Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
(a) The
requirements in this Rule shall apply to all new and expanding
facilities.
(b) Soils report. A
soil evaluation of the disposal site shall be provided to the Division by the
applicant in a report that includes the following. If required by G.S. 89F, a
soil scientist shall prepare this evaluation:
(1) a field description of the soil profile,
based on examinations of excavation pits or auger borings, within seven feet of
land surface or to bedrock, describing the following parameters by individual
diagnostic horizons:
(A) the thickness of the
horizon;
(B) the texture;
(C) the color and other diagnostic
features;
(D) the
structure;
(E) the internal
drainage;
(F) the depth, thickness,
and type of restrictive horizon; and
(G) the presence or absence and depth of
evidence of any seasonal high water table.
Applicants shall dig pits when necessary for evaluation of
the soils at the site;
(2) recommendations concerning loading rates
of liquids, solids, other wastewater constituents, and amendments. Annual
hydraulic loading rates shall be based on in-situ measurement of saturated
hydraulic conductivity in the most restrictive horizon for each soil mapping
unit. Maximum irrigation precipitation rates shall be provided for each soil
mapping unit;
(3) a
field-delineated soil map delineating soil mapping units within each land
application site and showing all physical features, location of pits and auger
borings, legends, scale, and a north arrow. The legends shall also include
dominant soil series name and family or higher taxonomic class for each soil
mapping unit; and
(4) a Standard
Soil Fertility Analysis conducted on each land application site. The Standard
Soil Fertility Analysis shall include the following parameters:
(A) acidity;
(B) base saturation (by
calculation);
(C)
calcium;
(D) cation exchange
capacity;
(E) copper;
(F) exchangeable sodium percentage (by
calculation);
(G)
magnesium;
(H) manganese;
(I) percent humic matter;
(J) pH;
(K) phosphorus;
(L) potassium;
(M) sodium; and
(N) zinc.
[Note: The North Carolina Board for Licensing of Soil
Scientists has determined, via letter dated December 1, 2005, that preparation
of soils reports pursuant to this Paragraph constitutes practicing soil science
pursuant to G.S. 89F.]
(c) Engineering design documents. If required
by G.S. 89C, a professional engineer shall prepare these documents. The
following documents shall be provided to the Division by the applicant:
(1) engineering plans for the entire system,
including treatment, storage, application, and disposal facilities and
equipment except those previously permitted unless those previously permitted
are directly tied into the new units or are necessary to understanding the
complete process;
(2)
specifications describing materials to be used, methods of construction, and
means for ensuring quality and integrity of the finished product, including
leakage testing; and
(3)
engineering calculations, including hydraulic and pollutant loading for each
treatment unit, treatment unit sizing criteria, hydraulic profile of the
treatment system, total dynamic head, and system curve analysis for each pump,
buoyancy calculations, and irrigation design.
[Note: The North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers
and Surveyors has determined, via letter dated December 1, 2005, that
preparation of engineering design documents pursuant to this Paragraph
constitutes practicing engineering pursuant to G.S. 89C.]
(d) Site plans. If required by
G.S. 89C, a professional land surveyor shall provide location information on
boundaries and physical features not under the purview of other licensed
professions. Site plans or maps shall be provided to the Division by the
applicant depicting the location, orientation, and relationship of facility
components including:
(1) a scaled map of the
site, with topographic contour intervals not exceeding 10 feet or 25 percent of
total site relief, showing:
(A) all
facility-related structures and fences within the treatment, storage, and
disposal areas; and
(B) soil
mapping units on all disposal sites;
(2) the location of each of the following
that are located within 500 feet of a waste treatment, storage, or disposal
site, including a delineation of their review and compliance boundaries:
(A) wells, including usage and construction
details if available;
(B)
ephemeral, intermittent, and perennial streams;
(C) springs;
(D) lakes;
(E) ponds; and
(F) other surface drainage
features;
(3) setbacks
as required by Rule .0506 of this Section; and
(4) site property boundaries within 500 feet
of all waste treatment, storage, and disposal sites.
[Note: The North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers
and Surveyors has determined, via letter dated December 1, 2005, that locating
boundaries and physical features, not under the purview of other licensed
professions, on maps pursuant to this Paragraph constitutes practicing
surveying pursuant to G.S. 89C.]
(e) Hydrogeologic report. A hydrogeologic
description prepared by a Licensed Geologist, Licensed Soil Scientist, or
Professional Engineer if required by Chapters 89E, 89F, or 89C, respectively,
shall be provided to the Division by the applicant for systems treating
industrial waste and any system with a design flow over 25,000 gallons per day.
