Section 33-24-05-552 - Corrective action management unit (CAMU)1. To implement remedies under section 33-24-05-58 or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act section 3008(h), or to implement remedies at a permitted facility that is not subject to section 33-24-05-58, the department may designate an area at the facility as a corrective action management unit under the requirements in this section. Corrective action management unit means an area within a facility that is used only for managing corrective action management unit-eligible wastes for implementing corrective action or cleanup at the facility. A corrective action management unit must be located within the contiguous property under the control of the owner or operator where the wastes to be managed in the corrective action management unit originated. One or more corrective action management units may be designated at a facility. a. Corrective action management unit-eligible waste means:(1) All solid and hazardous wastes, and all media (including ground water, surface water, soils, and sediments) and debris, that are managed for implementing cleanup. As-generated wastes (either hazardous or nonhazardous) from ongoing industrial operations at a site are not corrective action management unit-eligible wastes.(2) Wastes that would otherwise meet the description in paragraph 1 are not "corrective action management unit-eligible wastes" where:(a) The wastes are hazardous wastes found during cleanup in intact or substantially intact containers, tanks, or other nonland-based units found aboveground, unless the wastes are first placed in the tanks, containers, or nonland-based units as part of cleanup, or the containers or tanks are excavated during the course of cleanup; or(b) The department exercises the discretion in subdivision b to prohibit the wastes from management in a corrective action management unit.(3) Notwithstanding paragraph 1, where appropriate, as-generated nonhazardous waste may be placed in a corrective action management unit where such waste is being used to facilitate treatment or the performance of the corrective action management unit.b. The department may prohibit, where appropriate, the placement of waste in a corrective action management unit where the department has or receives information that such wastes have not been managed in compliance with applicable land disposal treatment standards of sections 33-24-05-250 through 33-24-05-299, or applicable unit design requirements of sections 33-24-05-01 through 33-24-05-190, 33-24-05-300 through 33-24-05-524, 33-24-05-550 through 33-24-05-559, and 33-24-05-800 through 33-24-05-819, or applicable unit design requirements under subsection 5 of section 33-24-06-16, or that noncompliance with other applicable requirements of 33-24 likely contributed to the release of the waste.c. Prohibition against placing liquids in corrective action management units. (1) The placement of bulk or noncontainerized liquid hazardous waste or free liquids contained in hazardous waste (whether or not sorbents have been added) in any corrective action management unit is prohibited except where placement of such wastes facilitates the remedy selected for the waste.(2) The requirements in subsection 3 of section 33-24-05-183 for placement of containers holding free liquids in landfills apply to placement in a corrective action management unit except where placement facilitates the remedy selected for the waste.(3) The placement of any liquid which is not a hazardous waste in a corrective action management unit is prohibited unless such placement facilitates the remedy selected for the waste or a demonstration is made pursuant to subsection 5 of section 33-24-05-183.(4) The absence or presence of free liquids in either a containerized or a bulk waste must be determined in accordance with subsection 2 of section 33-24-05-183. Sorbents used to treat free liquids in corrective action management units must meet the requirements of subsection 4 of section 33-24-05-183.d. Placement of corrective action management unit-eligible wastes into or within a corrective action management unit does not constitute land disposal of hazardous wastes.e. Consolidation or placement of corrective action management unit-eligible wastes into or within a corrective action management unit does not constitute creation of a unit subject to minimum technology requirements.2. Requirements for regulated units. a. The department may designate a regulated unit (as defined in subdivision b of subsection 1 of section 33-24-05-47) as a corrective action management unit, or may incorporate a regulated unit into a corrective action management unit, if:(1) The regulated unit is closed or closing, meaning it has begun the closure process under section 33-24-05-62 or applicable requirements of subsection 5 of section 33-24-06-16; and(2) Inclusion of the regulated unit will enhance implementation of effective, protective, and reliable remedial actions for the facility.b. The requirements of sections 33-24-05-47 through 33-24-05-88 and the unit-specific requirements of sections 33-24-05-01 through 33-24-05-190, 33-24-05-300 through 33-24-05-524, 33-24-05-550 through 33-24-05-559, and 33-24-05-800 through 33-24-05-819, or applicable requirements of subsection 5 of section 33-24-06-16 that applied to the regulated unit will continue to apply to that portion of the corrective action management unit after incorporation into the corrective action management unit. 3. The department shall designate a corrective action management unit that will be used for storage or treatment, or both, only in accordance with subsection 6. The department shall designate all other corrective action management units in accordance with the following: a. The corrective action management unit shall facilitate the implementation of reliable, effective, protective, and cost-effective remedies;b. Waste management activities associated with the corrective action management unit shall not create unacceptable risks to humans or to the environment resulting from exposure to hazardous wastes or hazardous constituents;c. The corrective action management unit shall include uncontaminated areas of the facility, only if including such areas