Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Closure
of a CCR surface impoundment, or any lateral expansion of a CCR surface
impoundment, must be completed either by leaving the CCR in place and
installing a final cover system or through removal of the CCR and
decontamination of the CCR surface impoundment, as described in Sections
845.720 through 845.760.
b) Before
selecting a closure method, the owner or operator of each CCR surface
impoundment must complete a closure alternatives analysis. The closure
alternatives analysis must examine the following for each closure alternative:
1) The long- and short-term effectiveness and
protectiveness of the closure method, including identification and analyses of
the following factors:
A) The magnitude of
reduction of existing risks;
B) The
magnitude of residual risks in terms of likelihood of future releases of
CCR;
C) The type and degree of
long-term management required, including monitoring, operation, and
maintenance;
D) The short-term
risks that might be posed to the community or the environment during
implementation of a closure, including potential threats to human health and
the environment associated with excavation, transportation, and re-disposal of
contaminants;
E) The time until
closure and post-closure care or the completion of groundwater monitoring under
Section 845.740(b) is completed;
F)
The potential for exposure of humans and environmental receptors to remaining
wastes, considering the potential threat to human health and the environment
associated with excavation, transportation, re-disposal, containment or changes
in groundwater flow;
G) The
long-term reliability of the engineering and institutional controls, including
an analysis of any off-site, nearby destabilizing activities; and
H) Potential need for future corrective
action of the closure alternative.
2) The effectiveness of the closure method in
controlling future releases based on analyses of the following factors:
A) The extent to which containment practices
will reduce further releases; and
B) The extent to which treatment technologies
may be used.
3) The ease
or difficulty of implementing a potential closure method based on analyses of
the following types of factors:
A) Degree of
difficulty associated with constructing the technology;
B) Expected operational reliability of the
technologies;
C) Need to coordinate
with and obtain necessary approvals and permits from other agencies;
D) Availability of necessary equipment and
specialists; and
E) Available
capacity and location of needed treatment, storage, and disposal
services.
4) The degree
to which the concerns of the residents living within communities where the CCR
will be handled, transported and disposed of are addressed by the closure
method.
c) In the
closure alternatives analysis, the owner or operator of the CCR surface
impoundment must:
1) Analyze complete removal
of the CCR as one closure alternative, along with the modes for transporting
the removed CCR, including by rail, barge, low-polluting trucks, or a
combination of these transportation modes;
2) Identify whether the facility has an
onsite landfill with remaining capacity that can legally accept CCR, and, if
not, whether constructing an onsite landfill is possible; and
3) Include any other closure method in the
alternatives analysis if requested by the Agency.
d) The analysis for each alternative
completed under this Section must:
1) Meet or
exceed a class 4 estimate under the AACE Classification Standard, incorporated
by reference in Section
845.150,
or a comparable classification practice as provided in the AACE Classification
Standard;
2) Contain the results of
groundwater contaminant transport modeling and calculations showing how the
closure alternative will achieve compliance with the applicable groundwater
protection standards;
3) Include a
description of the fate and transport of contaminants with the closure
alternative over time, including consideration of seasonal variations;
and
4) Assess impacts to waters in
the State.
e) At least
30 days before submission of a construction permit application for closure, the
owner or operator of the CCR surface impoundment must discuss the results of
the closure alternatives analysis in a public meeting with interested and
affected parties (see Section 845.240).
f) After completion of the public meeting
under subsection (e), the owner or operator of a CCR surface impoundment must
select a closure method and submit a final closure plan to the Agency under
Section 845.720(b). All materials demonstrating completion of the closure
alternatives analysis specified in this Section must be submitted with the
final closure plan.
g) The selected
closure method must meet the requirements and standards of this Part, ensure
the protection of human health and the environment, and achieve compliance with
the groundwater protection standards in Section 845.600.
