Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 391-3-6-.11 - Land Disposal and Permit Requirements

(1) Purpose. The purpose of Rule 391-3-6-.11 is to provide for the degree of pollutant treatment required and the uniform procedures and practices to be followed relating to the application for and the issuance or revocation or permits for the discharge of pollutants into land disposal or land treatment systems and then into the waters of the State.

(2) Definitions. All terms used in this Rule shall be interpreted in accordance with the definitions as set forth in the Act unless otherwise defined in this Paragraph or in any other Rules of this Chapter:

(a) "Act" means the Georgia Water Quality Control Act, as amended;

(b) "Land disposal system" means any method of disposing of pollutants in which the pollutants are applied to the surface or beneath the surface of a parcel of land and which results in the pollutants percolating, infiltrating, or being absorbed into the soil and then into the waters of the State. Land disposal systems exclude landfills and sanitary landfills but include ponds, basins, or lagoons used for disposal of wastes or wastewaters, where evaporation and/or percolation of the wastes or wastewaters are used or intended to be used to prevent point discharge of pollutants into waters of the State. Septic tank systems, as defined in Rule 270-5-25-.01 and as approved by appropriate County Boards of Public Health, are not considered land disposal systems for purposes of Rule 391-3-6-.11.

(c) "Land treatment system" means any land disposal system in which vegetation on the site is used to remove some of the pollutants applied;

(d) "Treatment requirement" means any restriction or prohibition established under the Act on quantities, rates, or concentrations, or a combination thereof, of chemical, physical, biological, or other constituents which are discharged into a land disposal or land treatment system and then into the waters of the State, including but not limited to schedules of compliance;

(e) "Land disposal system permit application" means an application filed by any persons with the Director for a land disposal system permit:

(f) "Land disposal system permit" means any permit issued by the Division to regulate the discharge of any pollutant into a land disposal or land treatment system;

(g) "Hydraulic loading rate" is the rate at which wastes or wastewaters are discharged to a land disposal or land treatment system, expressed in volume per unit area per unit time or depth of water per unit area per unit.

(3) Land Disposal System Permit Requirement. Any person discharging or proposing to discharge domestic, municipal, commercial, or industrial wastes or wastewaters into a land disposal or land treatment system and then into the waters of the State, under the Act, shall obtain a permit from the Division to make such a discharge. Owners of land disposal or land treatment systems which employ overland flow, subsurface drain fields, or other techniques which result in one or more point discharges into surface waters of the State, must obtain an NPDES permit and will not be issued a land disposal system permit. The provisions of Section 391-3-6-.08 regarding pretreatment apply to publicly owned treatment works which employ land disposal or land treatment systems.

(4) Degree of Pollutant Treatment Required.

(a) All pollutants discharged into land disposal or land treatment system shall receive such treatment or corrective action so as to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the issued land disposal system permit. The Division has the authority to establish the degree of treatment required before the pollutant is discharged to a land disposal or a land treatment system and then into waters of the State.

(b) Any pollutants which are being discharged or are intended to be discharged to a land disposal or land treatment system in amounts or concentrations which could be toxic or otherwise harmful to humans or biota if those pollutants mingle with waters of the State, or in amounts or concentrations which could reduce or impair the usefulness or operation of the land disposal or land treatment system, must receive such treatment as the Division may specify prior to being discharged to the land disposal or land treatment system.

(c) The hydraulic loading rate for any land disposal or land treatment system shall be determined based upon a technical analysis of soils and vegetation in the system area, climatic data characteristics of the wastes to be disposed or treated, and previous experience with similar systems. Hydraulic loading rates may not exceed those established in guidelines issued by the Division unless such technical analysis proves to the satisfaction of the Division that higher rates can be used.

(d) No land disposal system permit shall be issued authorizing the discharge of any radiological, chemical, or biological warfare agent or high-level radioactive waste into a land disposal or land treatment system.

(e) The groundwater leaving the land disposal systems boundaries must not exceed maximum contaminant levels for drinking water in accordance with Chapter 391-3-5 and subsequent amendments.

(5) Application for a Land Disposal System Permit.