for the purpose of managing corrective action management unit-eligible waste is more protective than management of such wastes at contaminated areas of the facility;d. Areas within the corrective action management unit, where wastes remain in place after closure of the corrective action management unit, shall be managed and contained so as to minimize future releases, to the extent practicable;e. The corrective action management unit shall expedite the timing of remedial activity implementation, when appropriate and practicable;f. The corrective action management unit shall enable the use, when appropriate, of treatment technologies (including innovative technologies) to enhance the long-term effectiveness of remedial actions by reducing the toxicity, mobility, or volume of wastes that will remain in place after closure of the corrective action management unit; andg. The corrective action management unit shall, to the extent practicable, minimize the land area of the facility upon which wastes will remain in place after closure of the corrective action management unit.4. The owner or operator shall provide sufficient information to enable the department to designate a corrective action management unit in accordance with the criteria in this section. This must include, unless not reasonably available, information on: a. The origin of the waste and how it was subsequently managed (including a description of the timing and circumstances surrounding the disposal or release, or both);b. Whether the waste was listed or identified as hazardous at the time of disposal or release, or both; andc. Whether the disposal or release, or both, of the waste occurred before or after the land disposal requirements of section 33-24-05-250 through 33-24-05-299 were in effect for the waste listing or characteristic.5. The department shall specify, in the permit or order, requirements for corrective action management units to include the following: a. The areal configuration of the corrective action management unit.b. Except as provided in subsection 7, requirements for corrective action management unit-eligible waste management to include the specification of applicable design, operation, treatment, and closure requirements.c. Minimum design requirements. Corrective action management units, except as provided in subsection 6, into which wastes are placed must be designed in accordance with the following: (1) Unless the department approves alternate requirements under paragraph 2, corrective action management units that consist of new, replacement, or laterally expanded units must include a composite liner and a leachate collection system that is designed and constructed to maintain less than a thirty-centimeter depth of leachate over the liner. For purposes of this paragraph, composite liner means a system consisting of two components; the upper component must consist of a minimum thirty mil flexible membrane liner, and the lower component must consist of at least a two-foot layer of compacted soil with a hydraulic conductivity of no more than 1x10-7 centimeters per second. Flexible membrane liner components consisting of high density polyethylene must be at least sixty mil thick. The flexible membrane liner component must be installed in direct and uniform contact with the compacted soil component; and(2) Alternate requirements. The department may approve alternate requirements if: (a) The department finds that alternate design and operating practices, together with location characteristics, will prevent the migration of any hazardous constituents into the ground water or surface water at least as effectively as the liner and leachate collection systems in paragraph 1 ; or(b) The corrective action management unit is to be established in an area with existing significant levels of contamination, and the department finds that an alternative design, including a design that does not include a liner, would prevent migration from the unit that would exceed long-term remedial goals.d. Minimum treatment requirements. Unless the wastes will be placed in a corrective action management unit for storage or treatment, or both, only in accordance with subsection 6, corrective action management unit-eligible wastes that, absent this subdivision, would be subject to the treatment requirements of sections 33-24-05-250 through 33-24-05-299, and that the department determines contain principal hazardous constituents must be treated to the standards specified in paragraph 3. (1) Principal hazardous constituents are those constituents that the department determines pose a risk to human health and the environment substantially higher than the cleanup levels or goals at the site.(a) In general, the department will designate as principal hazardous constituents: [1] Carcinogens that pose a potential direct risk from ingestion or inhalation at the site at or above 10-3; and[2] Noncarcinogens that pose a potential direct risk from ingestion or inhalation at the site an order of magnitude or greater over their reference dose.(b) The department will also designate constituents as principal hazardous constituents, where appropriate, when risks to human health and the environment posed by the potential migration of constituents in wastes to ground water are substantially higher than cleanup levels or goals at the site; when making such a designation, the department may consider such factors as constituent concentrations, and fate and transport characteristics under site conditions. (c) The department may also designate other constituents as principal hazardous constituents that the department determines pose a risk to human health and the environment substantially higher than the cleanup levels or goals at the site.(2) In determining which constituents are "principal hazardous constituents", the department must consider all constituents which, absent this subdivision, would be subject to the treatment requirements in sections 33-24-05-250 through 33-24-05-299.(3) Waste that the department determines contains principal hazardous constituents must meet treatment standards determined in accordance with paragraph 4 or 5.(4) Treatment standards for wastes placed in corrective action management units.