N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 6, § 383-9.4 – Requirements for facility closure.

(a) The permittee must initiate facility closure within 180 days of the effective date of the permit modification to authorize facility closure.
(b) The permittee must obtain a modification to the permit in accordance with Subpart 383-4 of this Part before facility closure begins. Facility closure must be performed in accordance with:
1. (1) the modification to the permit and the closure plan approved by the department in accordance with Subparts 383-3 and 383-4 of this Part; or
2. (2) a judicial decree or final order to cease receiving waste or to close the land disposal facility.
(c) During facility closure, the disposal site must be closed and stabilized to achieve long-term stability for the site and to minimize the need for ongoing active maintenance of the disposal site following closure so that only surveillance, monitoring, or minor custodial care are required.
(d) All design and construction activities necessary for facility closure must comply with the applicable requirements of Subpart 383-7 of this Part, including the QA/QC requirements of section 383-7.2(c) of this Part.
(e) Facility closure must include measures to control natural processes to provide reasonable assurance that the performance objectives will be met. Natural processes that are controlled must include:
1. (1) erosion;
2. (2) mass wasting;
3. (3) slope failure;
4. (4) settlement of waste and backfill;
5. (5) infiltration of water into the disposal units and adjacent soils; and
6. (6) the drainage of surface waters through the site.
(f) Landscaping must be designed by a licensed landscape architect.
(g) Facility closure must include the following:
1. (1) the decontamination and/or dismantling and disposition of all structures that are not essential for post-closure monitoring and maintenance or institutional control of the land disposal facility including all structures utilized for the receipt, temporary storage, and treatment of waste during the operation of the land disposal facility;
2. (2) the removal of all structures such as access roads and gates that are not essential for post-closure monitoring and maintenance or institutional control and that could facilitate inadvertent intrusion;
3. (3) either the removal or the disposal of all equipment, instruments, and materials not essential for post-closure monitoring and maintenance or institutional control of the land disposal facility. Equipment, instruments, and materials that have become contaminated must be either disposed of on the site or decontaminated and removed from the site; and
4. (4) installation of any markers required by section 383-11.3 of this Part that have not yet been installed and the markers and monument required by section 383-11.4(e) and (f) of this Part.
(h) The waste in the closed and stabilized disposal site must not result in an annual dose exceeding an equivalent of 25 millirems to the whole body, 75 millirems to the thyroid, and 25 millirems to any other organ of any member of the public. Exposures to radiation from the waste must be maintained as low as reasonably achievable.
(i) Within 180 days of completion of facility closure, the permittee must:
1. (1) perform a radiation survey of the site to detect any remaining near-surface contamination. Any contamination detected that is above the decontamination requirements established in the permit must be decontaminated; and
2. (2) perform an aerial radiation survey of the site and the surrounding area within a radius of five miles of the site. If any contamination is detected off the site, the department may direct the permittee to take appropriate actions based upon the location, type, and extent of the contamination.
(j) Within 180 days of completion of facility closure, the permittee must submit to the department certification that closure has been performed in accordance with the approved closure plan. The certification must be signed by the permittee and by an independent licensed professional engineer. After reviewing the certification and inspecting the closed land disposal facility, the department may direct the permittee to correct any errors or deficiencies found.
(k) Within 30 days of certification of closure, the permittee must:
1. (1) file with the county clerk in the county or counties in which the disposal site property is located a declaration of restrictions or other approved documents giving notice of the following:
  1. (i) the site was used as a land disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste, that waste is present at the site, and that the waste must not be disturbed; and
  2. (ii) the survey plans of the land disposal facility and records of the waste disposed of there have been filed with the chief executives of the towns and counties in which the disposal site is located and with the department.
2. (2) send the following to the chief executive officers of each county and municipality located within 50 miles of the disposal site; to all persons who own land contiguous to the disposal site; and to the police and fire departments serving the disposal site:
  1. (i) written notification that the land disposal facility has been closed; and
  2. (ii) a copy of the documents that have been recorded with the county clerk of the county or counties in which the disposal site is located.