405 KAR 1:170. Water
quality standards and surface water monitoring.
RELATES TO: KRS
350.420
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS 350.028, 350.420
NECESSITY, FUNCTION,
AND CONFORMITY: KRS 350.028 requires the Environmental and Public Protection
Cabinet to adopt rules and administrative regulations for the strip mining of
coal. This administrative regulation sets forth water quality standards and
requirements for surface water monitoring.
Section 1. Water
Quality Standards. (1) For the purpose of this administrative regulation,
disturbed area shall not include those areas in which only diversion ditches,
sedimentation ponds, or roads are installed and the upstream area is not
otherwise disturbed by the mining operation. All sedimentation ponds required
shall be constructed in accordance with this chapter and in appropriate
locations prior to any mining in the affected drainage area in order to control
sedimentation or otherwise treat water. Sedimentation ponds shall be certified
by a qualified registered engineer as having been constructed as designed and
as approved by the cabinet.
(2) The discharges
from areas disturbed by strip mining and reclamation operations must meet all
applicable federal and state laws and regulations and at a minimum in the
following numerical effluent limitations:
Effluent
Limitations, in Milligrams per Liter, mg/1, except for pH
Effluent
characteristics
Maximum
allowable*
Average
of daily
values
for 30
consecutive
discharge
days*
Iron, total
7.0
3.5
Manganese, total**
4.0
2.0
Total suspended solids
70.0
35.0
pH***
Within the range 6.0 to
9.0
*Based on
representative sampling.
**Applicable only
when run-off prior to treatment has a pH less than six (6.0) or total iron
greater than ten (10.0) mg/l.
***Where the
application of neutralization and sedimentation treatment technology results in
inability to comply with the manganese limitations set forth, the cabinet may
allow the pH level in the discharge to exceed to a small extent the upper limit
of nine (9.0) in order that the manganese limitations will be achieved.
(3) Any overflow or
other discharge of surface water from the disturbed area demonstrated by the
permittee to result from a precipitation event larger than a ten (10) year,
twenty-four (24) hour frequency event will not be subject to the effluent
limitations of subsection (2) of this section.
(4) The permittee
shall install, operate, and maintain adequate facilities to treat any water
discharged from the disturbed area that violates applicable federal or state
laws or regulations or the effluent limitations listed in subsection (2) of
this section.
(5) If the pH of
waters discharged from the disturbed area is normally less than six (6.0), an
automatic lime feeder or other neutralization process approved by the cabinet
shall be installed, operated, and maintained. If the cabinet finds that small
and infrequent treatments are required to meet effluent limitations and do not
necessitate use of an automatic neutralization process, and that the mine
normally produces less than 500 tons of coal per day, then the cabinet may
approve the use of a manual system if the cabinet finds that consistent and
timely treatment can be assured by the permittee.
Section 2. Surface
Water Monitoring. (1) A surface water monitoring program which meets the
requirements of this section shall be prepared and submitted with the permit
application, and this program shall be subject to the approval of the cabinet.
The program shall:
(a) Provide adequate
monitoring of all discharge from the disturbed area;
(b) Provide adequate
data to describe the likely daily and seasonal variation in discharges from the
disturbed area in terms of water flow, pH, total iron, total manganese (when
the run-off prior to treatment has a pH less than six (6.0) or total iron
greater than ten (10.0) mg/l) and total suspended solids and, if requested by
the cabinet, any other parameters characteristic of the discharge;
(c) Provide
monitoring at appropriate frequencies to measure normal and abnormal variations
in concentrations;
(d) Provide an
analytical quality control system including standard methods of analysis such
as those specified in 40 CFR 136;
(e) Provide a
regular report of all measurements to the cabinet within sixty (60) days of
sample collection, unless violations of permit conditions occur in which case
the cabinet shall be notified immediately after receipt of analytical results
by the permittee. If the discharge is subject to regulation by a federal or
state permit issued in compliance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
Amendments of 1972 (33 USC 1251-1378) a copy of the reporting form supplied to
meet the permit requirements may be submitted to the cabinet to satisfy the
reporting requirements of this regulation if the data meet the sampling frequency
and other requirements of this section.
(2) After disturbed
areas have been regraded and stabilized in accordance with the provisions of
this chapter, the permittee shall monitor surface water flow and quality. Data
from this monitoring shall be used to demonstrate that the quality and quantity
of run-off without treatment will be consistent with the requirements of this
chapter to minimize disturbance to the prevailing hydrologic balance and to
attain the approved postmining land use. These data shall provide a basis for
approval by the cabinet for removal of water quality or flow control systems
and for determining when the requirements of this administrative regulation are
met. The cabinet shall determine the nature of data, frequency of collection, and
reporting requirements.
(3) Equipment,
structures, and other measures necessary to adequately measure and sample the
quality and quantity of surface water discharges from the disturbed area of the
permit area shall be properly installed, maintained, and operated and shall be
removed when no longer required. (4 Ky.R. 493; Am. 5 Ky.R. 205; eff. 8-23-78;
TAm eff. 8-9-2007.)
