Section 845.640  Groundwater Sampling and Analysis Requirements

a)         The groundwater monitoring program must include consistent sampling and analysis procedures that are designed to ensure monitoring results that provide an accurate representation of groundwater quality at the background and downgradient wells required by Section 845.630.  The owner or operator of the CCR surface impoundment must develop a sampling and analysis program that includes 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 groundwater monitoring program must include sampling and analytical methods that are appropriate for groundwater sampling and that accurately measure constituents and other monitoring parameters in groundwater samples.  For purposes of this Subpart, the term "constituent" refers to both constituents and other monitoring parameters listed in Section 845.600.

c)         The owner or operator must perform the following each time ground water is sampled:

1)         Measure groundwater elevations in each well before purging;

2)         Determine the rate and direction of groundwater flow; and

3)         Measure groundwater elevations in wells that monitor the same CCR management area within a time period short enough to avoid temporal variations in groundwater flow that could preclude accurate determination of groundwater flow rate and direction.

d)         The owner or operator of the CCR surface impoundment must establish background groundwater quality in a hydraulically upgradient or background well for each of the constituents listed in Section 845.600.  Background groundwater quality may be established at wells that are not located hydraulically upgradient from the CCR surface impoundment if it meets the requirements of Section 845.630(a)(1).

e)         The number of samples collected when conducting monitoring (for both downgradient and background wells) must be consistent with the statistical procedures chosen under subsection (f) and the performance standards under subsection (g).  The sampling procedures must be those specified by Section 845.650(a) through (c).

f)         Statistical Methods

1)         The owner or operator of the CCR surface impoundment must select one of the statistical methods specified in subsection (f)(1) to be used in evaluating groundwater monitoring data for each specified constituent.  The statistical test chosen must be conducted separately for each constituent in each monitoring well.

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

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

C)        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.

D)        A control chart approach that gives control limits for each constituent.

E)        Another statistical test method that meets the performance standards of subsection (g).

2)         The owner or operator of the CCR surface impoundment must obtain a certification from a qualified professional engineer stating that the selected statistical method is appropriate for evaluating the groundwater monitoring data for the CCR surface impoundment.  The certification must include a narrative description of the statistical method selected to evaluate the groundwater monitoring data.  The certification must be submitted to the Agency with the appropriate permit application.

3)         The owner or operator of the CCR surface impoundment must submit the following to the Agency in an operating permit application:

A)        Documentation of the statistical method chosen; and

B)        The qualified professional engineer certification required by subsection (f)(2).

g)         Any statistical method chosen under subsection (f) must comply with the following performance standards, as appropriate, based on the statistical test method used:

1)         The statistical method used to evaluate groundwater monitoring data must be appropriate for the distribution of constituents.  Normal distributions of data values must use parametric methods.  Non-normal distributions must use non-parametric methods.  If the distribution of the constituents is shown by the owner or operator of the CCR surface impoundment to be inappropriate for a normal theory test, then the data must be transformed or a distribution-free (non-parametric) theory test must be used.  If the distributions for the constituents differ, more than one statistical method may 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 groundwater protection standard, the test must be done at a Type I error level of at least 0.01 for each testing period.  If a multiple comparison procedure is used, the Type I experiment wise error rate for each testing period must be at least 0.05; however, the Type I error of at least 0.01 for individual well comparisons must be maintained. This performance standard does not apply to tolerance intervals, prediction intervals, or control charts.

3)         If a control chart approach is used to evaluate groundwater monitoring data, the specific type of control chart and its associated constituent values must be such that this approach is at least as effective as any other approach in this Section for evaluating groundwater data.  The constituent values must be determined after considering the number of samples in the background database, 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 groundwater monitoring data, the levels of confidence and, for tolerance intervals, the percentage of the population that the interval must contain, must be such that this approach is at least as effective as any other approach in this Section for evaluating groundwater data.  These constituents must be determined after considering the number of samples in the background database, the data distribution, and the range of the concentration values for each constituent of concern.

5)         The statistical method must account for data below the limit of detection with one or more statistical procedures at least as effective as any other approach in this Section for evaluating groundwater data.  Any practical quantitation limit that is used in the statistical method must 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.  For the constituents identified in Section 845.600(a)(1), the practical quantitation limit must be less than the groundwater protection standards.

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

h)         The owner or operator of the CCR surface impoundment must determine whether there is a statistically significant increase over background values for each constituent in Section 845.600.

1)         In determining whether a statistically significant increase has occurred, the owner or operator must compare the groundwater quality of each constituent at each monitoring well designated under Section 845.630(a)(2) or (d)(1) to the background value of that constituent, according to the statistical procedures and performance standards specified by subsections (f) and (g).

2)         Within 60 days after completing sampling and analysis, the owner or operator must determine whether there has been a statistically significant increase over background for any constituent at each monitoring well.

i)          The owner or operator must measure total recoverable metals concentrations in measuring groundwater quality.  Measurement of total recoverable metals captures both the particulate fraction and dissolved fraction of metals in natural waters. Groundwater samples must not be field filtered before analysis.

j)          All groundwater samples taken under this Subpart must be analyzed by a certified laboratory using Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods, SW-846, incorporated by reference in Section 845.150.