Section 845.610  General Requirements

a)         All CCR surface impoundments and lateral expansions of CCR surface impoundments are subject to the groundwater monitoring and corrective action requirements of this Subpart.

b)         Required Submissions and Agency Approvals for Groundwater Monitoring

1)         Existing CCR Surface Impoundments.  The owner or operator of an existing CCR surface impoundment must submit the following to the Agency in an initial operating permit application:

A)        A hydrogeologic site characterization meeting the requirements of Section 845.620;

B)        Design and construction plans of a groundwater monitoring system meeting the requirements of Section 845.630;

C)        A groundwater sampling and analysis program that includes selection of the statistical procedures to be used for evaluating groundwater monitoring data as required by Section 845.640; and

D)        A monitoring program that includes a minimum of eight independent samples for each background and downgradient well as required by Section 845.650(b).

2)         New CCR Surface Impoundments.  The owner or operator of a new CCR surface impoundment and all lateral expansions of a CCR surface impoundment must submit the information required in subsections (b)(1)(A) through (C) in a construction permit application, and the information required in subsection (b)(1)(D) in an operating permit application.

3)         All owners and operators of CCR surface impoundments must:

A)        Conduct groundwater monitoring under a monitoring program approved by the Agency under this Subpart;

B)        Evaluate the groundwater monitoring data for statistically significant levels over background levels for the constituents listed in Section 845.600 after each sampling event;

C)        Determine compliance with the groundwater protection standards in Section 845.600 after each sampling event; and

D)        Submit all groundwater monitoring data to the Agency and any analysis performed under subsections (b)(3)(B) and (b)(3)(C) within 60 days after completion of sampling, and place the groundwater monitoring data in the facility's operating record as required by Section 845.800(d)(15).

c)         Once the groundwater monitoring system and the groundwater monitoring program have been established at the CCR surface impoundment as required by this Subpart, the owner or operator must conduct groundwater monitoring and, if necessary, corrective action throughout the active life and post-closure care period of the CCR surface impoundment or the time period specified in Section 845.740(b) when closure is by removal.

d)         If a CCR surface impoundment has a release, the owner or operator must immediately take all necessary measures to control all sources of the release to reduce or eliminate, to the maximum extent feasible, further releases of contaminants into the environment.  The owner or operator of the CCR surface impoundment must comply with all applicable requirements of Sections 845.660, 845.670, and 845.680.

e)         Annual Groundwater Monitoring and Corrective Action Report

1)         The owner or operator of the CCR surface impoundment must prepare and submit to the Agency an annual groundwater monitoring and corrective action report as a part of the annual consolidated report required by Section 845.550.

2)         For the preceding calendar year, the annual report must document the status of the groundwater monitoring and corrective action plan for the CCR surface impoundment, summarize key actions completed, including the status of permit applications and Agency approvals, describe any problems encountered, discuss actions to resolve the problems, and project key activities for the upcoming year.

3)         At a minimum, the annual groundwater monitoring and corrective action report must contain the following information, to the extent available:

A)        A map, aerial image, or diagram showing the CCR surface impoundment, all background (or upgradient) and downgradient monitoring wells, including the well identification numbers, that are part of the groundwater monitoring program for the CCR surface impoundment, and a visual delineation of any exceedances of the groundwater protection standards;

B)        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;

C)        A potentiometric surface map for each groundwater elevation sampling event required by Section 845.650(b)(2);

D)        In addition to all the monitoring data obtained under this Subpart, a summary including the number of groundwater samples that were collected for analysis for each background and downgradient well, and the dates the samples were collected;

E)        A narrative discussion of any statistically significant increases over background levels for the constituents listed in Section 845.600; and

F)         Other information required to be included in the annual report as specified in this Subpart.

4)         A section at the beginning of the annual report must provide an overview of the current status of groundwater monitoring program and corrective action plan for the CCR surface impoundment.  At a minimum, the summary must:

A)        Specify whether groundwater monitoring data shows a statistically significant increase over background concentrations for one or more constituents listed in Section 845.600;

B)        Identify those constituents having a statistically significant increase over background concentrations and the names of the monitoring wells associated with the increase;

C)        Specify whether there have been any exceedances of the groundwater protection standards for one or more constituents listed in Section 845.600;

D)        Identify those constituents with exceedances of the groundwater protection standards in Section 845.600 and the names of the monitoring wells associated with the exceedance;

E)        Provide the date when the assessment of corrective measures was initiated for the CCR surface impoundment;

F)         Provide the date when the assessment of corrective measures was completed for the CCR surface impoundment;

G)        Specify whether a remedy was selected under Section 845.670 during the current annual reporting period, and if so, the date of remedy selection; and

H)        Specify whether remedial activities were initiated or are ongoing under Section 845.780 during the current annual reporting period.