South Carolina Code of Regulations
Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Subchapter 61-9 - Water Pollution Control Permits
Subchapter 61-9.505 - LAND APPLICATION PERMITS AND STATE PERMITS
Part C - LAND APPLICATION PERMIT AND STATE PERMIT CONDITIONS
Section 61-9.505.C.41 - Conditions applicable to all Land Application permits and State permits

Universal Citation: SC Code Regs 61-9.505.C.41

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 9, September 27, 2024

The following conditions apply to all Land Application permits and State permits. Additional conditions applicable to Land Application permits and State permits are in section505.42. All conditions applicable to Land Application permit and State permit shall be incorporated into the permits either expressly or by reference. If incorporated by reference, a specific citation must be given in the permit.

(a) Duty to comply. The permittee shall comply with all conditions of the permit. Any permit noncompliance constitutes a violation of the Pollution Control Act and is grounds for enforcement action; for permit termination, revocation and reissuance, or modification; or denial of a permit renewal application. The Department's approval of wastewater facility Plans and Specifications does not relieve the permittee of responsibility to meet permit limits.

(1) [Reserved]

(2) Failure to comply with permit conditions or the provisions of this regulation may subject the permittee to civil penalties under S.C. Code Section 48-1-330 or criminal sanctions under S.C. Code Section 48-1-320. Sanctions for violations of the Federal Clean Water Act may be imposed in accordance with the provisions of R.61-9.122.41(a)(2) and (3)(a)(2) and (3).

(3) A person who violates any provision of this regulation, a term, condition or schedule of compliance contained within a valid Land Application permit or State permit is subject to the actions defined in State law and this regulation.

(b) Duty to reapply. If the permittee wishes to continue an activity regulated by its permit after the expiration date of the permit, the permittee must apply for and obtain a new permit.

(c) Need to halt or reduce activity not a defense. It shall not be a defense for a permittee in an enforcement action that it would have been necessary to halt or reduce the permitted activity in order to maintain compliance with the conditions of its permit.

(d) Duty to mitigate. The permittee shall take all reasonable steps to minimize or prevent any discharge or sludge use or disposal in violation of its permit which has a reasonable likelihood of adversely affecting human health or the environment.

(e)

(1) Proper operation and maintenance. The permittee shall at all times properly operate and maintain in good working order and operate as efficiently as possible all facilities and systems of treatment and control (and related appurtenances) which are installed or used by the permittee to achieve compliance with the terms and conditions of this permit. Proper operation and maintenance includes effective performance based on design facility removals, adequate funding, adequate operator staffing and training and also includes adequate laboratory controls and appropriate quality assurance procedures. This provision requires the operation of back-up or auxiliary facilities or similar systems which are installed by a permittee only when the operation is necessary to achieve compliance with the conditions of the permit.

(2) The permittee shall develop and maintain at the facility a complete Operations and Maintenance Manual for the waste treatment facilities and/or land application system. The manual shall be made available for on-site review during normal working hours. The manual shall contain operation and maintenance instructions for all equipment and appurtenances associated with the waste treatment facilities and land application system. The manual shall contain a general description of the treatment process(es), the operational procedures to meet the requirements of (e)(1) above, and the corrective action to be taken should operating difficulties be encountered.

(3)

(i) Except as stated in (ii) below, the permittee shall provide for the daily performance of treatment facility inspections by a certified operator of the appropriate grade ("the operator") as defined in the permit for the facility. The inspections shall include, but should not necessarily be limited to, areas which require visual observation to determine efficient operations and for which immediate corrective measures can be taken using the O & M manual as a guide. All inspections shall be recorded and shall include the date, time, and name of the person making the inspection, corrective measures taken, and routine equipment maintenance, repair, or replacement performed. The permittee shall maintain all records of inspections at the permitted facility as required by the permit, and the records shall be made available for on-site review during normal working hours.

(ii) The Department may make exceptions to operating requirements, if stated in the permit, as follows:

(A) Attendance by the operator is normally required only on days when treatment, land application, or discharge occurs.

(B) For performance of daily inspections, permits may allow a reduced grade of operator for limited time periods under specific circumstances when justified by the permittee in a staffing plan and approved by the Department.

(C) Reduced inspection frequency, but in no case less than weekly, may be suitable when specified in the permit, if there is complete telemetry of operating data and there is either a simple treatment system with a low potential for toxicity but requiring pumps or other electrical functions or the ability to stop the discharge for an appropriate period when necessary.

(D) In other circumstances where the permittee demonstrates the capability to evaluate the facility in an alternative manner equivalent to the inspection requirements in subparagraph 3(i).

(E) Any exceptions allowed in (A), (B), (C), and (D) above are subject to compliance with permit conditions.

