All facilities required to institute monitoring shall meet the standards described in this section.
(a) Collection and management of samples : Groundwater, soil, and decomposition gas samples shall be collected and managed in accordance with department guidance or equivalent methods approved by the administrator.
(b) Groundwater : - (i) Well placement: All facilities required to install monitoring wells shall place them in accordance with the department's requirements. Following initial placement of the wells, the operator shall confirm that the wells are capable of measuring groundwater quality that is representative of conditions hydraulically upgradient and downgradient of the solid waste disposal facility;
- (ii) Well design, construction/installation and abandonment: All wells shall be designed, constructed and installed in accordance with the Water Quality Division Chapter 11 requirements. All abandoned monitoring wells shall be plugged and sealed in accordance with the Water Quality Division Chapter 11 requirements;
- (iii) Permits required: Prior to well installation, the monitoring well design, construction and location specifications shall be approved by the administrator. A construction permit under Chapter 3 of the Water Quality Division rules and regulations is not required. All monitoring wells shall be permitted by the Wyoming State Engineer's Office;
- (iv) Analyses:
- (A) Baseline monitoring: The initial samples acquired in a monitoring program shall be analyzed for pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Ammonia as N, Nitrate as N, Bicarbonate, Carbonate, Chloride, Fluoride, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, Sulfate, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Nickel, Zinc, Arsenic, Barium, Cadmium, Chromium, Cyanide, Lead, Mercury, Selenium, and Silver. Water temperature, specific conductance, pH, and static water level measurements shall also be taken in the field during each monitoring event. The length of this initial monitoring period shall not exceed one (1) year; samples acquired during this period shall be taken at least quarterly;
- (B) Detection monitoring: Following the initial baseline monitoring period, the administrator may specify a reduced set of sampling parameters to be analyzed at least semi-annually. The reduced set of parameters shall include, at a minimum: Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Chlorides, Ammonia (as N), Iron, Hardness, and Total Organic Carbon (TOC). Water temperature, specific conductance, pH, and static water level measurements shall also be taken in the field during each monitoring event;
- (C) Assessment monitoring: Should groundwater monitoring data indicate that the facility is impacting groundwater quality, additional wells, a revised set of sampling parameters and revised sampling schedule may be required by the administrator to define the nature and extent of contamination;
- (D) The administrator may specify alternative or additional water quality parameters for analyses, including organic chemical constituents, based on its review of the wastes likely to be disposed at any specific solid waste disposal facility.
- (v) Corrective actions: Whenever there is a release of contamination which adversely impacts groundwater quality, the operator shall institute corrective actions approved by the administrator;
- (vi) If designated by the administrator, operators of facilities which have three (3) or more groundwater wells designated for monitoring potential impacts from the facility may be required to submit groundwater monitoring data on magnetic media or electronically transmitted files in the computer spreadsheet format which is specified by the administrator. Alternatively, these operators may submit hard copies of these data in tabular format which is approved by the administrator in order to facilitate electronic scanning by the department.
(c) Air : Air monitoring, if required, shall be conducted in accord with Air Quality Division regulations.
(d) Soil core : Soil core monitoring, if required, shall be conducted in accord with a plan approved by the administrator.
(e) Vadose zone : Vadose zone monitoring, if required, shall be conducted in accord with a plan approved by the administrator.
(f) Interpretation and statistical analysis of monitoring data : On an annual basis the operator shall supply the administrator with copies of all required environmental monitoring data and an interpretation of the data. The administrator may require the operator to present monitoring data in a graphical format (charts and/or maps), in addition to tabular format. Any statistical analysis of monitoring data shall be done in accord with methods approved by the administrator.