oEPA
United State*
Environmental Protection
Agency
Off ic« of
Solid W»«t* and
Emergency Respon**
DIRECTIVE NUMBER:
9936.0
TITLE: Part B Permit Applications with Insufficient
Ground-water Monitoring Data
APPROVAL DATE:
EFFECTIVE DATE: 11/29/84
ORIGINATING OFFICE: OWPE
H FINAL
D DRAFT
STATUS:
REFERENCE (other documents):
OSWER OSWER OSWER
VE DIRECTIVE DIRECTIVE Dl
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3EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Washington. DC 20460
OSWER Directive Initiation Reauest
Interim Directive Number
9936.0
Originator Information
Name of Contact Person
Virginia Steiner
Lead Office 1—1
U OUST
U OERR B owpg
D OSW D AA-OSWER
Mail Code
WH-527
Telephone Number
Approved for Review
Signature of Office Director • /
Date
Title
Part B Permit applications with Insufficient Ground-water Monitoring Data.
Summary of Directive '
Guidance on how to deal with RCRA Part B permit applications containing
insufficient ground-water monitoring data.
hydrogeological data, specifications on well construction, sampling, methodology
past monitoring results; and §270.14(c)
Type of Directive (Manual. Policy Directive. Announcement, etc.)
Guidance
Status
G Draft
0 Final
G New
LJ Revision
Does this Directive Supersede Previous Directives)? | | Yes |_J No Does It Supplement Previous Directive(s)? QJ Yes LJ No
If "Yes" to Either Question, What Directive (number, title)
Review Plan
D AA-OSWER
D OERR
D OSW
D OUST
D OWPE
LJ Regions
D OECM
D OGC
D OPPE
D
Other ISpeeifyl
This Request Meets OSWER Directives System Format
Signature of Lead Office Directives Officer
Signature of OSWER Directives Officer
Date
Date
EPA Form 1316-17 (10-85)
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UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
NQV29I984
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: Part B Permit Applications with Insufficient
Ground-Water Monitoring Data
FROM
TO:
Lee M. Thomas
Assistant Administrator for*Solid Waste and
Emergency Response..
Courtney M. Price V^_j4*~X__ .. . ,-—„
Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and
Compliance Monitoring
Regional Administrators, Regions I-X
Regional Counsels, Regions I-X
Air and Hazardous Materials Division
Directors, Regions I-X
BACKGROUND
Regional personnel have raised questions as to how to deal
with RCRA Part B permit applications containing insufficient
ground-water monitoring (GWM) data. (This includes hydrogeological
data, specifications on well construction, sampling methodology,
past monitoring results, and other aspects of ground-water
protection as required by 40 CFR S270.14(c).) The GWM data
submitted in Part Bs is often insufficient to satisfy the
informational requirements of §270.14(c). The failure of many
facilities to generate appropriate GWM data prior to the Part B
due date has resulted in a number of incomplete Part Bs, as well
as complications and delays in the permitting process.
While general guidance on responding to late and incomplete
Part B applications is set out in a memo dated September 9, 1983,
the deficiency of a Part B with respect to GWM data presents a
special case. This type of deficiency is often the result of a
facility's failure to comply with Part 265 requirements and can be
addressed (or if detected early can be avoided) through enforcement
of the Part 265 requirements. Further, Part Bs with inadequate
GWM data are often submitted by facilities that hove been suspected
of presenting substantial hazards to human health or the environment
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through ground-water contamination. If Orders issued under RCRA
S3013 are used to require such facilities to gather appropriate
ground-water data, that data may also satisfy the Part 270 informa-
tional requirements and thus ensure that such facilities submit
adequate Part Bs«
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide EPA Regional
Offices with guidance on which mechanisms can be used to prevent
GWM deficiencies in Part Bs, and to discuss what mechanisms are
available to respond to deficiencies when they occur.
I. GWM Information Needed in_Part Bs
Section 270.14(c) lists the requirements for GWM information
in Part Bs. In essence, the permit applicant must characterize
the uppermost aquifer, describe any existing contamination, and
provide all information necessary for EPA to establish either a
detection, compliance, or corrective action program in the
facility's permit.
Data generated during a facility's interim status period may
or may not fulfill the Part B information requirements. In general,
if a facility has fully complied with the GWM requirements of Part
265, including well placement, sampling frequency, and.sampling
methodology, the results of interim status monitoring should be
deemed conclusive evidence of the presence or absence of contami-
nation. In a majority of cases, however, facilities have not
complied fully with 265 requirements. This category includes
facilities which have installed only three downgradient wells,
where a minimum of four or more is necessary to meet the standard
of §265.91. Facilities which have not fully complied with 265
requirements may need to do substantially more work, in some cases
including hydrogeological investigations and well installations,
before they can successfully meet Part 270 requirements.
EPA's Permit Applicant's Guidance Manual for Hazardous Waste
Land Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities, and the RCRA
Permit Writers' Manual for Ground-Water Protection, provide
descriptions of specific information needed from applicants.
