Wisconsin Administrative Code › Department of Natural Resources › NR 200-299 - Environmental Protection - Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System › Chapter NR 214 - Land Treatment Of Industrial Liquid Wastes, By-Product Solids And Sludges › Subchapter I - General › Section NR 214.06 - Exemptions from requirements of this chapter

Current through June 24, 2024
(1) The department
				  may exempt a land treatment system from specific requirements of this chapter
				  if the owner or operator can demonstrate that the requirement is more stringent
				  than necessary to comply with the provisions of ch. NR 140 and ch. 160, Stats.
				  As required in s.
				  160.19(2),
				  Stats., this chapter defines design and management practice criteria for land
				  treatment systems to minimize the level of substances in groundwater to the
				  extent technically and economically feasible and to comply with the groundwater
				  preventive action limits established in ch. NR 140. The concepts of matching
				  the waste loading to the soil conditions, uniform wastewater distribution, a
				  load/rest cycle and nutrient removal by crop uptake are essential in order to
				  minimize the groundwater impacts from waste treatment on land. However, there
				  may be site specific factors that determine how these concepts are best applied
				  to a specific facility. To justify an exemption from a requirement of this
				  chapter, the owner or operator shall demonstrate the following:
(a) That site specific factors, such as
				  pollutant-soil interactions, higher than normal crop nutrient uptake or
				  pollutant dilution, dispersion or degradation within the design management
				  zone, justify an exemption from the requirements of this chapter. The influence
				  of site specific factors shall be demonstrated in an evaluation of the waste
				  loading, hydrogeologic conditions, soil type and treatment capabilities of the
				  site to present grounds for an exemption. Soil investigation information such
				  as that specified in s.
				  NR
				  214.20 may be requiredas part of the treatment system
				  evaluation;
(b) That increases of
				  substances in the groundwater from land treatment on the site will be minimized
				  to the extent technically and economically feasible; and
(c) That the applicable groundwater limits
				  will not be exceeded. The following evidence shall be part of the exemption
				  request for each of the following groups of land treatment systems:
1. Existing systems with groundwater
				  monitoring wells. The owner or operator shall demonstrate compliance with the
				  appropriate groundwater standards in all monitoring wells by presenting
				  groundwater monitoring data from the land treatment system. The department may
				  require installation of and data from additional monitoring wells if the
				  groundwater monitoring well network is believed to not adequately represent the
				  impacts from land treatment of wastes on the site.
2. Existing systems without groundwater
				  monitoring wells and flows above 15,000 gpd. The department may require the
				  owner or operator of a system which has had a monthly average liquid waste flow
				  to land treatment equal to, or greater than, 15,000 gallons per day (gpd),
				  anytime during the previous year, to demonstrate compliance with the
				  appropriate groundwater standards by installing a department approved
				  monitoring well system. The monitoring well system installation will be
				  required through the modification or reissuance of the discharge permit for the
				  system.
3. Existing systems without
				  groundwater monitoring wells and flows below 15,000 gpd. The owner or operator
				  of a system which has monthly average liquid waste flows to land treatment of
				  less than 15,000 gpd shall demonstrate that granting the exemption will result
				  in the treatment system having a low potential for exceeding the groundwater
				  standards of ch. NR 140. The department shall require all feasible upgrading
				  and operational improvements that will optimize the performance of the existing
				  land treatment system and minimize groundwater impacts. Such improvements may
				  include, but are not limited to, operational changes, site modifications and
				  minimizing the waste loading. Systems in this size category that the department
				  judges as having a high potential for groundwater contamination will be
				  required to install a groundwater monitoring well system. The department shall
				  consider pollutant loading rates, soil types and system location in assessing
				  the potential for groundwater contamination.
4. New or expanded land treatment systems.
				  The owner or operator of a new or expanded land treatment system may utilize
				  information from research studies, literature or similar existing land
				  treatment systems in the demonstration for a variance. The department may
				  require the installation of a groundwater monitoring well network to check for
				  groundwater impacts from land treatment on the site.