Article 2. General Regulatory Provisions
12VAC5-481-2340. License required.
Article 2
General Regulatory Provisions
A. No person may receive, possess, and dispose of waste received from other persons at a land disposal facility unless authorized by a license issued by the agency pursuant to this part and Part III (12VAC5-481-380 et seq.) of this chapter.
B. Each person shall file an application with the agency pursuant to 12VAC5-481-440 and obtain a license as provided in this part before commencement of construction of a land disposal facility. Failure to comply with this requirement may be grounds for denial of a license.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.
12VAC5-481-2350. Content of application.
In addition to the requirements set forth in 12VAC5-481-450, an application to receive from others, possess, and dispose of wastes shall consist of general information, specific technical information, institutional information, and financial information as set forth in 12VAC5-481-2360 through 12VAC5-481-2400.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.
12VAC5-481-2360. General information.
The general information shall include each of the following:
1. Identity of the applicant including:
a. The full name, address, telephone number, and description of the business or occupation of the applicant;
b. If the applicant is a partnership, the name and address of each partner and the principal location where the partnership does business;
c. If the applicant is a corporation or an unincorporated association, (i) the state where it is incorporated or organized and the principal location where it does business, and (ii) the names and addresses of its directors and principal officers; and
d. If the applicant is acting as an agent or representative of another person in filing the application, all information required under this subsection must be supplied with respect to the other person.
2. Qualifications of the applicant:
a. The organizational structure of the applicant, both offsite and onsite, including a description of lines of authority and assignments of responsibilities, whether in the form of administrative directives, contract provisions, or otherwise;
b. The technical qualifications, including training and experience, of the applicant and members of the applicant's staff to engage in the proposed activities. Minimum training and experience requirements for personnel filling key positions described in subdivision 2 a of this section must be provided.
c. A description of the applicant's personnel training program; and
d. The plan to maintain an adequate complement of trained personnel to carry out waste receipt, handling, and disposal operations in a safe manner.
3. A description of:
a. The location of the proposed disposal site;
b. The general character of the proposed activities;
c. The types and quantities of waste to be received, possessed, and disposed of;
d. Plans for use of the land disposal facility for purposes other than disposal of wastes; and
e. The proposed facilities and equipment.
4. Proposed schedules for construction, receipt of waste, and first emplacement of waste at the proposed land disposal facility.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.
12VAC5-481-2370. Specific technical information.
The specific technical information shall include the following information needed for demonstration that the performance objectives and the applicable technical requirements of this part will be met:
1. A description of the natural and demographic disposal site characteristics as determined by disposal site selection and characterization activities. The description shall include geologic, geochemical, geotechnical, hydrologic, ecologic, archaelogic, meteorologic, climatologic, and biotic features of the disposal site and vicinity.
2. A description of the design features of the land disposal facility and the disposal units. For near-surface disposal, the description shall include those design features related to infiltration of water; integrity of covers for disposal units; structural stability of backfill, wastes, and covers; contact of wastes with standing water; disposal site drainage; disposal site closure and stabilization; elimination to the extent practicable of long-term disposal site maintenance; inadvertent intrusion; occupational exposures; disposal site monitoring; and adequacy of the size of the buffer zone for monitoring and potential mitigative measures.
3. A description of the principal design criteria and their relationship to the performance objectives.
4. A description of the design basis natural events or phenomena and their relationship to the principal design criteria.
5. A description of codes and standards that the applicant has applied to the design and that will apply to construction of the land disposal facilities.
6. A description of the construction and operation of the land disposal facility. The description shall include as a minimum the methods of construction of disposal units; waste emplacement; the procedures for and areas of waste segregation; types of intruder barriers; onsite traffic and drainage systems; survey control program; methods and areas of waste storage; and methods to control surface water and groundwater access to the wastes. The description shall also include a description of the methods to be employed in the handling and disposal of wastes containing chelating agents or other nonradiological substances that might affect meeting the performance objectives of this part.
