Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. Oil field waste acceptance criteria. Only
soils and drill cuttings predominantly contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons
shall be placed in a landfarm. The division may approve placement of tank
bottoms in a landfarm if the operator demonstrates that the tank bottoms do not
contain economically recoverable petroleum hydrocarbons. Soils and drill
cuttings placed in a landfarm shall be sufficiently free of liquid content to
pass the paint filter test, and shall not have a chloride concentration
exceeding 500 mg/kg if the landfarm is located where ground water is less than
100 feet but at least 50 feet below the lowest elevation at which the operator
will place oil field waste or exceeding 1000 mg/kg if the landfarm is located
where ground water is 100 feet or more below the lowest elevation at which the
operator will place oil field waste. The person tendering oil field waste for
treatment at a landfarm shall certify, on form C-138, that representative
samples of the oil field waste have been subjected to the paint filter test and
tested for chloride content, and that the samples have been found to conform to
these requirements. The landfarm's operator shall not accept oil field waste
for landfarm treatment unless accompanied by this certification.
B. Background testing. Prior to beginning
operation of a new landfarm or to opening a new cell at an existing landfarm at
which the operator has not already established background, the operator shall
take, at a minimum, 12 composite background soil samples, with each consisting
of 16 discrete samples from areas that previous operations have not impacted at
least six inches below the original ground surface, to establish background
soil concentrations for the entire surface waste management facility. The
operator shall analyze the background soil samples for TPH, as determined by
EPA method 418.1 or other EPA method approved by the division; BTEX, as
determined by EPA SW-846 method 8021B or 8260B; chlorides; and other
constituents listed in Subsections A and B of
20.6.2.3103
NMAC, using approved EPA methods.
C. Operation and oil field waste treatment.
(1) The operator shall berm each landfarm
cell to prevent rainwater run-on and run-off.
(2) The operator shall not place contaminated
soils received after the effective date of 19.15.36 NMAC within 100 feet of the
surface waste management facility's boundary.
(3) The operator shall not place contaminated
soils received at a landfarm after the effective date of 19.15.36 NMAC within
20 feet of a pipeline crossing the landfarm.
(4) With 72 hours after receipt, the operator
shall spread and disk contaminated soils in eight-inch or less lifts or
approximately 1000 cubic yards per acre per eight-inch lift or
biopile.
(5) The operator shall
ensure that soils are disked biweekly and biopiles are turned at least
monthly.
(6) The operator shall add
moisture, as necessary, to enhance bioremediation and to control blowing
dust.
(7) The application of
microbes for the purposes of enhancing bioremediation requires prior division
approval.
(8) Pooling of liquids in
the landfarm is prohibited. The operator shall remove freestanding water within
24 hours.
(9) The operator shall
maintain records of the landfarm's remediation activities in a form readily
accessible for division inspection.
(10) The division's environmental bureau may
approve other treatment procedures if the operator demonstrates that they
provide equivalent protection for fresh water, public health and the
environment.
D.
Treatment zone monitoring. The operator shall spread contaminated soils on the
surface in eight-inch or less lifts or approximately 1000 cubic yards per acre
per eight-inch lift. The operator shall conduct treatment zone monitoring to
ensure that prior to adding an additional lift the TPH concentration of each
lift, as determined by EPA SW-846 method 8015M or EPA method 418.1 or other EPA
method approved by the division, does not exceed 2500 mg/kg and that the
chloride concentration, as determined by EPA method 300.1, does not exceed 500
mg/kg if the landfarm is located where ground water is less than 100 feet but
at least 50 feet below the lowest elevation at which the operator will place
oil field waste or 1000 mg/kg if the landfarm is located where ground water is
100 feet or more below the lowest elevation at which the operator will place
oil field waste. The operator shall collect and analyze at least one composite
soil sample, consisting of four discrete samples, from the treatment zone at
least semi-annually using the methods specified below for TPH and chlorides.
