Revised Groundwater Standards Effective January 1st 2010

North Carolina’s Division of Water Quality has been performing a triennial review of groundwater standards (15A NCAC 2L.0200). Based upon their review, the DWQ proposed several changes that included lowering 15 existing standards to make them more stringent, increasing 12 standards to make them less stringent and finally to remove 12 standards altogether. An initial summary of the proposed changes was presented at the NC SWANA conference in April 2009 and can be found on our website through this link.

The Environmental Management Commission (EMC) has reviewed the proposed revisions to the standards and ruled on them. In some cases, the EMC revised the limits proposed by the DWQ. The standards as revised and adopted by the EMC will become effective January 1st, 2010.

Several of the revisions are helpful to the solid waste industry, including the provision to keep the 12 standards that were proposed for removal. However, some of the reduced standards are included in the semi-annual monitoring for landfill facilities which could cause problems for some landfill facilities. Of the revised (lowered) standards, Arsenic, Barium, Chromium, 1,1 Dichloroethane and Toluene are likely to cause issues for landfills in North Carolina with additional detections of these constituents above the new groundwater standards. If you have any questions as to how these new standards will affect your facility, please call Joan Smyth of RSG at 919-828-0577 x 122.

The existing standards, the DWQ proposed standard and the final (EMC Adopted) standard that will take effect January 1st are summarized below.