06- 096 C.M.R. ch. 700, § 4

Current through 2024-51, December 18, 2024

Section 096-700-4 - Prohibition on facilities in sand and gravel aquifers

A person may not install or cause to be installed a facility within a significant sand and gravel aquifer (herein "aquifer") mapped by the Maine Geological Survey. This prohibition applies regardless of proximity to a public or private drinking water well.

NOTE: Significant Sand and Gravel Aquifer maps are available for inspection in most municipal offices and from the Maine Geological Survey, (207) 287-2801. Electronic versions are available from the Maine Office of Geographic Information Systems, http://megis.maine.gov.

A.Exceptions. The prohibition of this section does not apply to:

(1) A facility in existence on September 30, 2008;

(2)The replacement or expansion of a facility in existence on September 30, 2008 as long as the replacement or expansion occurs on the same property and the facility meets all applicable requirements law.

B.Variance for incorrectly mapped aquifer

(1) The Board may grant a variance for a commercial hazardous waste facility to the prohibition of this section if the Board determines during the processing of the license application under Chapter 856 that granting such variance is consistent with the intent of 38 M.R.S.A. §1391.

(2) The commissioner may grant a variance to the prohibition of this section for any other proposed facility under section 2(M), above, if:

(a) The applicant submits a site-specific hydrogeological investigation demonstrating to the commissioner's satisfaction that the proposed facility site does not overlie an aquifer mapped by the Maine Geological Survey; and

(b) The municipality in which the facility is to be located is required to issue a permit for an automobile graveyard or automobile recycling business to the facility pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A. §3753 and has acknowledged the incorrectly mapped aquifer.

C.Variance for potentially low use or polluted aquifers

The commissioner may grant a variance to the prohibition of this section for any proposed facility under section 2(M)(1) through (4) above, if the commissioner finds that the aquifer has a low potential for future use as a public or private drinking water supply because at least one of the following circumstances apply:

(1) A public water system serves all water users within 1000 feet up gradient and 2000 feet down gradient of the proposed facility site, and the site is in an urban area or an area made up of dense commercial land uses, industrial land uses or dense residential development not served by public sewer;

(2) The installation of drinking water supply wells within 1000 feet up gradient or within 2000 feet down gradient is prohibited by property deed restrictions, municipal land use ordinance or a zoning rule of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC);

(3) The applicant has submitted hydrogeological studies or groundwater quality testing data demonstrating to the commissioner's satisfaction that:

(a) The aquifer is polluted with one or more man-made contaminants in concentrations exceeding federal maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) or an MCL or maximum exposure guideline (MEG) established by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention; and

(b) The aquifer has not been and is not now the subject of a commissioner-supervised remediation effort with the goal of the eventual restoration of or the protection of ground water in the aquifer to a quality suitable for human consumption; or

(4) The applicant has submitted other documentation demonstrating to the commissioner's satisfaction that the aquifer is unsuitable or unavailable as a future public or private drinking water resource.

The Commissioner may not grant a variance for an automobile graveyard or automobile recycling business to the prohibition of this section in a location that is prohibited pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A. §3753.

D.Variance for moderate yield aquifers

(2) The commissioner may grant a variance for any other proposed facility under section 2(M), above to the prohibition of this section if the applicant demonstrates to the commissioner's satisfaction that:

(a) The aquifer does not have a high potential as a future drinking water resource as defined in subsection E of this section; and

(b) The facility will be designed and installed to include a combination of engineering and monitoring measures that collectively are more stringent than State or federal requirements and that are determined by the commissioner to further reduce the risk of oil and hazardous waste discharges and the likelihood of future ground water contamination.

NOTE: The following are examples of combinations of additional facility design and monitoring measures that could support a variance for applicable facilities.

For automobile graveyards, automobile recycling businesses, and automobile body shops or other commercial automobile maintenance and repair facilities:

(a) Floor and berm sealed with a coating impervious to spilled oil and hazardous materials, such as an epoxy coated floor. Floor must be compatible with materials handled;

(b) Signed maintenance contract for floor. Inspection and repair to occur at least once every 3 years;

(c) 4" berm around perimeter of work area in building;

(d) 4" berm around storage area for hazardous materials and hazardous waste (4" berm to separate storage area from work area.) or secondary containment of hazardous materials and waste

(Examples of secondary containment for hazardous materials and waste include fire rated storage cabinets with built in sumps, containment pallets for 55 gallon drums, etc.);

(e) No floor drains;

(f) Plan review. Plan to include drawing showing containment berm or list of secondary containment items;

(g) All handling of fluids to occur inside building;

(h) All storage of fluids drained from automobile to occur inside building;

(i) All storage of hazardous materials and hazardous wastes to occur inside building;

(j) All disassembly of vehicles to occur inside building; and

(k) Paint fume hood to exhaust vertically and through a roof. For dry cleaning facilities that use perchloroethylene:

(a) Floor and berm sealed with a coating impervious to spilled oil and hazardous materials, such as an epoxy coated floor. Floor must be compatible with materials handled;

(b) Signed maintenance contract for floor. Inspection and repair to occur at least once every 3 years;

(c) No floor drains;

(d) Dry cleaning process to be a closed loop system; and

(e) Secondary containment for hazardous materials and waste such as fire rated storage cabinets with built in sumps, containment pallets for 55 gallon drums, etc. For metal finishing or plating facilities:

(a) Floor and berm sealed with a coating impervious to spilled oil and hazardous materials, such as an epoxy coated floor. Floor must be compatible with materials handled;

(b) 4" berm around perimeter of work area in building;

(c) Signed maintenance contract for floor. Inspection and repair to occur at least once every 3 years;

(d) No floor drains; and

(e) Plan review. Plan to include drawing of storage areas and/or list of secondary containment items;

The commissioner may not grant a variance for an automobile graveyard or automobile recycling business to the prohibition of this section in a location that is prohibited under 30-A M.R.S.A. §3753.

E.High potential aquifers; variance prohibited. Notwithstanding Section 4(B), the commissioner shall not grant a variance from the prohibition of this section if any part of a proposed facility overlies a mapped aquifer that has high potential as a future public drinking water resource. A high potential aquifer is any part of a mapped aquifer that has a good to excellent potential ground water yield, generally exceeding 50 gallons per minute, and good water quality. High potential aquifers include:

(1) Any area designated on a Maine Geological Survey "Significant Sand and Gravel Aquifer Map" as a surficial deposit generally with yields greater than 50 gallons per minute;

(2) An aquifer or ground water resource protection zone as designated in a municipal ordinance or a LURC zoning rule;

(3) The source water or recharge area of a community public drinking water system supply well, including a well that is in the process of being developed, or areas within 1000 feet of such a well, whichever is greater, provided the aquifer has been found to yield more than 50 gallons per minute, based on hydrogeological pump test data and analysis by a Maine-certified geologist; or

(4) A portion of a mapped aquifer that, based on a borehole test conducted in the center of a proposed facility site and in accordance with Appendix A of this rule, is expected to yield more than 50 gallons per minute.

NOTE: If an applicant believes that a high potential aquifer, as listed above, has been incorrectly mapped or identified, the applicant should engage the entities responsible for that mapping or identification regarding appropriate changes.

06- 096 C.M.R. ch. 700, § 4