Current through Register Vol. 55, No. 13, March 29, 2025
(a)
Approval and incorporation into permit. The pollution
abatement plan for the pollution abatement area must be approved by the
Department and incorporated into the permit as an effluent
limitation.
(b)
Implementation of best management practices. The best
management practices (BMP) in the pollution abatement plan shall be implemented
as specified in the plan.
(c)
Pre-existing discharges.
(1)
Except as provided in subsection (d), the following effluent limits apply to
pre-existing discharges:
|
Parameter
|
Effluent Limit
|
| Total Iron |
May not exceed baseline loadings (as determined by
this subchapter). |
| Total Manganese |
May not exceed baseline loadings (as determined by
this subchapter). |
| Acidity, Net |
May not exceed baseline loadings (as determined by
this subchapter). |
| Suspended Solids |
During remining and reclamation, may not exceed
baseline loadings (as determined by this subchapter). Prior to bond release,
the pre-existing discharge must meet the applicable standards for suspended
solids or settleable solids in §
88.92, §
88.187 or §
88.292 (relating to hydrologic
balance: effluent standards). |
(2) A pre-existing discharge is exempt from
meeting standards in §
88.92, §
88.187 or §
88.292 for suspended solids and
settleable solids when the Department determines that the standards are
infeasible or impractical based on the site-specific conditions of soil,
climate, topography, steep slopes or other baseline conditions provided that
the operator demonstrates that significant reductions of suspended solids and
settleable solids will be achieved through the incorporation of sediment
control BMPs into the pollution abatement plan as required under subsection
(a).
(d)
In-stream requirements.
(1)
If the Department determines that it is infeasible to collect samples for
establishing the baseline pollutant levels under paragraph (4) and that
remining will result in significant improvement that would not otherwise occur,
the permit applicant shall establish an in-stream baseline concentration at a
suitable point downstream from the remining operation, unless the Department
waives the sampling requirement under paragraph (5) and the numeric effluent
limitations in subsection (c)(1) do not apply.
(2) The in-stream baseline period must
include, at a minimum, twice monthly monitoring for a minimum of a 1-year
period and must adequately represent the seasonal range and median pollutant
concentrations.
(3) Upon issuance
of a surface mining permit, the operator shall continue, at a minimum, monthly
monitoring of pollutant concentrations at the in-stream monitoring point
referenced in paragraph (1), and make a determination as to whether or not
there has been degradation of in-stream water quality.
(i) This determination shall be made on a
quarterly basis and for each year defined as each consecutive 12-month
period.
(ii) The operator is not
required to treat individual pre-existing sources of pollution except as may be
needed to maintain the in-stream baseline concentration.
(iii) Unless the operator can demonstrate to
the satisfaction of the Department that the degradation was the result of
factors that are not related to the remining, the operator shall treat one or
more pre-existing pollutional discharges or undertake other pollution abatement
measures to restore or improve the in-stream pollutant concentration to its
baseline conditions.
(4)
Pre-existing discharges for which it is infeasible to collect samples for
determination of baseline pollutant levels include, but are not limited to:
(i) Discharges that exist as a diffuse
groundwater flow that cannot be assessed by the collection of
samples.
(ii) A base flow to a
receiving stream that cannot be monitored separate from the receiving
stream.
(iii) A discharge on a
steep or hazardous slope that is inaccessible for sample collection.
(iv) A number of pre-existing discharges so
extensive that monitoring of individual discharges is infeasible.
(5) When in-stream monitoring is
not indicative of the impact of remining, the in-stream monitoring requirement
may be waived by the Department. In-stream monitoring is not indicative of the
impact of remining in circumstances including, but not limited to, the
following:
(i) Remining sites in drainage
areas exceeding 10 square miles.
(ii) Remining sites in watersheds where there
are other influences on the in-stream water quality that make it impossible to
establish the cause of water quality changes.
(iii) Remining sites where the
Q7-10 stream flow is zero.
(e)
Limits.
Pollutants for which there are not effluent limitations established in §
88.92, §
88.187 or §
88.292 may be eligible for limits
established under this subchapter.
(f)
Applicability of
standards. Section
88.92, §
88.187 or §
88.292 applies to a pre-existing
discharge that is:
(1) Intercepted by surface
mining activities.
(2) Commingled
with waste streams from operational areas for the purposes of water
treatment.
(g)
Cessation of applicability of standards. Section
88.92, §
88.187 or §
88.292 does not apply to a
pre-existing discharge described in subsection (f) when the pre-existing
discharge is no longer intercepted by surface mining activities or is no longer
commingled with waste streams from operational areas for the purposes of water
treatment.
(h)
Bond
release. The effluent limitations in this subchapter apply to
pre-existing discharges until bond release under the procedures in Chapter 86
(relating to surface and underground coal mining: general).
The provisions of this § 88.510 issued under section 5 of
The Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. §
691.5); sections 4(a) and 4.2 of the Surface
Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P.S. §§
1396.4(a) and
1396.4b); and section 1920-A
of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. §
510-20).
This section cited in 25 Pa. Code §
88.507 (relating to treatment of
discharges).
