(a)
General
Ground Water Standards and Policies
(1)
The policy of the department for areas classified as GAA, GAAs, or GA shall be
to maintain or restore all ground water in such areas to its natural
quality.
(2) Notwithstanding
subdivision (1) of this subsection, if the Commissioner determines that, with
respect to a particular pollutant, restoring or maintaining natural quality at
a GAA, GAAs, or GA level is not technically practicable, the department's
policy shall be to:
(A) maintain or restore
water quality such that the ground water is suitable for drinking and other
domestic uses without treatment;
(B) maintain or restore water quality such
that the ground water will not adversely affect surface water quality or
prevent the maintenance or attainment of any designated uses of surface waters
to which that ground water discharges;
(C) eliminate sources of pollution to such
ground water to the extent that the Commissioner determines to be technically
practicable; and
(D) regulate
discharges to such ground water so as to prevent pollution.
(3) Ground water is deemed
suitable for drinking and other domestic uses without treatment when no
pollutant in such ground water:
(A) exceeds a
level which the Commissioner of Public Health has determined, pursuant to
section
22a-471
of the Connecticut General Statutes, creates or reasonably can be expected to
create an unacceptable risk of injury to the health or safety of persons using
such ground water for drinking or other personal or domestic use;
(B) is a carcinogen present at a
concentration associated with a 1 × 10 -6 excess
cancer risk;
(C) is a
non-carcinogen present at a level exceeding that to which the human population,
including sensitive subgroups, can be exposed on a daily basis without
appreciable risk of adverse health effects during a lifetime; or
(D) exceeds a level which the Commissioner
determines, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Health, renders the
ground water so aesthetically impaired that a person cannot reasonably be
expected to consume or otherwise use it.
(4) The policy of the department in areas
classified as GB shall be:
(A) to eliminate
or reduce in ground water any pollutant which presents a hazard of fire,
explosion, or toxic or hazardous emission to the environment or is determined
by the Commissioner to otherwise pose a threat to public safety or an
unacceptable risk to public health;
(B) to maintain water quality such that
ground water will not adversely affect the quality of surface waters to which
such ground water discharges or prevent the maintenance or attainment of any
designated or existing uses of such surface waters;
(C) to maintain water quality consistent with
all designated and existing uses of the ground water, including its use for
drinking without treatment provided such ground water has been utilized, and
continues to be utilized, for drinking water; and
(D) to regulate discharges to the ground
water in order to prevent further degradation of ground water
quality.
(5) The policy
of the department in areas classified as GC shall be:
(A) to eliminate or reduce in the ground
water any pollutant which presents a hazard of fire, explosion, or toxic or
hazardous emission to the air or is determined by the Commissioner to otherwise
pose a threat to public safety or an unacceptable threat to public
health;
(B) to maintain the ground
water at a quality that will not adversely affect the quality of surface waters
to which such ground water discharges or prevent the maintenance or attainment
of any designated or existing uses of such surface waters; and
(C) to limit the impacts of waste discharges
on ground water quality to those which, despite the use of treatment
technology, cannot be avoided and which result from a discharge which is
authorized by a permit under section
22a-430
of the Connecticut General Statutes.
(6) Antidegradation Standards
(A) With respect to ground water whose
quality is actually higher than that reflected by the assigned classification,
such ground water should be maintained at its existing high quality. To
maintain such quality, the Commissioner may require that:
(i) a new, increased, or otherwise modified
discharge to such ground water shall be given treatment such that,
notwithstanding such classification, the actual higher quality is maintained;
and
(ii) if there is an unpermitted
release of pollutants to ground water which is classified GB but whose quality
is actually GA or GAA, such ground water shall be remediated to the standards
for Class GA or GAA.
(B)
The department's classification of ground water, whether as GB, GC, or
otherwise, conveys no right to degrade that ground water or to utilize less
effective treatment measures than those utilized for discharges to ground water
designated for use as potable water. Domestic sewage shall be given the same
treatment regardless of the classification of the ground water to which such
sewage is discharged.
