South Carolina Code of Regulations
Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Subchapter 61-107 - Solid Waste Management
Subchapter 61-107.18 - Solid Waste Management: Off-site Treatment of Contaminated Soil
Section 61-107.18.F - Standards
Universal Citation: SC Code Regs 61-107.18.F
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 9, September 27, 2024
1. General Requirements. Soil shall be treated in accordance with the following criteria:
a. Soil shall be treated to levels that are
protective of human health and the environment as approved by the Department.
Treatment standards shall be based in part upon the intended use of the soil
after the treatment process is complete. It is the responsibility of the
permitted treatment facility to provide to the user of the treated soil written
notice stating the treatment goals achieved and the end use of the soil as
approved by the Department, including any restrictions on the use of the soil
that are included in the facility's permit or in this regulation.
b. Contaminated soil treated under the
purview of this regulation shall not be used to grow edible food crops nor to
supplement soil used for the purpose of growing edible food crops. Other
agricultural uses of soil treated under this regulation shall require approval
from the Department prior to use.
c. Soil treated under the purview of this
regulation shall not contain benzene in excess of 5 ppb after treatment unless
it can be demonstrated that the end use of the treated soil will not impact
groundwater such that it would exceed 5 ppb benzene or cause an adverse risk to
human health as determined by the Department. Any soil treated to >5 ppb
benzene shall be for restricted end use to be approved by the
Department.
d. The type,
composition, breakdown products and potential affect to human health and the
environment shall be provided for all materials or microorganisms introduced
into the soil for treatment purposes. In addition, the breakdown products for
the microorganisms and contaminants being treated in the process shall be
clearly defined.
e. The Department
may require additional soil testing and/or alternate treatment activities,
and/or soil removal for proper disposal, if the permittee is unable to
demonstrate that the treatment process is effective, or the process has failed
to perform to design standards. Additional testing and/or treatment may be
required if constituents are present in the soils for which the permitted
treatment process will not be effective, e.g., metals.
f. Based on the nature of the treatment
process and the types of soil proposed for treatment at the facility, the
Department may require additional environmental monitoring to be performed at
the facility. Likewise, additional engineering provisions may be required by
the Department to ensure protection of human health and the
environment.
g. Contaminated soil
shall be categorized into three classes, i.e., Class I, Class II, or Class III,
based on the contaminants present in the soil. Treatment levels to be achieved
for each class of soil differ.
h.
Soil treated under the purview of this regulation shall be used in a manner
which minimizes contact with the seasonal high water table.
i. When facilities co-mingle compatible soils
prior to treatment, the end use of the treated co-mingled soil shall be limited
to the most conservative end use as determined from the approved end uses
identified for each of the co-mingled soils by permit.
2. Class I. Class I soil is soil contaminated with one or more of the following contaminants: gasoline, jet fuels, diesel fuels, kerosene, and distillate fuel oils (number one and number two fuel oils.) Treatment levels for Class I contaminated soil shall depend on the planned end use of the soil after treatment processes are completed:
a. All Class I contaminated soil shall be
analyzed for total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), and total benzene, toluene,
ethyl benzene and xylene (BTEX).
b.
Class I contaminated soil which is for restricted specific end uses as approved
by the Department, e.g., as cover at municipal solid waste landfills, or in
road base or similar types of construction, shall, unless otherwise approved by
the Department, be treated to the following levels or below for TPH and BTEX:
|
TPH |
BTEX (total) |
|
200 ppm |
20 ppm (with Benzene <5 ppb) |
c.
For all unrestricted end uses, Class I contaminated soil shall be treated to
the following levels or below for TPH and BTEX:
|
TPH |
BTEX (total) |
|
10 ppm |
1 ppm (with Benzene <5 ppb) |
d.
Alternate treatment levels may be specified by the Department based on the
intended final use of the soil and the potential risk to human health and the
environment.
e. The Department may
require testing of incoming batches of contaminated soil and treated soil for
additional parameters other than TPH and BTEX should there be reason to believe
that other parameters of potential concern are present in the soil. Treatment
levels for these additional parameters shall be determined by the Department on
a case-by-case basis, taking end use into consideration and potential risk to
human health and the environment.