(4)

(i) Purpose. This regulation establishes rules for governing the operation and maintenance of wastewater sewer systems, including gravity or pressure interceptor sewers. It is the purpose of this rule to establish standards for the management of sewer systems to prevent and/or minimize system failures that would lead to public health or environmental impacts.

(ii) Authority and applicability. Under Section 48-1-30 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina (1976 as amended), the Department is authorized to adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the Pollution Control Act. This regulation applies to all sewer systems that have been or would be subject to a DHEC construction permit under Regulation Regulation 61-67 and whose owner owns or operates the wastewater treatment system to which the sewer discharges and which discharges under a State permit. Nothing in this regulation supersedes a more stringent requirement that may be imposed by sewer system owners that manage wastewater from satellite systems. This regulation (505.41(e)(4)) is effective when published in the State Register.

(iii) General requirements. The requirements to properly operate and maintain sewer systems are the responsibility of the system owner. General Standards. The sewer system owner must:

(A) Properly manage, operate, and maintain at all times all parts of its sewer system(s), to include maintaining contractual operation agreements to provide services, if appropriate;

(B) Provide adequate capacity to convey base flows and peak flows for all parts of the sewer system or, if capital improvements are necessary to meet this standard, develop a schedule of short and long term improvements;

(D) Notify the Department within 30 days of a proposed change in ownership of a sewer system.

(iv) [Reserved]

(f) Permit actions. A Land Application or State permit may be modified, revoked and reissued, or terminated for cause. The filing of a request by the permittee for a permit modification, revocation and reissuance, or termination, or a notification of planned changes or anticipated noncompliance does not stay any permit condition.

(g) Property rights. A Land Application or State permit does not convey any property rights of any sort,

(h) Duty to provide information. The permittee shall furnish to the Department, within a reasonable time, any information which the Department may request to determine whether cause exists for modifying, revoking and reissuing, or terminating its permit or to determine compliance with its permit. The permittee shall also furnish to the Department upon request, copies of records required to be kept by its permit.

(i) Inspection and entry. The permittee shall allow the Department, or an authorized representative (including an authorized contractor acting as a representative of the Department), upon presentation of credentials and other documents as may be required by law, to:

(1) Enter upon the permittee's premises where a regulated facility or activity including all land disposal sites is located or conducted, or where records must be kept under the conditions of its permit;

(2) Have access to and copy, at reasonable times, any records that must be kept under the conditions of its permit;

(3) Inspect at reasonable times any facilities, equipment (including monitoring and control equipment) including all land disposal sites, practices, or operations regulated or required under its permit;

(4) Sample or monitor at reasonable times, for the purposes of assuring permit compliance or as otherwise authorized by the Pollution Control Act, any substances or parameters at any location including all land disposal sites.

(j) Monitoring and records.

(1)

(i)

(A) Samples and measurements taken for the purpose of monitoring shall be representative of the monitored activity.

(B) Samples shall be reasonably distributed in time, while maintaining representative sampling.

(C) No sampling or analysis, which is otherwise valid, shall be terminated for the purpose of preventing the analysis from showing a permit or water quality violation.

(ii) Flow Measurements.

(A) Where primary flow meters are required, appropriate flow measurement devices and methods consistent with accepted scientific practices shall be present and used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of measurements of the volume of monitored discharges. The devices shall be installed, calibrated, and maintained to ensure that the accuracy of the measurements is consistent with the accepted capability of that type of device. Devices selected shall be capable of measuring flows with a maximum deviation of not greater than 10 percent from the true discharge rates throughout the range of expected discharge volumes. The primary flow device, where required, must be accessible to the use of a continuous flow recorder.

(B) Where permits require an estimate of flow, the permittee shall maintain at the permitted facility a record of the method(s) used in "estimating" the discharge flow (e.g., pump curves, production charts, water use records) for the outfall(s) designated on limits pages to monitor flow by an estimate.

(iii) The Department may designate a single, particular day of the month on which any group of parameters listed in the permit must be sampled. When this requirement is imposed in a permit, the Department may waive or alter compliance with the permit requirement for a specific sampling event for extenuating circumstances.

(2) Except for records of monitoring information required by a permit related to the permittee's sewage sludge use and disposal activities, which shall be retained for a period of at least five years (or longer as required by 40 CFR Part 503, R.61-9.503, or R.61-9.504), the permittee shall retain records of all monitoring information, including all calibration and maintenance records and all original strip chart recordings for continuous monitoring instrumentation, copies of all reports required by its permit, and records of all data used to complete the application for its permit, for a period of at least 3 years from the date of the sample, measurement, report or application. This period may be extended by request of the Department at any time.

(3) Records of monitoring information shall include:

(i) The date, exact place, and time of sampling or measurements;

(ii) The individual(s) who performed the sampling or measurements;

(iii) The date(s) analyses were performed;

(iv) The individual(s) who performed the analyses;

(v) The analytical techniques or methods used; and

(vi) The results of such analyses.

