Kentucky Administrative Regulations › Title 405 - ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT CABINET - DEPARTMENT FOR NATURAL RESOURCES › Chapter 30 - Oil Shale Operations › Section 405 KAR 30:160 - Data requirements

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 1, July 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
				KRS
				350.600
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
				KRS
				350.600 requires the Environmental and Public
				Protection Cabinet to develop administrative regulations for oil shale
				operations to minimize and prevent their adverse effects on the citizens and
				the environment of the Commonwealth. This administrative regulation sets forth
				various data collection requirements.
Section
			 1. General. This administrative regulation applies to any person
			 who engages in an oil shale operation with the exception of exploration
			 operations. The extent and duration of data collection will be determined by
			 the cabinet. Such determination will be made based on the proposed activity by
			 the applicant and its potential for adverse environmental impacts on the area
			 to be affected by such activity.
Section
			 2. Baseline and Background Data Requirements.
(1) Any permit applicant shall submit with
			 the application as determined by the cabinet data collected on the following
			 environmental parameters: air quality and climatology, water quality, water
			 quantity, aquatic flora and fauna, terrestrial flora and fauna, and historic,
			 geologic, pedologic, and archaeological features. In the design and operation
			 of the baseline data collection and monitoring programs, the permittee shall
			 strive to collect data for the greatest period of time practicable as approved
			 by the cabinet with emphasis on acquisition of quality data. The permittee
			 shall establish and implement a quality assurance program approved by the
			 cabinet to assure high quality data collection. This quality assurance program
			 shall include but not be limited to: quality control by standard reference
			 materials such as those available through the National Bureau of Standards;
			 data validation through established criteria of acceptability; method and
			 frequency of calibration and maintenance; and testing programs to identify and
			 quantify data anomalies.
(2) Air
			 quality and climatology monitoring by the applicant shall be in accordance with
			 KRS Chapter 224 and the administrative regulations promulgated pursuant
			 thereto.
(3) Surface water
			 monitoring by the applicant shall include monitoring sites established on major
			 streams, upstream and downstream from anticipated sources of pollution
			 including adjacent impacted tributaries. Seasonal sampling (winter, spring,
			 summer, and fall) is required with a minimum of six (6) samples taken in each
			 affected perennial stream per year. A minimum of two (2) samples shall be taken
			 during high flow and a minimum of two (2) samples shall be taken during low
			 flow. Sampling for metals, organic compounds, and water quality assessment
			 shall be performed during low flow periods. Sampling of intermittent streams
			 shall be during the maximum flow regime. The sampling parameters for
			 intermittent streams shall be recommended by the applicant and approved by the
			 cabinet. All sampling shall be performed by qualified personnel and the
			 analyses performed by a qualified laboratory. The number and location of
			 sampling sites shall be recommended by the applicant for approval by the
			 cabinet.
(4) Water sampling
			 parameters shall include but not be limited to the following:
(a) Physical parameters monitored will
			 include: total dissolved solids or specific conductance, total suspended
			 solids, and temperature.
(b)
			 Chemical parameters will include ph, acidity, alkalinity, sulfate, iron,
			 manganese, silver, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, mercury, lead, selenium,
			 nickel, molybdenum, vanadium, boron, fluorine, copper, total organic carbon
			 (TOC), total phenols, inorganic carbon, cyanides, sulfides, ammonia, and
			 thiocyanates.
(c) Biological
			 parameters will include biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen
			 demand (COD).
(d) Radiological
			 parameters will include gross alpha (once in high flow and once in low flow)
			 and further testing as prescribed by the Environmental and Public Protection
			 Cabinet if radioactivity is found.
(e) All chemicals and their by-products that
			 will be involved in processing the shale will be identified by the applicant.
			 The applicant shall recommend a monitoring plan for approval by the
			 cabinet.
(5) Groundwater
			 will be monitored for the same parameters as surface water with the exceptions
			 of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and dissolved
			 oxygen (DO). Sampling will be performed on a biannual basis during periods of
			 surface high flow and low flow regimes and accomplished by using test wells
			 whose number and location will be determined by the site plan. The wells will
			 be placed after the submission of the site plan and prior to the start-up of
			 the operation.
(6) Water quantity
			 will be assessed during minimum, maximum, and average discharge conditions to
			 identify critical low flow and peak discharge rates of streams to identify
			 seasonal variations.
(7) Aquatic
			 flora and fauna will be sampled at a minimum of five (5) stations. These
			 stations will include at least one (1) above the point source, one (1) at the
			 point source, at least one (1) in the same stream below the point source and
			 one (1) in the next order higher stream below the point source. The location of
			 these stations and the duration of the data collection shall be recommended by
			 the applicant for approval by the cabinet.
(a)
			 Invertebrates will be sampled for qualitatively using a minimum of three (3)
			 surber samples or three (3) samples collected using an equivalent methodology
			 at a riffle at each station. If no riffles exist in the stream, then the pool
			 at each station should be sampled by dredge.
