Chapter NR 507

Chapter NR 507

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING FOR LANDFILLS

NR 507.01   Purpose.

NR 507.02   Applicability.

NR 507.03   Definitions.

NR 507.04   General requirements for monitoring devices and geologic sampling.

NR 507.05   Soil and rock sampling.

NR 507.06   Groundwater monitoring well design and installation.

NR 507.07   Groundwater monitoring well development.

NR 507.08   Boring and well abandonment.

NR 507.09   Leachate head well design and installation.

NR 507.10   Collection basin lysimeter design and installation.

NR 507.11   Gas monitoring well design and installation.

NR 507.12   Other monitoring device design and installation.

NR 507.13   Inspections and replacement devices.

NR 507.14   Documentation of monitoring devices and geologic sampling.

NR 507.15   General requirements for environmental monitoring.

NR 507.16   Sampling plan.

NR 507.17   Sampling, analysis, and laboratory requirements.

NR 507.18   Baseline groundwater quality sampling.

NR 507.19   Detection groundwater monitoring.

NR 507.20   Water supply well monitoring.

NR 507.21   Lysimeter fluid and leachate monitoring.

NR 507.215   Leachate recirculation monitoring.

NR 507.22   Gas monitoring.

NR 507.23   Surface water monitoring.

NR 507.24   Air monitoring.

NR 507.25   Other monitoring.

NR 507.26   Documentation of environmental monitoring.

NR 507.27   Calculation of groundwater standards.

NR 507.28   Evaluation of groundwater standards exceedances.

NR 507.29   Exemptions to groundwater standards.

NR 507.30   Notification and response when values attain or exceed a standard.

Ch. NR 507 Note Note: Corrections made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register, August, 1997, No. 500.

NR 507.01 NR 507.01 Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to help ensure that efficient, nuisance-free and environmentally acceptable solid waste management procedures are practiced in this state, to outline environmental monitoring requirements at solid waste facilities and to implement groundwater standards according to ch. NR 140 and ch. 160, Stats. This chapter is adopted under ch. 289, Stats. and s. 227.11, Stats.

NR 507.01 History History: Cr. Register, June, 1996, No. 486, eff. 7-1-96.

NR 507.02 NR 507.02 Applicability.

NR 507.02(1) (1) 

NR 507.02(1)(a) (a) Except as provided in par. (b) and except as otherwise provided, this chapter governs all environmental monitoring for solid waste disposal facilities as defined under s. 289.01 (35), Stats., including all CCR landfills and expansions.

NR 507.02(1)(b) (b) This chapter does not govern any of the following:

NR 507.02(1)(b)1. 1. Hazardous waste facilities as defined under s. 291.01 (8), Stats., and regulated under chs. NR 660 to 679.

NR 507.02(1)(b)2. 2. Metallic mining operations for nonferrous minerals as defined under s. 293.01 (9), Stats., and regulated under ch. NR 182.

NR 507.02(1)(b)3. 3. Metallic mining operations for ferrous minerals as defined under s. 295.41 (26), Stats., including mining wastes and mining waste sites as defined under s. 295.41 (30) and (31), Stats., and regulated under subch. III of ch. 295, Stats.

NR 507.02(2) (2) This chapter does not apply to the design, construction or operation of industrial wastewater facilities, sewerage systems and waterworks treating liquid wastes approved under s. 281.41, Stats., or permitted under ch. 283, Stats., nor to facilities used solely for the disposal of liquid municipal or industrial wastes which have been approved under s. 281.41, Stats., or permitted under ch. 283, Stats., except for facilities used for the disposal of solid waste.

NR 507.02(3) (3) This chapter applies to the owners and operators of solid waste disposal facilities regulated under chs. NR 500 to 538.

NR 507.02 History History: Cr. Register, June, 1996, No. 486, eff. 7-1-96; am. (3), Register, December, 1997, No. 504, eff. 1-1-98; correction in (1) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register April 2013 No. 688l; CR 13-057: am. (1) Register July 2015 No. 715, eff. 8-1-15; CR 21-076: renum. (1) to (1) (a) and (b) 1. to 3. and am., cr. (1) (b) (intro.) Register July 2022 No. 799, eff. 8-1-22.

NR 507.03 NR 507.03 Definitions. The terms used in this chapter are defined in s. NR 500.03.