(4) Analyses for required monitoring must be conducted according to test procedures approved under 40 CFR Part 136 unless other test procedures have been specified in the permit or, in the case of sludge use or disposal, unless otherwise specified in R.61-9.503 or R.61-9.504.

(5) The PCA provides that any person who falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required to be maintained under its permit shall be subject to civil and criminal penalties as provided for in the act, law or other appropriate regulations.

(k) Signatory requirement.

(1) All applications, reports, or information submitted to the Department shall be signed and certified (See R.61-9.122.22).

(2) The PCA provides that any person who knowingly makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, plan or other document submitted or required to be maintained under a permit, including monitoring reports or reports of compliance or non-compliance shall be subject to civil or criminal provisions as provided for in the act, law or other appropriate regulations.

(l) Reporting requirements.

(1) Planned changes. The permittee shall give prior notice to the Department as soon as possible of any planned physical alterations or additions to the permitted facility (and obtain a Construction Permit if required under R.61-67). Prior notice is required only when:

(i) [Reserved]

(ii) The alteration or addition could significantly change the nature or increase the quantity of pollutants discharged. This notification applies to pollutants which are subject neither to effluent limitations in the permit, nor to notification requirements under R.61-9.122.42(a)(1)(a)(1).

(iii) The alteration or addition results in a significant change in the permittee's sludge use or disposal practices, and such alteration, addition, or change may justify the application of permit conditions that are different from or absent in the existing permit, including notification of additional use or disposal sites not reported during the permit application process or not reported pursuant to an approved land application plan;

(2) Anticipated noncompliance. The permittee shall give advance notice as soon as possible to the Department of any planned changes in the permitted facility or activity which may result in noncompliance with permit requirements.

(3) Transfers. A Land Application or State permit is not transferable to any person except after notice to the Department. The Department may require modification or revocation and reissuance of the permit to change the name of permittee and incorporate such other requirements as may be necessary under the Pollution Control Act. (See R.61-9.505.61. In some cases, modification or revocation and reissuance is mandatory.)

(4) Monitoring reports. Monitoring results shall be reported at the intervals specified in the permit.

(i) Monitoring results (with the exception of any Annual Reporting requirements under section503.18, section503.28, section503.48 or section504.18) must be reported on a Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) or forms provided or specified by the Department for reporting results of monitoring of sludge use or disposal practices.

(ii) If the permittee monitors any pollutant more frequently than required by the permit using test procedures approved under 40 CFR Part 136 or, in the case of sludge use or disposal, approved under 40 CFR Part 136 unless otherwise specified in R.61-9.503, R.61-9.504, or as specified in the permit, the results of this monitoring shall be included in the calculation and reporting of the data submitted in the DMR or sludge reporting form specified by the Department.

(iii) Calculations for all limitations which require averaging of measurements shall utilize an arithmetic mean unless otherwise specified by the Department in the permit.

(5) Compliance schedules. Reports of compliance or noncompliance with, or any progress reports on, interim and final requirements contained in any compliance schedule of its permit shall be submitted no later than 14 days following each schedule date.

(6) Twenty-four hour reporting.

(i) The permittee shall report any noncompliance which may endanger health or the environment. Any information shall be provided orally within 24 hours from the time the permittee becomes aware of the circumstances. A written submission shall also be provided within 5 days of the time the permittee becomes aware of the circumstances. The written submission shall contain a description of the noncompliance and its cause; the period of noncompliance, including exact dates and times; and, if the noncompliance has not been corrected, the anticipated time it is expected to continue and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent recurrence of the noncompliance.

(ii) The following shall be included as information which must be reported within 24 hours under this paragraph.

(A) Any unanticipated bypass which exceeds any effluent limitation in the permit. (See R.61-9.505.44.)

(B) Any upset which exceeds any effluent limitation in the permit.

(C) Violation of a maximum daily discharge limitation for any of the pollutants listed by the Department in the permit to be reported within 24 hours. (See R.61-9.505.44).

(iii) The Department may waive the written report on a case-by-case basis for reports required under paragraph (l)(6)(ii) of this section, if the oral report has been received within 24 hours.

(7) Other noncompliance. The permittee shall report all instances of noncompliance not reported under paragraphs (l)(4), (5), and (6) of this section, at the time monitoring reports are submitted. The reports shall contain the information listed in paragraph (l)(6) of this section.

(8) Other information. Where the permittee becomes aware that it failed to submit any relevant facts in a permit application, or submitted incorrect information in a permit application or in any report to the Department, it shall promptly submit such facts or information.

(m) Bypass.

(1) Definitions.

(i) "Bypass" means the intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of a treatment facility including holding basins.

