Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62-4.246 - Sampling, Testing Methods, and Method Detection Limits for Water Pollution Sources

(1) The Department shall require monitoring and sampling for pollutants reasonably expected to be contained in the discharge and to violate the water quality criteria in Chapter 62-302, F.A.C.

(2) Field testing, sample collection and preservation, laboratory testing, including quality control procedures, and all record keeping shall comply with Chapter 62-160, F.A.C.

(3) Subsections (4)-(11), of this rule, apply only to permit applications, permits, monitoring reports, and other sources of data relating to discharges to surface waters.

(4) Using generally accepted scientific procedures, the Department shall establish and publish a method detection limit (MDL) and practical quantification limit (PQL) for each approved analytical method for a parameter (including any pollutant). On request, the Department shall make available a list of all current established MDLs and PQLs. The permittee may request and the Department shall consider approval for alternative methods or for alternative MDLs and PQLs for any approved analytical method, in accordance with the criteria of Rules 62-160.520 (New Methods, Validation Requirements) and 62-160.530 (Approval of Alternate Test Procedures), F.A.C. Permit applications, permits, and monitoring reports shall specify the applicable MDL and PQL established by the Department for each pertinent parameter.

(5) When establishing effluent limits in accordance with Rule 62-650, F.A.C., for pollutants for which MDLs are higher than the established water quality criteria, the Department shall base the limits on concentrations in the receiving waters computed in accordance with generally accepted scientific procedures and with subsections (8), (10) and (11), of this rule. Permit applications and monitoring reports shall identify results below the MDL. Except as specified in subsections (8) and (10), below, such results shall demonstrate compliance for that pollutant.

(6) All results submitted to the Department for permit applications and monitoring shall be reported as follows.

(a) The approved analytical method and corresponding Department-established MDL and PQL levels shall be reported for each pollutant. The MDLs and PQLs incorporated in the permit shall constitute the minimum reporting levels for each parameter for the life of the permit. The Department shall not accept results for which the laboratory's MDLs or PQLs are greater than those incorporated in the permit. All results with laboratory MDLs and PQLs lower than those established in the permit shall be reported to the Department. Unless otherwise specified, all subsequent references to MDL and PQL pertain to the MDLs and PQLs incorporated in the permit.

(b) Results greater than or equal to the PQL shall be reported as the measured quantity.

(c) Results less than the PQL and greater than or equal to the MDL shall be reported as less than the PQL and deemed to be equal to the MDL.

(d) Results less than the MDL shall be reported as less than the MDL.

(e) The following table is intended as a guide in the use of paragraphs (6)(b)-(d), for determining compliance with permit limits. Common abbreviations used in this table are as follows:

PQL means practical quantification limit

MDL means method detection limit

> means greater than

means less than

= means equal to.

Table 1 COMPLIANCE DETERMINATION

PERMIT LIMIT	DATA	COMPLIANCE	NONCOMPLIANCE
(6)(b)	>
Greater than or	Permit Limit		*
Equal to PQL	_________________________________________________________
	or =
	Permit Limit	*
(6)(c)	> or =
Less Than PQL But	PQL	*
Greater Than or	_________________________________________________________
Equal to MDL
	PQL	*
(6)(d)	> or =
Less Than MDL	MDL		*
MDL	*

(7) When all the results or projected concentrations for the effluent and the receiving water are below the MDL for a particular parameter, the Department shall deem the permittee to be in compliance with the applicable criterion or permit limit, subject to the provisions of subsections (8) and (10), below, when applicable.

(8) The presence of toxicity (as established through biomonitoring), data from analysis of plant or animal tissue, contamination of sediment in the vicinity of the installation, intermittent violations of effluent limits or water quality standards, or other similar kinds of evidence reasonably related to the installation may indicate that a pollutant in the effluent may cause or contribute to violations of water quality criteria. If there is such evidence of possible water quality violations, then (unless the permittee has complied with subsection (9), below) in reviewing reports and applications to establish permit conditions and determine compliance with permits and water quality criteria, the Department shall treat any result less than the MDL of the method required in the permit or the method as required under subsection (10), below, or any lower MDL reported by the permittee's laboratory as being one half the MDL (if the criterion equals or exceeds the MDL) or one half the criterion (if the criterion is less than the MDL), for any pollutant. Without the permission of the applicant, the Department shall not use any values determined under this subsection or subsection (9) below for results obtained under a MDL superseded later by a lower MDL.