NR 507.03 History History: Cr. Register, June, 1996, No. 486, eff. 7-1-96.

NR 507.04 NR 507.04 General requirements for monitoring devices and geologic sampling. The department may require an owner or operator of a solid waste disposal facility to install, sample and document environmental monitoring devices in accordance with this chapter. All monitoring devices shall be designed, installed, maintained and operated in accordance with the requirements of ss. NR 507.05 to 507.26, unless an alternate method is approved in writing by the department. All monitoring devices shall be constructed to minimize the potential for contaminants to enter the groundwater or to move from one major soil unit or rock formation to another. All monitoring devices shall be designed, located, installed and maintained so as to obtain reliable and representative information.

NR 507.04(1) (1) Location. The owner or operator shall submit, in writing, to the department for approval, the locations of all monitoring devices prior to installation, except for wells installed prior to a feasibility decision. The location and construction of any monitoring device installed prior to the feasibility decision may be submitted to the department for review and concurrence prior to installation.

NR 507.04(2) (2) Field direction. A professional geologist or qualified technician who is directly supervised by a professional geologist shall observe and direct the drilling of all borings and the installation, development and abandonment of all wells. A professional geologist or qualified technician who is directly supervised by a professional geologist shall also conduct all in-field hydraulic conductivity tests and visually describe and classify all of the geologic samples.

NR 507.04(3) (3) Protection. All monitoring and sampling devices shall be sealed and locked to prevent contaminants from entering the monitoring device. All monitoring wells and gas probes shall have protective metal casings. All other monitoring devices shall be protected as necessary. The department may require additional protective devices such as a ring of brightly colored posts around any monitoring device. All leachate head wells shall be protected to prevent damage during facility operation.

NR 507.04(4) (4) Labeling. All monitoring devices shall be clearly and permanently labeled on the outside of the monitoring device. At a minimum, the label shall include the device name and 3-digit identification number assigned to each well by the department.

NR 507.04(5) (5) Abandonment. For monitoring devices to be abandoned for any reason, an owner or operator shall contact the department. If monitoring devices are being replaced, they shall be properly abandoned in accordance with ss. NR 141.25 and 507.13.

NR 507.04(6) (6) Documentation. All activities required under ss. NR 507.05 to 507.13 shall be documented in accordance with ss. NR 141.23 and 507.14.

NR 507.04 History History: Cr. Register, June, 1996, No. 486, eff. 7-1-96.

NR 507.05 NR 507.05 Soil and rock sampling. All soil and rock samples collected from borings shall be collected and tested in accordance with this section unless otherwise approved in writing by the department.

NR 507.05(1) (1) Soil sample collection. Soil samples shall be collected in accordance with all of the following:

NR 507.05(1)(a) (a) Where conditions permit, soil samples shall be collected using undisturbed soil sampling techniques. Samples may not be composited for testing purposes.

NR 507.05(1)(b) (b) In fine-grained soil environments, continuous samples shall be collected from the land surface to at least 25 feet below the anticipated, proposed or existing sub-base grade for the purpose of field classification. If a boring extends beyond 25 feet below the anticipated, proposed or existing sub-base grade, samples shall be collected from each major soil unit encountered and at maximum 5-foot intervals. If the boring is located outside the anticipated, proposed or existing limits of filling, the applicable sub-base grade is the elevation of the bottom of the anticipated, proposed or existing liner system nearest to the borehole.

NR 507.05(1)(c) (c) In coarse-grained soil environments, samples shall be collected from each major soil unit encountered and at maximum 5-foot intervals.

NR 507.05(1)(d) (d) At least one soil sample shall be collected at the depth of the well screen of any subsequently placed monitoring well. The soil sample collected at the depth of the well screen shall be analyzed for grain size distribution using mechanical and hydrometer methods and Atterberg limits, as appropriate for the particular soil type.

NR 507.05(1)(e) (e) All soil samples shall be retained until the department approves the report that included documentation of the soil sampling.

NR 507.05(2) (2) Bedrock sample collection. If a boring is extended 5 feet or more into bedrock, continuous core samples of the bedrock shall be taken and the rock properties including fracture frequency, rock quality designation, and percent recovery shall be determined. All bedrock core samples shall be retained until the department approves the report that included documentation of the boring. After the approval, the owner or operator shall notify the WGNHS that all bedrock cores and their corresponding boring logs are available for study and possible retention. If the owner or operator has not been contacted by the WGNHS within 45 days after contacting the WGNHS, the owner or operator may discard the bedrock cores.

