Virginia Law

The postclosure of all sanitary, CDD, and industrial landfills shall be governed by the standards as set forth in this section.

A. Postclosure care requirements.

1. Following closure of the landfill, the owner or operator shall conduct postclosure care of the landfill. Postclosure care shall consist of at least the following:

a. Maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of any final cover, including making repairs to the cover as necessary to correct the effects of settlement, subsidence, erosion, or other events, and preventing run-on and run-off from eroding or otherwise damaging the final cover;

b. Maintaining and operating the leachate collection system, as applicable, in accordance with the requirements in 9VAC20-81-210. The director may allow the owner or operator to stop managing leachate if the owner or operator demonstrates that leachate no longer poses a threat to human health and the environment;

c. Maintaining the groundwater monitoring system and monitoring the groundwater, as applicable, in accordance with the requirements in 9VAC20-81-250; and

d. Maintaining and operating the gas monitoring system, as applicable, in accordance with the requirements in 9VAC20-81-200.

2. The owner or operator shall prepare a written postclosure plan or review and revise the approved postclosure plan to insure that it includes, at a minimum, the following information:

a. A description of the monitoring and maintenance activities required in subdivision 1 of this subsection for the landfill, and the frequency at which these activities will be performed;

b. Name, address, and telephone number of the person or office to contact about the landfill during the postclosure period; and

c. A description of the planned uses of the property during the postclosure period. Postclosure use of the property shall not disturb the integrity of the final cover, liners, or any other components of the containment system, or the function of the monitoring systems unless necessary to comply with the requirements of this chapter. The director may approve any other disturbance if the owner or operator demonstrates that disturbance of the final cover, liner, or other component of the containment system, including any removal of waste, will not increase the potential threat to human health or the environment.

3. The owner or operator shall submit a postclosure care plan for review and approval by the department whenever a postclosure care plan has been prepared or amended. Those postclosure care plans that have been placed in a landfill's operating record must be reviewed and approved by the director prior to implementation.

B. Postclosure period.

1. Unless a landfill completes all provisions of 9VAC20-81-160 D, the department will not consider the landfill closed, and the beginning of the postclosure care period will be postponed until all provisions have been completed. The postclosure care period begins on the date of the certification signed by a professional engineer as required in 9VAC20-81-160 D 5 d.

2. The postclosure care shall be conducted:

a. For a minimum of 10 years for sanitary landfill facilities that ceased to accept wastes before October 9, 1993;

b. For a minimum of 30 years for sanitary landfill facilities that received wastes on or after October 9, 1993;

c. For a minimum of 10 years for CDD and industrial landfill facilities; or

d. As provided in subdivision 3 of this subsection.

3. The length of the postclosure care period may be decreased if the owner or operator demonstrates that the reduced period is equally protective of human health and the environment, the owner or operator submits a justifying demonstration, and the department approves this demonstration. The owner or operator shall submit this demonstration to the department for review and approval, and shall also include the following information:

a. A certification, signed by the owner or operator and a professional engineer, verifying that decreasing the postclosure care period will be equally protective of human health and the environment.

b. The certificate shall be accompanied by an evaluation, prepared by a professional engineer, assessing and evaluating the landfill's potential for increased risk to human health and the environment in the event that postclosure period is decreased.

4. The owner or operator will continue postclosure care and monitoring until such time that the department approves termination of the postclosure care and/or monitoring activity.

C. Postclosure care termination.

1. The owner or operator may submit a request for termination of any or all portions of postclosure care and monitoring following completion of the postclosure care period (as defined in subdivision B 2 of this section) for the landfill. The owner or operator shall demonstrate that termination of postclosure care and/or monitoring activity/activities shall be protective of human health and the environment. The owner or operator shall submit this demonstration for termination to the department for review and approval, and shall also include the following information:

a. A certification, signed by the owner or operator and a professional engineer, verifying that postclosure care has been completed in accordance with the postclosure plan.

b. The certificate shall be accompanied by an evaluation, prepared by a professional engineer or professional geologist, assessing and evaluating the landfill's potential for increased risk to human health and the environment in the event that postclosure monitoring and maintenance are discontinued.

2. If the department does not approve termination of the postclosure care and/or monitoring, the owner or operator shall continue postclosure monitoring and maintenance in accordance with the approved plan. Additionally, the owner or operator shall review and revise, as necessary, the postclosure plan for modifications necessary to meet the current regulatory requirements, and submit this revised plan to the department for review and approval.

D. Owner or operator postclosure plan review.

1. The owner or operator shall review and revise, as necessary, the postclosure care plan for modifications to meet the current regulatory requirements and reflect the current landfill conditions when:

a. The department does not approve the termination of all postclosure care monitoring and maintenance activities; or

b. The minimum postclosure period has been met, and there are ongoing corrective action measures per 9VAC20-81-260 for the landfill.

2. The owner or operator shall submit this revised plan to the department for review and approval, and shall continue postclosure monitoring and maintenance in accordance with the approved plan.