(a) Applications for a land disposal system permit under the Act shall be on forms as may be prescribed and furnished from time to time by the Division. Applications shall be accomplished by all pertinent information as the Division may require in order to establish pollutant treatment requirements in accordance with paragraph 391-3-6-.11(4), including but not limited to complete engineering reports, schedule of progress, plans, specifications, maps, measurements, quantitative and qualitative determinations, records, and all related materials.

(b) Engineering reports, plans, and specifications submitted to the Division in support of a land disposal system permit application shall be prepared by a professional engineer, competent in the field of sewage and industrial waste treatment. Other materials in support of engineering reports, plans, specifications, and permit applications may be prepared by other persons competent in the field of land disposal or land treatment system technology.

(c) Materials submitted shall be complete and accurate.

(d) Any land disposal system permit application form or any other form submitted to the Division shall be signed as follows in accordance with the Federal Regulations 40 CFR 122.22:

1. For a corporation, by a responsible corporate officer. For this subparagraph a responsible corporate officer means:

(i) a president, secretary, treasurer, or vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person who performs similar policy- or decision-making functions for the corporation, or

(ii) the manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities employing more than 250 persons or having gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding $25 million (in second-quarter 1980 dollars), if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.

2. For a partnership or sole proprietorship, by a general partner or the proprietor, respectively;

or

3. For a municipality, State, Federal, or other public facility, by either a principal executive officer or ranking elected official.

(e) All other reports or requests for information required by the permit issuing authority shall be signed by a person designated in (d) above or a duly authorized representative of such person; if:

1. The representative so authorized is responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the discharged originates, e.g., a plant manager, superintendent or person of equivalent responsibility;

2. The authorization is made in writing by the person designated under (d) above: and

3. The written authorization is submitted to the Director.

(f) Any changes in the written authorization submitted to the permitting authority under (e) above which occur after the issuance of a permit shall be reported to the permitting authority by submitting a copy of a new written authorization which meets the requirements of (e)1. and 2. above.

(g) Any person signing any document under (d) or (e) above shall make the following certification: "I certify under penalty of law that this document and all attachments were prepared under direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified personnel properly gather and evaluate the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or persons who manage the system, or those persons directly responsible for gathering the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment for knowing violations."

Comment: The permit application will be revised to incorporate this statement. Where a permit program document does not contain the statement, the certification must accompany the appropriate document.

(6) Notice and Public Participation. The notice and public participation procedures of Rule 391-3-6-.26 shall apply. The public notice for permits with an approved Sludge Management Plan will also include publication in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the area affected by the discharge.

(7) Schedule of Compliance.

(a) Any person who obtains a land disposal system permit pursuant to the Act but who is not in compliance with applicable pollutant treatment requirements and limitations or other requirements contained in such permit at the time same is issued, shall be required to achieve compliance with such pollutant treatment requirements and limitations or other requirements in accordance with the schedule of compliance as set forth in such permit, or in the absence of a schedule of compliance, by the date set forth in such permit which the Director has determined to be the shortest reasonable period of time necessary to achieve compliance;

(b) Within 14 days after an interim date of compliance or the final date of compliance specified in a land disposal system permits, the permittee shall provide the Director with written notice of his compliance or non-compliance with requirements and conditions specified to be completed by such date. Failure to submit the written notice is just cause for the Division to pursue enforcement action pursuant to the Act;

(c) A permittee who fails or refuses to comply with an interim or final date of compliance specified in a land disposal system permit may be deemed by the Director to be in violation of the permit and may be subject to enforcement action pursuant to the act.

(8) Monitoring, Recording and Reporting Requirements.

(a) Any pollutant discharge into a land disposal or land treatment system and then into the waters of the State authorized by a land disposal system permit issued pursuant to the Act may be subject to such monitoring, recording and reporting requirements as may be reasonably required by the Director including the installation, use and maintenance of monitoring equipment or methods, including monitoring wells; specific requirements for recording of monitoring activities and results; and periodic reporting of monitoring results. The monitoring, recording and reporting requirements shall be specified in a permit when issued, provided, however, the Director may modify or require additional monitoring, recording and reporting by written notification to the permittee.

