South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL › Subchapter 61-107 - Solid Waste Management › Subchapter 61-107.19 - SOLID WASTE. MANAGEMENT: SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS AND STRUCTURAL FILL › Part IV - Class Two Landfills › Section 61-107.19.IV.E - Groundwater Monitoring and Corrective Action

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
1. General Groundwater Monitoring
				  Requirements.
a. All submittals made to the
				  Department in compliance with this Section shall be signed and stamped by a
				  qualified professional.
b. All
				  Class Two landfills shall implement a groundwater monitoring program as
				  follows:
(1) New Class Two landfills, or
				  lateral expansions of existing Class Two landfills shall submit a groundwater
				  monitoring plan to monitor the entire landfill that meets the requirements of
				  this Section as part of the permit application; and,
(2) Existing Class Two landfills shall,
				  within 180 days of the effective date of this regulation, submit to the
				  Department either a groundwater detection monitoring plan that meets the
				  requirements of this Section, or written notification that the landfill plans
				  to cease accepting waste within one year or less from the effective date of
				  this regulation. Within 180 days of the Department's approval of the
				  groundwater detection monitoring plan, the monitoring system shall be installed
				  at the landfill. Facilities that cease accepting waste within one year of the
				  effective date of this regulation are exempt from the groundwater monitoring
				  requirements outlined herein. Landfills meeting this exemption shall submit a
				  closure plan to the Department within 180 days of the effective date of this
				  regulation. Additional time may be allowed for the installation of the
				  groundwater monitoring system with prior approval from the
				  Department;
(3) Existing Class Two
				  landfills which have been performing groundwater monitoring prior to the
				  requirements of this regulation shall within 90 days of the effective date
				  submit to the Department certification by a qualified professional that the
				  existing groundwater monitoring program meets the intent of this regulation.
				  Any changes necessary to the existing groundwater monitoring system to ensure
				  compliance with this regulation should be discussed in the certification
				  letter.
c. A groundwater
				  monitoring system shall consist of a sufficient number of wells installed at
				  appropriate locations and depths to yield representative groundwater samples
				  from the uppermost aquifer that can determine if contamination has occurred due
				  to a release from the landfill. There shall be a minimum of one well
				  up-gradient and three wells down-gradient of the disposal unit. These wells
				  shall:
(1) Represent the quality of background
				  groundwater that has not been affected by the landfill; and,
(2) Represent the quality of groundwater
				  passing from beneath the waste disposal area footprint. The downgradient
				  monitoring system shall be installed as close as practical to the actual
				  disposal area but no further than 150 feet from the actual disposal area unless
				  previously installed with Department approval, and shall ensure detection of
				  any groundwater contamination in the uppermost aquifer.
d. The number, spacing, and depths of the
				  wells in the monitoring network shall be determined based upon site-specific
				  technical information that shall include thorough characterization of:
(1) Aquifer thickness, groundwater flow rate,
				  groundwater flow direction including seasonal and temporal fluctuations in
				  groundwater flow; and,
(2)
				  Saturated and unsaturated geologic units and fill materials overlying the
				  uppermost aquifer, materials comprising the uppermost aquifer, and materials
				  comprising the confining unit defining the lower boundary of the uppermost
				  aquifer, including, but not limited to: thicknesses, stratigraphy, lithology,
				  hydraulic conductivities, porosities and effective porosities.
e. Monitoring wells shall be
				  approved by the Department prior to installation and shall be constructed, at a
				  minimum, to the standards established in the South Carolina Well Standards,
				  R.61-71.H.
(1) The permittee shall maintain
				  an operating record that contains documentation of the design, installation,
				  development, and abandonment of any monitoring wells, piezometers and other
				  measurement, sampling, and analytical devices; and,
(2) The monitoring wells, piezometers, and
				  other measurement, sampling, and analytical devices must be maintained and
				  operated so that they perform to design specifications throughout the life of
				  the monitoring program.
(3) All
				  monitoring wells, piezometers or other environmental sampling locations shall
				  be located by a South Carolina Certified Land Surveyor. For wells, the
				  elevation of the ground surface and the elevation of the top of the well casing
				  shall also be determined to the nearest 0.01 ft above mean sea level.
f. Routine groundwater monitoring
				  shall continue while the facility is performing detection monitoring,
				  assessment or remediation activities.
g. The groundwater monitoring program shall
				  include consistent sampling and analysis procedures that are designed to ensure
				  monitoring results that provide an accurate representation of groundwater
				  quality. A laboratory certified by South Carolina under R.61-81 State
				  Environmental Laboratory Certification Program for the sample preparations and
				  analysis methods employed shall conduct all groundwater analysis required by
				  this regulation.
(1) The permittee shall
				  submit to the Department for review and approval, a sampling and analysis plan
				  outlining procedures and protocols to be used at the facility. The plan shall
				  include procedures and techniques for:
(a)
				  Sample collection;
(b) Sample
				  preservation and shipment;
(c)
				  Analytical procedures;
(d) Chain of
				  custody control; and,
(e) Quality
				  assurance and quality control.
(2) The groundwater monitoring program shall
				  include approved sampling and analytical methods that are appropriate for
				  groundwater sampling and that accurately measure the constituents in
				  groundwater samples. Analytical methods chosen shall have a practical
				  quantitation limit (PQL) that is less than the Maximum Concentration Level
				  (MCL) for those constituents that have a MCL as established by the State
				  Primary Drinking Water RegulationR.61-58. Groundwater samples
				  required by this regulation shall not be field-filtered prior to laboratory
				  analysis.
(3) Groundwater
				  potentiometric elevations shall be measured and recorded for each well prior to
				  initiating sampling procedures each time groundwater is sampled. Groundwater
				  elevations in wells must be measured on the same day to avoid temporal
				  variations in groundwater elevations that could preclude an accurate
				  determination of groundwater flow rate and direction. The permittee must
				  determine the potentiometric surface of each aquifer unit comprising the
				  uppermost aquifer and report the rate and direction of groundwater flow each
				  time groundwater is sampled.
(4)
				  The results and supporting documentation, e.g., field data sheets, laboratory
				  quality assurance /quality control testing, for all groundwater sample analysis
				  taken during detection monitoring shall be submitted to the Department in
				  accordance with the reporting requirements in this Subpart.
h. The permittee shall submit to
				  the Department on or before the anniversary date of issuance of the permit, an
				  annual report for the previous year containing the results of the requirements
				  of this Section. The annual report shall contain the following:
(1) A summary of all analytical testing
				  performed at the site during the previous year, and any applicable data
				  concerning sampling and analysis of monitoring wells at the site;
(2) A determination of the technical
				  sufficiency of the monitoring well network in detecting a release from the
				  facility;
(3) A determination of
				  groundwater elevations, groundwater flow directions and groundwater flow rates
				  as specified in Section E.1.g. (3) above. Groundwater flow directions shall be
				  based upon interpretation of a potentiometric map prepared utilizing the
				  groundwater elevations measured at the site; and,
(4) Recommendations for any changes to the
				  groundwater monitoring system, or any necessary actions to be performed at the
				  site to ensure compliance with the groundwater monitoring requirements.