(1) Placement of coal ash and associated liquids into an existing coal ash impoundment or coal ash impoundment licensed under this part is permitted and shall be conducted consistent with section 11519a and this section.

  (2) If the detection monitoring required in sections 11511a(3), 11512a(1), and 11519a(1)(h) confirms a statistically significant increase over background for 1 or more of the constituents listed in section 11511a(3), the owner and operator of a coal ash landfill or coal ash impoundment shall comply with R 299.4440 and 299.4441 of the MAC, including, as applicable, conducting assessment monitoring and preparation of a response action plan in compliance with R 299.4442 of the MAC. The constituents to be monitored in the assessment monitoring program shall include those listed in section 11511a(3) and all of the following:

  (a) Antimony.

  (b) Arsenic.

  (c) Barium.

  (d) Beryllium.

  (e) Cadmium.

  (f) Chromium.

  (g) Cobalt.

  (h) Copper.

  (i) Lead.

  (j) Lithium.

  (k) Nickel.

  (l) Mercury.

  (m) Molybdenum.

  (n) Selenium.

  (o) Silver.

  (p) Thallium.

  (q) Vanadium.

  (r) Zinc.

  (s) Radium 226 and 228 combined.

  (3) The constituents listed in this section shall be analyzed by methods identified in “Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 20th edition”, (jointly published by the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association, and the Water Environment Federation) or “Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods,” EPA publication SW-846, Third Edition, Final Updates I (1993), II (1995), IIA (1994), IIB (1995), III (1997), IIIA (1999), IIIB (2005), IV (2008), and V (2015) or by other methods approved by the director or his or her designee.

  (4) If the owner or operator of a coal ash landfill or coal ash impoundment is obligated to prepare a response action plan, the owner or operator shall comply with R 299.4442 to R 299.4445 of the MAC, as applicable.

  (5) The owner or operator of a coal ash landfill shall place landfill cover materials that are described in R 299.4304 of the MAC, over the entire surface of each portion of the final lift not more than 6 months after the final placement of coal ash within the landfill or landfill unit.

  (6) The owner or operator of a coal ash impoundment shall begin to implement closure as described in R 299.4309(7) of the MAC not more than 6 months after the final placement of coal ash within the impoundment and shall diligently pursue the closure. The closure shall be completed in compliance with 40 C.F.R. § 257.102(f)(1) and (2).

  (7) A coal ash impoundment or coal ash landfill may be closed as a type III landfill pursuant to the applicable rules or by removal of the coal ash from the coal ash impoundment or coal ash landfill as described in part 115.

  (8) If a coal ash impoundment is closed by December 28, 2020, and the department accepts the certification of the closure, the owner is not required to provide financial assurance under section 11523 or pay into a perpetual care fund under section 11525.

  (9) Closure by removal of coal ash under subsection (7) is complete when either of the following requirements are met:

  (a) The owner or operator certifies compliance with the requirements of 40 C.F.R. § 257.102(c).

  (b) The owner or operator certifies that testing confirms that constituent concentrations remaining in the coal ash impoundment or landfill unit and any concentrations of soil or groundwater affected by releases therefrom do not exceed the lesser of the applicable standards adopted by the department pursuant to section 20120a or the groundwater protection standards established pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 257.95(h) and the department accepts the certification, or, if the constituent concentrations do exceed those standards, the department has approved a remedy consistent with R 299.4444 and R 299.4445 of the MAC.

  (10) Upon completion of the closure by removal under subsection (9), all of the following apply:

  (a) The financial assurance under section 11523 and perpetual care fund under section 11525 shall be terminated.

  (b) The owner or operator is not required to provide financial assurance or contribute to a perpetual care fund.

  (c) Any claim to the assurance or fund by the department is terminated and released. The termination and release do not impair the department’s authority to require, whether upon completion of closure under subsection (9)(b) or subsequently, financial assurance for corrective action as provided under this act.