Industrial facilities with a design flow less than 25,000 gallons per day of
wastewater that demonstrate that the effluent will be of quality similar to
domestic wastewater, including effluent requirements established in
15A NCAC
02T .0505(b)(1), shall, upon
request, be exempted from this requirement. The hydrogeologic evaluation shall
be of the subsurface to a depth of 20 feet or bedrock, whichever is less deep.
An investigation to a depth greater than 20 feet shall be required if the
respective depth is used in predictive calculations. This evaluation shall be
based on sufficient numbers, locations, and depths of borings to define the
components of the hydrogeologic evaluation. In addition to borings, other
techniques may be used to investigate the subsurface conditions at the site,
including geophysical well logs, surface geophysical surveys, and tracer
studies. This evaluation shall be presented in a report that includes the
following components:
(1) a description of
the regional and local geology and hydrogeology;
(2) a description, based on field
observations of the site, of the site topographic setting, streams, springs and
other groundwater discharge features, drainage features, existing and abandoned
wells, rock outcrops, and other features that may affect the movement of the
contaminant plume and treated wastewater;
(3) changes in the lithology underlying the
site;
(4) the depth to bedrock and
the occurrence of any rock outcrops;
(5) the hydraulic conductivity and
transmissivity of the affected aquifer as determined by in-situ field testing,
such as slug tests or pumping tests, in the intended area of
irrigation;
(6) the depth to the
seasonal high water table;
(7) a
discussion of the relationship between the affected aquifers of the site to
local and regional geologic and hydrogeologic features;
(8) a discussion of the groundwater flow
regime of the site prior to the operation of the proposed facility and the post
operation of the proposed facility, focusing on the relationship of the system
to groundwater receptors, groundwater discharge features, and groundwater flow
media; and
(9) if the seasonal high
water table is within six feet of the surface, a mounding analysis to predict
the level of the seasonal high water table after wastewater application.
[Note: The North Carolina Board for Licensing of
Geologists, via letter dated April 6, 2006, North Carolina Board for Licensing
of Soil Scientists, via letter dated December 1, 2005, and North Carolina Board
of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors, via letter dated December 1, 2005,
have determined that preparation of hydrogeologic description documents
pursuant to this Paragraph constitutes practicing geology pursuant to G.S. 89E,
soil science pursuant to G.S. 89F, or engineering pursuant to G.S. 89C.]
(f) Property Ownership
Documentation shall be provided to the Division by the applicant consisting of:
(1) legal documentation of ownership, such as
a contract, deed, or article of incorporation;
(2) an agreement of an intent to purchase the
property that is written, notarized, and signed by both parties, accompanied by
a plat or survey map; or
(3) an
agreement to lease the property that is written, notarized, and signed by both
parties, indicating the intended use of the property, accompanied by a plat or
survey map. Lease agreements shall adhere to the requirements of
15A NCAC
02L .0107.
(g) Public utilities shall submit to the
Division a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity or a letter from the
NC Utilities Commission stating that it has received a franchise
application.
(h) A chemical
analysis of the typical wastewater to be irrigated shall be provided to the
Division by the applicant for industrial waste, which shall include:
(1) total organic carbon;
(2) 5-day biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD5);
(3)
chemical oxygen demand (COD);
(4)
nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N);
(5) ammonia nitrogen
(NH3-N);
(6)
total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN);
(7)
pH;
(8) chloride;
(9) total phosphorus;
(10) phenol;
(11) total volatile organic
compounds;
(12) fecal
coliform;
(13) calcium;
(14) sodium;
(15) magnesium;
(16) sodium adsorption ratio (SAR);
(17) total trihalomethanes; and
(18) total dissolved solids.
(i) A project evaluation and a
receiver site agronomic management plan (if applicable) and recommendations
concerning cover crops and their ability to accept the proposed application
rates of liquid, solids, minerals, and other constituents of the wastewater
shall be provided to the Division by the applicant.
(j) A Residuals Management Plan as required
by Rule .0508(a) of this Section shall be provided to the Division by the
applicant.
(k) The applicant shall
provide to the Division a water balance that determines the required effluent
storage based on the most limiting factor from the following:
(1) hydraulic loading based on the most
restrictive horizon;
(2) hydraulic
loading based on the groundwater mounding analysis;
(3) nutrient management based on agronomic
rates for the specified cover crop; or
(4) nutrient management based on crop
management.
Authority
G.S.
143-215.1;
143-215.3(a);
Eff. September 1, 2006;
Readopted Eff. September 1,
2018.