(7) The Commissioner may issue a permit
authorizing a discharge of material to ground water, even if such discharge
would be inconsistent with subsections (c)(1), (c)(2), (e), or (g) of this
section, provided such discharge otherwise conforms with all applicable legal
requirements and standards, is necessary to remediate ground water pollution,
and is treated or managed such that, to the maximum extent practicable, the
discharge does not impair public health or the environment.
(b)
Class GAA and GAAs
Ground Waters and Designated Uses
(1)
Class GAA and GAAs ground waters are those ground waters designated as such on
the map titled Water Quality Classifications on file with the department and
that may be amended from time to time in accordance with subsections (d)
through (g) of section
22a-426
of the Connecticut General Statutes. The designated uses for GAA and GAAs
classified ground waters are:
(A) existing or
potential public supply of water suitable for drinking without treatment;
and
(B) baseflow for
hydraulically-connected surface water bodies.
(2) Ground water classified as GAA is ground
water used or which may be used for:
(A)
public supplies of water suitable for drinking without treatment;
(B) ground water in the area that contributes
to a public drinking water supply well; and
(C) ground water in areas that have been
designated as a future water supply in an individual water utility supply plan
pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Section
25-32d or in
the Area wide Supplement prepared by a water utility coordinating committee
pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Sections
25-32d and
25-33h.
(3) Ground water classified as
GAAs is ground water that is tributary to a public water supply
reservoir.
(c)
Class GAA and GAAs Allowable Discharges
(1) GAA: The Commissioner shall not issue
permits authorizing a discharge to class GAA ground water unless such discharge
is of treated domestic sewage as defined in section
22a-430-1
of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, waste generated by certain
agricultural practices, certain water treatment waste waters from public water
supply treatment systems, or certain minor cooling waters or clean waters. If a
GAA area is within an Aquifer Protection Area designated in accordance with
section
22a-354d
of the Connecticut General Statutes, the Commissioner shall not issue permits
authorizing a ground water discharge that conflicts with any regulation adopted
pursuant to section
22a-354i of the
Connecticut General Statutes.
(2)
GAAs: The Commissioner shall not issue permits authorizing a discharge to class
GAAs ground water unless such discharge is of treated domestic sewage as
defined in section
22a-430-1
of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, waste generated by certain
agricultural practices, certain water treatment waste waters from public water
supply treatment systems, or certain minor cooling waters or clean waters. If a
GAAs area is within an Aquifer Protection Area designated in accordance with
section
22a-354d
of the Connecticut General Statutes, the Commissioner shall not issue permits
authorizing a ground water discharge that conflicts with any regulation adopted
pursuant to section
22a-354i of the
Connecticut General Statutes.
(d)
Class GA Ground Waters and
Designated Uses
(1) Class GA ground
waters are those ground waters designated as such on the map titled Water
Quality Classifications on file with the department and that may be amended
from time to time in accordance with subsections (d) through (g) of section
22a-426
of the Connecticut General Statutes. The designated uses for class GA ground
waters are:
(A) existing private and potential
public or private supplies of water suitable for drinking without treatment;
and
(B) baseflow for
hydraulically-connected surface water bodies.
(2) Ground water classified as GA is ground
water within the area of existing private water supply wells or an area with
the potential to provide water to public or private water supply wells. The
department presumes that ground water in such an area is, at a minimum,
suitable for drinking or other domestic uses without treatment.
(e)
Class GA Allowable
Discharges
The Commissioner shall not issue permits authorizing a
discharge to class GA ground water unless such discharge is allowed under
subsection (c)(1) of this section or is a discharge from a septage treatment
system or of other wastes that are predominantly human, plant, or animal in
origin so long as any such wastes are of natural origin, easily biodegradable
and, if properly managed, pose no threat of pollution to the ground water. The
ground water plume generated by a discharge from a septage treatment system
shall terminate in a stream with classification of B or SB unless the permittee
treats the discharge in a manner which the Commissioner determines is adequate
to maintain class A water in the receiving stream.
(f)
Class GB Ground Waters and
Designated Uses
(1) Class GB ground
waters are those ground waters designated as such on the map titled Water
Quality Classifications on file with the department and that may be amended
from time to time in accordance with subsections (d) through (g) of section
22a-426
of the Connecticut General Statutes. The designated uses for class GB ground
waters are:
(A) Industrial process water and
cooling waters;
(B) baseflow for
hydraulically-connected surface water bodies; and
(C) presumed not suitable for human
consumption without treatment.
(2) Ground water classified as GB is ground
water within a historically highly urbanized area or an area of intense
industrial activity and where public water supply service is available. Such
ground water may not be suitable for human consumption without treatment due to
waste discharges, spills or leaks of chemicals or land use impacts.
(g)
Class GB Allowable
Discharges
The Commissioner may issue permits authorizing a waste
discharge to class GB ground water if such discharge would be allowable in a GA
area under subsection (e) of this section or if such discharge meets all of the
following criteria:
(A) the
Commissioner has determined that such waste is generated by a source which is
unlikely to produce persistent pollutants or pollutants that do not biodegrade
in soil;
(B) the waste will be
treated as necessary to render it amenable to attenuation by the receiving soil
so that the ground water will not be impaired; and
(C) such discharge otherwise conforms with
all applicable legal requirements and standards.
(h)
Class GC Ground Waters and
Designated Uses
(1) Class GC ground
waters are those ground waters designated as such on the map titled Water
Quality Classifications on file with the department and that may be amended
from time to time in accordance with subsections (d) through (g) of section
22a-426
of the Connecticut General Statutes. The designated use for class GC ground
water is assimilation of discharges authorized by the Commissioner pursuant to
section
22a-430
of the Connecticut General Statutes.
(2) Ground water classified as GC is ground
water to which the Commissioner has authorized a discharge under section
22a-430
of the Connecticut General Statutes.
(3) Ground waters classified as GC are not
suitable for development of public supplies of potable water.
(4) The most important consideration in
making a determination to classify ground water as GC shall be the impact of
any authorized ground water discharges on adjacent surface waters.
(i)
Class GC Allowable
Discharges
The Commissioner may issue permits authorizing a discharge to
class GC ground water of any material, provided such discharge otherwise
conforms with all applicable legal requirements and standards.
(j)
Zones of
Influence
The Commissioner may establish zones of influence when, in the
course of permitting discharges to the ground water under section
22a-430
of the Connecticut General Statutes, the Commissioner allocates ground water
and soil resources for the treatment of pollutants. Within such zone of
influence the permittee under section
22a-430
of the general statutes may degrade the ground water such that it may not meet
the standards for the assigned classification or be suitable for uses
designated under such classification.
(1) For a subsurface sewage disposal system
permitted under authority delegated pursuant to section
22a-430-1
of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies to the Commissioner of Public
Health, the zone of influence shall be that area required by the minimum
separating distances established in section
19-13-B103d
of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.
(2) For discharges to ground water of treated
domestic sewage other than discharges of domestic sewage identified in
subdivision (1) of this subsection, agricultural wastes, and storm water, the
zone of influence shall be the area in which such discharge causes the ground
water to be:
(A) altered in quality from its
natural condition or
(B) lowered in
quality from that which is suitable for drinking and other domestic uses
without treatment. The Commissioner may require the applicant for a permit
under section
22a-430
of the Connecticut General Statutes to submit for the Commissioner's approval
an engineering plan showing the areal extent of any such zone of
influence.
(3) The
applicant for a permit under section
22a-430
of the Connecticut General Statutes authorizing a discharge other than a
discharge of treated domestic sewage, agricultural waste, or storm water shall
delineate the zone of influence associated with the proposed discharge. Such
zone of influence shall include all areas beneath which the ground water which
is or may be affected in quality by such discharge. The Commissioner may
require that such zone of influence extend to a receiving water body with a
classification of B or SB.
(4) The
Commissioner may require the applicant for a permit under section
22a-430
of the Connecticut General Statutes to demonstrate that the applicant has
acquired rights to the zone of influence of the proposed discharge. Acquisition
of such rights means that the applicant owns the land overlying such zone, has
obtained an easement with respect to such land and has recorded such easement
in the applicable Town Clerk's office, or otherwise controls such zone to the
Commissioner's satisfaction. Any such easement or other control mechanism
shall:
(A) provide the applicant with the
exclusive right to use the ground water in such zone and such right to enter
the land overlying such zone as the Commissioner deems necessary to accommodate
monitoring or remediation; and
(B)
assure that the ground water within such zone will not be used for potable
water supply.
(5) The
delineation by a permit applicant under section
22a-430
of the Connecticut General Statutes of the zone of influence of a proposed
waste discharge indicates that the underlying ground water may not be suitable
for human consumption or other uses. Installation of a withdrawal well in or
near such a zone of influence may result in an induced flow of polluted ground
water to such well. When reviewing an application to withdraw ground water
pursuant to sections
22a-365
through
22a-378a
of the Connecticut General Statutes the Commissioner considers the potential
impacts on water quality attributable to induced flow of polluted water from a
zone of influence associated with a waste discharge.
(k)
Ground Water
Reclassification
(1) The commissioner
may raise the ground water classification of any area if the commissioner finds
that such ground water meets the standards for the higher
classification.
(2) The
Commissioner may consider an application to lower a ground water Classification
to GB.
(A) Such application shall be subject
to the public participation requirements of section
22a-426
of the Connecticut General Statutes and shall:
(i) describe the nature and extent and date
of commencement of pollution of the ground water proposed to be
reclassified;
(ii) identify all
sources of drinking water in the area whose ground water is proposed to be
reclassified and identify all existing uses of ground water within and down
gradient of such area;
(iii) assess
the potential of the subject area to produce ground water in an amount suitable
for a public water supply;
(iv)
describe all past and present land uses in the subject area with dates;
and
(v) provide such other
information the Commissioner may reasonably require to determine the most
appropriate ground water classification.
(B) A ground water classification shall not
be lowered to GB unless the applicant has satisfactorily demonstrated that:
(i) any person within or down gradient of the
area to be reclassified extending to an area previously classified as GB or to
a surface water body to which the ground water discharges will be provided with
an adequate public water supply;
(ii) lowering of a ground water
classification will not prevent attainment of adjacent surface water quality
goals or present unacceptable health risks; and
(iii) any of the following:
(I) that the ground water to be reclassified
is polluted as a result of intense urban, commercial, or industrial development
which occurred prior to 1981, and the hydrologic conditions of the subject area
are not suitable for the development of a significant public water
supply;
(II) that the ground water
proposed to be reclassified is polluted and remediation of such ground water to
a quality suitable for drinking without treatment is not technically
practicable; or
(III) that there is
an overriding social or economic justification for reclassifying the ground
water to GB and the proposed reclassification is supported by the affected
municipality or municipalities, as affirmed, in writing, by the chief executive
officer(s) of the municipality or municipalities. For the purposes of this
subsection an "affected municipality" is one in which ground water
classifications are to be altered; "social justification" means a specific
social need of the affected municipality or the state and "economic
justification" means avoidance of an economic impact that would substantially
impair or otherwise detrimentally affect the economy of the community or the
state. The applicant shall also demonstrate that the purposes for the
reclassification will not result in development that is inconsistent with the
State Policies Plan for Conservation and Development, as adopted pursuant to
section
16a-30
of the Connecticut General Statutes.
(3) The Commissioner may consider an
application to lower a ground water classification to GC. Any such application
shall be subject to the public participation requirements of Section
22a-426
of the Connecticut General Statutes and:
(A)
Such application shall be accompanied by a completed application under section
22a-430
of the Connecticut General Statutes for a permit to discharge leachate from a
solid waste land disposal facility to the subject ground water.
(B) A ground water classification shall not
be lowered to GC unless the applicant has satisfactorily demonstrated in its
application that:
(i) there is an overriding
social or economic justification for reclassifying the ground water to GC and
the affected municipality or municipalities have been notified of the proposed
reclassification;
(ii) the ground
water proposed to be reclassified is not suitable for development of a
significant public water supply and is suitable for waste treatment;
(iii) the subject area is adjacent to and
hydraulically connected with a surface water body classified B or SB;
and
(iv) the applicant has
delineated the zone of influence of the ground water proposed to be
reclassified as extending from the proposed solid waste land disposal facility
to the receiving surface water body, and the applicant owns the land overlying
such zone of influence, or has an easement with respect to such land which
easement is properly recorded and provides protections, as described in
subdivisions (2)(A) and (2)(B) of subsection (j) of this section, or otherwise
controls the zone of influence to the satisfaction of the
Commissioner.