Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Natural Resources
NR 500-599 - Environmental Protection - Solid Waste Management
Chapter NR 506 - Landfill Operational Criteria
Section NR 506.083 - Closure requirements for CCR landfills

Universal Citation: WI Admin Code ยง NR 506.083

Current through August 26, 2024

Closure of a new or existing CCR landfill or a lateral expansion of a CCR landfill shall be performed in accordance with the plan of operation approval issued by the department and all of the following:

(1) NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES.

(a) No later than the date the owner or operator initiates closure of a CCR landfill under sub. (2), the owner or operator shall notify the department in writing of the intent to close the landfill and place a copy of the notification in the facility's operating record.

(b) Within 30 days following completion of closure of a CCR landfill under sub. (3), the owner or operator shall prepare and submit a notification of closure to the department and place a copy in the facility's operating record. The notification shall include the certification required under s. NR 516.04 (3) (d).

(2) INITIATION OF CLOSURE ACTIVITIES.

(a) The owner or operator shall commence closure of the CCR landfill no later than 30 days after either of the following occur:
1. The date of final receipt of CCR waste and any non-CCR waste stream.

2. Final removal of CCR from the CCR landfill for the purpose of beneficial use of CCR.

(b) The owner or operator may delay commencing closure up to 2 years from the last receipt of waste or the last removal of CCR material for the purpose of beneficial use upon written approval by the department if the owner or operator demonstrates that there is a reasonable likelihood that the CCR landfill will accept wastes in the foreseeable future or will remove CCR from the landfill for the purpose of beneficial use. The delay shall be requested in writing to the department as a modification to the written closure plan required under s. NR 514.07 (10) (c) and include documentation that the CCR landfill will continue to accept wastes or will start removing CCR for the purpose of beneficial use. The request shall include all of the following:
1. Information documenting that the CCR landfill has remaining storage or disposal capacity or that the CCR landfill may have CCR removed for the purpose of beneficial use.

2. Information demonstrating that there is a reasonable likelihood that the CCR landfill will resume receiving CCR or non-CCR waste streams in the foreseeable future or that CCR may be removed for the purpose of beneficial use. Any portion of the landfill that will not receive additional CCR or have CCR removed for a period exceeding 6 months shall be covered with one foot of fine grained intermediate cover or other material approved by the department. The narrative shall include a best estimate as to when the CCR landfill will resume receiving CCR or non-CCR waste streams.

3. The following statement signed by the owner or operator or an authorized representative: "I certify under penalty of law that I have personally examined and am familiar with the information submitted in this demonstration and all attached documents, and that, based on my inquiry of those individuals immediately responsible for obtaining the information, I believe that the submitted information is true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment."

(c) Prior to the end of a 2-year delay for commencing closure, the owner or operator may request a subsequent 2-year delay under par. (b).

(d) For purposes of this section, closure of the CCR landfill has commenced once the owner or operator has ceased placing waste and undertakes any of the following actions or activities:
1. Takes any steps necessary to implement the approved closure plan.

2. Applies to the department or another agency for a permit or modification related to closure.

3. Takes any steps necessary to comply with any department or other agency requirements that are a prerequisite, or are otherwise applicable, to initiating or completing the closure of a CCR landfill.

(3) COMPLETION OF CLOSURE ACTIVITIES.

(a) The owner or operator shall complete closure of the CCR landfill within 6 months of commencing closure activities.

(b) The timeframe for completing closure of a CCR landfill may be extended for a one-year period upon written department approval if the owner or operator demonstrates that it was not feasible to complete closure of the CCR landfill within the required timeframe due to factors beyond the owner or operator's control. No more than a total of 2 one-year extensions may be obtained for any CCR landfill. An owner or operator shall request the time extensions to the department in writing as modifications to the approved closure plan and include a narrative discussion providing the basis for additional time. The time extension request shall include the following statement signed by the owner or operator or an authorized representative: "I certify under penalty of law that I have personally examined and am familiar with the information submitted in this demonstration and all attached documents, and that, based on my inquiry that the submitted information is true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment."

(4) DEED NOTATION.