The maximum thickness of treated soils in a landfarm cell shall not exceed two
feet or approximately 3000 cubic yards per acre. When that thickness is
reached, the operator shall not place additional oil field waste in the
landfarm cell until it has demonstrated by monitoring the treatment zone at
least semi-annually that the contaminated soil has been treated to the
standards specified in Subsection F of 19.15.36.15 NMAC or the contaminated
soils have been removed to a division-approved surface waste management
facility.
E. Vadose zone
monitoring.
(1) Sampling. The operator shall
monitor the vadose zone beneath the treatment zone in each landfarm cell. The
operator shall take the vadose zone samples from soils between three and four
feet below the cell's original ground surface.
(2) Semi-annual monitoring program. The
operator shall collect and analyze a minimum of four randomly selected,
independent samples from the vadose zone at least semi-annually using the
methods specified below for TPH, BTEX and chlorides and shall compare each
result to the higher of the PQL or the background soil concentrations to
determine whether a release has occurred.
(3) Five year monitoring program. The
operator shall collect and analyze a minimum of four randomly selected,
independent samples from the vadose zone, using the methods specified below for
the constituents listed in Subsections A and B of
20.6.2.3103
NMAC at least every five years and shall compare each result to the higher of
the PQL or the background soil concentrations to determine whether a release
has occurred.
(4) Record keeping.
The operator shall maintain a copy of the monitoring reports in a form readily
accessible for division inspection.
(5) Release response. If vadose zone sampling
results show that the concentrations of TPH, BTEX or chlorides exceed the
higher of the PQL or the background soil concentrations, then the operator
shall notify the division's environmental bureau of the exceedance, and shall
immediately collect and analyze a minimum of four randomly selected,
independent samples for TPH, BTEX, chlorides and the constituents listed in
Subsections A and B of
20.6.2.3103
NMAC. The operator shall submit the results of the re-sampling event and a
response action plan for the division's approval within 45 days of the initial
notification. The response action plan shall address changes in the landfarm's
operation to prevent further contamination and, if necessary, a plan for
remediating existing contamination.
F. Treatment zone closure performance
standards. After the operator has filled a landfarm cell to the maximum
thickness of two feet or approximately 3000 cubic yards per acre, the operator
shall continue treatment until the contaminated soil has been remediated to the
higher of the background concentrations or the following closure performance
standards. The operator shall demonstrate compliance with the closure
performance standards by collecting and analyzing a minimum of one composite
soil sample, consisting of four discrete samples.
(1) Benzene, as determined by EPA SW-846
method 8021B or 8260B, shall not exceed 0.2 mg/kg.
(2) Total BTEX, as determined by EPA SW-846
method 8021B or 8260B, shall not exceed 50 mg/kg.
(3) The GRO and DRO combined fractions, as
determined by EPA SW-846 method 8015M, shall not exceed 500 mg/kg. TPH, as
determined by EPA method 418.1 or other EPA method approved by the division,
shall not exceed 2500 mg/kg.
(4)
Chlorides, as determined by EPA method 300.1, shall not exceed 500 mg/kg if the
landfarm is located where ground water is less than 100 feet but at least 50
feet below the lowest elevation at which the operator will place oil field
waste or 1000 mg/kg if the landfarm is located where ground water is 100 feet
or more below the lowest elevation at which the operator will place oil field
waste.
(5) The concentration of
constituents listed in Subsections A and B of
20.6.2.3103
NMAC shall be determined by EPA SW-846 methods 6010B or 6020 or other methods
approved by the division. If the concentration of those constituents exceed the
PQL or background concentration, the operator shall either perform a site
specific risk assessment using EPA approved methods and shall propose closure
standards based upon individual site conditions that protect fresh water,
public health and the environment, which shall be subject to division approval
or remove pursuant to Paragraph (2) of Subsection G of 19.15.36.15
NMAC.
G. Disposition of
treated soils.
(1) If the operator achieves
the closure performance standards specified in Subsection F of 19.15.36.15
NMAC, then the operator may either leave the treated soils in place, or, with
prior division approval, dispose or reuse of the treated soils in an
alternative manner.
(2) If the
operator cannot achieve the closure performance standards specified in
Subsection F of 19.15.36.15 NMAC within five years or as extended by the
division, then the operator shall remove contaminated soils from the landfarm
cell and properly dispose of it at a division-permitted landfill, or reuse or
recycle it in a manner approved by the division.
