§ 257.104 - Post-closure care requirements.

§ 257.104 Post-closure care requirements.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 39114, May 8, 2024.

(a) Applicability.

(1) Except as provided by paragraph (a)(2) of this section, § 257.104 applies to the owners or operators of CCR landfills, CCR surface impoundments, and all lateral expansions of CCR units that are subject to the closure criteria under § 257.102.

(2) An owner or operator of a CCR unit that elects to close a CCR unit by removing CCR as provided by § 257.102(c) is not subject to the post-closure care criteria under this section.

(b) Post-closure care maintenance requirements. Following closure of the CCR unit, the owner or operator must conduct post-closure care for the CCR unit, which must consist of at least the following:

(1) Maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of the final cover system, including making repairs to the final cover as necessary to correct the effects of settlement, subsidence, erosion, or other events, and preventing run-on and run-off from eroding or otherwise damaging the final cover;

(2) If the CCR unit is subject to the design criteria under § 257.70, maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of the leachate collection and removal system and operating the leachate collection and removal system in accordance with the requirements of § 257.70; and

(3) Maintaining the groundwater monitoring system and monitoring the groundwater in accordance with the requirements of §§ 257.90 through 257.98.

(c) Post-closure care period.

(1) Except as provided by paragraph (c)(2) of this section, the owner or operator of the CCR unit must conduct post-closure care for 30 years.

(2) If at the end of the post-closure care period the owner or operator of the CCR unit is operating under assessment monitoring in accordance with § 257.95, the owner or operator must continue to conduct post-closure care until the owner or operator returns to detection monitoring in accordance with § 257.95.

(d) Written post-closure plan —

(1) Content of the plan. The owner or operator of a CCR unit must prepare a written post-closure plan that includes, at a minimum, the information specified in paragraphs (d)(1)(i) through (iii) of this section.

(i) A description of the monitoring and maintenance activities required in paragraph (b) of this section for the CCR unit, and the frequency at which these activities will be performed;

(ii) The name, address, telephone number, and email address of the person or office to contact about the facility during the post-closure care period; and

(iii) A description of the planned uses of the property during the post-closure period. Post-closure use of the property shall not disturb the integrity of the final cover, liner(s), or any other component of the containment system, or the function of the monitoring systems unless necessary to comply with the requirements in this subpart. Any other disturbance is allowed if the owner or operator of the CCR unit demonstrates that disturbance of the final cover, liner, or other component of the containment system, including any removal of CCR, will not increase the potential threat to human health or the environment. The demonstration must be certified by a qualified professional engineer or approved by the Participating State Director or approved from EPA where EPA is the permitting authority, and notification shall be provided to the State Director that the demonstration has been placed in the operating record and on the owners or operator's publicly accessible internet site.

(2) Deadline to prepare the initial written post-closure plan —

(i) Existing CCR landfills and existing CCR surface impoundments. No later than October 17, 2016, the owner or operator of the CCR unit must prepare an initial written post-closure plan consistent with the requirements specified in paragraph (d)(1) of this section.

(ii) New CCR landfills, new CCR surface impoundments, and any lateral expansion of a CCR unit. No later than the date of the initial receipt of CCR in the CCR unit, the owner or operator must prepare an initial written post-closure plan consistent with the requirements specified in paragraph (d)(1) of this section.

(iii) The owner or operator has completed the written post-closure plan when the plan, including the certification required by paragraph (d)(4) of this section, has been placed in the facility's operating record as required by § 257.105(i)(4).

(3) Amendment of a written post-closure plan.

(i) The owner or operator may amend the initial or any subsequent written post-closure plan developed pursuant to paragraph (d)(1) of this section at any time.

(ii) The owner or operator must amend the written closure plan whenever:

(A) There is a change in the operation of the CCR unit that would substantially affect the written post-closure plan in effect; or

(B) After post-closure activities have commenced, unanticipated events necessitate a revision of the written post-closure plan.

(iii) The owner or operator must amend the written post-closure plan at least 60 days prior to a planned change in the operation of the facility or CCR unit, or no later than 60 days after an unanticipated event requires the need to revise an existing written post-closure plan. If a written post-closure plan is revised after post-closure activities have commenced for a CCR unit, the owner or operator must amend the written post-closure plan no later than 30 days following the triggering event.

(4) The owner or operator of the CCR unit must obtain a written certification from a qualified professional engineer or an approval from the Participating State Director or an approval from EPA where EPA is the permitting authority that the initial and any amendment of the written post-closure plan meets the requirements of this section.

(e) Notification of completion of post-closure care period. No later than 60 days following the completion of the post-closure care period, the owner or operator of the CCR unit must prepare a notification verifying that post-closure care has been completed. The notification must include the certification by a qualified professional engineer or the approval from the Participating State Director or the approval from EPA where EPA is the permitting authority verifying that post-closure care has been completed in accordance with the closure plan specified in paragraph (d) of this section and the requirements of this section. The owner or operator has completed the notification when it has been placed in the facility's operating record as required by § 257.105(i)(13).

(f) The owner or operator of the CCR unit must comply with the recordkeeping requirements specified in § 257.105(i), the notification requirements specified in § 257.106(i), and the Internet requirements specified in § 257.107(i).

[80 FR 21468, Apr. 17, 2015, as amended at 81 FR 51808, Aug. 5, 2016; 83 FR 36455, July 30, 2018]