(b) The permittee shall be required to retain any records of monitoring activities and results for a minimum of three (3) years, unless otherwise required or extended by the Director upon written notification.

(c) Any holder of a permit which requires monitoring of the authorized pollutant discharge into a land disposal or land treatment system and then into the waters of the State shall report periodically to the Division results of all required monitoring activities on appropriate forms supplied by the Division. The Division shall notify the permittee of the frequency of reporting but in no case shall the reporting frequency be less than once per year.

(9) Modification, Suspension and Termination of Land Disposal System Permits.

(a) The Director may revise or modify the schedule of compliance set forth in an issued land disposal system permit if the permittee requests such modification or revision in writing. The Director may grant requests in accordance with this subparagraph if he determines after a documented showing by the permittee that good and valid cause (including acts of God, strikes, floods, material shortages or other events over which the permittee has little or no control) exists for such revision.

(b) The Director may modify, suspend or terminate an issued land disposal system permit in whole or in part during its term for cause, including, but not limited to, failure or refusal of the permittee to carry out the requirements of the Act or regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, and if within 30 days following receipt of such notice of such proposed modification, suspension or termination from the Director there is no objection by the permittee in writing. Prior to any such modification, suspension or termination of an issued land disposal system permit by the Director (other than modification or revision of compliance schedule pursuant to subparagraph (a) above or modification of the monitoring, recording or reporting requirements), the Director will provide public notice in accordance with procedures set forth in subparagraph 391-3-6-.11(6)(b) and an opportunity for public hearing in accordance with the procedures set forth in subparagraph 391-3-6-.11(6)(c)

(10) Non-governmentally Owned Sewerage Systems. In cases involving nongovernmentally owned sewerage systems, a trust indenture or other legal contract or agreement, approved by the Division, assuring continuity of operation of the system, may be required to be filed with the application for a permit. This provision shall not be applicable to systems treating or disposing only industrial waste.

(11) Duration and Transferability of Land Disposal System Permits.

(a) Any land disposal system permit issued under the Act shall have a fixed term not to exceed five years. Upon expiration of such permit a new permit may be issued by the Director, provided that an application for renewal is filed with the Director at least 180 days prior to the expiration date of the existing permit. The issuance of such new permit shall likewise have a fixed term not to exceed five years.

(b) A permit may be transferred to another person by a permittee if:

1. The permittee notifies the Director of the proposed transfer;

2. A written agreement containing a specific date for transfer of permit responsibility and coverage between the current and new permittees (including acknowledgement that the existing permittee is liable for violations up to that date, and that the new permittee is liable for violations from that date on) is submitted to the Director; and

3. The Director within thirty (30) days does not notify the current permittee and the new permittee of the Division's intent to modify, revoke and reissue, or terminate the permit and to require that new application be filed rather than agreeing to the transfer of the permit. A new application will be required when the change of ownership is accompanied by a change or proposed change in process or wastewater characteristics or a change or a potential change in any circumstances that the Director believes will affect the conditions or restrictions in the permit.

(12) Enforcement. Any person who violates any provision of the Act, any rule promulgated and adopted pursuant thereto, or any term, condition, schedule of compliance or other requirement contained in a permit issued pursuant to the Act shall be subject to enforcement proceedings pursuant to the Act.

Notes

Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 391-3-6-.11

Ga. L. 1964, p. 416, et seq., as amended (Ga. Code Ann. Sec. 17-501et seq.); Ga. Laws 1972, p. 1015, as amended (Ga. Code Ann. Sec. 40-3501et seq.).

Original Rule entitled "Land Disposal and Permit Requirements" was filed on June 24, 1980; effective July 14, 1980. Amended: F. Aug. 30, 1995; eff. Sept. 19, 1995. Repealed: ER. 391-3-6-0.32-.11, of the same title, adopted. F. May 1, 1996; eff. April 25, 1996, the date of adoption, to remain in effect for a period of 120 days or until the effective date of a permanent Rule covering the same subject matter superseding this ER is adopted, as specified by the Agency. Amended: Permanent Rule of same title adopted. F. Jul. 10, 1996; eff. July 30, 1996. Amended: F. May 13, 2020; eff. June 2, 2020.