7. A description of the disposal site closure plan, including those design features that are intended to facilitate disposal site closure and to eliminate the need for ongoing active maintenance.
8. An identification of the known natural resources at the disposal site, whose exploitation could result in inadvertent intrusion into the wastes after removal of active institutional control.
9. A description of the kind, amount, classification and specifications of the radioactive material proposed to be received, possessed, and disposed of at the land disposal facility.
10. A description of the quality control program for the determination of natural disposal site characteristics and for quality control during the design, construction, operation, and closure of the land disposal facility and the receipt, handling, and emplacement of waste. Audits and managerial controls must be included.
11. A description of the radiation safety program for control and monitoring of radioactive effluents to ensure compliance with the performance objective in 12VAC5-481-2490 and occupational radiation exposure to ensure compliance with the requirements of Part IV (12VAC5-481-600 et seq.) of this chapter and to control contamination of personnel, vehicles, equipment, buildings, and the disposal site. Both routine operations and accidents shall be addressed. The program description must include procedures, instrumentation, facilities, and equipment.
12. A description of the environmental monitoring program to provide data to evaluate potential health and environmental impacts and the plan for taking corrective measures if migration is indicated.
13. A description of the administrative procedures that the applicant will apply to control activities at the land disposal facility.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.
12VAC5-481-2380. Technical analyses.
The specific technical information shall also include the following analyses needed to demonstrate that the performance objectives of this part will be met:
1. Pathways analyzed in demonstrating protection of the general population from releases of radioactivity shall include air, soil, groundwater, surface water, plant uptake, and exhumation by burrowing animals. The analyses shall clearly identify and differentiate between the roles performed by the natural disposal site characteristics and design features in isolating and segregating the wastes. The analyses shall clearly demonstrate that there is reasonable assurance that the exposures to humans from the release of radioactivity will not exceed the limits set forth in 12VAC5-481-2490.
2. Analyses of the protection of individuals from inadvertent intrusion shall include demonstration that there is reasonable assurance the waste classification and segregation requirements will be met and that adequate barriers to inadvertent intrusion will be provided.
3. Analyses of the protection of individuals during operations shall include assessments of expected exposures due to routine operations and likely accidents during handling, storage, and disposal of waste. The analyses shall provide reasonable assurance that exposures will be controlled to meet the requirements of Part IV (12VAC5-481-600 et seq.) of this chapter.
4. Analyses of the long-term stability of the disposal site and the need for ongoing active maintenance after closure shall be based upon analyses of active natural processes such as erosion, mass wasting, slope failure, settlement of wastes and backfill, infiltration through covers over disposal areas and adjacent soils, and surface drainage of the disposal site. The analyses shall provide reasonable assurance that there will not be a need for ongoing active maintenance of the disposal site following closure.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.
12VAC5-481-2390. Institutional information.
The institutional information submitted by the applicant shall include:
1. A certification by the federal or state agency that owns the disposal site that the federal or state agency is prepared to accept transfer of the license when the provisions of 12VAC5-481-2460 are met and will assume responsibility for institutional control after site closure and post-closure observation and maintenance.
2. Where the proposed disposal site is on land not owned by the federal or a state government, the applicant shall submit evidence that arrangements have been made for assumption of ownership in fee by the federal or a state agency before the agency issues a license.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.
12VAC5-481-2400. Financial information.
The financial information shall be sufficient to demonstrate that the financial qualifications of the applicant are adequate to carry out the activities for which the license is sought and meet other financial assurance requirements of this part.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.
12VAC5-481-2410. Requirements for issuance of a license.