(a) Following closure of a CCR landfill, the owner or operator shall, within 60 days after closure is complete, record an affidavit with the register of deeds to notify any potential purchaser of the property that the land has been used as a landfill and its use is restricted to prevent disturbing the integrity of the final cover, liner, or any other components of the containment system or the function of the monitoring systems.

(b) A copy of the affidavit shall be submitted to the department and placed in the facility's operating record within 30 days of recordation.

(5) CLOSURE BY REMOVAL OF CCR. An owner or operator may close a CCR landfill by removing and decontaminating all areas affected by releases from the CCR landfill. CCR removal and decontamination of the CCR landfill are complete when constituent concentrations throughout the CCR landfill and any areas affected by releases from the CCR landfill have been removed and groundwater monitoring concentrations do not exceed the groundwater protection standard for constituents listed under s. NR 140.10, Table 1. A landfill closed by removal of CCR and associated remediation is not subject to the deed notation requirement under sub. (4) and long-term care requirements under s. NR 506.084.

(6) CLOSURE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS WHEN LEAVING CCR IN PLACE. An owner or operator of a CCR landfill shall ensure that, at a minimum the CCR landfill is closed in a manner that will achieve all of the following performance standards:

(a) Control, minimization or elimination, to the maximum extent feasible, of post-closure infiltration of liquids into the waste and of releases of CCR, leachate, or contaminated run-off to the ground or surface waters or to the atmosphere.

(b) Prevention of the impoundment of water, sediment or slurry.

(c) Slope stability to prevent the sloughing or movement of the final cover system during the closure and long-term care period.

(d) Minimization of the need for long-term maintenance of the CCR landfill.

(e) Complete closure in the shortest amount of time consistent with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices.

(7) ALTERNATIVE CLOSURE REQUIREMENTS. An owner or operator that is subject to closure for failure to demonstrate compliance with locational criteria under s. NR 514.045 (5) may continue to receive CCR in the CCR landfill provided the owner or operator meets all of the following:

(a) The owner or operator of the CCR landfill certifies that the CCR shall continue to be managed in that CCR landfill due to the absence of an alternative disposal capacity both on-site and off-site of the facility. The owner or operator of the CCR landfill shall document that all of the following conditions have been met:
1. No alternative disposal capacity is available on-site or off-site. An increase in costs or the inconvenience of existing capacity is not sufficient to support qualification under this subdivision.

2. The owner or operator has made, and continues to make, efforts to obtain additional capacity. Qualification under this subdivision lasts only as long as no alternative capacity is available. Once alternative capacity is identified, the owner or operator shall arrange to use the capacity as soon as feasible.

3. The owner or operator shall remain in compliance with all other operating requirements under ch. NR 506 and the requirements under chs. NR 507 and 508, including the requirement to conduct any necessary corrective action required under s. NR 508.06 (5).

4. The owner or operator shall prepare an annual progress report documenting the continued lack of alternative capacity and the progress towards the development of alternative CCR disposal capacity.

(b) Once alternative capacity is available, the CCR landfill shall cease receiving CCR and initiate closure following the timeframes under subs. (2) and (3).

(c) If no alternative capacity is identified within 5 years after the initial certification, the CCR landfill shall cease receiving CCR and close under subs. (2) and (3).

(d) An owner or operator that closes in accordance with this section shall complete and submit to the department the notices and progress reports in accordance with all of the following:
1. Within 6 months of becoming subject to closure, the owner or operator shall prepare and submit a notification of intent to comply with the alternative closure requirements of this section. The notification shall describe why the CCR landfill qualifies for the alternative closure provisions of this section, in addition to providing the required documentation and certifications.

2. The owner or operator shall prepare the periodic progress reports required under par. (a) 4., in addition to describing any problems encountered and a description of the actions taken to resolve the problems. The annual progress reports shall be completed according to the following schedule:
a. The first annual progress report shall be prepared no later than 13 months after completing the notification of intent to comply with the alternative closure requirements.

b. The second annual progress report shall be prepared no later than 12 months after completing the first annual progress report. Additional annual progress reports shall be prepared within 12 months of completing the previous annual progress report.

3. The notification and progress reports shall be placed in the written operating record and posted on a publicly accessible internet site under s. NR 506.17 (2) and (3).

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