Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 014 - Pollution Control and Ecology Commission
Regulation 34 - State Water Permit Regulation - Construction, modification, and operation of pits used for the storage, treatment, or discharge of fluids associated with oil and natural gas well activities (#014.00-034)
Rule 014.00.10-009

It is the purpose of this regulation to adopt standards applicable to the storage, discharge, or disposal of any waste which, if unregulated, will cause pollution of waters of the state or result in wastes being placed in a location where it is likely to cause pollution of the waters of the state. These standards are intended to protect public health and the environment, and prevent, control, or abate pollution.

Pursuant to the Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act, Ark. Code Ann. § 8-4-101 et seq. (hereinafter "the Act"), the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission (hereinafter the "Commission" or "APC&EC") hereby promulgates this Regulation No. 34.

This regulation applies to all persons proposing to construct, alter, extend, or operate any storage, discharge, or disposal system that does not discharge directly to waters of the state, and the operation of which, if unregulated, will cause pollution of waters of the state or result in wastes being placed in a location where it is likely to cause pollution of the waters of the state. This regulation does not apply to liquid animal waste management systems regulated under APC&EC Regulation 5 or underground injection control (UIC) facilities regulated under APC&EC Regulation 17 or Class II UIC wells permitted by the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission. This regulation also does not apply to storage or disposal systems permitted under APC&EC Regulation 1 or Regulation 4 or to storage, discharge, or disposal systems which have been issued any NPDES permit other than a stormwater permit or to septic systems regulated by the Arkansas Department of Health.

The following definitions apply to this Regulation:

"ADEQ" or "Department" means the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, or its successor.

"Commission" means the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission.

"Director" means the Director of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, or his or her designee, unless the context dictates otherwise.

"Discharge" means a discharge of any wastes in any manner which directly or indirectly permits such wastes to reach any of the waters of the state.

"Disposal" means the final use of waste, including, but not limited to, surface disposal, subsurface disposal, transport to a recycling or reuse facility, or placement in a landfill, incinerator, or injection well.

"Facility" or "system" means any site (including land or appurtenances thereto) or activity or operation that is subject to this regulation.

"Industrial Waste" means any liquid, gaseous, or solid waste substance resulting from any process of industry, mining, manufacturing, trade, or business or from the development of any natural resources.

"Owner" or "Operator" means any person (an individual, association, partnership, corporation, municipality, state or federal agency) who has the primary management and ultimate decision-making responsibility over the operation of a facility or activity. The operator is responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable environmental regulations and conditions.

"Other Wastes" means garbage, municipal refuse, decayed wood, sawdust, shavings, bark, lime, sand, ashes, offal, oil, tar chemicals, and all other organic or inorganic substances, not including sewage or industrial waste which may be discharged into the wasters of the state. "Any wastes" and "pollutants" include sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes.

"Person" means any state agency, municipality, governmental subdivision of the state or the United States, public or private corporation, individual, partnership, association, or any other entity.

"Sewage" means the water-carried waste products from residences, public buildings, institutions, or other buildings, including excrementitious or other discharge from the bodies of humans or animals, together with such groundwater infiltration and surface water as may be present.

"Storage"means holding wastes prior to disposal in an open pit or pond dug in the ground, in open tanks, or other open vessel.

"Waste" means industrial waste, sewage, or other wastes.

"Waters of the State" means all streams, lakes, marshes, ponds, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, irrigation systems, drainage systems, and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface and underground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through, or border upon this state or any portion of the state.

The provisions of APC&EC Regulation No. 7, Civil Penalties, and Regulation No. 8, Administrative Procedures, apply to this Regulation.

If any provision of this Regulation or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this Regulation which can be given effect with the invalid provision or application, and, to this end, provisions of this Regulation are declared to be severable.

This regulation is effective ten (10) days after filing with the Secretary of State, the State Library and the Bureau of Legislative Research.