(ii) "Severe property damage" means substantial physical damage to property, damage to the treatment facilities which causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. Severe property damage does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.

(2) Bypass not exceeding limitations. The permittee may allow any bypass to occur which does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded, but only if it also is for essential maintenance to assure efficient operation. These bypasses are not subject to the provisions of paragraph (m)(3) and (m)(4) of this section.

(3) Notice.

(i) Anticipated bypass. If the permittee knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it shall submit prior notice, if possible, at least ten days before the date of the bypass.

(ii) Unanticipated bypass. The permittee shall submit notice of an unanticipated bypass as required in paragraph (l)(6) of this section (24-hour reporting).

(4) Prohibition of bypass

(i) Bypass is prohibited, and the Department may take enforcement action against a permittee for bypass, unless:

(A) Bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage;

(B) There were no feasible alternatives to the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treatment facilities, retention of untreated wastes, or maintenance during normal periods of equipment downtime. This condition is not satisfied if adequate back-up equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering judgment to prevent a bypass which occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventive maintenance; and

(ii) The Department may approve an anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse effects, if the Department determines that it will meet the three conditions listed above in paragraph (m)(4)(i) of this section.

(n) Upset.

(1) Definition. "Upset" means an exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with technology based permit effluent limitations because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the permittee. An upset does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation including the land disposal sites.

(2) Effect of an upset. An upset constitutes an affirmative defense to an action brought for noncompliance with such technology based permit effluent limitations if the requirements of paragraph (n)(3) of this section are met. No determination made during administrative review of claims that noncompliance was caused by upset, and before an action for noncompliance, is final administrative action subject to judicial review.

(3) Conditions necessary for a demonstration of upset. A permittee who wishes to establish the affirmative defense of upset shall demonstrate, through properly signed, daily operating logs, or other relevant evidence that:

(i) An upset occurred and that the permittee can identify the cause(s) of the upset;

(ii) The permitted facility including the land disposal sites were at the time being properly operated; and

(iii) The permittee submitted notice of the upset as required in paragraph (l)(6)(ii)(B) of this section (24 hour reporting).

(iv) The permittee complied with any remedial measures required under paragraph (d) of this section.

(4) Burden of proof. In any enforcement proceeding, the permittee seeking to establish the occurrence of an upset has the burden of proof.

(o) Misrepresentation of Information.

(1) Any person making application for a Land Application permit or State permit or filing any record, report, or other document pursuant to a regulation of the Department, shall certify that all information contained in such document is true. All application facts certified to by the applicant shall be considered valid conditions of the permit issued pursuant to the application.

(2) Any person who knowingly makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, or other documents filed with the Department pursuant to the State law, and the rules and regulations pursuant to that law, shall be deemed to have violated a permit condition and shall be subject to the penalties provided for pursuant to 48-1-320 or 48-1-330.

(p) Other requirements.

(1) No portion of a new or expanding application site for effluent application shall be located in the 100 year flood plain unless there is a permitted secondary year round disposal option (e.g. an NPDES permit).

(2) Effluent application shall not occur during periods when the ground is frozen, ponded, there is standing water on the application site, or the ground is flooded.

(3) New or expanding facilities with basins, storage ponds or other constructed impoundments (except for systems designed to operate in this manner, e.g. infiltration basins) must be appropriately lined as determined by the Department. The Department may consider the level of treatment and, if the basin or structure is existing, the scope of the modifications that may be required in the determination of whether a basin, storage pond or other constructed impoundments must be lined. Storage facilities for Reclaimed water (as described in section505.45) will not require a liner unless specifically required by the Department.

(4) New or expanding facilities with basins, storage ponds or constructed impoundments shall be constructed in accordance with R.61-67 (if construction is required).

(5) Basins, storage ponds, or constructed impoundments (except for systems designed to operate in this manner, e.g., infiltration basins) which are in use may be required to be monitored with groundwater monitoring wells as approved by the Department. The basin, storage pond or constructed impoundment may be considered unlined if the leakage rate is greater than 500 gallons per day per acre, or information available would indicate to the Department that specific hydrological conditions would require groundwater monitoring. The Department may consider the level of treatment, or the type of wastewater (e.g., influent characteristics) in the determination of whether an unlined basin, storage pond or other constructed impoundments must have groundwater monitoring. Storage facilities for reclaimed water (as described in section505.45) will not require groundwater monitoring unless specifically required by the Department.

(6) There shall be no runoff of any effluent, sludge, treated waste or mixture of pollutants outside the permitted area.

(7) Lined basins, storage ponds, or constructed impoundments may be required by the Department to have groundwater monitoring wells to assure compliance with State Water Quality Standards R.61-68.

(8) [Reserved]

(9) [Reserved]

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