N.J. Admin. Code § 7:14A-9.5

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 7:14A-9.5 - Ground water monitoring program requirements for sanitary landfills

(a) The ground water monitoring program shall include sampling and analysis procedures that are designed to ensure monitoring results that provide an accurate representation of ground water quality at the background and downgradient wells installed in compliance with 7:14A-9.3(a). The owner or operator shall notify the Department, pursuant to the NJPDES permit, that the sampling and analysis program documentation has been placed in the operating record and the program shall include procedures and techniques for:

1. Sample collection;

2. Sample preservation and shipment;

3. Analytical procedures;

4. Chain of custody control; and

5. Quality assurance and quality control.

(b) The ground water monitoring program shall include sampling and analytical methods that are appropriate for ground water sampling and that accurately measure hazardous constituents and other monitoring parameters in ground water samples. Ground water samples shall not be field filtered prior to laboratory analysis.

(c) The sampling procedures and frequency shall be protective of human health and the environment.

(d) Ground water elevations shall be measured in each well immediately prior to purging, each time ground water is sampled. The owner or operator shall determine the rate and direction of ground water flow each time ground water is sampled Ground water elevations in wells which monitor the same area shall be measured within a period of time short enough to avoid temporal variations in ground water flow which could preclude accurate determination of ground water flow rate and direction.

(e) The owner or operator shall establish background ground water quality in a hydraulically upgradient or background well(s) for each of the monitoring parameters or constituents required in the particular ground water monitoring program that applies to the sanitary landfill, as determined pursuant to 7:14A-9.7(a) or 9.8(a). Background ground water quality may be established at wells that are not located hydraulically upgradient from the sanitary landfill if it meets the requirements of 7:14A-9.3(a)1.

(f) The number of samples collected to establish ground water quality data shall be consistent with the appropriate statistical procedures determined pursuant to (g) below. The sampling procedures shall be those specified under 7:14A-9.7(b) for detection monitoring, 7:14A-9.8(b) and (d) for assessment monitoring, and 7:14A-9.9(b) for corrective measures.

(g) The owner or operator shall specify in the records maintained by the facility one of the following statistical methods to be used in evaluating ground water monitoring data for each hazardous constituent. The statistical test shall be conducted separately for each hazardous constituent in each well. Guidance for selecting and conducting the appropriate tests, and for evaluating the results of the tests is described in detail in Statistical Analysis of Ground Water Monitoring Data At RCRA Facilities--Interim Final Guidance Document, 4/89 (NTIS #PB 89-151-047. EPA/530-SW-89-026).

1. A parametric analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by multiple comparison procedures to identify statistically significant evidence of contamination. The method shall include estimation and testing of the contrasts between the mean and the background mean levels for each compliance well for each constituent;

2. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) based on ranks followed by multiple comparisons procedures to identify statistically significant evidence of contamination. The method shall include estimation and testing of the contrasts between each compliance well's median and the background median levels for each compliance well for each constituent;

3. A tolerance or prediction interval procedure in which an interval for each constituent is established from the distribution of the background data, and the level of each constituent in each compliance well is compared to the upper tolerance or prediction limit;

4. A control chart approach that gives control limits for each constituent; or

5. Another statistical test method that meets the performance standards of (h) below. The owner or operator shall place a justification for this alternative in the records maintained by the facility and notify the Department, pursuant to the NJPDES permit, of the use of this alternative test. The justification shall demonstrate that the alternative method meets the performance standards of (h) below.

(h) Any statistical method chosen pursuant to (g) above shall comply with the following performance standards, as appropriate:

1. The statistical method used to evaluate ground water monitoring data shall be appropriate for the distribution of chemical parameters or hazardous constituents. If the distribution of the chemical parameters or hazardous constituents is shown by the owner or operator to be inappropriate for a normal theory test, then the data must be transformed or a distribution free theory test must be used. If the distributions for the constituents differ, more than one statistical method shall be needed.

2. If an individual well comparison procedure is used to compare an individual compliance well constituent concentration with background constituent concentrations or a ground water protection standard, the test shall be done at a type I error level no less than 0.01 for each testing period. If a multiple comparisons procedure is used the type I experiment wise error rate for each testing period shall be no less than 0.05. However, the type I error of no less than 0.01 for individual well comparison shall be maintained. The performance standard does not apply to tolerance intervals, prediction intervals or control charts.

3. If a control chart approach is used to evaluate ground water monitoring data, the specific type of control chart and its associated parameter values shall be protective of human health and the environment. The parameters shall be determined after considering the number of samples in the background data base, the data distribution, and the range of the concentration values for each constituent of concern.

4. If a tolerance interval or a prediction interval is used to evaluate ground water monitoring data, the levels of confidence and, for tolerance intervals, the percentage of the population that the interval shall contain shall be protective of human health and the environment. These parameters shall be determined after considering the number of samples in the background data base, the data distribution, and the range of the concentration values for each constituent of concern.

5. The statistical method shall account for data below the limit of detection with one or more statistical procedures that are protective of human health and the environment. Any practical quantitation limit (PQL) that is used in the statistical method shall be the lowest concentration level that can be reliably achieved within specified limits of precision and accuracy during routine laboratory operating conditions that are available to the facility.

6. If necessary, the statistical method shall include procedures to control or correct for seasonal and spatial variability as well as temporal correlation in the data.

(i) The owner or operator shall determine whether or not there is a statistically significant increase over background values for each parameter or constituent required in the particular ground water monitoring program that applies to the sanitary landfill, as determined under 7:14A-9.7(a) or 9.8(a).

1. In determining whether a statistically significant increase has occurred, the owner or operator shall compare the ground water quality of each parameter or constituent at each monitoring well designated pursuant to 7:14A-9.3(a)2 to the background value of that constituent, according to the statistical procedures and performance standards specified at (g) and (h) above.

2. Within a reasonable period of time after completing sampling and analysis, not to exceed 90 days unless otherwise approved by the Department in writing, the owner or operator shall determine whether there has been a statistically significant increase over background at each monitoring well.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:14A-9.5