Sec. 26.13.05.06. Ground Water Protection — General

A. Applicability.

(1) Except as provided in §A(3) of this regulation, Regulations .06-.06-7 of this chapter apply to owners or operators of facilities that treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste. The owner or operator shall satisfy the requirements identified in §A(2) of this regulation for all wastes or their constituents, contained in solid waste management units at the facility, regardless of the time at which waste was placed in those units.

(2) Owners or operators shall ensure that:

(a) Solid waste management units comply with the requirements of Regulation .06-7 of this chapter;

(b) A surface impoundment, waste pile, and land treatment unit or landfill that receives a hazardous waste after July 26, 1982, referred to after this as a "regulated unit", complies with the requirements of §B of this regulation and Regulations .06-1-.06-6 of this chapter instead of Regulation .06-7 of this chapter for purposes of detecting, characterizing, and responding to releases to the uppermost aquifer;

(c) Regulated units are operated in compliance with the financial responsibility requirements of Regulation .06-7 of this chapter.

(3) The owner or operator's regulated unit or units are not subject to regulation for releases into the uppermost aquifer under this regulation if one of the following apply:

(a) The owner or operator is exempted under Regulation .01 of this chapter.

(b) The owner or operator operates a unit which the Secretary finds:

(i) Is an engineered structure;

(ii) Does not receive or contain liquid waste or waste containing free liquids;

(iii) Is designed and operated to exclude liquid, precipitation, and other run-on and run-off;

(iv) Has both inner and outer layers of containment enclosing the waste;

(v) Has a leak detection system built into each containment layer;

(vi) Will have continuing operation and maintenance of these leak detection systems during the active life of the unit and the closure and post-closure care periods; and

(vii) To a reasonable degree of certainty, does not allow hazardous constituents to migrate beyond the outer containment layer before the end of the post-closure care period.

(c) The Secretary finds, under Regulation .13K of this chapter, that the treatment zone of a land treatment unit that qualifies as a regulated unit does not contain levels of hazardous constituents that are above background levels of those constituents by an amount that is statistically significant, and if an unsaturated zone monitoring program meeting the requirements of Regulation .13I of this chapter has not shown a statistically significant increase in hazardous constituents below the treatment zone during the operating life of the unit. An exemption under this paragraph can only relieve an owner or operator of responsibility to meet the requirements of this regulation during the post-closure care period.

(d) The owner or operator demonstrates to the Secretary's satisfaction that there is no potential for migration of liquid from a regulated unit to the uppermost aquifer during the active life of the regulated unit, including the closure period, and the post-closure care specified under Regulation .07G of this chapter. The owner or operator shall have this demonstration certified by a qualified geologist or geotechnical engineer. In order to provide an adequate margin of safety in the prediction of potential migration of liquid, the owner or operator shall base any predictions made under this paragraph on assumptions that maximize the rate of liquid migration.

(e) The owner or operator designs and operates a waste pile in compliance with Regulation .12A of this chapter.

(4) Requirements for Disposal Units that Received Last Volume of Waste before July 26, 1982.

(a) An owner or operator of a hazardous waste landfill, land treatment facility, surface impoundment, or waste pile who received the last volume of hazardous waste before July 26, 1982, shall comply with all applicable requirements of COMAR 26.13.06.06-.15, and .19-.22.

(b) The Department may add additional requirements under this regulation if the Secretary determines that these requirements are necessary to protect public health and the environment.

(5) This regulation and Regulations .06-1-.06-7 of this chapter may apply to miscellaneous units when necessary to comply with Regulation .16-1B-D of this chapter.

(6) This regulation and Regulations .06-1-.06-7 of this chapter apply during the:

(a) Active life of the regulated unit, including the closure period;

(b) Post-closure care period under Regulation .07G of this chapter if the owner or operator is conducting a detection monitoring program under Regulation .06-4 of this chapter; and

(c) Compliance period under Regulation .06-1E of this chapter if the owner or operator is conducting a compliance monitoring program under Regulation .06-5 of this chapter or a corrective action program under Regulation .06-6 of this chapter.

(7) This regulation and Regulations .06-1-.06-7 of this chapter do not apply if all waste, waste residues, contaminated containment system components, and contaminated subsoils are removed or decontaminated at closure.

B. Required Program.

(1) Compliance Monitoring, Corrective Action, and Detection Monitoring.

(a) Compliance Monitoring.

(i) The owner or operator shall institute a compliance monitoring program approved by the Secretary under Regulation .06-5 of this chapter whenever hazardous constituents from a regulated unit are detected at the compliance point.

(ii) The hazardous constituents to which §B(1)(a)(i) of this regulation applies are determined under Regulation .06-1B of this chapter.

(iii) The compliance point is set under Regulation .06-1D of this chapter.

(iv) Hazardous constituents are considered to have been detected if there is statistically significant evidence of contamination as described in Regulation .06-4G of this chapter.

(b) Corrective Action.

(i) The owner or operator shall institute a corrective action program approved by the Secretary under Regulation .06-6 of this chapter whenever the ground water protection standard under Regulation .06-1A of this chapter is exceeded. The ground water protection standard is considered to have been exceeded if there is statistically significant evidence of contamination as described in Regulation .06-5A(5) of this chapter.

(ii) The owner or operator shall institute a corrective action program approved by the Secretary under Regulation .06-6 of this chapter whenever hazardous constituents from a regulated unit exceed concentration limits in ground water between the compliance point and the down gradient property boundary. The compliance point is set under Regulation .06-1D of this chapter. Concentration limits are established under Regulation .06-1C of this chapter. The hazardous constituents to which this requirement applies are established under Regulation .06-1B of this chapter.

(c) Detection Monitoring. In all cases other than those covered by §B(1)(a) or (b) of this regulation, the owner or operator shall institute a detection monitoring program approved by the Secretary under Regulation .06-4 of this chapter.

(2) Monitoring and Response Program.

(a) The owner or operator of a facility subject to this regulation shall comply with the specific elements of the monitoring and response program specified by the Secretary in the facility permit.

(b) The Secretary may include one or more of the programs identified in §B(1) of this regulation in the facility permit as may be necessary to protect human health and the environment and will specify the circumstances under which each of the programs will be required. In deciding whether to require the owner or operator to be prepared to institute a particular program, the Secretary shall consider the potential adverse effects on human health and the environment that might occur before final administrative action on a permit modification application to incorporate such a program could be taken.