Validation of the data from the sampling of the monitoring
network is required to ensure that the data is reliable and provides a valid
analysis of the ground and surface water quality in the vicinity of the solid
waste facility. The results of the data validation procedures must be included
in the monitoring reports for the solid waste facility to verify the accuracy
and precision of the reported results, and account for anomalous
results.
A.
Data
Validation. Unless otherwise approved by the Department, the following
data validation methods must be conducted and the results included in the
monitoring report.
(1) Verification that the
chain of custody for each sample is continuous.
(2) Verification that all sample holding
times were met.
(3) Calculation and
tabulation of the ratio between Total Dissolved Solids and Specific
Conductance. All samples for which this ratio falls outside the range of
0.55-0.75 must be identified in the report.
(4) Calculation and tabulation of the
relative percent difference for all duplicate samples using the formula:
[|S-D|/{S+D/2}](100) where S=sample value and D=duplicate value. Relative
percent difference should be calculated only where both sample and duplicate
values are greater than 5 times the practical quantitation limit of the
analyte. All samples for which the relative percent difference exceeds 10% must
be identified in the report.
(5)
Beginning with the fifth analysis for each parameter, identification and
tabulation of all results which fall outside of the historical range for the
given sample point. This includes ground water elevations and field
parameters.
(6) Identification of
all parameters present in equipment blanks.
(7) Identification of all parameters present
in trip blanks.
(8) Identification
of all wells whose depths have changed since their construction.
B.
Statistical
Analyses. Statistical analyses of data from each monitoring well must be
performed annually and the results included in the facility's annual report.
Statistical tests may be used to compare upgradient water quality or
identification of an intra-well trend. Statistical tests shall conform to July
1992 Addendum To Interim Final Guidance for Statistical Analysis of Ground
Water Monitoring at RCRA Facilities (US EPA Office of Solid Waste Permits and
State Programs Division) and meet the performance standards of
40 CFR
258.53(h) [i] as amended up
to July 1, 2014. The performance standards are provided as set forth in
Appendix E of this chapter. At any time during operational or post-closure
monitoring, the Department may require the owner/operator of a facility to
perform statistical analyses.
Statistical analyses will be used to:
(1) Identify any statistically significant
trends in parameter concentrations in ground water as a function of time;
and
(2) Identify any statistically
significant differences in ground water quality between downgradient sample
locations and corresponding upgradient or background sample
locations.
C.
Reporting Requirements. Reports on ground and surface water quality must
be submitted within 30 days of the date the laboratory analyses are reported,
and before the next sampling event occurs. Reports may be filed in either paper
or electronic format. Unless reporting under (6), below, reporting requirements
for paper submission of ground and surface water monitoring must include the
information listed in (1) through (5). Unless reporting under (6), below,
reporting requirements for electronic submission of ground and surface water
monitoring must include the initial submittal of the historical information
listed in (1) and (3); subsequent submissions must include the information
listed in (3) and (4). If reports are submitted in electronic format, the data
validation required in (2), below, is not required; however, paper copies of
the information listed in (5) must be kept at the facility and be available to
Department staff upon request.
(1) A map of
the facility showing the licensed facility site and waste handling area
boundaries, the current waste handling area boundary and the location of each
monitoring point. Illegible plans will not be accepted.
(2) Results of the data validation.
(3) Tabulation of current and historical
data, including field parameters and ground water elevation data.
(4) Identification of the elevation reference
datum.
(5) Identification of all
ground water analytical results exceeding MCLs and/or MEGs. Copies of the
laboratory data sheets, chain of custody sheets and field data sheets must be
available for staff inspection, if requested, for two years after a sampling
event. Field data sheets must include:
(a)
Date and time each sample was collected, and the sampler's signature;
(b) Temperature and weather
conditions;
(c) Purge volumes,
pumping rates and purge stabilization data for each monitoring well;
(d) Presence or absence of color, odor or
surface sheen on water samples;
(e)
Well depth measured during last annual inspection;
(f) As-built well depth;
(g) Results of the routine well inspection,
maintenance and testing;
(h)
Instrument calibration data;
(i)
Static water level (pre-purge) and depth to water at the time of
sampling;
(j) Identification of the
reference point for depth measurements; and
(k) For surface water, an estimate of the
rate of flow.
(6)
Alternative Reporting Requirements. At a solid waste facility
where ground water and/or surface water is being monitored through a detection
monitoring program, the Department will consider a request to implement a
self-certification program in place of the submission of all water quality
monitoring reports except the annual report for the solid waste facility.
(a) To be eligible for this alternative, the
following conditions must be met and maintained for each well proposed to be
part of the program:
(i) sufficient data must
be available for a statistical analysis to be performed if necessary;
(ii) there must have been no exceedences of
MCLs or MEGs of any parameter within the last 3 years; and
(iii) there must have been no statistically
significant change in any parameter which indicates deterioration of water
quality within the last 3 years.
(b) The alternative reporting program must
include:
(i) A written certification,
prepared by a qualified professional, must be submitted within 30 days of the
date the lab analyses are reported. The certification must state that the wells
in the program were sampled in accordance with the solid waste facility's
approved water quality monitoring program and that the results were reviewed
and found to be consistent with prior results.
(ii) The information listed in paragraph (5),
above, must be kept at the solid waste facility and be available to staff of
the Department upon request.