(9) As an alternative to the procedure described in subsection (8), above, for determining the value of any result, the permittee may select and follow any procedure if set forth in any of the sources listed in this subsection below or shown by the permittee to provide equivalent reasonable assurance of accuracy and reliability, and if applicable to the particular discharge. Such equivalency of reasonable assurance and the applicability of each such procedure shall be determined in accordance with generally accepted methods of statistical analysis for that procedure. The following sources are incorporated here by reference.

(a) Gilbert, O.R., 1987. Statistical Methods For Environmental Pollution Monitoring, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.

(b) Hollander, M., and D.A. Wolfe, 1973. Nonparametric Statistical Methods. Wiley, New York.

(c) USEPA. 1989. Draft Technical Guidance Manual for Performing Wasteload Allocations. Book III: Estuaries. Part 1: Estuaries and WLA Models. Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling. Athens, Ga.

(d) USEPA. 1991. Technical Support Document for Water Quality-Based Toxics Control. Office of Water Regulations and Standards. Washington, DC. EPA/505/2-90-001.

(e) USEPA. 1983. Technical Guidance Manual for Performing Wasteload Allocations. Book II: Streams and Rivers. Chapter 1: Biochemical Oxygen Demand/Dissolved Oxygen. Office of Water Regulations and Standards. Washington, DC. EPA/440/4-84/020.

(f) USEPA. 1983. Technical Guidance Manual for Performing Wasteload Allocations. Book II: Streams and Rivers. Chapter 2: Nutrient/Eutrophication Impact. Office of Water Regulations and Standards. Washington, DC. EPA/440/4-84/021.

(g) USEPA. 1984. Technical Guidance Manual for Performing Wasteload Allocations. Book II: Streams and Rivers. Chapter 3: Toxic Substances. Office of Water Regulations and Standards. Washington, DC. EPA/440/4-84/022.

(h) USEPA. 1983. Technical Guidance Manual for Performing Wasteload Allocations. Book IV: Lakes and Impoundments. Chapter 2: Nutrient/Eutrophication Impacts. Office of Water Regulations and Standards. Washington, DC. EPA/440/4-84/019.

(i) USEPA. 1986. Technical Guidance Manual for Performing Wasteload Allocations. Book IV: Lakes and Impoundments. Chapter 3: Toxic Substances. Office of Water Regulations and Standards. Washington, DC. EPA/440/4-87/002.

(j) USEPA. 1986. Technical Guidance Manual for Performing Wasteload Allocations. Book VI: Stream Design Flow for Steady-State Modeling. Office of Water Regulations and Standards. Washington, DC. EPA/440/4-87/004.

(k) USEPA. 1985. Water Quality Assessment: A Screening Procedure for Toxic and Conventional Pollutants. Office of Research and Development. Athens, Ga. EPA/600/6-85/002 a and b.

(10) If there is evidence of possible water quality violations as set forth in subsection (8), above, and if the water quality criterion for the pollutant is lower than the MDL, the Department shall require the permittee to use the approved analytical method with the lowest MDL from those published by the Department or established by the permittee's laboratory for each such pollutant, for all reports and applications, to establish permit conditions and determine compliance. The Department shall not require the permittee to use an MDL lower than necessary to demonstrate compliance.

(11) If there is evidence that a pollutant in the effluent is reasonably expected to cause or contribute to water quality violations but there is no evidence of the presence of that pollutant in the ambient background receiving water, the Department shall treat the ambient background value of that pollutant in the receiving water as zero in establishing the pertinent effluent limit.

Notes

Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62-4.246

Rulemaking Authority 403.051, 403.061, 403.087, 403.504, 403.704, 403.804, 403.805 FS. Law Implemented 403.021, 403.051, 403.061, 403.087, 403.088, 403.091, 403.121, 403.141, 403.161, 403.182, 403.502, 403.702, 403.708 FS.

Formerly 17-3.03, Amended and Renumbered 3-1-79, Amended 4-26-87, 8-31-88, 6-4-92, 6-13-93, Formerly 17-4.246.

Formerly 17-3.03, Amended and Renumbered 3-1-79, Amended 4-26-87, 8-31-88, 6-4-92, 6-13-93, Formerly 17-4.246.