§ 61.7 Concepts. (a) The disposal facility. (1) Part 61 is
intended to apply to land disposal of radioactive waste and not
to other methods such as sea or extraterrestrial disposal. Part
61 contains procedural requirements and performance objectives
applicable to any method of land disposal. It contains specific
technical requirements for near-surface disposal of radioactive
waste, a subset of land disposal, which involves disposal in the
uppermost portion of the earth, approximately 30 meters. Near-
surface disposal includes disposal in engineered facilities
which may be built totally or partially above-grade provided
that such facilities have protective earthen covers. Near-
surface disposal does not include disposal facilities which are
partially or fully above-grade with no protective earthen cover,
which are referred to as "above-ground disposal." Burial deeper
than 30 meters may also be satisfactory. Technical requirements
for alternative methods may be added in the future. (2) Near-
surface disposal of ra