[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 21]
[Revised as of July 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR258.60]

[Page 416-417]
 
                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
 
                   CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
                           AGENCY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 258--CRITERIA FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS--Table of Contents
 
                Subpart F--Closure and Post-Closure Care
 
Sec. 258.60  Closure criteria.


    (a) Owners or operators of all MSWLF units must install a final 
cover system that is designed to minimize infiltration and erosion. The 
final cover system must be designed and constructed to:
    (1) Have a permeability less than or equal to the permeability of 
any bottom liner system or natural subsoils present, or a permeability 
no greater than 1x10-5 cm/sec, whichever is less, and
    (2) Minimize infiltration through the closed MSWLF by the use of an 
infiltration layer that contains a minimum 18-inches of earthen 
material, and
    (3) Minimize erosion of the final cover by the use of an erosion 
layer that contains a minimum 6-inches of earthen material that is 
capable of sustaining native plant growth.
    (b) The Director of an approved State may approve an alternative 
final cover design that includes:
    (1) An infiltration layer that achieves an equivalent reduction in 
infiltration as the infiltration layer specified in paragraphs (a)(1) 
and (a)(2) of this section, and
    (2) An erosion layer that provides equivalent protection from wind 
and water erosion as the erosion layer specified in paragraph (a)(3) of 
this section.
    (3) The Director of an approved State may establish alternative 
requirements for the infiltration barrier in a paragraph (b)(1) of this 
section, after public review and comment, for any owners or operators of 
MSWLFs that dispose of 20 tons of municipal solid waste per day or less, 
based on an annual average. Any alternative requirements established 
under this paragraph must:
    (i) Consider the unique characteristics of small communities;
    (ii) Take into account climatic and hydrogeologic conditions; and
    (iii) Be protective of human health and the environment.
    (c) The owner or operator must prepare a written closure plan that 
describes the steps necessary to close all MSWLF units at any point 
during their active life in accordance with the cover design 
requirements in Sec. 258.60(a) or (b), as applicable. The closure plan, 
at a minimum, must include the following information:
    (1) A description of the final cover, designed in accordance with 
Sec. 258.60(a) and the methods and procedures to be used to install the 
cover;
    (2) An estimate of the largest area of the MSWLF unit ever requiring 
a final cover as required under Sec. 258.60(a) at any time during the 
active life;
    (3) An estimate of the maximum inventory of wastes ever on-site over 
the active life of the landfill facility; and
    (4) A schedule for completing all activities necessary to satisfy 
the closure criteria in Sec. 258.60.
    (d) The owner or operator must notify the State Director that a 
closure plan has been prepared and placed in the operating record no 
later than the effective date of this part, or by the initial receipt of 
waste, whichever is later.
    (e) Prior to beginning closure of each MSWLF unit as specified in 
Sec. 258.60(f), an owner or operator must notify the State Director that 
a notice of the intent to close the unit has been placed in the 
operating record.
    (f) The owner or operator must begin closure activities of each 
MSWLF unit no later than 30 days after the date on which the MSWLF unit 
receives the known final receipt of wastes or, if the MSWLF unit has 
remaining capacity and there is a reasonable likelihood that the MSWLF 
unit will receive additional wastes, no later than one year after the 
most recent receipt of wastes. Extensions beyond the one-year deadline 
for beginning closure may be granted by the Director of an approved 
State if the owner or operator demonstrates that the MSWLF unit has the 
capacity to receive additional wastes and the owner or operator has 
taken and will continue to take all steps necessary to prevent threats 
to human health and the environmental from the unclosed MSWLF unit.
    (g) The owner or operator of all MSWLF units must complete closure 
activities of each MSWLF unit in accordance with the closure plan within

[[Page 417]]

180 days following the beginning of closure as specified in paragraph 
(f) of this section. Extensions of the closure period may be granted by 
the Director of an approved State if the owner or operator demonstrates 
that closure will, of necessity, take longer than 180 days and he has 
taken and will continue to take all steps to prevent threats to human 
health and the environment from the unclosed MSWLF unit.
    (h) Following closure of each MSWLF unit, the owner or operator must 
notify the State Director that a certification, signed by an independent 
registered professional engineer or approved by Director of an approved 
State, verifying that closure has been completed in accordance with the 
closure plan, has been placed in the operating record.
    (i)(1) Following closure of all MSWLF units, the owner or operator 
must record a notation on the deed to the landfill facility property, or 
some other instrument that is normally examined during title search, and 
notify the State Director that the notation has been recorded and a copy 
has been placed in the operating record.
    (2) The notation on the deed must in perpetuity notify any potential 
purchaser of the property that:
    (i) The land has been used as a landfill facility; and
    (ii) Its use is restricted under Sec. 258.61(c)(3).
    (j) The owner or operator may request permission from the Director 
of an approved State to remove the notation from the deed if all wastes 
are removed from the facility.

[56 FR 51016, Oct. 9, 1991; 57 FR 28628, June 26, 1992, as amended at 62 
FR 40713, July 29, 1997]