v>EPA
              United States
              Environmental Protection
              Agency
            Office of
            Solid Waste and
            Emergency Response
DIRECTIVE NUMBER:
9481.05(84)
               TITLE:   Combining Ground Water Protection Programs in
                     RCRA Permits            '
               APPROVAL DATE:  5-22-34

               EFFECTIVE DATE:  5-22-34

               ORIGINATING OFFICE  Office of Solid Waste

               0 FINAL

               D DRAFT

                STATUS
               REFERENCE (other documents):
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 PARTS  264 AND  265   SUBPART F - GROUND-WATER PROTECTION        DOC:  9481.05(84)
 Key  Words:    Compliance MoniCoring, Corrective Action, Permit Modifications,
              RCRA  Permits

 Regulations:  40 CFR 270.14(c)(1),(2),(4),(6),(7),(8);  270.41(a)(5)(w);
              264.98(h)(2)

 Subject:      Combining Ground Water Protection Programs in RCRA Permits

 Addressee:    Alexandra Smith, Director, Air and Waste Management Division

 Originator:   John  H. Skinner, Director, Office of solid Waste

 Source Doc:   #9481.05(84)

 Date:         5-22-84

 Summary:

     40 CFR 264.9Kb) allows permit writers  to include more than one ground-
 water protection program (i.e., detection monitoring, compliance monitoring,
 corrective action)  in a facility permit. An  advantage of combining programs is-
 that compliance levels are established for key constituents prior to the time
 when fast action is needed.  Imminent hazardous conditions, or the need to
 protect fragile aquifers, would strongly suggest that an accelerated response
 is necessary.

   I"n a combined detection/compliance monitoring permit ground-water protection
 standards for certain hazardous constituents shall become applicable immediately
 upon finding a statistically-significant increase in detection-monitoring
 parameters.  These  standards may be established in the initial permit or the
 permit may establish procedures for establishing concentration limits once a
 significant increase has occurred. If standards are established in the initial
 permit, permit writers should only identify  a small number of key constituents
 and should select these constituents based on their presence, mobility, adverse
 effects and likelihood of appearing in the ground water at concentrations above
 accepted health limits.

     Combining corrective action provisions  with detection and/or compliance
 monitoring programs may be somewhat more difficult.  It may not be possible  to
 include a full, comprehensive corrective action plan in a permit because of  the
 complexity of site-specific hydrogeological  and engineering characteristics.
 It may be possible, however, to develop an interim program that would include
general steps to be taken to protect human health and the environment and would
 require the collection of additional information on the specific remedy needed.

     If_ an applicant wishes to have proposed ACL limits considered in establishing
 the ground-water protection standard, the supporting ACL demonstration should
 be submitted along with the initial Part B application.

     It may be-difficult to obtain the information necessary  to design a complete
combined permit. If no hazardous constituents have been detected in  the ground-
water at the time EPA issues the combined permit, the regulations do not require
the applicant to submit detailed information necessary to establish  permit      «.
conditions for compliance monitoring or corrective action programs.

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                                                            9481.05 (84)
 Combining Ground-water Protection Programs
 in  RCRA  Permits

 John  H.  Skinner,  Director
 Office of Solid Waste (WH-565)

 Alexandra Smith,  Director
 Air and  Waste Management Division, M/S .529


      In  your memo of March 14, 1984, you requested advice
 as  to whether an  integrated ground-water permitting approach
 is  feasible and if so, that we provide draft language imple-
 menting  the concept.  The approach is feasible and may be
 necessary in f>me situations.  Model language will be drafted
 this  summer.

      The advantage of combining programs in a permit is that
 compliance levels are already established for key constituents
 prior to the time when fast action is needed.  The regulations,
 with  clear supporting language in the preamble, allow the
 specification of more than one program in a facility permit
 (§264 .91(b)).  In deciding whether to invoke this authority,
 the permit writer should consider the potential adverse
 effects on human health and the environment which might
 occur during the administrative period necessary to revise
 the permit.  Imminent hazardous conditions, for instance, or
 the need tio protect fragile aquifers would strongly suggest
 that  an accelerated response is necessary.

      The first step in designing appropriate permit conditions
 for facilities "suspected" of having contaminated ground
 water is to use the authorities of §270 .14(c ) ( 1) , (2) and
 (4) to attempt to determine whether contamination has, in
 fact, occurred.  If it is established that contamination has
 occurred, the permit writer should either (1) invoke'the appli-
 cation requirements of §270 .14(c)(7) or (8) and establish
 either compliance monitoring or corrective action conditions
 in  the facility's permit, as appropriate, or (2) consider
 combining compliance monitoring and corrective action programs
 in  the permit.   If it is not possible to determine whether
 contamination has occurred, or if it is shown that contamination
 has nou in fact occurred, the permit writer should either (1)
 invoke the application requirements of §2,70 .14 ( c ) ( 6 ) and
establish only a detection monitoring program in the permit,
or  (2) consider issuing a combined detection/compliance program
permit or a permit combining all three programs.

