W. Va. Code R. § 61-22-11

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 61-22-11 - Monitoring

11.1. General. A key element of the management strategy is the development of an anticipatory monitoring system to identify existing and emerging problems and to assess the success of the management plan.

11.1.a. The West Virginia Department of Agriculture in cooperation with Division of Natural Resources or other appropriate state agencies will design a comprehensive groundwater monitoring program with an EPA reviewed Quality Assurance Quality Control (QA/QC) Plan. This plan specifies field sampling procedures including purging, collection and tagging of samples; collection of field/trip blanks; shipping methodology; and chain of custody procedures.

11.1.b. Monitoring will include random monitoring of rural and public wells as well as repeated monitoring of a network of observation wells. Because of past, undocumented activities near domestic and public wells, it is often difficult to trace sources of pesticide and fertilizer contamination. For example, backsiphoning accidents can result in chemical detections many years after the incident. The use of observation wells installed for the sole purpose of groundwater monitoring eliminates some of the interpretation uncertainties inevitable with existing wells.

11.1.c. Existing wells included in the network must meet the following criteria: wells should have sufficient construction information to evaluate the structural integrity of the well; surface protection such as a well house or concrete slab, must be adequate to prevent contaminants from entering the well via the land surface; preference should be given to shallow wells (50 feet in total depth), with a few additional wells of the same depth but upgraded for comparison; such wells must not be hand dug and must be accessible for investigation and sample collection, including physical accessibility and a water collection point prior to any treatment system. In addition, wells considered favorable for sampling will not have had pesticides or fertilizers stored, mixed, spilled, or disposed of within 500 feet of the wellhead. Questionable or unofficial data will be used to assist voluntary programs. Mandatory programs will only be initiated upon the obtainment of verifiable official data.

11.1.d. The monitoring well network will be more heavily concentrated in areas that have been identified as vulnerable to potential contamination. Localities considered for observation well installation will be those areas with either confirmed or potential groundwater contamination problems; areas which have had pesticides or fertilizers known to be more subject to leaching applied in large quantities; areas known to contain excessive amounts of nitrate in the soil profile and/or groundwater; those areas which may be sensitive to groundwater pollution due to soil types and/or depth to the water table; or areas where past practices may have caused groundwater quality problems.

11.2. Laboratory Analysis

11.2.a. A qualified laboratory will conduct pesticide and fertilizer analyses using standard EPA approved methods and good laboratory practices (GLP's) and operating under their QA/QC laboratory plan. Water samples determined to contain pesticides or fertilizers will be confirmed by split and repeat analysis. Wells with confirmed analysis will be resampled over time to determine if the sample was contaminated during collection, shipping or analysis and to determine concentration trends.

11.3. Site Investigations

11.3.a. Accurate diagnosis of the causes of well contamination is essential to applying appropriate solutions. To aid in the evaluation of data and to identify problems practices and effective BMP's, a survey will be conducted at each sampling site. Wells with pesticide and fertilizer detections confirmed by repeated sampling over time, will receive a thorough follow-up investigation to determine potential causes of contamination, with particular emphasis on distinguishing point source causes of contamination from nonpoint source causes.

11.3.b. Depth and type of well construction and any construction or maintenance deficiencies will be noted, including the potential for surface or shallow groundwater to enter the well. Potential point sources of contamination such as pesticide and fertilizer, storage mixing sites, spills and disposal will be noted. Crops grown within a quarter-mile radius in present and preceding years, pesticide and fertilizer use, application methods and rates will be determined. Specific practices will be noted such as terracing, contour tillage and planting, type of tillage practice and irrigation/chemigation practices.

11.3.c. Geographic and topographic conditions around the well and well use will be noted. The survey will include an inventory of potential contaminate sources within 500 feet of the well such a septic systems, livestock feedlots, landfills, underground storage tanks, golf courses, pesticide and fertilizer storage, tail water holding ponds, irrigation canals and ditches and location of spills. Within one-half mile of the well, locations of chemical plants and/or storage facilities, airports or landing strips, military bases, mines and lakes will be noted.

11.4. Monitoring Data Base

11.4.a. All monitoring data collected by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture in addition to all monitoring data collected by other agencies will be entered into a central data base. Analysis of these data with respect to health-based water standards and concentration trends over time will be used to trigger voluntary or mandatory management changes. These data will also be used to evaluate predictive models. While predictive models may be used to trigger first tier, voluntary BMP's for chemicals of concern, models will not be used to initiate regulatory restrictions.

11.4.b. Monitoring data from the observation wells in vulnerable areas will be used to assess the effectiveness of voluntary and mandatory BMP's and to determine if modifications in BMP's are necessary.

W. Va. Code R. § 61-22-11