Solid Waste Departments and Landfill Records Retention Schedule

Tennessee Code Annotated
Tennessee Attorney General Opinions

Reference Number: CTAS-2061

Solid Waste Departments and Landfill Records. The records included in this schedule are only those specific to the county office that oversees solid waste and/or landfills. Records that may be kept in the same format by several county offices (such as employment records, purchasing records, etc.) will be found listed under topical retention schedules elsewhere in this manual. If you have records in your office that are not listed in this schedule by name, check the descriptions of the records to see if we may have called it by a different term. If you still cannot locate any entry relative to the record, contact us at the County Technical Assistance Service for guidance in determining the proper disposition of the record and so that we can make note of that record’s existence to include it in future revisions of this manual.

Retention Schedule for the County Solid Waste Department
Description of Record	Retention Period	Legal Authority/Rationale
A. PLANNING RECORDS
13-001 Annual Solid Waste Progress Report by the Region—Required report to the commissioner of environment and conservation reporting on collection, recycling, transportation, disposal, public costs and any other information which the board, by rule, may deem relevant to solid waste planning and management.	Retain 10 years, then eligible for destruction.	T.C.A. § 68-211-871(a). Keep for planning purposes based on 10-year Municipal Solid Waste Region Plan.
13-002 Creation and Formation of Solid Waste Region, Records of—Resolutions and approved agreements of the county legislative body establishing a municipal solid waste region. A copy of this record is filed by county clerk with the State Department of Environment and Conservation.	Keep until dissolution of the solid waste region.	T.C.A. § 68-211-813(a)(1). Record authorizes existence of the region and establishes agreements between local governments.
13-003 Ten Year Municipal Solid Waste Region Plan—Plan every region is required to develop and submit to the Department of Environment and Conservation for approval. Plans must include at least the minimum information required by T.C.A. § 68-211-815.	Keep current plan and one previous generation.	T.C.A. § 68-211-814. Older plans are useful in the planning process.
13-004 Updates to Municipal Solid Waste Plan— Updates to the ten year plan required by T.C.A. § 68-211-814 to occur at least every five years after the plan’s initial approval to reflect subsequent developments in the region.	Keep all updates for current plan and one previous generation.	T.C.A. § 68-211-814. Older updates are useful in the planning process.
B. RECYCLING RECORDS
13-005 Annual Report of Materials Collected at Recycling Center by Operator—Copy of annual report of recovered materials processed at the facility, by type of material, sent to the Department of Environment and Conservation.	Retain 10 years, then eligible for destruction.	T.C.A. § 68-211-871(e). Retention period based on planning cycle of the 10-year regional plan.
C. LANDFILL RECORDS
13-006 Amount of Solid Waste (in Tons) Received at Municipal Solid Waste Facilities, Records of— Records for current month shall be maintained at the facility and open for inspection by the Department of Environment and Conservation. All other records shall be maintained at suitable office space in order to protect them from damage or loss.	Retain three years, then eligible for destruction. Note that if the records relate to financial transactions (such as receipts or receipt books) the retention period should be five years to comply with audit requirements. See entry 15-019.	T.C.A. § 68-211-871(e). Retention period established by TN Rule 1200-1-7-.08(3).
13-007 Approved Permit Applications for Solid Waste Disposal Facilities—Records of all data and supplemental information used to complete permit applications. Includes copy of the permit and the approved Part I and Part II application. Maintain at the facility or another location with the approval of the department.	Retain throughout active life of the facility and through the post-closure care period.	TN Rules 1200-1-7-.02(2)(a)4. & 1200-1-7-.02(4)(a)7. Keep to show compliance with regulations in order to defend against superfund liability.
13-008 Closure/Post-Closure Landfill Plan— Plan identifying the steps necessary to completely or partially close the facility at any point during its intended operating life and to completely close the facility at the end of its intended operating life, identifying the activities which will be carried on after closure and the frequency of these activities.	Retain up-to-date plan throughout the active life of the facility and through the post-closure care period.	TN Rule 1200-1-7-.03(2)(c)2.(iii). Keep to show compliance with regulations in order to defend against superfund liability.
13-009 Gas Migration Control Standard— Records of monitoring to insure compliance with gas migration control standards. Monitoring must occur at least quarterly and must conform to standards for Monitoring Records listed below.	Retain throughout the active life of the facility and through the post-closure care period.	TN Rule 1200-1-7-.04(5)(a)4. Keep to show compliance with regulations in order to defend against superfund liability.
13-010 Groundwater Sampling Records— Records of all ground water sampling activities conducted, sample analysis results and associated ground water surface elevation. Keep at the facility or another approved location.	Retain throughout the active life of the facility and through the post-closure care period.	TN Rule 1200-1-7-.04(7)(a)4.(vii). Keep to show compliance with regulations in order to defend against superfund liability.
13-011 Monitoring Records—Records of monitoring of facility including date, place and time of sampling or measurements; individual performing measurements; date of analysis; individual performing the analysis; analytical techniques used; and, the results of the analysis.	Retain throughout the active life of the facility and through the post-closure care period.	TN Rule 1200-1-7-.02(4)(a)(9). Keep to show compliance with regulations in order to defend against superfund liability.
13-012 Permit-By-Rule Authorizations and Records—Copy of authorization from Department of Environment and Conservation to operate as a permit by rule facility and additional related records required by the department.	Retain throughout active life of the facility and through the post-closure care period.	TN Rule 1200-1-7-.02(1)(c)1. Keep to show compliance with regulations in order to defend against superfund liability.
13-013 Random Inspection Records— Records of random inspections made of daily incoming loads for detecting and preventing the disposal of regulated hazardous waste, unauthorized special waste and PCBs.	Retain throughout the active life of the facility and through the post-closure care period.	TN Rule 1200-1-7-.04(2)(s)3. Keep to show compliance with regulations in order to defend against superfund liability.
13-014 Special Waste Approvals and Records— Copies of approvals from the Department of Environment and Conservation authorizing a facility to accept special wastes and records of receipt and management of certain special wastes.	Retain throughout active life of the facility and through the post-closure care period.	TN Rule 1200-1-7-.01-(4)(d)2. Keep to show compliance with regulations in order to defend against superfund liability.