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     A combined detection monitoring/compliance monitoring
permit provides that ground-water protection scandards for
certain hazardous constituents shall become applicable
immediately upon finding a statistically-significant increase
in detection monitoring parameters.  These ground-water
protection standards may be established in the permit at the
time of initial permitting or the permit may establish
procedures by which such limits are to be established once a
significant increase in detection monitoring parameters has
occurred.  If ground-water protection standards are established
in the initial permit, it is suggested that only a small
number of key constituents be identified since establishment
of specific constituent limits may be time consuming.  Moreover,
since the specification of an appropriate health-based limit
for any one of the constituents which do reach ground water
is sufficient to commence corrective action, exhaustive
lists are of little advantage.  These constituents should be
selected in consideration of the following:

     (1)  presence in the waste;

     (2)  relative mobility, likelihood, of being among the first
         constituents at point of compliance;

     (3)  known, documented adverse effects;
                      *
     (4)  likelihood of appearing in the ground water at
         concentrations greater than the generally accepted
         health limit.

     At the same time that concentration limits (or procedures
for establishing such limits) become applicable, the permittee
should also be required to identify all hazardous constituents
from regulated units in ground water at the compliance point
i'n accordance with § 264 . 98 ( h) ( 2 ) .  The Regional Administrator
should assess the appropriateness of the existing compliance
monitoring program in light of any new information resulting
from this analysis and, if necessary, initiate a permit
modification pursuant to §270 . 41(a)(2) to modify the compliance
monitoring program (e.g., to set standards for hazardous
constituents not previously identified or to adjust  those
values or procedures previously established when necessary).

     Combining corrective action provisions with detection
and/or compliance monitoring programs may be somewhat more
difficult.  In many cases, it may not be possible to  include
a full,  comprehensive corrective action plan in a permit due  to
the complexity of site-specific hydrogeological and  engineering
characteristics.  However, when the situation warrants,  it
may be possible to develop an interim program which  would
include general steps to be taken to protect human health
and the environment and would require the collection  of

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 additional  information  on  the  specific  remedy  needed.  The
 new information  acquired pursuant  to  this  interim  program
 would  then  provide  the  basis for a  permit  modification-
 (pursuant to  § 270 . 41(a)(2)) to establish a more detailed
 corrective  action program.

     Some permit writers have  encountered  difficulties in
 obtaining the  information  necessary to  design  a complete
 combined permit.  The permit application requirements of
 §270.14(c)  do  not require  the  submission of detailed
 information necessary to design a complete compliance or
 comprehensive  corrective action program.   Section  270.14(c)
 (7)  provides  that an  applicant.can  be required to  submit
 information necessary to establish  a compliance monitoring
 program only  "if the  presence  of hazardous consitituents
 has  been detected in  the ground water at the point of
 compliance  at  the time  of  permit application.  "Similarly,
 §270.14(c)(3)  provides  that information in support of a
 corrective  action program  is required only "if hazardous
 constituents  have been  measured in  the  ground  water which
 exceed the  concentration limits established under  §264.94,
 Table.1, or...(if such  constituents have been  measured]
 over- background concentrations. "Thus,  if  no hazardous
 constituents  have been  detected in ground  water at the time
 that EPA seeks to issue a  combined permit, these regulations
 do  not require that the applicant submit information necessary
 to  establish  permit conditions for compliance  monitoring
 or  corrective' action programs.  (In practice,  of course,
 applicants may find it  desirable to submit the information
 when they know the permit  writer is drafting a combined
 permit).                     .

     There are possible problems that may  arise when
 distinguishing what will constitute "new information." in
 order to initiate the permit modification  process.  In order
 to  justify application  of  this "new information" standard,
 the information acquired after the time of permit  issuance
 (presumably through the "partial" compliance monitoring
 program or the "interim" corrective action program) must
 truly be information that  was not available at the time of
 initial permitting.   It may be advisable to have your staff
 identify the kinds of information,  if any, that can be expected
 to be acquired during the  "partial" or  "interim" compliance
monitoring and corrective  action programs  that would not
have been available at  the time of  initial permitting.   It
 is important to rememoer that any new permit conditions
arising from this new information must  be  imposed  through  a
 formal permit modification allowing for public participation.
As noted earlier, the major basis for modification will  be
§270 .41(a)(2)  which allows permits  to be modified  to reflect
new information.   However,  permit writers  may  also be able
to rely upon § 270 . 41(a)(5)( iv)  in making modifications to  a

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corrective action program that has not brought the regulated
unit  into compliance with the ground-water protection standard
within a reasonable period of time.

      Finally, it is important to consider ACLs in the context
of a  combined permit.  The regulations contemplate that
ACLs  will be considered during the time applicable to the
establishment of concentration limits based on background or
MCLs.  See 47 Fed. Reg. 32298.  In a combined permit, these
limits are estaolished at the time of initial permitting.
Accordingly, if an applicant wishes to have proposed ACL
limits considered in establishing the ground-ijater protection
standard, the supporting ACL demonstration should be submitted
along with the initial part B application.  An owner/operator
may,  of course, submit an ACL demonstration at any time
after the issuance of the combined permit, but such later
ACL request will not stay implementation of the intergated
permit conditions.  See 47 Fed. Reg.  32307.

      Your request for draft standard language in the form of a
model permit is being addressed in the redraft of the Permit
Writer's Guidance Manual.  We will circulate drafts for your
comment this summer and keep you informed of the status of
its -development.  Additionally, we are exploring the possibility
of changing the rules strengthening the combined permits
approach.  There are obvious advantages to this approach,
including speeding up the process of initiating corrective
action, which may outweigh the up-front cost of additional
time and effort to produce the initial permits.

     Thank you for your comments and suggestions.  They help
us to focus our efforts where they will do the most good.

cc:  Regional Division Directors, Regions I - IX
     Sue Moreland-ASTSWMO                           •

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