A license for the receipt, possession, and disposal of waste containing or contaminated with radioactive material will be issued by the agency upon finding that:
1. The issuance of the license will not constitute an unreasonable risk to the health and safety of the public;
2. The applicant is qualified by reason of training and experience to carry out the disposal operations requested in a manner that protects health and minimizes danger to life or property;
3. The applicant's proposed disposal site, disposal design, land disposal facility operations, including equipment, facilities, and procedures, disposal site closure, and post-closure institutional control are adequate to protect the public health and safety in that they provide reasonable assurance that the general population will be protected from releases of radioactivity as specified in the performance objective in 12VAC5-481-2490;
4. The applicant's proposed disposal site, disposal site design, land disposal facility operations, including equipment, facilities, and procedures, disposal site closure, and post-closure institutional control are adequate to protect the public health and safety in that they will provide reasonable assurance that individual inadvertent intruders are protected in accordance with the performance objective in 12VAC5-481-2520;
5. The applicant's proposed land disposal facility operations, including equipment, facilities, and procedures, are adequate to protect the public health and safety in that they will provide reasonable assurance that the standards for radiation protection set out in Part IV (12VAC5-481-600 et seq.) of this chapter will be met;
6. The applicant's proposed disposal site, disposal site design, land disposal facility operations, disposal site closure, and post-closure institutional control are adequate to protect the public health and safety in that they will provide reasonable assurance that long-term stability of the disposed waste and the disposal site will be achieved and will eliminate to the extent practicable the need for ongoing active maintenance of the disposal site following closure;
7. The applicant's demonstration provides reasonable assurance that the applicable technical requirements of this part will be met;
8. The applicant's proposal for institutional control provides reasonable assurance that such control will be provided for the length of time found necessary to ensure the findings in subdivisions 3 through 6 of this section and that the institutional control meets the requirements of 12VAC5-481-2580; and
9. The financial or surety arrangements meet the requirements of this part.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.
12VAC5-481-2420. Conditions of licenses.
A. A license issued under this part, or any right thereunder, may be transferred, assigned, or in any manner disposed of, either voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, through transfer of control of the license to any person, only if the agency finds, after securing full information, that the transfer is in accordance with the provisions of the Act and gives its consent in writing in the form of a license amendment.
B. The licensee shall submit written statements under oath upon request of the agency, at any time before termination of the license, to enable the agency to determine whether the license should be modified, suspended, or revoked.
C. The license will be terminated only on the full implementation of the final closure plan as approved by the agency, including post-closure observation and maintenance.
D. The licensee shall be subject to the provisions of the Act now or hereafter in effect, and to all rules, regulations, and orders of the agency. The terms and conditions of the license are subject to amendment, revision, or modification, by reason of amendments to, or by reason of rules, regulations, and orders issued in accordance with the terms of the Act.
E. Each person licensed by the agency pursuant to the regulations in this part shall confine possession and use of materials to the locations and purposes authorized in the license.
F. The licensee shall not dispose of waste until the agency has inspected the land disposal facility and has found it to be in conformance with the description, design, and construction described in the application for a license.
G. The agency may incorporate in any license at the time of issuance, or thereafter, by appropriate rule, regulation or order, additional requirements and conditions with respect to the licensee's receipt, possession, and disposal of waste as it deems appropriate or necessary in order to:
1. Protect health or to minimize danger to life or property;
2. Require reports and the keeping of records, and to provide for inspections of activities under the license that may be necessary or appropriate to effectuate the purposes of the Act and regulations thereunder.
H. The authority to dispose of wastes expires on the date stated in the license. Any expiration date on a license applies only to the above ground activities and to the authority to dispose of waste. Failure to renew the license shall not relieve the licensee of responsibility for implementing site closure, post-closure observation, and transfer of the license to the site owner.
I. Each licensee shall notify the agency in writing immediately following the filing of a voluntary or involuntary petition for bankruptcy under any Chapter of Title 11 (Bankruptcy) of the United States Code by or against:
1. The licensee;
2. An entity (as that term is defined in 11 USC § 101(15)) controlling the licensee or listing the license or licensee as property of the estate; or
3. An affiliate (as that term is defined in 11 USC § 101(2)) of the licensee.
J. The notification specified in this section shall indicate the bankruptcy court in which the petition for bankruptcy was filed and the date of the filing of the petition.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006; amended, Virginia Register Volume 24, Issue 18, eff. June 12, 2008.
