N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 6 §§ 373-3.13

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024

Section 373-3.13 - Land treatment

(a)Applicability.

The regulations in this section apply to owners and operators of facilities that treat or dispose of hazardous waste in land treatment units, except as section 373-3.1(a) of this Subpart provides otherwise.

(b)General operating requirements.

(1) Hazardous waste must not be placed in or on a land treatment facility unless the waste can be made nonhazardous by biological degradation or chemical reactions occurring in or on the soil.

(2) The owner or operator must design, construct, operate and maintain a run-on control system capable of preventing flow onto the active portions of the facility during peak discharge from at least a 25-year storm.

(3) The owner or operator must design, construct, operate and maintain a runoff management system capable of collecting and controlling a water volume at least equivalent to a 24-hour, 25-year storm.

(4) Collection and holding facilities (e.g., tanks or basins) associated with run-on and runoff control systems must be emptied or otherwise managed expeditiously after storms to maintain the design capacity of the system.

(5) If the treatment zone contains particulate matter which may be subject to wind dispersal, the owner or operator must manage the unit to control wind dispersal.

(c)Waste analysis.

In addition to the waste analyses required by section 373-3.2(d) of this Subpart, before placing a hazardous waste in or on a land treatment facility, the owner or operator must:

(1) determine the concentrations in the waste of any substances which equal or exceed the maximum concentrations contained in Table 1 of section 371.3(e) of this Title that cause a waste to exhibit the toxicity characteristic;

(2) for any waste listed in section 371.4 of this Title, determine the concentrations of any substances which caused the waste to be listed as a hazardous waste; and

(3) if food-chain crops are grown, determine the concentrations in the waste of each of the following constituents-arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury-unless the owner or operator has written, documented data that show that the constituent is not present.

Note:

Part 371 of this Title specifies the substances for which a waste is listed as a hazardous waste. As required by subdivision 373-3.2(d) of this Subpart, the waste analysis plan must include analyses needed to comply with subdivisions (h) and (i) of this section. As required by section 373-3.5(c) of this Subpart, the owner or operator must place the results from each waste analysis, or the documented information, in the operating record of the facility.

(d)Food-chain crops and agricultural land.

(1) No land treatment facility shall be located on agricultural soil groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 (Land Classification System, as certified by the commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Markets).

(2) No food-chain crops may be grown on any facility that is or has been used as a land treatment facility for hazardous wastes.

(3) Any person receiving a permit to operate a land treatment facility for hazardous waste shall, as a condition of such permit, place or cause to be placed a restrictive covenant, which shall run with the land in the deed or deeds to all real property subject to the permit, which prohibits the use of such real property for the growing of food chain crops.

(e)Unsaturated zone (zone of aeration) monitoring.

(1) The owner or operator must have in writing, and must implement, an unsaturated zone monitoring plan which is designed to:

(i) detect the vertical migration of hazardous waste and hazardous waste constituents under the active portion of the land treatment facility; and

(ii) provide information on the background concentrations of the hazardous waste and hazardous waste constituents in similar but untreated soils nearby; this background monitoring must be conducted before or in conjunction with the monitoring required under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.

(2) The unsaturated zone monitoring plan must include, at a minimum:

(i) soil monitoring using soil cores; and

(ii) soil-pore water monitoring using devices such as lysimeters.

(3) To comply with subparagraph (1)(i) of this subdivision, the owner or operator must demonstrate, in the unsaturated zone monitoring plan, that:

(i) the depth at which soil and soil-pore water samples are to be taken is below the depth to which the waste is incorporated into the soil;

(ii) the number of soil and soil-pore water samples to be taken is based on the variability of:

(a) the hazardous waste constituents (as identified in paragraphs [c][1] and [2] of this section) in the waste and in the soil; and

(b) the soil type(s); and

(iii) the frequency and timing of soil and soil-pore water sampling is based on the frequency, time and rate of waste application, proximity to ground water and soil permeability.

(4) The owner or operator must keep at the facility the unsaturated zone monitoring plan, and the rationale used in developing this plan.

(5) The owner or operator must analyze the soil and soil-pore water samples for the hazardous waste constituents that were found in the waste during the waste analysis under paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this section.

Note:

As required by section 373-3.5(c) of this Subpart, all data and information developed by the owner or operator under this section must be placed in the operating record of the facility.

