North Carolina Administrative Code
Title 15A - Environmental Quality
Chapter 02 - ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Subchapter B - SURFACE WATER AND WETLAND STANDARDS
Section .0500 - SURFACE WATER MONITORING: REPORTING
Section 02B .0505 - MONITORING REQUIREMENTS
Universal Citation: 15A NC Admin Code 02B .0505
Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
(a) General. Every person subject to this Section ("permittee") shall establish, operate, and maintain a monitoring program consistent with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit or as otherwise required by the Director to characterize its wastestreams and receiving waters, evaluate treatment performance, and determine compliance with permit conditions and applicable water quality standards.
(b) Wastewater and Stream Flow Measurement.
(1)
Wastewater Flows.
(A) Every permittee shall
install, operate, and maintain continuous flow measuring devices with recording
or totalizing capabilities for each wastewater discharge, whether treated or
untreated, for which monitoring and reporting requirements are specified in its
permit; except as provided in Part (C) of this Subparagraph.
(B) The permittee shall install appropriate
flow measurement devices consistent with approved engineering and scientific
practices to ensure the accuracy and reliability of measurements of the volume
of monitored discharges. Devices selected shall be capable of measuring flows
with a maximum deviation of less than 10 percent from true discharge volumes.
Flow measurement devices and their locations shall be subject to approval by
the Director prior to their installation, in accordance with these requirements
and 15A
NCAC 02H .0138.
(C) On a case-by-case basis, the Director may
approve the use of alternative flow measurement or flow control methods if such
methods are reliable and sufficiently accurate to meet the aims of Paragraph
(a) of this Rule.
(D) Flow
measurement devices shall be accurately calibrated at a minimum of once per
year and maintained to ensure that the accuracy of the measurements is
consistent with the accepted capability of that type of device. Records of flow
measurement device calibration shall be kept on file by the permittee for a
period of at least three years. At a minimum, these records shall include the
date of flow measurement device calibration and name of the person performing
the calibration;
(2)
Instream Flows. A reading of the U.S. Geological Survey stream flow staff gauge
or reference point shall be made at the time of stream sampling in those
instances so determined the Director.
(c) Sampling.
(1) Frequency and Location. Except as
otherwise provided in this Rule, all industrial establishments and units of
government shall take influent, effluent, and stream samples at such locations
and with such frequency as shall be necessary to conduct the tests and analyses
required by Rule .0508 of this Section.
(2) Establishment of Sampling Points:
(A) Sampling points as required in Rule .0508
of this Section shall be established for collecting influent and effluent
samples for each facility.
(B)
Sampling points shall be established in the receiving waters at one or more
upstream locations and at one or more downstream locations. These locations
shall be specified by the Director to ensure that upstream samples represent
instream conditions prior to and subsequent to the wastewater discharge,
respectively.
(3)
Collection of Samples:
(A) Samples collected
in receiving waters shall be grab samples.
(B) Samples of the influent and effluent of
the water pollution control facility or other point source shall be composite
samples, except as provided in Part (C) of this Subparagraph. Samples for
facilities with design flows of 30,000 gallons per day or less shall be grab
samples unless the Director determines that, due to such factors as the
variability of the discharge or its potential for impacts on the receiving
stream, composite samples are necessary to characterize the discharge. The
Director may specify the type of sample and type of composite sampling
required, in order to obtain representative samples.
(C) The following influent and effluent tests
shall be made on grab samples and shall not be made on composite samples:
(i) dissolved oxygen;
(ii) temperature;
(iii) settleable matter;
(iv) turbidity;
(v) pH;
(vi) residual chlorine;
(vii) coliform bacteria (fecal or
total);
(viii) cyanide;
(ix) oil and grease;
(x) sulfides;
(xi) phenols; and
(xii) volatile organics;
(4) Stream sampling may be
discontinued at such times as flow conditions in the receiving waters or
weather conditions present a substantial risk of injury or death to persons
collecting samples. In such cases, on each day that sampling is discontinued,
written justification for the discontinuance shall be specified in the
monitoring report for the month in which the event occurred. This provision
shall be strictly construed and shall not be utilized to avoid the requirements
of this Section when performance of these requirements is attainable. When
there is a discontinuance pursuant to this provision, stream sampling shall be
resumed at the first opportunity after the risk period has ceased.
