North Dakota Administrative Code › Title 33.1 - Department of Environmental Quality › Article 33.1-20 - SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AND LAND PROTECTION › Chapter 33.1-20-08 - DISPOSAL OF COAL COMBUSTION RESIDUALS IN LANDFILLS AND SURFACE IMPOUNDMENTS › Section 33.1-20-08-06 - Ground water monitoring and corrective action

Current through Supplement No. 393, July, 2024
1. Applicability.
a. Existing CCR landfills, CCR surface
				impoundments, and lateral expansions of CCR units are subject to the ground
				water monitoring and corrective action requirements of this section, except as
				provided in subdivision f.
b.
				Initial time frames.
(1) Existing CCR
				landfills and existing CCR surface impoundments. The owner or operator of the
				CCR unit shall include with the permit modification application required by
				subsection 9 of section 33.1-20-08-02, a ground water monitoring plan showing
				compliance with the following ground water monitoring requirements:
(a) Install the ground water monitoring
				system as required by subsection 2;
(b) Develop the ground water sampling and
				analysis program to include selection of the statistical procedures to be used
				for evaluating ground water monitoring data as required by subsection
				3;
(c) Initiate the detection
				monitoring program to include obtaining a minimum of eight independent samples
				for each background and downgradient well as required by subsection 4;
				and
(d) Begin evaluating the ground
				water monitoring data for statistically significant increases over background
				levels for the constituents listed in appendix I of this chapter as required by
				subsection 4.
(2) New
				CCR landfills, new CCR surface impoundments, and all lateral expansions of CCR
				units. The owner or operator shall include a ground water monitoring plan with
				the application for a new permit or permit modification to show compliance with
				the ground water monitoring requirements specified in subparagraphs a and b of
				paragraph 1 prior to initial receipt of CCR by the CCR unit. In addition, the
				owner or operator of the CCR unit shall initiate the detection monitoring
				program to include obtaining a minimum of eight independent samples for each
				background well as required by subsection 4.
c. Once a ground water monitoring system and
				ground water monitoring program has been established at the CCR unit as
				required by this section, the owner or operator shall conduct ground water
				monitoring and, if necessary, corrective action throughout the active life and
				postclosure care period of the CCR unit.
d. In the event of a release from a CCR unit,
				the owner or operator immediately shall take all necessary measures to control
				the source of the release so as to reduce or eliminate, to the maximum extent
				feasible, further releases of contaminants into the environment. The owner or
				operator of the CCR unit shall comply with all applicable requirements in
				subsections 6 through 8, or, if eligible, must comply with the requirements in
				subsection 9.
e. Annual ground
				water monitoring and corrective action report. For existing CCR landfills and
				existing CCR surface impoundments, no later than January thirty-first of the
				year following July 1, 2020, and January thirty-first of each year thereafter,
				the owner or operator must prepare an annual ground water monitoring and
				corrective action report. For new CCR landfills, new CCR surface impoundments,
				and all lateral expansions of CCR units, the owner or operator must prepare the
				initial annual ground water monitoring and corrective action report no later
				than January thirty-first of the year following the calendar year a ground
				water monitoring system has been established, and January thirty-first of each
				year thereafter. For the preceding calendar year, the annual report must
				document the status of the ground water monitoring and corrective action
				program for the CCR unit, summarize key actions completed, describe any
				problems encountered, discuss actions to resolve the problems, and project key
				activities for the upcoming year. For purposes of this section, the owner or
				operator has prepared the annual report when the report is placed in the
				facility's operating record. The annual report must be submitted to the
				department for approval and placed on the facility's publicly accessible
				internet site by March first of each year. At a minimum, the annual ground
				water monitoring and corrective action report must contain the following
				information, to the extent available:
(1) A
				map, aerial image, or diagram showing the CCR unit and all background (or
				upgradient) and downgradient monitoring wells, to include the well
				identification numbers, that are part of the ground water monitoring program
				for the CCR unit;
(2)
				Identification of any monitoring wells that were installed or decommissioned
				during the preceding year, along with a narrative description of why those
				actions were taken;
(3) In addition
				to all the monitoring data obtained under this section, a summary including the
				number of ground water samples that were collected for analysis for each
				background and downgradient well, the dates the samples were collected, and
				whether the sample was required by the detection monitoring or assessment
				monitoring programs;
(4) A
				narrative discussion of any transition between monitoring programs (e.g., the
				date and circumstances for transitioning from detection monitoring to
				assessment monitoring in addition to identifying the constituents detected at a
				statistically significant increase over background levels); and
(5) Other information required to be included
				in the annual report as specified in this section.
f. Suspension of ground water monitoring
				requirements.
(1) The department may suspend
				the ground water monitoring requirements of this section for a CCR unit for up
				to ten years if the owner or operator provides written documentation that there
				is no potential for migration of the constituents listed in appendices I and II
				to this chapter from that CCR unit to the uppermost aquifer during the active
				life of the CCR unit and the postclosure care period. This demonstration must
				be certified by a qualified professional engineer and approved by the
				department, and must be based upon:
(a)
				Site-specific field collected measurements, sampling, and analysis of physical,
				chemical, and biological processes affecting contaminant fate and transport,
				including at a minimum, the information necessary to evaluate or interpret the
				effects of the following properties or processes on contaminant fate and
				transport:
[1] Aquifer characteristics,
				including hydraulic conductivity, hydraulic gradient, effective porosity,
				aquifer thickness, degree of saturation, stratigraphy, degree of fracturing and
				secondary porosity of soils and bedrock, aquifer heterogeneity, ground water
				discharge, and ground water recharge areas;
[2] Waste characteristics, including
				quantity, type, and origin;
[3]
				Climatic conditions, including annual precipitation, leachate generation
				estimates, and effects on leachate quality;
[4] Leachate characteristics, including
				leachate composition, solubility, density, the presence of immiscible
				constituents, Eh, and pH; and
[5]
				Engineered controls, including liners, cover systems, and aquifer controls
				(e.g., lowering the water table). These must be evaluated under design and
				failure conditions to estimate their long-term residual performance.
(b) Contaminant fate and transport
				predictions that maximize contaminant migration and consider impacts on human
				health and the environment.
(2) The owner or operator of the CCR unit may
				secure an additional ten years for the suspension of the ground water
				monitoring requirements provided the owner or operator provides written
				documentation that there continues to be no potential for migration. The
				documentation must be supported by, at a minimum, by the same information
				required for the initial monitoring suspension and must be certified by a
				qualified professional engineer and approved by the department. The owner or
				operator shall submit the documentation of their re-demonstration for the
				department's review and approval of their extension one year before their
				ground water monitoring suspension is due to expire. If the existing ground
				water monitoring extension expires, the owner or operator shall begin ground
				water detection monitoring according to this section within ninety days. The
				owner or operator may obtain additional ten-year ground water monitoring
				suspensions provided the owner or operator continues to make the written
				demonstration. The owner or operator shall place each completed demonstration,
				if more than one ten-year suspension period is sought, in the facility's
				operating record.