405 KAR 16:110 - Surface and groundwater monitoring
RELATES TO: KRS 350.100, 350.405, 350.420, 350.465, 40 C.F.R. Parts 122, 124, 434
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS Chapter 350 requires the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations establishing performance standards for protection of people and property, land, water, and other natural resources, and aesthetic values, during surface mining activities and for restoration and reclamation of surface areas affected by mining activities. This administrative regulation establishes requirements for the monitoring and reporting of surface water quality and quantity, and groundwater levels and quality and aquifer conditions, and the required duration of monitoring.
Section 1. General Requirements.
(1) Surface and groundwater monitoring shall
be conducted in a manner acceptable to the cabinet and utilize, at a minimum, a
sufficient number of appropriately located groundwater monitoring wells (or
springs), surface water monitoring stations, and quantity and quality
parameters to demonstrate that:
(a) The mining
and reclamation operations shall minimize disturbances to the hydrologic
balance within the permit area, shadow area, and adjacent area pursuant to
405 KAR 16:060;
(b) The mining operation is meeting
applicable effluent limitations and stream standards as required by
405 KAR 16:060, Section 1(3);
(c) Reclamation as required by 405 KAR is
being accomplished and the operation is preventing material damage to the
hydrologic balance in the cumulative impact area pursuant to
405 KAR 8:010, Section 14(2) and (3);
(d) The mining operation, pursuant to
405 KAR 16:060, Section 8, has not proximately resulted in the
contamination, diminution, or interruption of a ground or surface water supply
that is used for domestic, agricultural, industrial, or other beneficial
purpose; and
(e) The mining
operation shall comply with water quality criteria for bond release pursuant to
405 KAR 10:040.
(2) Surface and groundwater monitoring shall
be coordinated with baseline data collection by conducting surface and
groundwater monitoring at locations where baseline data was collected, or by
other appropriate data collection and analysis procedures that shall allow a
comparison of baseline conditions with during-mining and postmining
conditions.
(3) Equipment,
structures, monitoring wells, or other facilities used to monitor surface and
groundwater quantity and quality shall be properly installed, maintained, and
operated, and shall be removed or otherwise properly disposed of, including
sealing of monitoring wells, if no longer needed; except that monitoring wells
may be transferred to the surface owner of lands where the well is located,
pursuant to
405 KAR 16:060, Section 7.
(4) Except as established in subsection (7)
of this section:
(a) Surface and groundwater
monitoring data collection shall begin during the calendar quarter of initial
disturbance and continue during mining and reclamation until final bond
release; and
(b) Surface and
groundwater monitoring data shall be collected once each calendar quarter, with
no two (2) samples collected closer than thirty (30) days apart. The results of
the quarterly data collection shall be submitted to the appropriate regional
office on or before the end of the first month following the calendar quarter
in which the data were collected.
(5) If the results of any data collection
indicate noncompliance with a permit condition, the permittee shall promptly
notify the cabinet in writing and shall take immediate corrective actions to
return the operations to compliance with all permit conditions.
(6) The cabinet may require the installation
of additional groundwater monitoring wells and surface water monitoring
stations, the collection of additional quantity and quality parameters, and
more frequent data collection and submittal if additional information is needed
to comply with the requirements of subsection (1) of this section.
(7)
(a)
Pursuant to an application for a revision of a permit, the cabinet may approve
reduction of the sampling frequency for surface or groundwater, except as
required by the KPDES permit, if the permittee demonstrates to the cabinet's
satisfaction, using the monitoring data obtained pursuant to this
administrative regulation, that:
1. The
operation has minimized disturbance to the hydrologic balance in the permit and
adjacent areas and prevented material damage to the hydrologic balance outside
the permit area;
2. Water quantity
and quality are suitable to support the postmining land uses; and
3. The water rights of other users have been
protected or replaced.
(b)
1. The
cabinet shall not approve reduction of sampling frequency to less than
quarterly until at least thirty (30) months after Phase I bond release on the
permit.
2. The cabinet shall not
approve a sampling frequency of less than once per year.
Section 2. Groundwater
Monitoring.
(1) Groundwater monitoring shall
be conducted according to the requirements of Section 1 of this administrative
regulation and the monitoring plan required by
405 KAR 8:030, Section 32(4).
(2) At a minimum, groundwater monitoring
shall include the parameters of:
(a) Water
levels; and
(b) Total dissolved
solids, or specific conductance corrected to twenty-five (25) degrees
Centigrade; pH; dissolved iron; dissolved manganese; acidity; alkalinity; and
sulfate.
(3) If the
applicant can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the cabinet by use of the
baseline geologic or hydrologic information, the mining and reclamation plan,
and the determination of probable hydrologic consequences that a particular
water transmitting zone in the proposed permit and adjacent area does not serve
as an aquifer that significantly ensures the hydrologic balance anywhere within
the cumulative impact area, then monitoring of that water transmitting zone may
be waived by the cabinet.
Section
3. Surface Water Monitoring.
(1)
Surface water monitoring shall be conducted according to the requirements of
Section 1 of this administrative regulation and the monitoring plan required by
405 KAR 8:030, Section 32(4).
(2) At a minimum, surface water monitoring
shall include the parameters of:
(a)
Discharge; and
(b) Total dissolved
solids, or specific conductance corrected to twenty-five (25) degrees
Centigrade; total suspended solids; pH; total iron; total manganese; acidity;
alkalinity; and sul-fate.
(3) Surface water monitoring for KPDES.
(a) Monitoring of point source discharges
under a KPDES permit shall be conducted in accordance with 40 C.F.R. Parts 122,
123, and 434 and in accordance with the requirements of the KPDES permit.
1. The permittee shall submit a copy of the
KPDES monitoring results to the cabinet on the time schedule and in the format
required by the KPDES permit.
2.
The permittee shall report all noncompliances with the KPDES permit to the
cabinet in the manner required by the KPDES permit.
(b) Compliance with KPDES monitoring
requirements shall not relieve the permittee of the obligation to comply with
other surface and groundwater monitoring requirements of this administrative
regulation.
Notes
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 350.028, 350.420, 350.465
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