Sec. 26.08.03.08. Remining

A. Purpose. This regulation establishes the criteria under which the Department shall determine:

(1) That an application for a coal remining NPDES permit has the potential to improve water quality as required under §301 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. §1311);

(2) If an applicant for an NPDES permit to discharge pollutants from coal remining qualifies for a variance from the State water quality standards; and

(3) The appropriate effluent limitations for pH, iron, and manganese and other requirements in any NPDES permit issued for coal remining at a specific site.

B. Application for NPDES Coal Remining Permit.

(1) Application Requirements. The applicant shall comply with all permit application requirements as set forth in COMAR 26.08.04.

(2) Required Documentation. The applicant shall:

(a) Submit documentation from the Bureau of Mines that the proposed coal remining operation will be located on a remined area;

(b) Certify that the proposed coal remining operation will be confined to the remined area;

(c) Submit the application for a remining permit from the Bureau of Mines;

(d) Describe the hydrologic balance for the proposed coal remining operation, including results of a detailed water quality and quantity monitoring program conducted in accordance with §B(4) of this regulation;

(e) Submit plans, cross sections, and schematic drawings describing the techniques for handling acid-forming materials to reduce the discharge of acidity, iron, and manganese;

(f) Submit a description and an explanation of the range of abatement levels that probably can be achieved, costs, and each step proposed to reduce the discharge of acidity, iron, and manganese;

(g) Submit a description of the spoil-handling practices necessary to reduce the discharge of acidity, iron, and manganese;

(h) Submit a detailed topographic map of the proposed coal remining operation, including the locations of the preexisting and proposed discharges; and

(i) Continue the water quality and quantity monitoring program described in §B(4) of this regulation on a quarterly basis, and submit the results to the Department on a quarterly basis until the Department makes a final permit decision.

(3) When any of the information required in §B(2)(d)-----(h) of this regulation is contained in the information included as part of §B(2)(c), the applicant does not need to provide separate documentation.

(4) Baseline Sampling Data.

(a) The baseline sampling data is derived by sampling and analysis of all preexisting discharges from the coal remining area and in-stream water quality upstream and downstream of the proposed coal remining site. The data shall be collected in a detailed water quality and quantity monitoring program which includes the requirements listed below and has been approved by the Department.

(b) Sampling points should be established at convenient locations as near to the source as possible. Sampling points shall be established through an on-site visit by the Maryland Department of the Environment permit writer and the applicant. In the event of disagreement concerning the location of the sample site, the final decision shall be made by the Department.

(c) When flows from preexisting multiple effluent discharges converge at convenient sampling points, composite sampling and analysis may be appropriate.

(d) Each sample shall be measured for flow (million gallons/day) and analyzed for the best professional judgement (BPJ) parameters of acidity (milligrams/liter), iron (milligrams/liter) and manganese (milligrams/liter). Iron and manganese concentrations shall be in terms of total metal concentrations.

(e) In addition to the BPJ parameters discussed above, the baseline sampling and analysis data shall include an analysis for parameters including pH, total suspended solids (milligrams/liter), alkalinity (milligrams/liter), specific conductance (millemhos/centimeter), and sulfates (milligrams/liter) for surface water.

(f) Sampling shall occur, at a minimum, over a 12-month period, with samples being taken monthly at regular intervals (for example, every first Monday, or the 15th of each month) from both the effluent discharge and in-stream sampling sites. The 12 sampling and analysis events shall constitute the minimum baseline sampling data.

(5) Common Treatment Facilities.

(a) If the applicant proposes to use common facilities to manage stormwater and remining flows, the applicant shall include in the applicant's application:

(i) The location of each common facility;

(ii) The source and volume of each discharge entering the common facility; and

(iii) Any other information the Department may require.

(b) The applicant may not use a common facility to manage remining and stormwater flows without the written consent of the Department.

C. Issuance of NPDES Coal Remining Permit.

(1) Prohibitions. The Department may not issue an NPDES permit for a coal remining activity unless:

(a) The applicant has applied for a coal remining permit from the Bureau of Mines;

(b) The coal remining operation is located on a site on which coal mining was conducted before August 3, 1977;

(c) The applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Department that the mining and reclamation procedures proposed for the site of the coal remining operation have the potential to improve water quality in the preexisting discharges based on a hydrologic reclamation plan and a probable hydrologic consequences statement;

(d) The Department determines, based on the proposed hydrologic reclamation plan, that the coal remining activity is not likely to cause discharges of pH, iron, or manganese which exceed the levels established as the baseline loading in the preexisting discharges at the site before the coal remining operation began; and

(e) The information provided in the application is adequate for the Department to make an informed final permit decision.

(2) Best Professional Judgement (BPJ) Limits for pH, Iron, and Manganese. When the Department issues an NPDES permit to discharge pollutants from a coal remining operation based upon the variance to State water quality standards described under COMAR 26.08.02, the water quality-based effluent limitations for pH, iron, and manganese shall be established on a case-by-case basis. Compliance with those effluent limitations constitutes compliance with those water quality criteria for pH, iron, and manganese set forth in COMAR 26.08.02.

(3) Best Professional Judgement Limits (BPJ) Derivation. The modified effluent limits shall be derived through a BPJ methodology developed by the Department.

(4) Permit Release Limit. This limit is derived by calculating the cumulative loading rate in tons/year of acidity, iron, and manganese from each concentration value and flow rate in the baseline data for the entire coal remining site. The cumulative loading rates for each parameter are summed and divided by the number of samples analyzed. This number is multiplied by 365 to establish the annual cumulative baseline loading rate for each parameter.

D. Monitoring.

(1) Monitoring at the coal remining operation may be discontinued after the sampling required by §B(4) of this regulation is completed. The monitoring shall begin again, in accordance with the NPDES coal remining permit, upon initiation of remining operations.

(2) During the coal remining operation, monitoring of the parameters established in §B(4)(d) of this regulation shall be conducted at least quarterly for the ambient in-stream stations.

(3) During the coal remining operation, monitoring for all effluent discharges shall be conducted at least monthly for pH, iron, manganese, acidity, and total suspended solids.

(4) The permittee shall submit the compliance monitoring data to the Department at least quarterly in the manner and form required by the Department.

E. Newly Discovered Discharges. An applicant with an existing coal remining operation seeking an NPDES permit modification from the Department under COMAR 26.08.04 to accommodate a newly discovered discharge shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Department that the applicant:

(1) Discovered discharges within the proposed coal remining area after the applicant's NPDES permit was issued; and

(2) Has not caused or contributed to the discharges.

F. Final Monitoring.

(1) Upon completion of the coal remining activity and before release from permit obligations, the permittee shall:

(a) Demonstrate that the annual cumulative baseline loading set forth in the NPDES permit has not been exceeded, and that the water quality discharged from the site has been improved; and

(b) Compile the water quality information into a final report which shall analyze the data and document any changes in water quality in the stream.

(2) The demonstration required in §F(1)(a) of this regulation shall be based on 1 year of monthly sampling and analyses of untreated discharge collected in the second year following the completion of reclamation and revegetation, and shall be calculated in accordance with §C(4) of this regulation.

(3) Failure to demonstrate that the water quality from the site has improved shall constitute a violation requiring corrective action.