Utah
Solid Waste Facility Permits
In Utah, a facility or site that transfers, treats or disposes of nonhazardous solid waste needs approval from the Director of DWMRC, the Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control within the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), to be owned, built, changed or run, unless the rules exempt the activity. DWMRC gives that approval as a permit or as a letter of approval, and publishes its permitted facilities as lists and on a map.
In a Phase I ESA
DWMRC's solid waste facility lists are the Utah form of the state landfill and solid waste disposal site records that ASTM E1527-21 lists as a standard source. The general reading of a landfill listing is on the landfills and solid waste page.
What the record shows
DWMRC's permits page links five lists, under its own labels:
- Municipal Waste Disposal and Transfer Stations
- Closed Facilities
- Construction and Demolition Waste Facilities
- Other Solid Waste Facilities, with industrial waste landfills, incinerators and landspreading operations given as examples
- Recycling and Composting Facilities
The page says its map shows active solid waste facilities, along with household hazardous waste collection centers, recycling facilities, used oil collection centers and waste tire facilities. For a closed facility, see the list DWMRC labels Closed Facilities.
DWMRC sorts Utah landfills into classes by the waste they take and how much. It says the full definitions are in the Utah Code and the Utah Administrative Code; in short:
| Class | Commercial | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| I and II | No | Municipal and other nonhazardous waste and very small quantity generator (VSQG) waste, run by or for a local government; Class I may dispose of more than 20 tons a day, Class II may not |
| III | No | Industrial waste. Class IIIa takes nonhazardous or exempt industrial waste and VSQG waste from an industrial site; Class IIIb takes no VSQG waste and is limited to wastes such as oil and gas exploration and production wastes, some combustion wastes, and ore and mineral processing wastes |
| IV | No | Construction and demolition, yard and inert waste, dead animals, waste tires over 24.5 inches in rim diameter and petroleum contaminated soils. Class IVa may take VSQG waste and more than 20 tons a day; Class IVb is held to 20 tons a day unless it refuses VSQG waste |
| V | Yes | Municipal and other nonhazardous waste and VSQG waste |
| VI | Yes | Construction and demolition, yard and inert waste, waste tires over 24.5 inches in rim diameter and petroleum contaminated soils, but no hazardous, PCB, municipal or industrial waste |
DWMRC's page on oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) waste says the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining oversaw E&P wastes for many years, and, in a list of what it expected, that DWMRC would begin shaping the rules for E&P waste landfarms, landfills and evaporation ponds. The same page says DWMRC and the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining gave draft rules to stakeholders in mid-March 2024 and expected to finish formal rulemaking before the end of 2024; it does not say whether the rules took effect.
Where to look a site up
- The lists on DWMRC's Solid Waste Facility Permits page: Municipal Waste Disposal and Transfer Stations, Closed Facilities, Construction and Demolition Waste Facilities, Other Solid Waste Facilities and Recycling and Composting Facilities. This handbook did not open them.
- DWMRC's Utah Recycling & Waste Facility Map.
- DWMRC's main line is (801) 536-0200.
Getting the file
DWMRC takes records requests on DEQ's GRAMA request form at wmrcgrama@utah.gov or (801) 536-0200. It says it does not usually file records by address, coordinates or parcel number, and asks for details such as the facility name or the operator's or permittee's name. The routes are on the GRAMA requests page.
Sources
Utah Department of Environmental Quality pages, read October 13, 2026:
- Solid Waste Facility Permit, last modified April 16, 2026.
- Recycling and Waste Glossary, last modified May 19, 2026.
- Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Waste Management, last modified May 12, 2026.
- Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control, last modified May 19, 2026.
- Environmental Quality Records Request (GRAMA), last modified April 21, 2026.