12VAC5-481-2430. Application for renewal or closure.
A. An application for renewal or an application for closure under 12VAC5-481-2440 must be filed at least 90 days prior to license expiration.
B. Applications for renewal of a license must be filed in accordance with 12VAC5-481-2350 through 12VAC5-481-2400. Applications for closure must be filed in accordance with 12VAC5-481-2440.
C. In any case in which a licensee has filed an application in proper form for renewal of a license, the license does not expire until the agency has taken final action on the application for renewal.
D. In determining whether a license will be renewed, the agency will apply the criteria set forth in 12VAC5-481-2410.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006; amended, Virginia Register Volume 24, Issue 18, eff. June 12, 2008.
12VAC5-481-2440. Contents of application for site closure and stabilization.
A. Prior to final closure of the disposal site, or as otherwise directed by the agency, the applicant shall submit an application to amend the license for closure. This closure application shall include a final revision and specific details of the disposal site closure plan included as part of the license application submitted under subdivision 7 of 12VAC5-481-2370 that includes each of the following:
1. Any additional geologic, hydrologic, or other data pertinent to the long-term containment of emplaced wastes obtained during the operational period.
2. The results of tests, experiments, or any other analyses relating to backfill of excavated areas, closure and sealing, waste migration and interaction with emplacement media, or any other tests, experiments, or analysis pertinent to the long-term containment of emplaced waste within the disposal site.
3. Any proposed revision of plans for:
a. Decontamination and/or dismantlement of surface facilities;
b. Backfilling of excavated areas; or
c. Stabilization of the disposal site for post-closure care.
4. Any significant new information regarding the environmental impact of closure activities and long-term performance of the disposal site.
B. Upon review and consideration of an application to amend the license for closure submitted in accordance with subsection A of this section, the agency shall issue an amendment authorizing closure if there is reasonable assurance that the long-term performance objectives of this part will be met.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.
12VAC5-481-2450. Post-closure observation and maintenance.
The licensee shall observe, monitor, and carry out necessary maintenance and repairs at the disposal site until the site closure is complete and the license is transferred by the agency in accordance with 12VAC5-481-2460. Responsibility for the disposal site must be maintained by the licensee for five years. A shorter or longer time period for post-closure observation and maintenance may be established and approved as part of the site closure plan, based on site-specific conditions.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.
12VAC5-481-2460. Transfer of license.
Following closure and the period of post-closure observation and maintenance, the licensee may apply for an amendment to transfer the license to the disposal site owner. The license shall be transferred when the agency finds:
1. That the closure of the disposal site has been made in conformance with the licensee's disposal site closure plan, as amended and approved as part of the license;
2. That reasonable assurance has been provided by the licensee that the performance objectives of this part are met;
3. That any funds and necessary records for care will be transferred to the disposal site owner;
4. That the post-closure monitoring program is operational for implementation by the disposal site owner; and
5. That the federal or state agency that will assume responsibility for institutional control of the disposal site is prepared to assume responsibility and ensure that the institutional requirements found necessary under subdivision 8 of 12VAC5-481-2410 will be met.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.
12VAC5-481-2470. Termination of license.
A. Following any period of institutional control needed to meet the requirements found necessary under 12VAC5-481-2410, the licensee may apply for an amendment to terminate the license.
B. This application will be reviewed in accordance with the provisions of 12VAC5-481-450.
C. A license shall be terminated only when the agency finds:
1. That the institutional control requirements found necessary under 12VAC5-481-2410 8 have been met;
2. That any additional requirements resulting from new information developed during the institutional control period have been met; and
3. That permanent monuments or markers warning against intrusion have been installed.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006; amended, Virginia Register Volume 24, Issue 18, eff. June 12, 2008.