Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a) The person
that is required to conduct water quality monitoring as part of coal ash
beneficial use or storage shall prepare and submit to the Department an
abatement plan whenever one of the following occurs:
(1) The assessment plan prepared and
implemented under §
290.304 (relating to assessment
plan) shows the presence of groundwater or surface water degradation for one or
more contaminants at one or more monitoring points and the analysis indicates
that an abatement standard will not be met at the compliance points.
(2) Monitoring by the Department or person
shows the presence of an abatement standard exceedance from one or more
compliance points even if an assessment plan has not been completed. The person
is not required to implement an abatement plan under this paragraph if the
following apply:
(i) Within 10 days after
receipt of sample results showing an exceedance of an abatement standard at a
point of compliance, the person resamples the affected monitoring
points.
(ii) Analysis from
resampling shows to the Department's satisfaction that an exceedance of an
abatement standard has not occurred.
(3) A biological assessment of surface water
implemented under §
290.304(c)(4)
shows a detrimental effect on biota is occurring.
(b) An abatement plan shall be prepared and
sealed by a professional geologist licensed to practice in this Commonwealth.
The plan must contain the following information:
(1) The specific methods or techniques to be
used to abate groundwater or surface water degradation at the
facility.
(2) The specific methods
or techniques to be used to prevent further groundwater or surface water
degradation from the facility.
(3)
A schedule for implementation.
(c) If abatement is required in accordance
with subsection (a), the person shall demonstrate compliance with one or more
of the following standards at the identified compliance points:
(1) For constituents for which Statewide
health standards exist, the Statewide health standard for that constituent at
and beyond 500 feet of the perimeter of the coal ash placement area or at and
beyond the property boundary, whichever is closer.
(2) The background standard for constituents
at and beyond 500 feet of the perimeter of the coal ash placement area or at
and beyond the property boundary, whichever is closer. Load-based standards at
groundwater discharge points are acceptable if a permit was issued under
Chapter 87, Subchapter F or Chapter 88, Subchapter G (relating to surface coal
mines: minimum requirements for remining areas with pollutional discharges; and
anthracite surface mining activities and anthracite bank removal and
reclamation activities: minimum requirements for remining areas with
pollutional discharges).
(3) For
constituents for which no primary MCLs under the Federal and State Safe
Drinking Water Acts (42
U.S.C.A. §§
300f-300j-18; and
35 P. S. §§721.1-721.17) exist, the risk-based
standard at and beyond 500 feet of the perimeter of the coal ash placement area
or at and beyond the property boundary, whichever is closer, if the following
conditions are met:
(i) The risk assessment
used to establish the standard assumes that human receptors exist at the
property boundary.
(ii) The level
is derived in a manner consistent with the health risk assessment portions of
the Department's Land Recycling Program Technical Guidance
Manual (253-0300-100) or other standard procedures commonly used in
the environmental field for assessing the health risks of environmental
pollutants.
(iii) The level is
based on scientifically valid studies conducted in accordance with good
laboratory practice standards ( 40 CFR Part 792 (relating to good laboratory
practice standards)) promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control Act
(15 U.S.C.A. §§
2601-2692) or other scientifically
valid studies approved by the Department.
(iv) For carcinogens, the level represents a
concentration associated with an excess lifetime cancer risk level of 1 x
10-5 at the property boundary.
(d) For measuring compliance with
secondary contaminants under subsection (c)(1) or (3), the Department may
approve a compliance point beyond 500 feet on land owned by the owner of the
coal ash placement area.
(e) The
abatement plan shall be completed and submitted to the Department for approval
within 90 days of the time the obligation arises under this section unless the
date is otherwise modified, in writing, by the Department.
(f) If the Department determines that the
proposed plan is inadequate, the Department may modify the plan and approve the
plan as modified or require the submission of an approvable
modification.
(g) The abatement
plan shall be implemented within 60 days of approval by the Department in
accordance with the approved implementation schedule.
(h) If, after plan approval or
implementation, the Department finds that the plan is incapable of achieving
the groundwater or surface water protection contemplated in the approval, the
Department may issue one or more of the following:
(1) An order requiring the person to submit
proposed modifications to the abatement plan.
(2) An order requiring the person to
implement the abatement plan as modified by the Department.
(3) Another order the Department deems
necessary to aid in the enforcement of the acts.
This section cited in 25 Pa. Code §
290.301 (relating to water quality
monitoring); and 25 Pa. Code §
290.304 (relating to assessment
plan).
