| (B) The facility design and operation shall be coordinated with a consultant connected with an accredited college or university or with a consultant that has demonstrated the ability to carry out scientific experiments for demonstrating new and unproven waste handling methods and submitted to the executive director. The owner or operator shall submit to the executive director an annual and final status report to document the viability of the method being demonstrated. The report, at a minimum, must document the effluent standards and solid waste standards achieved. (C) The owner or operator may request a variance. (i) In specific cases, the executive director may approve a variance from the requirements of this chapter if the variance is not contrary to safeguarding the health, welfare, and physical property of the people and to protecting the environment. A variance may not be approved concerning the procedural requirements of this chapter. (ii) A request for a variance must be submitted in writing to the executive director. The request may be made in an application for a registration. Any approval of a variance must be in writing from the executive director. (e) Geology report. This portion of the application applies to owners or operators of MSW landfills, compost units, and if otherwise requested by the executive director. The geology report shall be prepared and signed by a qualified groundwater scientist. Previously prepared documents may be submitted but must be supplemented as necessary to provide the requested information. Sources and references for information must be provided. The geology report must contain the following information: (1) a description of the regional geology of the area that includes: (A) a geologic map of the region with text describing the stratigraphy and lithology of the map units. An appropriate section of a published map series such as the Geologic Atlas of Texas prepared by the Bureau of Economic Geology is acceptable; and (B) a description of the generalized stratigraphic column in the facility area from the base of the lowermost aquifer capable of providing usable groundwater, or from a depth of 1,000 feet, whichever is less, to the land surface. The geologic age, lithology, variations in lithology, thickness, depth, geometry, hydraulic conductivity, and depositional history of each geologic unit should be described based upon available geologic information. Regional stratigraphic cross-sections should be provided; (2) a description of the geologic processes active in the vicinity of the facility that includes an identification of any faults and subsidence in the area of the facility. The information about faulting and subsidence shall include at least that required in §330.555(b) and §330.559 of this title (relating to Fault Areas and Unstable Areas); (3) a description of the regional aquifers in the vicinity of the facility based upon published and open-file sources that provides: (A) aquifer names and their association with geologic units described in paragraph (2) of this subsection; (B) the composition of the aquifer(s); (C) the hydraulic properties of the aquifer(s); (D) information on whether the aquifers are under water table or artesian conditions; (E) information on whether the aquifers are hydraulically connected; (F) a regional water-table contour map or potentiometric surface map for each aquifer, if available; (G) an estimate of the rate of groundwater flow; (H) typical values or a range of values for total dissolved solids content of groundwater from the aquifers; (I) identification of areas of recharge to the aquifers within five miles of the site; and (J) the present use of groundwater withdrawn from aquifers in the vicinity of the facility. The identification, location, and aquifer of all water wells within one mile of the property boundaries of the facility shall be provided; (4) the results of investigations of subsurface conditions at a particular waste management unit. This report must describe all borings drilled on site to test soils and characterize groundwater and must include a site map drawn to scale showing the surveyed locations and elevations of the borings. Boring logs must include a detailed description of materials encountered including any discontinuities such as fractures, fissures, slickensides, lenses, or seams. Geophysical logs of the boreholes may be useful in evaluating the stratigraphy. Each boring must be presented in the form of a log that contains, at a minimum, the boring number; surface elevation and location coordinates; and a columnar section with text showing the elevation of all contacts between soil and rock layers, description of each layer using the unified soil classification, color, degree of compaction, and moisture content. A key explaining the symbols used on the boring logs and the classification terminology for soil type, consistency, and structure must be provided. The boring plan, including locations and depths of all proposed borings, shall be approved by the executive director prior to initiation of the work. (A) A sufficient number of borings shall be performed to establish subsurface stratigraphy and to determine geotechnical properties of the soils and rocks beneath the facility. Other types of samples may also be taken to provide geologic and geotechnical data. The number of borings necessary can only be determined after the general characteristics of a site are analyzed and will vary depending on the heterogeneity of subsurface materials. Locations with stratigraphic complexities such as non-uniform beds that pinch out, vary significantly in thickness, coalesce, or grade into other units, will require a significantly greater degree of subsurface investigation than areas with simple geologic frameworks. (B) Borings shall be sufficiently deep enough to allow identification of the uppermost aquifer and underlying hydraulically interconnected aquifers. Borings shall penetrate the uppermost aquifer and all deeper hydraulically interconnected aquifers and be deep enough to identify the aquiclude at the lower boundary. All the borings shall be at least five feet deeper than the elevation of the deepest excavation. In addition, at least the number of borings shown on the Table of Borings shall be drilled to a depth at least 30 feet below the deepest excavation planned at the waste management unit, unless the executive director approves a different depth. If no aquifers exist within 50 feet of the elevation of the deepest excavation, at least one test hole shall be drilled to the top of the first perennial aquifer beneath the site, if sufficient data does not exist to accurately locate it. The executive director may accept data equivalent to a deep boring on the site to determine information for aquifers more than 50 feet below the site. Aquifers more than 300 feet below the lowest excavation and where the estimated travel times for constituents to the aquifer are in excess of 30 years plus the estimated life of the site need not be identified through borings. Attached Graphic (C) All borings shall be conducted in accordance with established field exploration methods. The hollow-stem auger boring method is recommended for softer materials; coring may be required for harder rocks. Other methods shall be used as necessary to obtain adequate samples for soil testing required in this paragraph. Investigation procedures shall be discussed in the report. (D) Installation, abandonment, and plugging of the borings in accordance with the rules of the commission. (E) Both the number and depth of borings may be modified because of site conditions with approval of the executive director. (F) Geophysical methods, such as electrical resistivity, may be used with authorization of the executive director to reduce the number of borings that may be necessary or to provide additional information between borings. (G) Cross-sections must be prepared from the borings depicting the generalized strata at the facility. For small waste management units, two perpendicular cross-sections will normally suffice. (H) A narrative that describes the investigator's interpretations of the subsurface stratigraphy based upon the field investigation shall be provided; (5) geotechnical data that describes the geotechnical properties of the subsurface soil materials and a discussion with conclusions about the suitability of the soils and strata for the uses for which they are intended. All geotechnical tests shall be performed in accordance with industry practice and recognized procedures such as described below. A brief discussion of geotechnical test procedures including: Cont'd... |
