295.645 Groundwater quality, monitoring, and response.

754 words·~3 min read·/wi/chapter-295/295-645

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(1)Definitions. In this section:

(a)“Alternative concentration limit” means the concentration of a substance in groundwater established by the department to replace a groundwater quality standard when the department grants an exemption.

(b)“Statistically significantly different” means an amount of change determined by the use of statistical tests for measuring significance at the 95 percent confidence level.

(2)Design management zone.

(a)Notwithstanding the rule-making authority in s. 160.21

(2)and except as provided under par.

(b), for the purposes of ch. 160 , the horizontal distance to the boundary of the design management zone for a mining operation is 1,200 feet from the limits of the engineered structures of the mining waste site, including any wastewater and sludge storage or treatment lagoons, the edge of the mine, and the adjacent mine mill and ferrous mineral processing facilities or at the boundary of the property owned or leased by the applicant or on which the applicant holds an easement, whichever distance is less.

(b)When issuing or modifying a mining permit or issuing or reissuing any other approval, the department may reduce the design management zone by a horizontal distance of not more than 600 feet. The department may not reduce the design management zone unless the department determines that preventive action limits and enforcement standards or alternative concentration limits will be met at the boundary of the reduced design management zone. The department shall consider the following factors in determining whether to reduce the design management zone:

1. Nature, thickness, and permeability of unconsolidated materials, including topography.

2. Nature and permeability of bedrock.

3. Groundwater depth, flow direction, and velocity.

4. Waste volume, type, and characteristics.

5. Contaminant mobility.

6. Distances to the property boundary and surface waters.

7. Engineering design of the facility.

8. Life span of the facility.

9. Present and anticipated uses of land and groundwater.

10. Potential abatement options if an enforcement standard is exceeded.

(c)Notwithstanding the rule-making authority in s. 160.21

(2), for the purposes of ch. 160 , the vertical distance to the boundary of the design management zone for a mining site, including any mining waste site, extends no deeper than 1,000 feet into the Precambrian bedrock or than the final depth of the mining excavation, whichever is greater.

(d)An operator shall monitor groundwater quality at locations approved by the department along the boundary of the design management zone and within the design management zone.

(3)Point of standards application.

(a)Any point at which groundwater is monitored is a point of standards application to determine whether a preventive action limit or an alternative concentration limit to a preventive action limit has been attained or exceeded for an activity regulated under a mining permit or another approval related to the mining operation. Any of the following is a point of standards application to determine whether an enforcement standard or an alternative concentration limit to an enforcement standard has been attained or exceeded for an activity regulated under a mining permit or another approval related to the mining operation:

1. Any point of present groundwater use.

2. Any point beyond the boundary of the property on which the activity is conducted, subject to par.

(b).

3. Any point that is within the boundary of the property on which the activity is conducted but is beyond the design management zone, subject to par.

(b).

(b)No point at a depth of greater than 1,000 feet into the Precambrian bedrock or than the final depth of the mining excavation, whichever is greater, is a point of standards application under this subsection.

(c)Section 160.21

(2)does not apply to an activity regulated under this subchapter.

(4)Change in groundwater quality. If the analysis of samples collected through monitoring indicates that the quality of groundwater is statistically significantly different from either baseline water quality or background water quality and the evaluation of the data shows a reasonable probability that without intervention groundwater quality standards or alternative concentration limits will be attained or exceeded, the operator shall do all of the following:

(a)Notify the department within 10 days after the operator receives the results of the analysis of the samples.

(b)Determine, if possible, the cause of the difference in water quality, such as a spill, a design failure, or an improper operational procedure.

(c)Determine the extent of groundwater contamination or the potential for groundwater contamination.

(d)Implement the applicable portions of the approved contingency plan.