La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § V-4381

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024

Section V-4381 - Closure Plan; Amendment of Plan

A. Written Plan. By the effective dates of these regulations, the owner or operator of a hazardous waste management facility must have a written closure plan. Until final closure is completed and certified in accordance with LAC 33:V.4387, a copy of the most current plan must be furnished to the administrative authority upon request, including request by mail. In addition, for facilities without approved plans, it must also be provided during site inspections, on the day of inspection, to any officer employee or representative of the department who is duly designated by the administrative authority.

B. Content of Plan. The plan must identify steps necessary to perform partial and/or final closure of the facility at any point during its active life. The closure plan must include at least:

1. a description of how each hazardous waste management unit at the facility will be closed in accordance with LAC 33:V.4379; and

2. a description of how final closure of the facility will be conducted in accordance with LAC 33:V.4379. The description must identify the maximum extent of the operation which will be unclosed during the active life of the facility; and

3. the maximum inventory of hazardous wastes ever on-site over the active life of the facility for a final closure, and/or an estimate of the maximum inventory for a partial closure, and a detailed description of the methods to be used during the partial and final closure, including, but not limited to methods for removing, transporting, treating, storing or disposing of all hazardous waste, identification of, and type(s) of off-site hazardous waste management unit(s) to be used, if applicable; and

4. a detailed description of the steps needed to remove or decontaminate all hazardous waste residues and contaminated containment system components, equipment, structures and soils during partial and final closure including, but not limited to, procedures for cleaning equipment and removing contaminated soils, methods for sampling and testing surrounding soils, and criteria for determining the extent of decontamination necessary to satisfy the closure performance standard; and

5. a detailed description of other activities necessary during the partial and final closure periods to ensure that all partial closures and final closure satisfy the closure performance standards, including, but not limited to, groundwater monitoring, leachate collection, and run-on and run-off control; and

6. a schedule for closure of each hazardous waste management unit and for final closure of the facility. The schedule must include, at a minimum, the total time required to close each hazardous waste management unit and the time required for intervening closure activities which allow tracking of the progress of partial and final closure. (For example, in the case of a landfill unit, estimates of the time required to treat or dispose of all hazardous waste inventory and of the time required to place a final cover must be included); and

7. an estimate of the expected year of final closure for facilities that use trust funds to demonstrate financial assurance under LAC 33:V.4403 or 4407 and whose remaining operating life is less than 20 years, and for facilities without approved closure plans; and

8. for facilities where the administrative authority has applied alternative requirements at a regulated unit under LAC 33:V.4367.E, 4377.D, and/or 4397.D, either the alternative requirements applying to the regulated unit or a reference to the enforceable document containing those alternative requirements.

C. Amendment of Plan. The owner or operator may amend the closure plan at any time prior to the notification of partial or final closure of the facility. An owner or operator with an approved closure plan must submit a written request to the Office of Environmental Services to authorize a change to the approved closure plan. The written request must include a copy of the amended closure plan for approval by the administrative authority.

1. The owner or operator must amend the closure plan whenever:

a. changes in operating plans or facility design affect the closure plan; or

b. there is a change in the expected year of closure, if applicable; or

c. in conducting partial or final closure activities, unexpected events require a modification of the closure plan; or

d. the owner or operator requests the administrative authority to apply alternative requirements to a regulated unit under LAC 33:V.4367.E, 4377.D, and/or 4397.D.

2. The owner or operator must amend the closure plan at least 60 days prior to the proposed changes in facility design or operation, or no later than 60 days after an unexpected event has occurred which has affected the closure plan. If an unexpected event occurs during the partial or final closure period, the owner or operator must amend the closure plan no later than 30 days after the unexpected event. These provisions also apply to owners or operators of surface impoundments and waste piles who intended to remove all hazardous wastes at closure, but are required to close as landfills in accordance with LAC 33:V.4501.

3. An owner or operator with an approved closure plan must submit the modified plan to the Office of Environmental Services at least 60 days prior to the proposed change in facility design or operation, or no more than 60 days after an unexpected event has occurred that has affected the closure plan. If an unexpected event has occurred during the partial or final closure period, the owner or operator must submit the modified plan no more than 30 days after the unexpected event. These provisions also apply to owners or operators of surface impoundments and waste piles who intended to remove all hazardous wastes at closure but are required to close as landfills in accordance with LAC 33:V.4501. If the amendment to the plan is a Class 2 or 3 modification according to the criteria in LAC 33:V.321.C and 322, the modification to the plan will be approved according to the procedures in Paragraph D.4 of this Section.

