974 also saw the first policy for disposal of Construction/Demolition waste [PDF].
After 1974, SPC-18 was recodified [PDF] at various times without any changes to the rule language itself:
- State Rule 320 IAC 5; Refuse Disposal Act (August 15, 1974) [PDF]
- State rule 330 Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) 4, (Effective August 25, 1983) [PDF]; Refuse Disposal Act; Solid Waste Management Permits; Industrial Waste Hauler Permits (Transferred): IDEM Guidance Document Remediation Program Landfills and Open Dumps Guidance 20 of 20.
- State Rule 320.1 IAC 5 (September 30, 1983) [PDF]; Refuse Disposal Act; Solid Waste Management Permits; Industrial Waste Hauler Permits.
- State Rule 329 IAC 1.5 (July 1, 1988) [PDF]; Refuse Disposal Act; Solid Waste Management Permits, Industrial Waste Hauler Permits.
The Indiana State Board of Health issued the first foundry waste disposal guidelines [PDF] in 1985.
In 1989 329 IAC 2 [PDF] replaced SPC-18 and its subsequent recodifications with updated design and groundwater monitoring requirements. In 1993 Indiana applied to U.S. EPA for Subtitle D Authorization (Part 1 [PDF], Part 2 [PDF], Part 3 [PDF]), which in 1996 led to 329 IAC 10 replacing 329 IAC 2.
In December 2018, IDEM provided the Remediation Programs Landfills and Open Dumps Guidance [ZIP].