62-520.310. General Provisions for Ground Water

(1) A violation of any ground water standard or criterion contained in this chapter constitutes pollution.

(2) Notwithstanding the classification and criteria for ground water set forth in this chapter, discharge to ground water shall not impair the designated use of contiguous surface waters.

(3) In addition to any technology-based effluent limitations required by Department rule, the Department shall also specify water quality-based effluent limitations when necessary to assure that water quality criteria will be met.

(4) This chapter contains the ground water provisions generally applicable unless other rule chapters for specific types of installations have other requirements for ground water discharges applicable to those installations.

(5) Compliance with ground water standards shall be determined by analyses of unfiltered ground water samples, unless a filtered sample is as or more representative of the particular ground water quality, as described in the Department’s technical document, “Determining Representative Ground Water Samples, Filtered or Unfiltered,” January 1994, hereby incorporated and adopted as a reference. This document is available from the Department’s Bureau of Water Facilities Regulation, MS 3580, 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400.

(6) For owners of an existing installation, compliance with the minimum criteria set forth in Rule 62-520.400, F.A.C., shall be determined by analysis of the constituents of the waste stream of the installation causing the discharge; provided, however, that the installation owner may, at his option, place a monitoring well immediately outside the site boundary to measure compliance with the minimum criteria, as long as the discharge poses no danger to the public health, safety or welfare.

(7) Unless exempted by Rules 62-520.500, 62-520.510 or 62-520.520, F.A.C., no installation shall directly or indirectly discharge into ground water any contaminant that causes a violation of the water quality standards or minimum criteria for the receiving ground water as established in this chapter, except within a zone of discharge established by permit or Rule 62-520.465, F.A.C.

(8) Zones of discharge shall be allowed for projects or facilities that allow direct contact with ground water listed in paragraphs (a) through (c) below, and that provide beneficial discharges through wells to ground water as described herein or in the cited rules.

(a) Projects designed to recharge aquifers with surface water of comparable quality, or projects designed to transfer water across or between aquifers of comparable quality for the purpose of storage or conservation;

(b) Facilities permitted under Rule 62-610.466, F.A.C., for aquifer storage and recovery of reclaimed water, subsection 62-610.560(3), F.A.C., for ground water recharge by injection of reclaimed water, or subsection 62-610.562(4), F.A.C., for creation of salinity barrier systems by injection of reclaimed water; and

(c) Department-approved aquifer remediation projects that use Class V, Group 4, underground injection control wells as described in paragraph 62-528.600(2)(d), F.A.C. A zone of discharge shall be allowed for the primary standards for ground water for closed-loop re-injection systems and for the prime constituents of the reagents used to remediate site contaminants, and for the secondary standards for ground water, as specified in a Department-approved remedial action plan that addresses the duration and size of the zone of discharge, and ground water monitoring requirements.

(9) Other discharges through wells or sinkholes that allow direct contact with Class G-I, Class F-I, or Class G-II ground water shall not be allowed a zone of discharge.

(10) Discharges that may cause an imminent hazard to the public or the environment through contamination of underground supplies of drinking water or surface water affected by the ground water because of the proximity and nature of the contaminants, shall not be allowed a zone of discharge.

(11) Installations operated to render water fit for human consumption and that dispose of non-hazardous concentrates from membrane separation technologies, such as reverse osmosis, membrane softening, ultra-filtration, and electrodialysis, through land application operations are exempt from meeting the primary and secondary drinking water standards, provided the applicant demonstrates that the receiving unconfined aquifer exhibits a natural background total dissolved solids concentration exceeding 1500 mg/L. Installations discharging to such aquifers shall not cause a violation of primary or secondary drinking water standards at any private or public water supply well outside of the installation’s property boundary.

(12) It is the intent of the Department whenever possible to incorporate ground water discharge considerations into other Department permits as appropriate, and not to require a separate permit for discharges to ground water. However, any published notice of proposed agency action on an application for a permit shall contain notice, when appropriate, that ground water considerations are being incorporated into such permits.

(13) The purpose of monitoring is to ensure that the permitting of zones of discharge, or the granting of exemptions, will not cause a violation of ground water standards. Ground water monitoring is intended to allow predictions to be made of the movement and composition of the discharge plume and compliance with applicable state ground water standards at the boundary of the zone of discharge. Efforts shall be made to minimize the number and cost of monitoring wells, consistent with the ability to obtain useful and reliable information.

(14) Existing installations discharging to Class G-II ground water are exempt from compliance with secondary standards outside of a zone of discharge obtained by Department permit or rule, except where compliance is required under Rule 62-520.520, F.A.C.

Rulemaking Authority 403.061, 403.087 F.S. Law Implemented 403.021, 403.061, 403.087, 403.088, 403.502, 403.702 FS. History–New 7-12-09.