Prior to or upon calling in a facility's Part B, Regional
personnel should examine any available interim status data from
the facility, and determine what additional data the facility must
generate in order to produce a complete Part B. This determination
should be coordinated with the joint permit writer/inspector site
visit conducted when the Part B is called in. This initial-review
of the facility, and early setting of expectations by EPA, is
essential to expediting the Part B process. *
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If EPA makes clear to the facility what types of data are
expected in the Part Bf and the initial Part B does not provide
this data, the Region should respond in accordance with the
•Late and Incomplete Part B Policy". In such cases, conservative
deadlines should be set for the facility's response to a Notice
of Deficiency,
It should be noted that $270.14(c) requires more and different
GWM data than does Part 265. In particular, S270.14(c)(2) and
(4) d^& require facilities to investigate hydrogeological conditions
at the site, including any plume of contamination that has entered
ground water from a regulated unit at the facility. In addition,
in order to satisfy S270.14(c)(6) - (8), facilities must provide
information to support a determination of whether hazardous
constituents (i.e., compounds listed in Part 261 Appendix VIII)
are present in the ground water. Regional personnel should
explain to facility owners and operators as early as possible
what kinds of data (e.g., pieziometric, resistivity, pump-test,
sampling for Appendix VIII compounds, etc.) will be necessary to
meet the Part B requirements.
Clearly, the exact type and extent of testing and information
gathering will vary considerably from facility to facility due to
such site-specific factors as geology and contaminant behavior.
Also, as a technical matter, Regional personnel initially may not
know exactly what types of data gathering are necessary from each
facility. Experience has shown that initial ground-water
investigations often uncover problems which require further
^investigations. Even under the best conditions of Regional
'attention to facility Part B preparation, applicants may have to
submit several Part B documents before the application can be
deemed adequate. Although we understand that some delays of this
nature are inevitable, certain delays can be avoided through early
involvement between the Regions and applicants.
II. Facilities for which the Part B Due Date Has Passed
In general, the most appropriate response to a facility
that has submitted an incomplete or inadequate Part B is
enforcement action under RCRA §3008. The action should cite
violations of 40 CFR Part 270. The "RCRA Civil Penalty Policy"
should be used to determine appropriate penalty amounts.
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III. Facilities for which the Part B is Not Yet Due, and where a
Hazard May Exist
Some facilities with significant deficiencies in Part 265
ground-water data may also be presenting hazards to human health
or the environment through ground-water contamination. EPA's
authority under RCRA §3013 can be used to gather data at
facilities for which the Administrator determines that the
presence or release of a hazardous waste may present a substantial
hazard to human health or the environment. A §3013 Order may be
used to require such monitoring, testing, analysis and reporting
as the Administrator deems reasonable to ascertain the nature
and extent of such a hazard. Revised Guidance on writing §3013
Orders was issued on September 26, 1984, and supersedes previous
Guidance.
Data generated by facilities in response to §3013 Orders
could be used to satisfy Part B informational requirements.
Therefore, activities required by §3013 Orders should be consistent
with monitoring activities required for compliance with Part
270, as well as with Part 264 requirements that will be applied
in the future.
IVe Facilities for which the Part B is Not Yet Due, and which
are in Violation of Interim Status Standards
A major category of GWM deficiencies involves owners and
operators who are subject to but have not complied with interim
status ground-water monitoring requirements in Part 265. There
are a variety of Part 265 violations at facilities, ranging from no
monitoring wells in place to inappropriate sampling techniques.
The result may be insufficient data from which the facility can
respond to §2?0.14(c).
In some cases, prompt enforcement of Part 265 violations may
be sufficient to ensure the development of adequate GWM data to
meet the Part B requirements. For instance, if the Part 265
violation is an insufficient number of monitoring wells, the
specified remedy (installing additional wells) may be sufficient
to provide data for the §270.14(c) requirements for information
regarding possible ground-water contamination and for a proposed
well network.
Alternatively, where a Part 265;*'remedy will not provide usable
or sufficient information to satisfy a Part B requirement, and
where a substantial hazard may exist, it may be more appropriate
to use EPA's broader authority under RCRA §3013 to obtain data.
Also, where a Part 265 remedy will not satisfy Part B requirements,
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and the Part B will be due shortly, enforcing the Part 265
requirements may be counterproductive. In that case it may be
more practical to wait for the Part B due date and enforce the
requirements of Part 270. Of course, it is generally appropriate
to assess penalties for past violations of the Part 265 requirements,
regardless of whether future compliance with Part 265 is sought.
•
Ve Facilities Not Currently in Violation of Interim Status GWM
Standards
There is a range of situations where an applicant is not in
violation of Part 265, but has not generated complete Part 265
data either. These facilities' Part Bs do not include enough
Part 265 data to address the §270.14(c) requirements properly.
This category of facilities includes:
0 neutralization surface impoundments;
0 facilities operating under a §265.90(c) waiver which
was not evaluated by EPA or an authorized state;
9 facilities located in states which prohibited
well installation prior to state approval, and the state
issued its approval late (or has not yet done so); and
0 facilities in early stages of Part 265 ground water
"assessment", and where contamination data is not yet
available.
In addition, new facilities often present little or no
existing data from which to evaluate compliance with §270.14(c).
The foregoing are complex situations and the appropriate
response may vary. We intend to develop further guidance on the
information-gathering mechanisms that may be applicable to
these categories. As mentioned in Section I of this memorandum,
Regional personnel should notify facilities as early as possible
prior to or upon calling in their Part Bs (or upon knowledge of
a planned new facility submittal) of the types of data that must
be submitted in the Part B in order to satisfy S270.14(c).
These informational requirements should be further clarified
during the EPA joint permit writer/inspector site visit when the
Part B is called in.
cc: John Skinner
Fred Stiehl
Gene Lucero
Tony Montrone
Bruce Weddle
Jack Lehman
Eileen Claussen
Peter Guerrero
Ken Shuster
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