(a) For nonmetals, treatment must achieve ninety percent reduction in total principal hazardous constituent concentrations, except as provided by subparagraph c.(b) For metals, treatment must achieve ninety percent reduction in principal hazardous constituent concentrations as measured in leachate from the treated waste or media (tested according to the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure) or ninety percent reduction in total constituent concentrations (when a metal removal treatment technology is used), except as provided by subparagraph c.(c) When treatment of any principal hazardous constituent to a ninety percent reduction standard would result in a concentration less than ten times the universal treatment standard for that constituent, treatment to achieve constituent concentrations less than ten times the universal treatment standard is not required. Universal treatment standards are identified in section 33-24-05-288 table UTS.(d) For waste exhibiting the hazardous characteristic of ignitability, corrosivity, or reactivity, the waste must also be treated to eliminate these characteristics.(e) For debris, the debris must be treated in accordance with section 33-24-05-285, or by methods or to levels established under subparagraphs a through d or paragraph 5, whichever the department determines is appropriate.(f) Alternatives to toxicity characteristic leaching procedure. For metal-bearing wastes for which metals removal treatment is not used, the department may specify a leaching test other than the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (SW-846 method 1311, paragraph 5 of subdivision c of subsection 3 of section 33-24-01-05) to measure treatment effectiveness, provided the department determines that an alternative leach testing protocol is appropriate for use, and that the alternative more accurately reflects conditions at the site that affect leaching.(5) Adjusted standards. The department may adjust the treatment level or method in paragraph 4 to a higher or lower level, based on one or more of the following factors, as appropriate. The adjusted level or method must be protective of human health and the environment: (a) The technical impracticability of treatment to the levels or by the methods in paragraph 4;(b) The levels or methods in paragraph 4 would result in concentrations of principal hazardous constituents that are significantly above or below cleanup standards applicable to the site (established either site-specifically, or promulgated under state or federal law);(c) The views of the affected local community on the treatment levels or methods in paragraph 4 as applied at the site, and, for treatment levels, the treatment methods necessary to achieve these levels;(d) The short-term risks presented by the onsite treatment method necessary to achieve the levels or treatment methods in paragraph 4;(e) The long-term protection offered by the engineering design of the corrective action management unit and related engineering controls: [1] Where the treatment standards in paragraph 4 are substantially met and the principal hazardous constituents in the waste or residuals are of very low mobility;[2] Where cost-effective treatment has been used and the corrective action management unit meets the 33-24 liner and leachate collection requirements for new land disposal units at subsection 3 or 4 of section 33-24-05-177;[3] Where, after review of appropriate treatment technologies, the department determines that cost-effective treatment is not reasonably available, and the corrective action management unit meets the 33-24 liner and leachate collection requirements for new land disposal units at subsection 3 and 4 of section 33-24-05-177;[4] Where cost-effective treatment has been used and the principal hazardous constituents in the treated wastes are of very low mobility; or[5] Where, after review of appropriate treatment technologies, the department determines that cost-effective treatment is not reasonably available, the principal hazardous constituents in the wastes are of very low mobility, and either the corrective action management unit meets or exceeds the liner standards for new, replacement, or laterally expanded corrective action management units in paragraphs 1 and 2 of subdivision c, or the corrective action management unit provides substantially equivalent or greater protection.(6) The treatment required by the treatment standards must be completed prior to, or within a reasonable time after, placement in the corrective action management unit.(7) For the purpose of determining whether wastes placed in corrective action management units have met site-specific treatment standards, the department may, as appropriate, specify a subset of the principal hazardous constituents in the waste as analytical surrogates for determining whether treatment standards have been met for other principal hazardous constituents. This specification will be based on the degree of difficulty of treatment and analysis of constituents with similar treatment properties.e. Except as provided in subsection 6, requirements for ground water monitoring and corrective action that are sufficient to:(1) Continue to detect and to characterize the nature, extent, concentration, direction, and movement of existing releases of hazardous constituents in ground water from sources located within the corrective action management unit;(2) Detect and subsequently characterize releases of hazardous constituents to ground water that may occur from areas of the corrective action management unit in which wastes will remain in place after closure of the corrective action management unit; and(3) Require notification to the department and corrective action as necessary to protect human health and the environment for releases to ground water from the corrective action management unit.f. Except as provided in subsection 6, closure and postclosure requirements: (1) Closure of corrective action management units shall: (a) Minimize the need for further maintenance; and(b) Control, minimize, or eliminate, to the extent necessary to protect human health and the environment, for areas where wastes remain in place, postclosure escape of hazardous waste, hazardous constituents, leachate, contaminated runoff, or hazardous waste decomposition products to the ground, to surface waters, or to the atmosphere.