North Dakota Century Code Title 23.1. Environmental Quality § 23.1-08-09. Permits (Effective upon contingency being met)

1. The department may issue permits for solid waste management facilities and solid waste transporters. A person may not own, operate, or use a facility for solid waste disposal or transport solid wastes without a valid permit. Upon receipt of a permit application, the department shall give public notice, in the official newspaper of the county in which the facility is to be located, that the department is considering an application for a solid waste management facility. The notice must state the name of the applicant, the location of the facility, and a description of the facility. The department shall require as a condition of a permit for a solid waste management facility, not owned or operated by the state or a political subdivision, that any entity that controls the permitholder agrees to accept responsibility for any remedial measures, closure and postclosure care, or penalties incurred by the permitholder. For purposes of this section, “control” means ownership or control, directly, indirectly, or through the actions of one or more persons of the power to vote twenty-five percent or more of any class of voting shares of a permitholder, or the direct or indirect power to control in any manner the election of a majority of the directors of a permitholder, or to direct the management or policies of a permitholder, whether by individuals, corporations, partnerships, trusts, or other entities or organizations of any type. All permits are transferable, are for a term of not more than ten years from the date of issuance, and are conditioned upon the observance of the laws of the state and the rules adopted under this chapter.

2. For each permit application, the department shall notify the board of county commissioners of a county in which a new solid waste management facility will be located of the department's intention to issue a permit for the facility. The board of county commissioners may call a special election to be held within sixty days after receiving notice from the department to allow the qualified electors of the county to vote to approve or disapprove of the facility based on public interest and impact on the environment. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the question in the election vote to disapprove of the facility, the department may not issue the permit and the facility may not be located in that county.

3. Notwithstanding subsection 2, if the new solid waste management facility will be owned or operated by a solid waste management authority, a special election to approve or disapprove of a facility may be called only if the boards of county commissioners from a majority of the counties in the solid waste management district call for a special election. However, a special election must be conducted in each county within the authority. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the question in the election vote to disapprove of the facility, the department may not issue the permit.

4. Subsections 2 and 3 do not apply to a solid waste management facility operated as part of an energy conversion facility or part of a surface coal mining and reclamation operation, if the solid waste management facility disposes of only waste generated by the energy conversion facility or surface coal mining and reclamation operation.