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Home My WebLink AboutDraft-Summary-of-Changes-for-External-Stakeholders-FINAL15A NCAC 02l .0100 – Summary of Proposed Major Changes November 2020 The following is a basic summary of the proposed major changes to the 15A NCAC 02L .0100 Rules along with some brief rationale. General For consistency… The word “Standard” is defined in the definitions section to be the groundwater quality standards in Section .0202. Throughout the text, we deleted the words “groundwater quality” or “standards established in Rule .0202 of this Subchapter” before the words “standard” or “standards”. Formatted lists throughout the Rule. 2L .0101 Authorization Changed title to “Purpose” for consistency with other Rule sets. 2L .0102 Definitions Added definitions for the following words for clarification: Active remediation Anthropogenic Background threshold values Chief Administrative Officer Compliance zone Constituent of interest Control Licensed soil scientist Lower limit of quantitation Method detection limit Secretary (to include their designee) Waste Disposal System (to help clarify the application of the Compliance Boundary) Added “waters of the State” to the definition for receptor. This was implied before so this is just a clarification. Changed definition of Review boundary to state that the Director “may” require groundwater monitoring. See specific Rule below for more explanation. 2L .0103 Policy No significant changes. 2L .0104 Restricted Designation (RS) Fixed the rule to make it more of a process than is spelled out in the current Rule. The new rules specify what DEQ would require of a responsible party who applies for this designation. Clarified that the RS is a land use restriction rather than a groundwater classification. Only the Environmental Management Commission can designate groundwaters. Specify that the designation is only for certain corrective action methods (excludes monitored natural attenuation). Added a demonstration of financial responsibility. 2L .0105 Adoption by Reference No change. 2L .0106 Corrective Action Changed title to “Initial Response, Site Assessment, and Corrective Action” to clarify what this section is about. Made into more of a step-by-step process by reorganizing rules. Moved monitoring requirements to Rule .0110 Moved report requirements to Rule .0111 Deleted Paragraph (e) as it was essentially identical to paragraph (d) with the exception of the December 30, 1983 date. Also deleted the December 30, 1983 date as the Department essentially requires the same process for sites that are both permitted and “deemed not permitted.” The only difference is the application of the compliance boundary. Paragraph (d)(1) – proposing that the Director “may require” groundwater monitoring at the review boundary. This would benefit permittees that have, for example, a truncated compliance and review boundaries due to the location of the property boundary. Revised Paragraphs (f), (g), and (h) – These are now “active remediation,” “natural attenuation,” and “risk-based,” respectively. These are the three remedial options that were and are still available for responsible parties. With the above-three remedial choices, we deleted Paragraph (k) This was the “K CAP” where corrective action started with active remediation down to certain concentration that is then terminated by Secretary upon request. The remainder of corrective action takes the form of natural attenuation. Within the active remediation Paragraph, we keep the option to discontinue active remediation at a certain point and continue with natural attenuation under new Paragraph (i). Removed the wording about the “1-year’s travel time upgradient of a receptor” and “five-years travel time downgradient of the plume.” This was removed because of several reasons including, (1) impracticalities for this precision, (2) the fact that groundwater moves at different rates within the subsurface, and (3) some groundwater moves so slowly that it would be impractical to have a monitoring well a few feet from certain receptors. A sufficient site assessment and groundwater model should be able to reasonably predict groundwater flow velocities and directions and therefore help establishing a proper monitoring network. Where applicable, clarified as to which remediation method the other paragraphs are referring. 2L .0107 Compliance Boundary Minor reorganization to make the Rule flow better. Added that the compliance boundary shall remain in place for the duration of the permit. Currently, there is no specified timeframe for the existence of the compliance boundary. Added protections for surface water where applicable. Introduced the concept of compliance zone for certain rules (the area between the compliance boundary and the waste boundary). This just helps define that area without having the make a reference to the “area within the compliance boundary.” Allows multiple contiguous properties to be treated as a single property. This is taken from General Statute 143-215.1(i). Allows combining of compliance boundaries where they intersect. This is taken from General Statute143-215.1(i). For any water supply wells constructed within the compliance boundary (prior to January 1, 1993), keeping them able to be operated but proposing that they be monitored. For potential violations within the compliance boundary, we eliminated the exception for limestones with the Coastal Plain and made it general for all bedrock. We still kept the provision for allowing a demonstration that the violation will not affect a receptor. 2L .0108 Review Boundary Proposing that the exceedance of the Standards at the review boundary may require action. This should allow for more flexibility. Examples would be if the standards are exceeded by a very small margin, concentrations are trending downward, or for one-time exceedances. 2L .0109 Delegation No significant changes. 2L .0110 Monitoring Moved monitoring requirement from .0106 to this rule. Proposing to allow the Director to require additional monitoring of any constituent of interest if it is in the best interest of the public or the environment. For example, monitoring for a constituent that could result from a geochemical change in the groundwater due to the presence of the system such as the release of naturally occurring metals within the phreatic zone due to lowered pH. Added protections for surface water. Proposing to provide a timeframe for the duration of monitoring programs. If concentrations are below the standards for four consecutive quarters, the responsible party can get a “No Further Action” letter. 2L .0111 Reports Moved reporting requirements from .0106 to this rule. Added some specific items to what is required in site assessment reports. These are items that we have deemed necessary for a complete and thorough report that better satisfies the Rule. These items are generally provided by environmental consultants when preparing a comprehensive site assessment although not currently required by the Rule. Added some specific items to what is required in corrective action plans. These are items that we have deemed necessary for a complete and thorough remediation plan that better satisfies the Rule. These items are generally provided by environmental consultants when preparing these plans although not currently required by the Rule. Proposing to require demonstration of financial responsibility for corrective action. 2L .0112 Analytical Procedures The proposed changes reflect current analytical procedures and methodologies. 2L .0113 Variance No significant changes. 2L .0114 Notification Requirement No significant changes. 2L .0115 Risk-Based Assessment and Corrective Action for Petroleum USTs No change.