Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 33 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Part V - Hazardous Wastes and Hazardous Materials
Subpart 1 - Department of Environmental Quality-Hazardous Waste
Chapter 29 - Surface Impoundments
Section V-2903 - Design and Operating Requirements

Universal Citation: LA Admin Code V-2903

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

COMMENT: The permit applicant must submit detailed plans and specifications accompanied by an engineering report that must collectively include the information itemized and address the following in addition to the design and operating requirements:

(1) a description of the proposed maintenance and repair procedures;

(2) a description of the operating procedures that will ensure compliance with this Section; and

(3) a certification by a qualified engineer that states that the facilities comply with the applicable design requirements in this Section. The owner or operator of a new facility must submit a statement by a qualified engineer that he will provide such a certification upon completion of construction in accordance with the plans and specifications.

A. Any surface impoundment that is not covered by LAC 33:V.2903.I must have a liner for all portions of the impoundment (except for the portion of the surface impoundment in operation prior to date of issuance of the hazardous waste permit) and must have a liner designed, constructed, and installed to prevent any migration of wastes out of the impoundment to the adjacent subsurface soil or groundwater or surface water at any time during the active life (including the closure period) of the impoundment. The liner, at a minimum, must consist of a synthetic liner laid on top of a permanent barrier at the bottom and along the sides of the surface impoundment that will cover all surrounding earth likely to be in contact with the waste or leachate. The liner may be constructed of materials that may allow wastes to migrate into the liner (but not into the adjacent subsurface soil or groundwater or surface water) during the active life of the facility, provided that the impoundment is closed in accordance with LAC 33:V.2911.A. For impoundments that will be closed in accordance with LAC 33:V.2911.C.1, the liner must be constructed of materials that can prevent wastes from migrating into the liner during the active life of the facility. The liner must be:
1. constructed of materials that have appropriate chemical properties and sufficient strength and thickness to prevent failure due to pressure gradients (including static head and external hydrogeologic forces), physical contact with the waste or leachate to which they are exposed, climatic conditions, the stress of installation, and the stress of daily operation;

2. placed upon a foundation or base capable of providing support to the liner and resistance to pressure gradients above and below the liner to prevent failure of the liner due to settlement, compression, or uplift;

3. the permanent barrier shall be 3 feet of clay with a permeability of 1 x 10-7 cm/sec or less and so designed and operated as to prevent endangering any freshwater aquifer by the migration of contaminants from the facility, or an equivalent system acceptable to the administrative authority; and

4. the synthetic liner shall be resistant to action of elements and the planned contents of the impoundment or the basin for a period of time not less than the estimated life of the operation;

5. the synthetic liner must be installed to cover all surrounding earth likely to be in contact with the waste or leachate.

B. The owner or operator will be exempted from the requirements of LAC 33:V.2903.A if the administrative authority finds, based on a demonstration by the owner or operator, that alternate design and operating practices, together with location characteristics, will prevent the migration of any hazardous constituents (see LAC 33:V.3307) into the groundwater or surface water at any future time. In deciding whether to grant an exemption, the administrative authority will consider:
1. the nature and quantity of the wastes;

2. the proposed alternate design and operation;

3. the hydrogeologic setting of the facility, including the attenuating capacity and thickness of the liners and soils present between the impoundment and groundwater or surface water; and

4. all other factors which would influence the quality and mobility of the leachate produced and the potential for it to migrate to groundwater or surface water.

C. The owner or operator of any replacement surface impoundment unit is exempt from LAC 33:V.2903.J if:
1. the existing unit was constructed in compliance with the design standards of Sections 3004. (o)(1)(A)(i) and (o)(5) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and

2. there is no reason to believe that the liner is not functioning as designed.

D. A surface impoundment must be designed, constructed, maintained and operated to prevent overtopping resulting from normal or abnormal operations, overfilling, wind and wave action, rainfall, run-on, malfunctions of level controllers, alarms and other equipment, and human error.

E. The surface impoundment must have dikes that are designed, constructed, and maintained with sufficient structural integrity to prevent massive failure of the dikes. In ensuring structural integrity, it must not be presumed that the liner system will function without leakage during the active life of the unit.

F. The administrative authority will specify in the permit all design and operating practices that are necessary to ensure that the requirements of this Section are satisfied.

G. Surface run-off within the site utilized shall be impounded on the site and treated as necessary to comply with NPDES discharge permit requirements.

H. Surface run-off outside the site (limits of hazardous waste facilities or, when part of an industrial complex, the limits of company property used for company operations) shall be diverted and prevented from entry into the site.

I. The owner or operator of a double lined surface impoundment is subject to regulation under LAC 33:V.Chapter 33 and the following conditions:
1. the impoundment (including its underlying liners) must be located entirely above the seasonal high water table;

2. the impoundment must be underlain by two liners which are designed and constructed in a manner that prevents the migration of liquids into or out of the space between the liners. Both liners must meet all the specifications of LAC 33:V.2903;

3. a leak detection system must be designed, constructed, maintained and operated between the liners to detect any migration of liquids into the space between the liners;

4. if liquid leaks into the leak detection system, the owner or operator must:
a. notify the Office of Environmental Services of the leak in writing within seven days after detecting the leak; and

b. within a period of time specified in the permit, remove accumulated liquid, repair or replace the liner which is leaking to prevent the migration of liquids through the liner, and obtain a certification from a qualified engineer that, to the best of his knowledge and opinion, the leak has been stopped; or

5. the administrative authority will specify in the permit all design and operating practices that are necessary to ensure that the requirements of this Section are satisfied.