3. Class II. Class II soil is soil contaminated with one or more of the following contaminants: combination fuel oils (number three and number four fuel oils), residual fuel oils (number five and number six fuel oils), virgin lubricating oils, weathered oils, and used oils that have not been mixed with other waste. Treatment levels for Class II contaminated soil shall depend on the planned end use of the soil after treatment processes are completed:
a. All
Class II soil shall be analyzed for TPH, BTEX (total), and polynuclear aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAH.)
b. Class II
contaminated soil, including contaminated soil with polynuclear aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAH) levels that exceed those levels listed in the current EPA
approved Risk Based Concentrations (RBC) tables as determined by the
Department, shall be restricted to specific end uses as approved by the
Department, e.g., as cover at municipal solid waste landfills, or in road base
or similar types of construction. Unless otherwise approved by the Department,
this soil shall be treated to the following levels or below:
|
TPH |
BTEX (total) |
PAH |
|
200 ppm |
20 ppm (with Benzene <5 ppb) |
>= RBC values |
c.
For all unrestricted end uses, Class I contaminated soil shall be treated to
the following levels or below:
|
TPH |
BTEX (total) |
PAH |
|
10 ppm |
1 ppm (with Benzene <5 ppb) |
< RBC values |
d.
Soil contaminated with used oil and soil contaminated with weathered oil shall
be considered as Class II.a. soil and shall be restricted to specific end use,
as approved by the Department.
e.
Alternate treatment levels may be specified by the Department based on the
intended final use of the soil and the potential risk to human health and the
environment.
f. The Department may
require testing of incoming batches of contaminated soil and treated soil for
additional parameters other than TPH, BTEX, and PAH should there be reason to
believe that other parameters of potential concern are present in the soil.
Treatment levels for these additional parameters shall be determined by the
Department on a case-by-case basis, taking end use into consideration and
potential risk to human health and the environment.
4. Class III. Class III soil is soil contaminated with any contaminant other than those listed under Classes I and II above.
a. Facilities applying for a Class
III permit under this regulation shall submit for Department review, technical
data that demonstrates that the proposed soil treatment technique can treat
soil to concentration levels equal to or less than those levels listed in the
current EPA approved Risk Based Concentrations (RBC) tables as determined by
the Department. If the applicant fails to submit data, or the Department
determines that the data submitted is insufficient, the facility shall obtain a
Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) permit as outlined in
R.61-107.10. If the facility demonstrates to the Department under the RD&D
permit that the soil treatment technique used is effective on each contaminant
to be treated without the creation of harmful degradation products, the
Department will issue the facility a Class III permit, pursuant to this
regulation.
b. The permittee shall
submit a list of contaminants to the Department for review and approval based
on the chemical and physical nature of the Class III contaminated soil. Based
on this information, the Department shall determine appropriate levels of
treatment.
c. All Class III soil
shall be analyzed for parameters approved by the Department.
d. The end use of Class III contaminated soil
shall be approved by the Department prior to accepting the soil for treatment.
Treatment levels for soil to be treated shall be determined by the Department
on a case-by-case basis, and based on the intended end use. The Department will
take potential risk to human health and the environment into consideration when
determining appropriate treatment levels. These site specific determinations
may be based on current EPA approved risk based concentrations (RBC) tables,
toxicological review, scientifically defensible published data which are
appropriate for use in developing permit limits and contaminant levels for
which EPA has not developed national criteria or for which South Carolina has
no standards. The Department will consider the site specific routes of
potential exposure and the hydrogeological conditions for the potential to
leach contaminants to the water table, and will use health and/or technical
literature.
e. Those treatment
processes which can be proved to the Department to effectively treat the
contaminants in the Class III contaminated soil may be exempted from the
requirements to obtain a RD&D permit under R.61-107.10 and may be permitted
under this regulation. In all cases, the Department shall retain the authority
to set treatment levels based on end use considerations to ensure treatment is
protective of human health, surface water standards, and ground water
standards.
5. Facilities may be permitted to treat only Class I soil, only Class II soil, only Class III soil, or a combination of any of these soil types. Any facility treating a combination of contaminated soil types that includes Class III soil type may be required to receive a permit under the authority of this regulation, and also a RD&D permit. Upon the two years expiration of the RD&D permit, if the process is proved to be a viable method for treating soil, the facility's existing permit issued under the authority of this regulation may be amended to include the treatment process proved viable under the RD&D permit.
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