(b) Fishes will be qualitatively sampled for
			 at a pool and riffle at each station using small mesh minnow seines and
			 portable electroshockers. For streams which contain pools with water depths
			 greater than four (4) feet, this data will be supplemented by using gill or
			 trammel nets.
(c) Aquatic
			 macroflora will be qualitatively sampled along the stream between the upstream
			 and downstream stations.
(d)
			 Sampling and identification will be performed by qualified personnel acceptable
			 to the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet. The specimens will be
			 identified at the collection site if possible and returned to place of capture
			 unless record of species existence or further identification is needed
			 whereupon the specimens will be deposited in a university museum or herbarium
			 in the state.
(8)
			 Terrestrial flora and fauna will be qualitatively sampled for species
			 composition. The duration of data collection shall be recommended by the
			 application for approval by the cabinet.
(a)
			 Plant communities will be sampled to include canopy understory and ground
			 cover. General age characteristics of forest communities will be assessed by
			 either coring (preferably) or measuring the diameter breast high of three (3)
			 of the largest trees and five (5) of the average size trees.
(b) Existing agencies should be utilized to
			 determine if any federally listed, proposed or under review threatened or
			 endangered plant or animal species are known on the proposed permit site or its
			 vicinity and search shall be conducted for any species which could occur there.
			 This search should take place at the peak flowering or activity season for each
			 species which may be involved.
(c)
			 Mammals should be sampled by randomly selecting three (3) plots per habitat
			 type and trapping for four (4) nights with twenty-five (25) traps regularly
			 placed in each plot. The plots should be selected from a grid based on
			 twenty-five (25) x twenty-five (25) meters. The results should be reported in
			 number of specimens per species per plot per season. Equivalent sampling
			 techniques may be approved by the cabinet.
(d) Bird species should be observed for one
			 (1) hour periods in early morning, midday, and late afternoon or early evening.
			 The observations should take place within areas representative of each distinct
			 habitat type. The results should be reported as number of individuals per
			 species per unit time per season.
(e) Reptiles and amphibians should be
			 searched for within areas representative of each distinct habitat type. The
			 results should be reported in the same manner as the bird data.
(f) Wetlands, critical habitats and
			 ecological areas which are off site but could be affected by the mining or
			 processing should be identified.
(g) The data should be collected by qualified
			 personnel acceptable to the Environmental and Public Protection
			 Cabinet.
(h) All specimens of flora
			 and fauna should be deposited at a university museum or herbarium in the state,
			 in accordance with this administrative regulation.
(9) The following geologic and hydrologic
			 data shall be submitted to the cabinet:
(a)
			 Each application shall contain a description of the geology and hydrology of
			 lands within the proposed permit area and adjacent areas. The description shall
			 include information on the characteristics of surface and groundwaters within
			 these areas, and any water which will flow into or receive discharges of water
			 from these areas.
(b) Hydrologic
			 data including water quality and quantity, and geologic data related to
			 hydrology of areas outside the permit area and within the adjacent areas shall
			 be submitted to the cabinet. This data may be obtained from appropriate federal
			 or state agencies. If the cabinet determines that this data is not sufficient,
			 the applicant will be required to collect such additional data as determined by
			 the cabinet and submit it as part of the permit application.
(c) Geologic data shall include a general
			 statement of the geology within the proposed permit area and adjacent areas
			 down to and including the first aquifer which may be affected below the lowest
			 oil shale stratum to be mined.
(d)
			 Test borings or core samples from the proposed permit area shall be collected
			 and analyzed down to and including the stratum immediately below the lowest oil
			 shale stratum to be mined, to provide the following data:
1. Location of subsurface water, if
			 encountered;
2. Logs of drill holes
			 showing the lithologic characteristics and thickness of each stratum and each
			 oil shale stratum;
3. Physical
			 properties of each stratum within the overburden;
4. Chemical analyses of each stratum within
			 the overburden, and including the stratum immediately below the lowest oil
			 shale stratum to be mined to identify, at a minimum, those horizons which
			 contain potential acid-forming, toxic-forming, or alkalinity producing
			 materials; and,
5. Analyses of the
			 oil shale stratum including, but not limited to, an analysis of the total
			 sulfur and pyritic sulfur content.
(e) If required by the cabinet, geologic data
			 shall be collected and analyzed to greater depths within the proposed permit
			 area and adjacent areas to provide for evaluation of the impact of the proposed
			 activities on the hydrologic balance.
(10) Historical, pedological, and
			 archaeological data should be gathered from the appropriate agencies. Where
			 insufficient data exists, the cabinet may require the applicant to collect such
			 data. Where no archaeological information exists, a survey or prediction
			 analysis should be done in accordance with current methods used by the Kentucky
			 Heritage Council and the Office of State Archaeology.