(3) If the operator cannot achieve the
closure performance standards specified in Subsection F of 19.15.36.15 NMAC
within five years or as extended by the division, then the division may review
the adequacy of the operator's financial assurance, as provided in Subsection G
of
19.15.36.11
NMAC. In that event, the division may require the operator to modify its
financial assurance to provide for the appropriate disposition of contaminated
soil in a manner acceptable to the division.
(4) The operator may request approval of an
alternative soil closure standard from the division, provided that the operator
shall give division-approved public notice of an application for alternative
soil closure standards in the manner provided in
19.15.36.9
NMAC. The division may grant the request administratively if no person files an
objection thereto within 30 days after publication of notice; otherwise the
division shall set the matter for hearing.
H. Environmentally acceptable bioremediation
endpoint approach.
(1) A landfarm operator
may use an environmentally acceptable bioremediation endpoint approach to
landfarm management in lieu of compliance with the requirements of Paragraph
(3) of Subsection F of 19.15.36.15 NMAC. The bioremediation endpoint occurs
when TPH, as determined by EPA method 418.1 or other EPA method approved by the
division, is reduced to a minimal concentration as a result of bioremediation
and is dependent upon the bioavailability of residual hydrocarbons. An
environmentally acceptable bioremediation endpoint occurs when the TPH
concentration has been reduced by at least eighty percent by a combination of
physical, biological and chemical processes and the rate of change in the
reduction in the TPH concentration is negligible. The environmentally
acceptable bioremediation endpoint in soil is determined statistically by the
operator's demonstration that the rate of change in the reduction of TPH
concentration is negligible.
(2) In
addition to the requirements specified in Subsection C of
19.15.36.8
NMAC, an operator who plans to use an environmentally acceptable bioremediation
endpoint approach shall submit for the division's review and approval a
detailed landfarm operation plan for those landfarm cells exclusively dedicated
to the use of the environmentally acceptable bioremediation endpoint approach.
At a minimum, the operations plan shall include detailed information on the
native soils, procedures to characterize each lift of contaminated soil,
operating procedures and management procedures that the operator shall
follow.
(3) In addition to other
operational requirements specified in 19.15.36.15 NMAC, the operator using an
environmentally acceptable bioremediation endpoint approach shall comply with
the following.
(a) Native soil information
required. The operator shall submit detailed information on the soil conditions
present for each of its landfarm cells immediately prior to the application of
the petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, including: treatment cell size,
soil porosity, soil bulk density, soil pH, moisture content, field capacity,
organic matter concentration, soil structure, SAR, EC, soil composition, soil
temperature, soil nutrient (C:N:P) (calcium, nitrogen and phosphate)
concentrations and oxygen content.
(b) Characterization of contaminated soil.
The operator shall submit a description of the procedures that it will follow
to characterize each lift of contaminated soil or drill cuttings, prior to
treating each lift of contaminated soil or drill cuttings, for petroleum
hydrocarbon loading factor, TPH, BTEX, chlorides, constituents listed in
Subsections A and B of
20.6.2.3103
NMAC, contaminated soil moisture, contaminated soil pH and API gravity of the
petroleum hydrocarbons.
(c)
Operating procedures. The operator shall submit a description of the
procedures, including a schedule, that it shall follow to properly monitor and
amend each lift of contaminated soil in order to maximize bioremediation,
including tilling procedures and schedule; procedures to limit petroleum
hydrocarbon loading to less than five percent; procedures to maintain pH
between six and eight; procedures to monitor and apply proper nutrients;
procedures to monitor, apply and maintain moisture to sixty to eighty percent
of field capacity; and procedures to monitor TPH concentrations.
(d) Management procedures. The operator shall
submit a description of the management procedures that it shall follow to
properly schedule landfarming operations, including modifications during cold
weather, record keeping, sampling and analysis, statistical procedures, routine
reporting, determination and reporting of achievement of the environmentally
acceptable bioremediation endpoint and closure and post-closure
plans.