(d) Biological and Toxicity Monitoring. Biological and Toxicity monitoring may be required when such monitoring is necessary to establish whether the designated best use of the waters is being or may be impaired or when toxic substances are known or suspected to be present in the facility's discharge.
(e) Tests and Analyses.
(1) If a water pollution control facility
receives waste influent from two or more sources, every test required by Rule
.0508 of this Section for the standard industrial classification number
applicable to the sources shall be performed one time, and it shall not be
necessary to repeat such tests for each source; however, the tests shall be
performed at the intervals specified by Rule .0508 of this Section for the
applicable industrial classification requiring the most frequent test
interval.
(2) If analyses of
samples of any effluent or any receiving water (collected by the State or a
public agency) indicate a violation of effluent limitations or water quality
standards or that a violation of water quality standards may result under any
projected conditions, including minimum stream flow and temperature extremes,
the Director may require the person responsible for the violation or potential
violation to monitor the pollutants or parameters at such points and with such
frequency as he or she deems necessary and appropriate to characterize the
effluent or receiving water, any real or projected violations, and the
frequency and duration of such violations. If the source of the pollutant is
unknown, the Director may require monitoring for specific pollutants from any
suspected discharger.
(3) If the
wastewaters discharged by any water pollution control facility violate any
effluent limitations or water quality standards or contribute to the violation
of water quality standards established by the Environmental Management
Commission, the facility shall perform and report such additional tests and
measurements at such frequencies and for such periods of time as the Director
may require.
(4) Approved Methods
of Analysis.
(A) Methods. The methods used in
collection, preservation, and analysis of samples shall conform to the
guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency codified as 40 CFR Part 136,
which is hereby incorporated by reference including any subsequent amendments
and editions. These regulations can be accessed free of charge at
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/. Other
analytical procedures shall conform to those found in either the most recent
edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater"
(Standard Methods) approved by the EPA, (published jointly by the American
Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association, and the Water
Environment Federation), or "Methods for Chemical Analysis of Waters and
Wastes" (Methods for Chemical Analysis), or other methods as approved by the
Director. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater is
hereby incorporated by reference including any subsequent approved amendments
and approved editions. The Standard Methods may be viewed free of charge at
http://www.standardmethods.org.
Methods for Chemical Analysis of Waters and Wastes is hereby incorporated by
reference including any subsequent amendments and editions. These methods
(document EPA-600-4-79-020) can be accessed free of charge at
http://nepis.epa.gov.
(B) Method Sensitivity. Monitoring required
for permit application or to determine compliance with effluent limitations or
applicable water quality standards shall be performed using sufficiently
sensitive methods in accordance with
40 CFR
122.21(e)(3) or
122.44(i), which
are hereby incorporated by reference, including any subsequent amendments and
editions. Biological testing shall be performed in accordance with
15A NCAC
02B .0103(b).
(5) Approval of Laboratories.
Analytical determinations made pursuant to the requirements of this Section
shall be made in adequately equipped laboratories staffed by person(s)
competent to perform tests. Only monitoring programs that provide for the
making of analytical determinations by qualified employees of the owner or by a
laboratory certified by the Division under
15A NCAC
02H .0800 or
15A NCAC
02H .1100 shall be considered
adequate.
(f) Process Control Monitoring Testing: The Director may require, on a case-by-case basis, process control monitoring testing suitable for the size and classification of the facility if necessary to evaluate the performance of the treatment facility or its unit processes.
Authority
G.S.
143-215.3(a)(1);
143-215.64;
143-215.65;
143-215.66;
Eff.
February 1, 1976;
Amended Eff. April 1, 1993; December 1, 1984;
November 1, 1978;
Readopted Eff. May 1,
2020.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. North Carolina may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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