(a) The regulations in this article apply to owners or operators of facilities that treat, store, or dispose of waste at waste management units. The owner or operator of a surface impoundment, waste pile, landfill, or land treatment unit that receives or has received waste (hereinafter referred to as “waste management units”, or “Units”) that is subject to the SWRCB-promulgated requirements of this division, pursuant to §§ 20080 and 20090 shall comply with the provisions of this article for purposes of detecting, characterizing, and responding to releases to ground water, surface water, or the unsaturated zone. Furthermore, § 20400 of this article also applies to all determinations of alternative cleanup levels for unpermitted discharges to land of solid waste, pursuant to ¶III.G. of SWRCB Resolution No. 92-49 [§ 2550.4 of Title 23 of this code serves a similar function for unpermitted discharges to land of hazardous waste].

(b) Known or Reasonably Foreseeable Release--In accordance with applicable requirements of §§ 22220-22222, waste discharge requirements (WDRs) for a Unit subject to this section shall contain a provision which requires the discharger to obtain and maintain assurances of financial responsibility for initiating and completing corrective action for all known or reasonably foreseeable releases from the Unit.

(c) [Reserved]

(d) Apply Unless Clean-Closed--The regulations under this article apply during the Unit's active life and closure period. After closure of the Unit, the regulations in this article apply during the post-closure maintenance period of the Unit and during any compliance period under § 20410 of this article, unless:

(e) Allowable Engineered Alternatives--In considering a monitoring proposal by the discharger, the RWQCB can allow an engineered alternative for any of the prescriptive standards in this article so long as the RWQCB: