18 AAC 60.430. Drilling waste

(a) Except for an inactive reserve pit subject to 18 AAC 60.440, or drilling waste that is managed as an industrial solid waste under 18 AAC 60.485, the owner or operator of a drilling waste storage facility shall meet the storage requirements of this subsection as follows:

(1) a person who plans to store drilling waste during drilling operations, in a manner that does not require a permit under 18 AAC 60.200, shall submit a storage plan to the department at least 30 days before operations are planned to begin; storage may not begin until the department has approved the plan; a plan submitted under this paragraph must include

(A) the name, address, phone number, and affiliation of each person responsible for conducting the drilling activity;

(B) the location and type of storage container;

(C) plans and material specifications to be used in the construction of any lined containment structure to be used for temporary storage;

(D) methods to be used to prevent the discharge of drilling waste leachate to the land or water of the state;

(E) the name and location of each facility to which stored drilling waste will be transferred; the use of a lined existing drilling waste disposal facility as a transfer location is acceptable under this subparagraph;

(F) the anticipated dates of storage and waste removal, and the location of the ultimate disposal of the drilling waste; and

(G) certification that the waste will be removed from the property within one year after completing the drilling operation;

(2) containment structures must conform to the following standards unless the department provides written approval of an alternate plan that will protect the public health, safety, and welfare and the environment in a similar manner:

(A) a containment structure must be sized to contain all the waste and any anticipated precipitation that may accumulate in the area with a minimum of two feet of freeboard;

(B) containment structures must be leakproof;

(C) liner material must be compatible with petroleum hydrocarbons, drilling waste, and any other material that might be deposited into the temporary structure; and

(D) liner material must meet the standards in (c)(7) of this section; and

(3) after removal of drilling waste from a storage area, the person conducting the activity shall

(A) conduct a visual site inspection to verify that all drilling waste has been removed from the site; and

(B) submit written notification to the department within seven days after the final site inspection and provide information regarding drilling waste volume and the final disposition of the transferred drilling waste.

(b) Except for an inactive reserve pit subject to 18 AAC 60.440, the owner or operator of a drilling waste disposal facility shall meet the operating requirements of this subsection. The owner or operator

(1) shall accept only drilling waste that meets the exclusion criteria of 40 C.F.R. 261.4(b)(5), revised as of July 1, 1998, adopted by reference;

(2) may not accept waste containing hydrocarbons as free liquids if freezeback is proposed;

(3) may not accept waste incompatible with freezeback, if freezeback is proposed;

(4) shall keep to a minimum the introduction of extraneous liquids;

(5) shall operate in accordance with a fluid management plan if a dry option is selected under (c) of this section; and

(6) shall operate with a minimum of two feet of freeboard.

(1) the design must take into account the location of the seasonal high groundwater table, surface water, and continuous permafrost, as well as proximity to human population and to public water systems, with the goal of avoiding any adverse effect on these resources;

(2) the containment and monitoring design must be determined by use of Tables A and B in this subsection;

CLICK TO VIEW TABLE A

CLICK TO VIEW TABLE B

(3) the facility must be designed to

(A) prevent the escape of drilling waste and leachate during active and post-closure monitoring periods;

(B) be of the minimum volume necessary for drilling waste disposal and emergency relief volume;

(C) prevent overflow from, or damage to, containment structures or other waste management areas, from operations, annual average precipitation, wind action, or wave action;

(D) ensure that drilling waste, leachate, or eroded soil from the drilling waste disposal facility does not cause a violation of the applicable water quality standards in 18 AAC 70 at the surface water point of compliance established under 18 AAC 60.810; and

(E) ensure that drilling waste leachate from the drilling waste disposal facility does not cause a violation of the applicable water quality standards in 18 AAC 70 in the uppermost aquifer at the groundwater point of compliance established under 18 AAC 60.825(c) ;

(4) a drilling waste disposal facility that is designed to contain drilling waste in a permanently frozen state must be constructed so that the surface level of all drilling waste at close-out is at least two feet below the active thaw zone, unless the applicant demonstrates that the waste will otherwise remain frozen after close-out;

(5) the plans for the proposed design and construction of the drilling waste disposal facility and the fluid management plan must be approved and signed and sealed by a registered engineer;

(6) a containment structure must support and maintain the integrity of the liner throughout the life of the facility, including post-closure;

(7) a single liner must be either

(A) constructed of compacted soil, or another similar natural or synthetic material, with a hydraulic conductivity of no more than 1 x 10 -7 cm/s; the department will approve a more permeable liner if the applicant demonstrates that the alternative will provide an equivalent level of protection for public health and the environment, taking into account the factors set out in 18 AAC 60.825(c) ;

(B) a flexible membrane that meets the requirements of (C) of this paragraph and that is selected, constructed, installed, and maintained in accordance with the requirements of one of the following documents, adopted by reference in this chapter:

(i) United States Environmental Protection Agency, Lining of Waste Impoundment and Disposal Facilities, SW-870, March 1983 (revised edition);

(ii) repealed 10/29/98;

(iii) United States Environmental Protection Agency, Lining of Waste Containment and Other Impoundment Facilities, EPA/600/2-88/052, September 1988; or

(iv) United States Environmental Protection Agency, Solid Waste Disposal Facility Criteria Technical Manual, EPA530-R-93-017, November 1993; or

(i) 30 mils in thickness; or

(ii) 60 mils in thickness if it consists of high density polyethylene (HDPE);

(8) a double liner must consist of two distinct liners, each capable of independently containing waste; a flexible membrane liner must be installed as the primary, or inner, liner and the secondary, or outer, liner must meet the provisions of (7) of this subsection;

(9) a composite liner must consist of a flexible membrane liner in direct and uniform contact with a liner that meets the requirements of (7)(A) of this subsection, or a prefabricated geosynthetic clay composite liner; and

(10) each liner must be

(A) designed and installed to assure that it will remain in place during the active life of the facility and any post-closure care period and will prevent drilling waste or leachate from escaping from the containment structure or other waste management area; and

(B) constructed of materials that are chemically, physically, and biologically compatible with the disposed of drilling waste and its leachate.

(d) In addition to other applicable provisions of this chapter, the following monitoring requirements apply to a drilling waste disposal facility:

(1) the owner or operator shall sample and analyze surface water as required by the permit at the point of compliance described in 18 AAC 60.810; and

(2) in areas of continuous permafrost, the owner or operator shall install, as required by the permit, subsurface thermal monitoring systems designed to detect thawing of the permafrost, and if containment is accomplished by freezeback, to detect thawing of the drilling waste for at least two years after closure; the owner or operator shall demonstrate that the drilling waste has remained frozen through one summer.

(e) Except for an inactive reserve pit subject to 18 AAC 60.440, a permitted drilling waste disposal facility must be closed as follows:

(1) the owner or operator of the facility shall, unless otherwise authorized by the department, close the disposal facility and

(A) remove all pumpable fluids, resulting in a waste that is in a nonliquid condition; this subparagraph does not apply if closure will be achieved by freezeback;

(B) take appropriate measures to ensure that the contents of a containment structure are of sufficient compressive strength to support a cap while maintaining the proposed design contour;

(i) prevent thawing of wastes, or that has a hydraulic conductivity less than or equal to the hydraulic conductivity of any bottom liner system present, or natural subsoils present, or a hydraulic conductivity no greater than 10 -5 cm/s, whichever is less;

(ii) withstand erosion, cracking, adverse effects of freeze-thaw cycles, frost heaves, and other events that might cause degradation or damage to the cap's barrier layer;

(iii) be at least 20 mils in thickness if the cap is constructed of a flexible membrane other than high density polyethylene (HDPE); and

(iv) be at least 60 mils in thickness if the cap is constructed of high density polyethylene (HDPE); and

(D) ensure that the cap is revegetated or otherwise treated in a manner appropriate to the long-term use of the facility;

(2) if the department finds that a drilling waste disposal facility is unstable or poses a risk to public health or safety or the environment, the department will require the owner or operator to

(A) conduct a monitoring program for at least five years after closure;

(B) prepare logs and submit written reports of inspections, with photographs of the disposal site;

(C) maintain the integrity of the final cover, slopes, drainage structures, liners, caps, groundwater monitoring devices, and thermal monitoring devices; and

(D) if a containment structure or other waste management area is located in permafrost, ensure that the drilling wastes do not cause thawing of the permafrost and, if containment is accomplished by freezeback, ensure that the drilling wastes do not thaw after closure.

(3) the department will, in its discretion, require the establishment of permanent markers or survey monuments, if there are no readily observable existing monuments or markers, from which the exact location of a facility and each closed waste management area in the facility can be determined; and

(4) a containment structure must be closed as required by 18 AAC 60.440, or reconstructed to meet the standards of (c) of this section, within one year after detecting a violation of the water quality standards in 18 AAC 70 at the points of compliance established under 18 AAC 60.810(b) or 18 AAC 60.825(c) .

History: Eff. 1/28/96, Register 137; am 10/29/98, Register 148; am 7/11/99, Register 151; am 9/7/2002, Register 163

Authority: AS 44.46.020

Editor's note: The documents adopted by reference in 18 AAC 60.430 may be reviewed at the department's offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, and at the office of the Lieutenant Governor. The Environmental Protection Agency documents may be ordered from National Technical Information Services, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161.

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