Pennsylvania Code › Title 25 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Part I - Department of Environmental Protection › Subpart D - Environmental Health and Safety › Article VII - Hazardous Waste Management › Chapter 269a - SITING › Subchapter A - SITING HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL FACILITIES › PHASE II CRITERIA › Section 269a.42 - Geology

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
Faults.
Landfill, land treatment and surface impoundment
						  facilities are deemed to be acceptable if located 1 mile or more from a major
						  structural feature. A major structural feature is a fault mapped by the
						  Pennsylvania Geologic Survey or the United States Geological Survey at a scale
						  of 4 miles to the inch. If the proposed facility is within 1 mile of a major
						  structural feature, the applicant shall provide information and analysis to
						  allow the Department to assess the compatibility of the proposed facility
						  design with the faults in the area.
(b)
Bedrock depth.
For
						  surface impoundment, landfill and land treatment facilities, a depth to bedrock
						  of 15 feet or more shall be considered acceptable. Where the construction of
						  the proposed facility required excavation, the final depth to bedrock shall be
						  considered. The applicant shall address lesser bedrock depths by providing
						  information and analysis to allow the Department to assess the compatibility of
						  the design and construction of the proposed facility with the bedrock
						  depth.
(c)
Slopes.
Slopes less than 15% for surface impoundment, landfill and land treatment
						  facilities shall be considered acceptable. The applicant shall address greater
						  slopes by submitting information and analysis to allow the Department to assess
						  the compatibility of the design and construction measures for the proposed
						  facility that would minimize adverse effects.
(d)
Landslide prone areas.
If a facility site is in a landslide prone area or is adjacent to a landslide
						  prone area, the applicant shall submit information and analyses to allow the
						  Department to assess whether the design measures provide adequate protection
						  from potential landslides.
(e)
Oil and gas wells.
Surface impoundment, landfill and land
						  treatment facilities shall be considered acceptable if the applicant can
						  establish that abandoned oil and gas wells and gas storage areas do not exist
						  within the proposed facility site. The term "abandoned oil and gas wells and
						  gas storage areas" has the same meaning as in the Oil and Gas Act
						  (58
						  P. S. §§
														601.101-601.605). If
						  abandoned facilities exist, the applicant shall provide information and
						  analysis to allow the Department to assess the probability and degree of
						  subsurface discharges to be expected from the existence of abandoned oil and
						  gas wells and gas storage areas within the facility site after wells are
						  plugged.
(f)
Carbonate
						  areas.
Where surface impoundment, landfill or land treatment and
						  disposal facilities are proposed over areas underlain by carbonate bedrock, the
						  applicant shall provide information and analysis to allow the Department to
						  assess the prevalence of solution channels and the potential for sinkholes at
						  the facility site.
(g)
Hydrogeology.
A surface impoundment, landfill or land
						  treatment facility may not be located in an area underlain by coarse
						  unconsolidated deposits, such as well sorted valley fill deposits and heavily
						  fractured bedrock. If any other facility is to be located in an area underlain
						  by coarse unconsolidated deposits the applicant shall provide information and
						  analyses to allow the Department to further assess the facility site to
						  determine the environmental impact of these subsurface conditions.
(h)
Seismic risk zones.
If a
						  proposed treatment or disposal facility is within a 5-mile radius of earthquake
						  epicenters as mapped by the Pennsylvania Geologic Survey or the United States
						  Geological Survey, the applicant shall specify design measures necessary to
						  withstand potential seismic events, and the Department will determine whether
						  the proposed design measures provide adequate protection from potential
						  earthquake damage.
This section cited in 25 Pa. Code §
															269a.13 (relating to Phase
								II).