40 C.F.R. §§ 265.117–265.120

The Regional Administrator may require, at partial and final closure, continuation of any of the security requirements of § 265.14 during part or all of the post-closure period when:

Post-closure use of property on or in which hazardous wastes remain after partial or final closure must never be allowed to disturb the integrity of the final cover, liner(s), or any other components of the containment system, or the function of the facility's monitoring systems, unless the Regional Administrator finds that the disturbance:

All post-closure care activities must be in accordance with the provisions of the approved post-closure plan as specified in § 265.118.

Written plan. By May 19, 1981, the owner or operator of a hazardous waste disposal unit must have a written post-closure plan. An owner or operator of a surface impoundment or waste pile that intends to remove all hazardous wastes at closure must prepare a post-closure plan and submit it to the Regional Administrator within 90 days of the date that the owner or operator or Regional Administrator determines that the hazardous waste management unit or facility must be closed as a landfill, subject to the requirements of §§ 265.117 through 265.120.

Until final closure of the facility, a copy of the most current post-closure plan must be furnished to the Regional Administrator upon request, including request by mail. In addition, for facilities without approved post-closure plans, it must also be provided during site inspections, on the day of inspection, to any officer, employee or representative of the Agency who is duly designated by the Administrator. After final closure has been certified, the person or office specified in § 265.118(c)(3) must keep the approved post-closure plan during the post-closure period.

For each hazardous waste management unit subject to the requirements of this section, the post-closure plan must identify the activities that will be carried on after closure of each disposal unit and the frequency of these activities, and include at least:

Amendment of plan. The owner or operator may amend the post-closure plan any time during the active life of the facility or during the post-closure care period. An owner or operator with an approved post-closure plan must submit a written request to the Regional Administrator to authorize a change to the approved plan. The written request must include a copy of the amended post-closure plan for approval by the Regional Administrator.

The owner or operator of a facility with hazardous waste management units subject to these requirements must submit his post-closure plan to the Regional Administrator at least 180 days before the date he expects to begin partial or final closure of the first hazardous waste disposal unit. The date he “expects to begin closure” of the first hazardous waste disposal unit must be either within 30 days after the date on which the hazardous waste management unit receives the known final volume of hazardous waste or, if there is a reasonable possibility that the hazardous waste management unit will receive additional hazardous wastes, no later than one year after the date on which the unit received the most recent volume of hazardous wastes. The owner or operator must submit the post-closure plan to the Regional Administrator no later than 15 days after:

The Regional Administrator will provide the owner or operator and the public, through a newspaper notice, the opportunity to submit written comments on the post-closure plan and request modifications to the plan no later than 30 days from the date of the notice. He will also, in response to a request or at his own discretion, hold a public hearing whenever such a hearing might clarify one or more issues concerning a post-closure plan. The Regional Administrator will give public notice of the hearing at least 30 days before it occurs. (Public notice of the hearing may be given at the same time as notice of the opportunity for the public to submit written comments, and the two notices may be combined.) The Regional Administrator will approve, modify, or disapprove the plan within 90 days of its receipt. If the Regional Administrator does not approve the plan he shall provide the owner or operator with a detailed written statement of reasons for the refusal and the owner or operator must modify the plan or submit a new plan for approval within 30 days after receiving such written statement. The Regional Administrator will approve or modify this plan in writing within 60 days. If the Regional Administrator modifies the plan, this modified plan becomes the approved post-closure plan. The Regional Administrator must ensure that the approved post-closure plan is consistent with §§ 265.117 through 265.120. A copy of the modified plan with a detailed statement of reasons for the modifications must be mailed to the owner or operator.

The post-closure plan and length of the post-closure care period may be modified any time prior to the end of the post-closure care period in either of the following two ways:

No later than 60 days after certification of closure of each hazardous waste disposal unit, the owner or operator must submit to the local zoning authority, or the authority with jurisdiction over local land use, and to the Regional Administrator, a record of the type, location, and quantity of hazardous wastes disposed of within each cell or other disposal unit of the facility. For hazardous wastes disposed of before January 12, 1981, the owner or operator must identify the type, location and quantity of the hazardous wastes to the best of his knowledge and in accordance with any records he has kept.

Within 60 days of certification of closure of the first hazardous waste disposal unit and within 60 days of certification of closure of the last hazardous waste disposal unit, the owner or operator must:

If the owner or operator or any subsequent owner of the land upon which a hazardous waste disposal unit was located wishes to remove hazardous wastes and hazardous waste residues, the liner, if any, and all contaminated structures, equipment, and soils, he must request a modification to the approved post-closure plan in accordance with the requirements of § 265.118(g). The owner or operator must demonstrate that the removal of hazardous wastes will satisfy the criteria of § 265.117(c). By removing hazardous waste, the owner or operator may become a generator of hazardous waste and must manage it in accordance with all applicable requirements of this chapter. If the owner or operator is granted approval to conduct the removal activities, the owner or operator may request that the Regional Administrator approve either: