(a) The
operator of a municipal waste landfill shall prepare and submit to the
Department an abatement plan whenever one of the following occurs:
(1) The groundwater assessment plan prepared
and implemented under §
273.286 (relating to groundwater
assessment plan) shows the presence of groundwater degradation at one or more
monitoring wells and the analysis under §
273.286(c)
indicates that an abatement standard under subsection (d) will not be
met.
(2) Monitoring by the
Department or operator shows the presence of an abatement standard exceedance
from one or more compliance points as indicated in subsection (d), even if a
groundwater assessment plan has not been completed. The operator is not
required to implement an abatement plan under this paragraph if the following
conditions are met:
(i) Within 10 days after
receipt of sample results showing an exceedance of an abatement standard at a
point of compliance described in subsection (d), the operator resamples the
affected wells.
(ii) Analysis from
resampling shows to the Department's satisfaction that an exceedance of an
abatement standard has not occurred.
(b) An abatement plan shall be prepared by an
expert hydrogeologist and submitted to the Department. The plan shall contain
the following information:
(1) The specific
methods or techniques to be used to abate groundwater pollution from the
facility.
(2) The specific methods
or techniques to be used to prevent further groundwater pollution from the
facility.
(3) A schedule for
implementation.
(c) The
abatement plan shall be completed and submitted to the Department for approval
within 90 days of the time the obligation arises under this section unless the
date is otherwise modified, in writing, by the Department.
(d) If abatement is required in accordance
with subsection (a), the operator shall demonstrate compliance with one or more
of the following abatement standards at and beyond 150 meters of the perimeter
of the permitted disposal area or at and beyond the property boundary,
whichever is closer:
(1) For constituents for
which an MCL has been promulgated under the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act or
the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C.A. §§
300f-
300j-18; and
35 P. S. §§721.1-721.17), the MCL for that
constituent.
(2) For constituents
for which MCLs have not been promulgated, the background standard for the
constituent.
(3) For constituents
for which the background standard is higher than the MCL or risk-based standard
identified under paragraph (4), the background standard.
(4) For constituents for which no MCLs have
been established, the risk-based standard if the following conditions are met:
(i) The risk assessment used to establish the
standard assumes that human receptors exist at the property boundary.
(ii) The level is derived in a manner
consistent with Department guidelines for assessing the health risks of
environmental pollutants.
(iii) The
level is based on scientifically valid studies conducted in accordance with
good laboratory practice standards ( 40 CFR Part
792 (relating to good
laboratory practice standards)) promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control
Act (15 U.S.C.A.
§§
2601-
2692), or other
scientifically valid studies approved by the Department.
(iv) For carcinogens, the level represents a
concentration associated with an excess lifetime cancer risk level of 1.0 x
10-5 at the property boundary.
(v) For systemic toxicants, the level
represents a concentration to which the human population (including sensitive
subgroups) could be exposed on a daily basis that is likely to be without
appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime. For purposes of this
subparagraph, systemic toxicants include toxic chemicals that cause effects
other than cancer or mutation.
(e) The abatement plan shall be implemented
within 60 days of approval by the Department in accordance with the approved
implementation schedule. If the Department determines that the proposed plan is
inadequate, it may modify the plan and approve the plan as modified.
(f) The abatement plan shall be continued
until the Department states, in writing, based on monitoring by the Department
and the operator, that groundwater pollution from the facility has been
permanently abated.