(2) Requirements for closure of corrective action management units shall include the following, as appropriate and as deemed necessary by the department for a given corrective action management unit:(a) Requirements for excavation, removal, treatment, or containment of wastes; and(b) Requirements for removal and decontamination of equipment, devices, and structures used in corrective action management unit eligible waste management activities within the corrective action management unit.(3) In establishing specific closure requirements for corrective action management units under this subsection, the department shall consider the following factors: (a) Corrective action management unit characteristics;(b) Volume of wastes which remain in place after closure;(c) Potential for releases from the corrective action management unit;(d) Physical and chemical characteristics of the waste;(e) Hydrogeological and other relevant environmental conditions at the facility which may influence the migration of any potential or actual releases; and(f) Potential for exposure of humans and environmental receptors if releases were to occur from the corrective action management unit.(4) Cap requirements: (a) At final closure of the corrective action management unit, for areas in which wastes will remain after closure of the corrective action management unit, with constituent concentrations at or above remedial levels or goals applicable to the site, the owner or operator must cover the corrective action management unit with a final cover designed and constructed to meet the following performance criteria, except as provided in subparagraph b: [1] Provide long-term minimization of migration of liquids through the closed unit;[2] Function with minimum maintenance;[3] Promote drainage and minimize erosion or abrasion of the cover;[4] Accommodate settling and subsidence so that the cover's integrity is maintained; and[5] Have a permeability less than or equal to the permeability of any bottom liner system or natural subsoils present.(b) The department may determine that modifications to subparagraph a are needed to facilitate treatment or the performance of the corrective action management unit (for example, to promote biodegradation).(5) Postclosure requirements as necessary to protect human health and the environment, to include, for areas where wastes will remain in place, monitoring and maintenance activities, and the frequency with which such activities shall be performed to ensure the integrity of any cap, final cover, or other containment system.6. Corrective action management units used for storage or treatment, or both, only are corrective action management units in which wastes will not remain after closure. Such corrective action management units must be designated in accordance with all of the requirements of this section, except as follows: a. Corrective action management units that are used for storage or treatment, or both, only and that operate in accordance with the time limits established in the staging pile regulations at paragraph 3 of subdivision a of subsection 4, subsection 8 and subsection 9 of section 33-24-05-554 are subject to the requirements for staging piles at paragraphs 1 and 2 of subdivision a of subsection 4, subdivision b of subsection 4, subsections 5, 6, 10, and 11 of section 33-24-05-554 in lieu of the performance standards and requirements for corrective action management units contained in subsection 3 and subdivisions c through f of subsection 5.b. Corrective action management units that are used for storage or treatment, or both, only and that do not operate in accordance with the time limits established in the staging pile regulations at paragraph 3 of subdivision a of subsection 4, subsections 8 and 9 of section 33-24-05-554: (1) Must operate in accordance with a time limit, established by the department, that is no longer than necessary to achieve a timely remedy selected for the waste; and(2) Are subject to the requirements for staging piles at paragraphs 1 and 2 of subdivision a of subsection 4, subdivision b of subsection 4, and subsections 5, 6, 10, and 11 of section 33-24-05-554 in lieu of the performance standards and requirements for corrective action management units contained in subsection 3 and subdivisions d through f of subsection 5.7. Corrective action management units into which wastes are placed where all wastes have constituent levels at or below remedial levels or goals applicable to the site do not have to comply with the requirements for liners at paragraph 1 of subdivision c of subsection 5, caps at paragraph 4 of subdivision f of subsection 5, ground water monitoring requirements at subdivision e of subsection 5 or, for treatment or storage, or both, only corrective action management units, the design standards at subsection 6.8. The department shall provide public notice and a reasonable opportunity for public comment before designating a corrective action management unit. Such notice shall include the rationale for any proposed adjustments under paragraph 5 of subdivision d of subsection 5 to the treatment standards in paragraph 4 of subdivision d of subsection 5.9. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the department may impose additional requirements as necessary to protect human health and the environment.10. Incorporation of a corrective action management unit into an existing permit must be approved by the department according to the procedures for department-initiated permit modifications under section 33-24-06-12, or according to the permit modification procedures of section 33-24-06-14.11. The designation of a corrective action management unit does not change the department's existing authority to address cleanup levels, media-specific points of compliance to be applied to remediation at a facility, or other remedy selection decisions.N.D. Admin Code 33-24-05-552
Effective January 1, 1994; amended effective December 1, 2003.Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 2016-359, January 2016, effective 1/1/2016.General Authority: NDCC 23-20.3-03
Law Implemented: NDCC 23-20.3-03, 23-20.3-04