J. The owner or operator of each new surface impoundment unit on which construction commenced after January 29, 1992, each lateral expansion of a surface impoundment unit on which construction commenced after July 29, 1992, and each replacement of an existing surface impoundment unit that is to commence reuse after July 29, 1992, must have installed two or more liners and a leachate collection and removal system between such liners. Construction commences is as defined in LAC 33:V.109. Existing Facilities.
1. The liner system must include:
a. a top liner designed and constructed of materials (e.g., a geomembrane) to prevent the migration of hazardous constituents into such liner during the active life and post-closure care period; and

b. a composite bottom liner, consisting of at least two components. The upper component must be designed and constructed of materials (e.g., a geomembrane) to prevent the migration of hazardous constituents into such component during the active life and post-closure care period. The lower component must be designed and constructed of materials to minimize the migration of hazardous constituents if a breach in the upper component were to occur. The lower component must be constructed of at least 3 feet (91 cm) of compacted soil material with a hydraulic conductivity of no more than 1 x 10-7cm/sec. The administrative authority may require additional liner design requirements based on the location of the surface impoundment in relation to drinking water aquifers.

2. The liners must comply with LAC 33:V.2903. A.1-5.

3. The leachate collection and removal system between the liners (and immediately above the bottom composite liner in the case of multiple leachate collection and removal systems) is also a leak detection system. This leak detection system must be capable of detecting, collecting, and removing leaks of hazardous constituents at the earliest practicable time through all areas of the top liner which are likely to be exposed to waste or leachate during the active life and post-closure care period. The requirements for a leak detection system in this Section are satisfied by installation of a system that is, at a minimum:
a. constructed with a bottom slope of 2 percent or more;

b. constructed of granular drainage materials with a hydraulic conductivity of 1 x 10-1 cm/sec or more and a thickness of 12 inches (30.5 cm) or more; or constructed of synthetic or geonet drainage materials with a transmissivity of 3 x 10-4 m2/sec or more;

c. constructed of materials that are chemically resistant to the waste managed in the surface impoundment and the leachate expected to be generated and are of sufficient strength and thickness to prevent collapse under the pressures exerted by overlying wastes and any waste cover materials or equipment used at the surface impoundment;

d. designed and operated to minimize clogging during the active life and post-closure care period; and

e. constructed with sumps and liquid removal methods (e.g., pumps) of sufficient size to collect and remove liquids from the sump and prevent liquids from backing up into the drainage layer. Each unit must have its own sump(s). The design of each sump and removal system must provide a method for measuring and recording the volume of liquids present in the sump and of liquids removed from the sump.

4. The owner or operator shall collect and remove pumpable liquids in the sumps to minimize the head on the bottom liner.

5. The owner or operator of a leak detection system that is not located completely above the seasonal high water table must demonstrate that the operation of the leak detection system will not be adversely affected by the presence of groundwater.

K. The administrative authority may approve alternative design or operating practices to those specified in LAC 33:V.2903.J if the owner or operator demonstrates to the administrative authority that such design and operating practices, together with location characteristics:
1. will prevent the migration of any hazardous constituent into the groundwater or surface water at least as effectively as the liners and leachate collection and removal system specified in LAC 33:V.2903.J; and

2. will allow detection of leaks of hazardous constituents through the top liner at least as effectively.

L. The double liner requirements set forth in LAC 33:V.2903.J may be waived by the administrative authority if the monofill fulfills the requirements of LAC 33:V.2903.K.1 and 2.
1. The monofill contains only hazardous wastes from foundry furnace emission controls or metal casting molding sand, and such wastes do not contain constituents which would render the wastes hazardous for reasons other than the toxicity characteristic in LAC 33:V.4903.E.

2. The monofill meets the requirements of either Subparagraph K.2.a or b of this Section.
a. The monofill meets the following criteria:
i. the monofill has at least one liner for which there is no evidence that such liner is leaking. For the purposes of this Subsection, the term liner means a liner designed, constructed, installed and operated to prevent hazardous waste from passing into the liner at any time during the active life of the facility, or a liner designed, constructed, installed and operated to prevent hazardous waste from migrating beyond the liner to adjacent subsurface soil, groundwater, or surface water at any time during the active life of the facility. In the case of any surface impoundment which has been exempted from the requirements of LAC 33:V.2903.I on the basis of a liner designed, constructed, installed and operated to prevent hazardous waste from passing beyond the liner, at the closure of such impoundment, the owner or operator must remove or decontaminate all waste residues, all contaminated liner material, and contaminated soil to the extent practicable. If all contaminated soil is not removed or decontaminated, the owner or operator of such impoundment will comply with appropriate post-closure requirements, including but not limited to, groundwater monitoring and corrective action;

ii. the monofill is located more than 1/4 mile from an underground source of drinking water (as that term is defined in LAC 33:V.109); and

iii. the monofill is in compliance with generally applicable groundwater monitoring requirements for facilities with permits.

b. The owner or operator demonstrates that the monofill is located, designed and operated so as to assure that there will be no migration of any hazardous constituent into groundwater or surface water at any future time.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2180 et seq.

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