Timing for Closure

Agricultural Facility Closures

Facilities that have been closed for two years or less may renew operations without applying for a new permit and without notifying the Department. Facilities that have been closed for more than two years but less than five must notify the Department that they wish to renew operations. The Department must review the existing permit and modify the operating conditions as necessary prior to the facility starting back up. Facilities that have been inactive for five or more years must be properly closed out.

Wastewater Facility Closures (Other than Agriculture)

Regulation 61-67.F.17 requires that all wastewater facilities be closed out within 180 days when the facility is closed or the effluent disposal permit is inactivated, terminated, or revoked, unless the Department determines that a greater time is necessary to achieve closeout.

Closeout Reports

Regulation 61-82 governs closeout of wastewater facilities and agricultural facilities. Wastewater facilities include agricultural facilities. This regulation is not prescriptive and offers a lot of flexibility to facilities on how they may be properly closed. The regulation requires submittal of a closeout report to the Department.

The close out report must outline the steps that will taken to close the facility. For the closeout of wastewater facilities, these steps must include, but are not limited to, the removal and proper disposal of the sludge at the facility.  For the closeout of agricultural facilities, depending on the solids sampling results and the intended future use of the lagoon/waste storage pond, manure removal may be required. For lagoon systems, the report also must address how the lagoon will be closed.

Once a closeout report has been approved by the Department, the facility may be closed out. After the closeout is completed, the facility owner must have the appropriate EA Regional Office conduct an inspection to verify the facility has been properly closed. If the facility has been properly closed, a letter of final closeout completion will be sent to the facility owner.

Guidance

A guidance document entitled, Closeout of Wastewater Treatment Facilities is available and it explains the administrative process to be followed when closing out a wastewater facility.