(a)
If the operator of a municipal waste processing or disposal facility believes
that closure and postclosure requirements applicable to the facility have been
met, the operator may file a request for final closure certification with the
Department.
(b) The Department will
not issue a final closure certification unless the operator demonstrates that:
(1) The applicable operating requirements of
the act, the environmental protection acts, this title, the permit, the
approved closure plan and orders of the Department have been complied
with.
(2) For a municipal waste
landfill permitted on or after December 23, 2000, one of the following
remediation standards is met and maintained at and beyond 150 meters of the
perimeter of the permitted disposal area or at and beyond the property
boundary, whichever is closer:
(i) For
constituents for which an MCL has been promulgated under the Federal Safe
Drinking Water Act or the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C.A. §§
300f-
300j-
18; and
35 P. S. §§
721.1-
721.17), the MCL for that
constituent.
(ii) For constituents
for which MCLs have not been promulgated, the background standard for the
constituent.
(iii) For constituents
for which the background standard is higher than the MCL or alternative
groundwater protection standard identified under subparagraph (iv), the
background standard.
(iv) For
constituents for which MCLs have not been established, an alternative
groundwater protection standard that satisfies the following criteria:
(A) The level is derived in a manner
consistent with Department guidelines for assessing the health risks of
environmental pollutants.
(B) The
level is based on scientifically valid studies conducted in accordance with
good laboratory practice standards ( 40 CFR Part
792 (relating to good
laboratory practice standards)) promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control
Act (15 U.S.C.A.
§§
2601-
2692) or other
scientifically valid studies approved by the Department.
(C) For carcinogens, the level represents a
concentration associated with an excess lifetime cancer risk level (due to
continuous lifetime exposure) within the 1 x 10-4 to
1 x 10-6 range.
(D) For systemic toxicants, the level
represents a concentration to which the human population (including sensitive
subgroups) could be exposed on a daily basis that is likely to be without
appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime. For purposes of this
clause, systemic toxicants include toxic chemicals that cause effects other
than cancer or mutation.
(3) For a municipal waste landfill that
received waste between October 9, 1993, and December 23, 2000, one of the
following is met and maintained:
(i)
Groundwater remediation standards, including points of compliance, identified
in a closure plan approved prior to December 23, 2000.
(ii) Groundwater remediation standards
identified in paragraph (2), including the points of compliance.
(4) For other facilities, one of
the following groundwater remediation standards is met and maintained at the
identified compliance points:
(i) The
Statewide health standard at and beyond the property boundary.
(ii) The background standard at each well
selected to determine the extent of contamination, as identified in §
273.286(c)(1)
(relating to groundwater assessment plan).
(iii) The site-specific standard at and
beyond the property boundary.
(5) No further remedial action, maintenance
or other activity by the operator is necessary to continue compliance with the
act, the environmental protection acts, this title, the permit, the approved
closure plan and orders of the Department.
(6) The facility is not causing adverse
effects on the environment and it is not causing a nuisance.
(c) For facilities other than
municipal waste landfills, the Department may approve a compliance point beyond
the property boundary up to a water source for measuring compliance with
secondary contaminants under subsection (b)(4)(i) or (iii).
(d) Upon a request for final closure
certification, the Department will inspect the facility to verify that final
closure has been completed as provided in subsection (b).
(e) The date of the Department's final
closure certification shall be the date of commencement of the 10-year bond
liability period following final closure.
(f) The final closure certification is not a
guarantee of future performance nor does it constitute a waiver or release of
bond liability or other liability existing in law or equity for adverse
environmental effects or conditions of noncompliance existing at the time of
the notice or which might occur at a future time, for which the operator
remains expressly liable. The issuance of a final closure certification does
not discharge an owner or operator from liability to restore the groundwater to
remediation standards and to maintain groundwater quality, at a minimum, at
those levels.
(g) If after the
issuance of a certification of final closure, the Department determines that
additional postclosure measures are required to abate or prevent adverse
effects upon the environment or the public health, safety and welfare, the
Department will issue a written notice to the operator setting forth the
schedule of measures to be taken to bring the facility into compliance. The
measures include, but are not limited to, the applicable requirements of this
article.
(h) If, after the issuance
of a certification of final closure, the Department determines that the level
of risk is increased beyond the acceptable range at a facility due to
substantial changes in exposure conditions, such as in a change in land use
from a nonresidential to a residential use, or new information is obtained
about a substance associated with the facility which revises exposure
assumptions beyond the acceptable range, additional remediation shall be
required.
(i) For purposes of this
section,"property boundary" is the delineation of the parcel of land as
described in the deed existing on the date the facility ceases to accept
waste.