Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
NOTE: The management of hazardous waste utilizing land
treatment is a technique in which many unknowns remain regarding its efficacy.
The Board, consequently, will consider approving applications for such
treatment only if there is compelling evidence provided by the applicant that
the waste in question can and will be rendered nonhazardous in natural soils
under the proposed conditions.
A.
Performance Standards
(1) The
land treatment of hazardous waste must meet the following performance
standards:
(a) A land treatment facility must
be designed and operated to ensure that hazardous waste placed in or on the
treatment zone will not migrate beyond the zone and will be degraded,
transformed, or otherwise made nonhazardous within the treatment zone within
six months from the date of waste placement.
(b) A land treated waste or constituent or
derivative thereof must not appear in ground or surface waters at a
concentration above background level, or above current public health drinking
water standards for Maine, including the "Maine CDC Maximum Exposure Guidelines
(MEGs) for Drinking Water, December 31, 2016", or standards for aquatic
toxicity, whichever is most stringent. Background levels must be those
established by analysis required by 06-096 C.M.R. ch. 856, §10(C)(10)(g)
prior to treatment or construction related to the treatment unit or of the
upgradient monitoring well required by Section
8(D)(1) of this
Chapter, whichever is lower.
NOTE: Drinking water and aquatic toxicity standards are
obtained from current manuals including but not limited to: State of Maine
Rules of the Department of Health and Human Services relating to Drinking
Water; "Maine CDC Maximum Exposure Guidelines (MEGs) for Drinking Water,
December 31, 2016"; "Drinking Water and Health" published by the National
Research Council; "Suggested No-Adverse Response Levels (SNARLs)" as determined
by the Environmental Protection Agency; "Ambient Water Quality Criteria"
manuals, published by the Environmental Protection Agency.
(c) A land treated waste or derivative or
constituent thereof must not appear in the atmosphere in concentrations
significantly above the background level or exceed current ambient air quality
standards for Maine at any time. Background levels must be established by
monitoring or demonstrated to have been previously established by
monitoring.
(2) An
applicant seeking a license to land treat hazardous waste must demonstrate to
the satisfaction of the Board that:
(a) The
waste will be rendered nonhazardous using the processes or methods
proposed;
(b) The design measures
and operating procedures will maximize the success of the treatment;
(c) The facility design and components
including the soils, are compatible with the hazardous waste and the treatment
process; and
(d) The treatment
process can and will be controlled at all times so as to prevent any
uncontrolled releases of hazardous waste or its constituents or derivatives and
to protect the public health and safety and the environment.
B.
Design
(1) The performance standards can be met by a
variety of methods, including but not limited to:
(a) Proper siting of the facility on suitable
soils, and with suitable subsoil deposits, and under suitable hydrologic
conditions;
(b) Appropriate
application of the waste, together with nutrients, soil buffers, and special
bacterial strains as necessary;
(c)
Cultivation and aeration of the waste/soil layer as necessary;
(d) Collection and treatment of
runoff.
(2)
Demonstration that the performance standards will be met must be by small-scale
pilot studies in which each waste has been rendered nonhazardous in less than
six months. Such a demonstration must comply with 06-096 C.M.R. ch. 856,
§10(G).
(3) Surface slopes of
an active portion of a land treatment facility must not be greater than 5
percent to minimize erosion but must be greater than 0 percent to prevent
ponding for periods that will cause the treated area to become
anaerobic.
(4) The distance from
any natural soils barrier to the seasonal high water table at the site must be
at least 5 feet.
(5) Fugitive
emissions, including volatile organic compounds, from the land treatment
facility must be controlled in accordance with a plan approved by the
Board.
(6) The facility must comply
with the requirements of 40 C.F.R. §§264.271-264.273, except that
references to 40 C.F.R. §264.278 shall mean Section 10(D) of this Chapter,
references to Part 261 shall mean 06-096 C.M.R. ch. 850, and references to
sections of 40 C.F.R. §270 shall mean 06-096 C.M.R. ch. 856.
C.