(f)Recordkeeping.

The owner or operator must include hazardous waste application dates and rates in the operating record required under section 373-3.5(c) of this Subpart.

(g)Closure and post-closure.

(1) In the closure plan under section 373-3.7(c) of this Subpart and the post-closure plan under section 373-3.7(h) of this Subpart, the owner or operator must address the following objectives and indicate how they will be achieved:

(i) control of the migration of hazardous waste and hazardous waste constituents from the treated area into the ground water;

(ii) control of the release of contaminated runoff from the facility into surface water;

(iii) control of the release of airborne particulate contaminants caused by wind erosion; and

(iv) compliance with subdivision (d) of this section concerning the growth of food-chain crops.

(2) The owner or operator must consider at least the following factors in addressing the closure and post-closure care objectives of paragraph (1) of this subdivision:

(i) type and amount of hazardous waste and hazardous waste constituents applied to the land treatment facility;

(ii) the mobility and the expected rate of migration of the hazardous waste and hazardous waste constituents;

(iii) site location, topography, and surrounding land use with respect to the potential effects of pollutant migration (e.g., proximity to ground water, surface water and drinking water sources);

(iv) climate, including amount, frequency and pH of precipitation;

(v) geological and soil profiles and surface and subsurface hydrology of the site, and soil characteristics, including cation exchange capacity, total organic carbon, and pH;

(vi) unsaturated zone monitoring information obtained under subdivision (e) of this section; and

(vii) type, concentration and depth of migration of hazardous waste constituents in the soil as compared to their background concentrations.

(3) The owner or operator must consider at least the following methods in addressing the closure and post-closure care objectives of paragraph (1) of this subdivision:

(i) removal of contaminated soils;

(ii) placement of a final cover, considering:

(a) functions of the cover (e.g., infiltration control, erosion and runoff control, and wind erosion control); and

(b) characteristics of the cover, including material, final surface contours, thickness, porosity and permeability, slope, length of run of slope, and type of vegetation on the cover; and

(iii) monitoring of ground water.

(4) In addition to the requirements of section 373-3.7 of this Subpart, during the closure period the owner or operator of a land treatment facility must:

(i) continue unsaturated zone monitoring in a manner and frequency specified in the closure plan, except that soil-pore liquid monitoring may be terminated 90 days after the last application of waste to the treatment zone;

(ii) maintain the run-on control system required under paragraph (b)(2) of this section;

(iii) maintain the runoff management system required under paragraph (b)(3) of this section; and

(iv) control wind dispersal of particulate matter which may be subject to wind dispersal.

(5) For the purpose of complying with section 373-3.7(f) of this Subpart, when closure is completed, the owner or operator may submit to the commissioner certification, both by the owner or operator and by an independent qualified soil scientist, in lieu of an independent registered professional engineer, that the facility has been closed in accordance with the specifications in the approved closure plan.

(6) In addition to the requirements of section 373-3.7(g) of this Subpart, during the post- closure care period the owner or operator of a land treatment unit must:

(i) continue soil-pore monitoring by collecting and analyzing samples in a manner and frequency specified in the post-closure plan;

(ii) restrict access to the unit as appropriate for its post-closure use;

(iii) assure that growth of food-chain crops complies with subdivision (d) of this section; and

(iv) control wind dispersal of hazardous waste.

(h)Special requirements for ignitable or reactive waste.

Ignitable or reactive waste must not be land-treated unless the waste and treatment zone meet all applicable requirements of Part 376 of this Title, and:

(1) the waste is immediately incorporated into the soil so that:

(i) the resulting waste, mixture or dissolution of material no longer meets the definition of ignitable or reactive waste under section 371.3(b) or (d) of this Title; and

(ii) section 373-3.2(h)(2) of this Subpart is complied with; or

(2) the waste is managed in such a way that it is protected from any material or conditions which may cause it to ignite or react.

(i)Special requirements for incompatible wastes.

Incompatible wastes, or incompatible wastes and materials (see Appendix 29, of this Title for examples), must not be placed in the same land treatment area, unless section 373-3.2(h)(2) of this Subpart is complied with.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 6 §§ 373-3.13

Amended New York State Register March 4, 2020/Volume XLII, Issue 09, eff. 4/18/2020