4. The administrative authority may request modifications to the plan under the conditions described in Paragraph C.1 of this Section. An owner or operator with an approved closure plan must submit the modified plan within 60 days of the request from the Office of Environmental Services, or within 30 days if the unexpected event occurs during partial or final closure. If the amendment is considered a Class 2 or 3 modification according to the criteria in LAC 33:V.321.C and 322, the modification to the plan will be approved in accordance with the procedures in Paragraph D.4 of this Section.

D. Notification of Partial Closure and Final Closure

1. The owner or operator must submit the closure plan to the Office of Environmental Services at least 180 days prior to the date on which he expects to begin closure of the first surface impoundment, waste pile, land treatment, or landfill unit, or final closure if it involves such a unit, whichever is earlier. The owner or operator must submit the closure plan to the administrative authority at least 45 days prior to the date on which he expects to begin partial or final closure of a boiler or industrial furnace. The owner or operator must submit the closure plan to the administrative authority at least 45 days prior to the date on which he expects to begin final closure of a facility with only tanks, container storage, or incinerator units. Owners or operators with approved closure plans must notify the administrative authority in writing at least 60 days prior to the date on which they expect to begin closure of a surface impoundment, waste pile, landfill, or land treatment unit, or final closure of a facility involving such a unit. Owners or operators with approved closure plans must notify the administrative authority in writing at least 45 days prior to the date on which they expect to begin partial or final closure of a boiler or industrial furnace. Owners or operators with approved closure plans must notify the administrative authority in writing at least 45 days prior to the date on which they expect to begin final closure of a facility with only tanks, container storage, or incinerator units.

2. The date when he or she "expects to begin closure" either:

a. within 30 days after the date on which any hazardous waste management unit receives the known final volume of hazardous wastes 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. If the owner or operator of a hazardous waste management unit can demonstrate to the administrative authority that the hazardous waste management unit or facility has the capacity to receive additional hazardous wastes and he or she has taken, and will continue to take, all steps to prevent threats to human health and the environment, including compliance with all applicable interim status requirements, the administrative authority may approve an extension to this one-year limit; or

b. for units meeting the requirements of LAC 33:V.4383.D, no later than 30 days after the date on which the hazardous waste management unit receives the known final volume of nonhazardous wastes or, if there is a reasonable possibility that the hazardous waste management unit will receive additional nonhazardous wastes, no later than one year after the date on which the unit received the most recent volume of nonhazardous wastes. If the owner or operator can demonstrate to the administrative authority that the hazardous waste management unit has the capacity to receive additional nonhazardous wastes and he has taken and will continue to take all steps to prevent threats to human health and the environment, including compliance with all applicable interim status requirements, the administrative authority may approve an extension to this one-year limit.

3. The owner or operator must submit his closure plan to the Office of Environmental Services no later than 15 days after:

a. termination of interim status except when a permit is issued simultaneously with termination of interim status; or

b. issuance of a judicial decree or final order under R.S. 30:2025 to cease receiving hazardous wastes or close.

4. The administrative authority will provide the owner or operator and the public, through a newspaper notice, the opportunity to submit written comments on the 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 closure plan. The administrative authority 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 administrative authority will approve, modify, or disapprove the plan within 90 days of its receipt. If the administrative authority 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 administrative authority will approve or modify this plan in writing within 60 days. If the administrative authority modifies this plan, this modified plan becomes the approved closure plan. The administrative authority must assure that the approved plan is consistent with LAC 33:V.4377-4389 and the applicable requirements of LAC 33:V.Subchapter E, LAC 33:V.4441, 4457, 4475, 4489, 4501, 4521, 4531, 4543, and 4705. A copy of the modified plan with a detailed statement of reasons for the modifications must be mailed to the owner or operator.

E. Removal of Wastes and Decontamination or Dismantling of Equipment. Nothing in this Section shall preclude the owner or operator from removing hazardous wastes and decontaminating or dismantling equipment in accordance with the approved partial or final closure plan at any time before or after notification of partial or final closure.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § V-4381

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Solid and Hazardous Waste, Hazardous Waste Division, LR 10:200 (March 1984), amended LR 10:496 (July 1984), LR 13:433 (August 1987), LR 16:614 (July 1990), LR 17:362 (April 1991), LR 17:478 (May 1991), LR 18:723 (July 1992), LR 18:1375 (December 1992), LR 21:266 (March 1995), amended by the Office of Waste Services, Hazardous Waste Division, LR 25:485 (March 1999), amended by the Office of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Planning Division, LR 26:2500 (November 2000), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs Division, LR 31:2475 (October 2005), LR 33:2127 (October 2007), LR 34:633 (April 2008).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2180 et seq.