(a) The regulations in this chapter pertain to water quality aspects of waste discharge to land. The regulations in this chapter establish waste and site classifications and waste management requirements for waste treatment, storage, or disposal in landfills, surface impoundments, waste piles, and land treatment facilities. Requirements in this chapter are minimum standards for proper management of each waste category. Regional boards may impose more stringent requirements to accommodate regional and site-specific conditions. In addition, the requirements of this chapter apply to cleanup and abatement actions for unregulated discharges to land of hazardous waste (e.g., spills), taken pursuant to ¶III.F.2. of SWRCB Resolution No. 92-49 (Section 2907, Title 23, of this code); the SWRCB-promulgated sections of Subdivision 1, Division 2, Title 27 of this code apply in a corresponding fashion to unregulated discharges to land of solid waste.

(b) Unless otherwise specified, alternatives to construction or prescriptive standards contained in this chapter may be considered. Alternatives shall only be approved where the discharger demonstrates that:

(c) To establish that compliance with prescriptive standards in this chapter is not feasible for the purposes of subsection (b) of this section, the discharger shall demonstrate that compliance with a prescriptive standard:

(d) Waste management units which are operating, or have received all permits necessary for construction and operation, on or before November 27, 1984 shall be designated as existing waste management units. This includes disposal sites classified under previous regulations and unclassified waste management units. Dischargers shall continue to operate existing waste management units under existing classifications and waste discharge requirements until those classifications and requirements are reviewed in accordance with Subsection 2591(c) of this chapter. Dischargers who have not filed a report of waste discharge for an existing waste management unit before the effective date of this chapter shall do so within 60 days. Existing waste management units shall be closed and maintained after closure according to Article 8 of this chapter. All other waste management units, including expansions and reconstructions of existing waste management units, shall comply with all applicable provisions of this chapter, as summarized in Table 3.1 and in Subsection 2540(d) of this chapter. Pending review and reclassification, the following provisions of this chapter shall apply to existing waste management units:

(e) In reviewing waste discharge requirements for existing waste management units, regional boards shall consider the results of monitoring programs developed under subsection (d)(1) of this subsection and technical and monitoring reports submitted under subsection (d)(2) of this section. Existing waste management units shall be reclassified according to the geologic sitting criteria in Article 3 of this chapter (as summarized in Table 3.1) and shall be required to comply with applicable construction standards in Article 4 of this chapter (as summarized in subsection 2540(d) of this chapter) as feasible. To establish that retrofitting is not feasible, the discharger shall be required to make the demonstrations in subsections (b) and (c) of this section.

(f) Regional boards shall implement the regulations in this chapter through the issuance of waste discharge requirements for waste management units.

(g) Persons responsible for discharges at waste management units which are closed, abandoned, or inactive on the effective date of these regulations may be required to develop and implement a monitoring program in accordance with Article 5 of this chapter. If water quality impairment is found, such persons may be required to develop and implement a corrective action program based on the provisions of this chapter.

(h) Discharges of mining waste, as defined in Subsection 2570(a) of this chapter, shall be regulated only by the provisions of Article 7 of this chapter and by such provisions of the other articles of this chapter as specifically referenced in Article 7.