Operation
(1) Hazardous waste must not be land treated
unless the waste will be made nonhazardous by soil-related biological
degradation or chemical reaction within six months from the date of application
of the waste to the treatment area.
(2) Incompatible wastes must not be treated
upslope or downslope of one another, nor placed in the same treatment
area.
(3) Run-off from active
portions of a land treatment facility must be diverted and collected. If the
runoff is hazardous, it must be handled as a hazardous waste.
(4) Waste must not be applied to the soil
when it is saturated or snow covered, or when the soil surface or subsurface is
frozen.
(5) Wells (other than
active monitoring wells) and other direct connections to the subsurface
environment within the treatment area of the land treatment facility or within
l00 feet therefrom, must be sealed with cement grout or another suitable
material prior to any land treatment activity.
(6) The facility must comply with the
provisions of 40 C.F.R. §264.276, except that references to 40 C.F.R.
§261 shall mean 06-096 C.M.R. ch. 850. In addition, food chain crops must
not be grown on a treated area or within 300 feet of a treated area of a land
treatment facility unless the owner or operator demonstrates to the Board that
hazardous waste(s) treated thereon:
(a) Will
not be transferred to the food portion of the crop by plant uptake or direct
contact and will not otherwise be ingested by food chain animals, or
(b) Will not occur in greater concentrations
in the crops grown on or within 300 feet of the treatment area than in the same
crops grown on untreated soils under similar conditions elsewhere in the same
region.
(7) Waste
application and incorporation practices must prevent the zone of incorporation
from becoming anaerobic.
(8) The pH
of the soil-waste mixture in the zone of incorporation must be equal to or
greater than 6.5 and maintained until the facility is closed.
(9) Supplemental nitrogen and phosphorous
added to the soil of the treated area for the purpose of increasing the rate of
waste biodegradation must not exceed the rates of application recommended for
agricultural purposes by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) or
the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
(10) The facility must comply with the
provisions of 40 C.F.R. §§264.281-264.283, except that references to
40 C.F.R. §§261.21 and 261.23 shall mean 06-096 C.M.R. ch. 850,
references to 40 C.F.R. §264.17(b) shall mean Section
6(C)(8) of this
Chapter and references to 40 C.F.R. Part 268 shall mean 06-096 C.M.R. ch.
852.
D.
Air,
Ground Water, Surface Water and Soil Monitoring. The facility must
comply with the provisions of 40 C.F.R. §264.278, except that references
to 40 C.F.R. §264.271(b) shall mean Section 10(B)(6) of this Chapter.
(1) An unsaturated zone monitoring system
must be operational before the placement of waste on the land. The system must:
(a) Detect the vertical migration of
hazardous waste(s) and constituents thereof beneath the treatment area of the
facility, and
(b) Provide
information on the background concentrations of the hazardous waste(s) and
constituents thereof in similar but untreated soils nearby (at least 300 feet
from the active treatment zone), and
(c) Monitor soils using soil cores,
and
(d) Monitor soil-pore water
using devices such as lysimeters.
The system must be approved by the Department prior to
licensing.
(2) A
ground water monitoring system, in accordance with Section
8(D) of this Chapter,
must be operational prior to the placement of waste on the land.
(3) The Board or the Department may require
surface waters within or adjacent to a facility or facility property to be
monitored in accordance with a plan approved by the Board or Department, as
applicable.
(4) Emissions,
including fugitive emissions, from the facility must be monitored in accordance
with Section
8(F) of this
Chapter.
E.
Surveying and Recordkeeping. The owner or operator of a land
treatment facility must maintain and keep current, in the facility operating
record for as long as the facility is operated, a record of types and
quantities of hazardous waste(s) treated, application dates, rates, and
location, repairs, accidents and abatement measures taken within the treatment
facility for the entire life of the facility. The Department may require that a
current copy of that record be kept on file with the Department. Upon facility
closure, such records must be delivered to the Department.
F.
Special Closure Requirement.
The facility must comply with the provisions of 40 C.F.R. §264.280, except
that references to other sections of 40 C.F.R. Part 264 shall mean this
Chapter.