NR 507.05 Note Note: Wisconsin geological and natural history survey, 3817 Mineral Point Road, Madison, WI 53705-5100, [phone], www.uwex.edu/wgnhs.

NR 507.05(3) (3) Boring log. A boring log shall be submitted for each boring in accordance with s. NR 507.14. For replacement wells, soil and bedrock samples shall be collected in accordance with subs. (1) and (2) unless the department approves a preexisting boring log for a boring within 10 feet of the replacement well. The owner or operator may request an exemption to the 10 foot distance.

NR 507.05 History History: Cr. Register, June, 1996, No. 486, eff. 7-1-96.

NR 507.06 NR 507.06 Groundwater monitoring well design and installation. All groundwater sampling devices shall be designed, located, installed and maintained so as to obtain reliable and representative information regarding aquifer characteristics, groundwater flow directions and chemical and physical characteristics of groundwater. All groundwater monitoring wells shall be designed and installed in accordance with ch. NR 141 and the requirements of this section unless an alternate method is approved in writing by the department.

NR 507.06(1) (1) Drilling method. Drilling fluids may not be used for installing monitoring wells unless no reasonable alternative exists. If drilling fluids are used, the driller shall document the type of fluids used and the chemical constituents of the mixture. If water is used, the source of the water shall be identified and the water shall be analyzed for all detection groundwater monitoring parameters listed in ch. NR 507 Appendix I, Table 1, under municipal solid waste. The drilling method shall meet all of the following:

NR 507.06(1)(a) (a) Bedrock drilling shall be performed in accordance with s. NR 507.05 and ch. NR 141.

NR 507.06(1)(b) (b) Standard penetration tests shall be performed while drilling in soil. Soil drilling methods in fine grained soil environments shall allow the driller to obtain undisturbed soil samples. If a drilling method does not allow for standard penetration tests, then the shear strength of the recovered fine-grained soil samples shall be estimated and recorded in the field with a pocket penetrometer or vane shear.

NR 507.06(1)(c) (c) If the drilling method does not allow the required soil or rock sampling to be performed, a separate boring shall be drilled adjacent to the monitoring well to provide the necessary information.

NR 507.06(2) (2) Borehole abandonment. If any borehole is deeper than the well to be placed in it, the portions of the borehole below the well screen shall be properly sealed in accordance with ss. NR 507.08 and 141.25 (2) (d).

NR 507.06(3) (3) In-field hydraulic conductivity test. An in-field test shall be conducted on each well to determine the in-situ hydraulic conductivity. The test shall be of long enough duration and include sufficient data to provide a representative estimate of the actual hydraulic conductivity.

NR 507.06 History History: Cr. Register, June, 1996, No. 486, eff. 7-1-96; correction in (1) (intro.) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register April 2013 No. 688.

NR 507.07 NR 507.07 Groundwater monitoring well development. All groundwater monitoring wells shall be properly developed following installation in accordance with s. NR 141.21 and this section. To determine the effectiveness of the development, a sample shall be taken from the well within 24 hours of completion of development and analyzed for total suspended solids. Additional purging is not required prior to taking the sample. If drilling fluids were used during well construction, the sample shall also be tested for COD.

NR 507.07 History History: Cr. Register, June, 1996, No. 486, eff. 7-1-96.

NR 507.08 NR 507.08 Boring and well abandonment. All monitoring wells and boreholes shall be abandoned in accordance with s. NR 141.25 and this section.

NR 507.08(1) (1) Timeline. All boreholes not instrumented with a well shall be abandoned immediately after completion of drilling and soil sampling.

NR 507.08(2) (2) Abandonment of water supply wells. Water supply wells which are required to be abandoned shall be abandoned and documented in accordance with s. NR 812.26.

NR 507.08 History History: Cr. Register, June, 1996, No. 486, eff. 7-1-96.

NR 507.09 NR 507.09 Leachate head well design and installation. All leachate head wells required under s. NR 504.09 (2) (i) shall be located, designed and installed so as to obtain reliable and representative information regarding the leachate head levels within the landfill. Leachate head wells in landfills with a composite liner shall be designed with risers on the sideslopes. Landfills with a clay liner shall use a vertical leachate head well design. All leachate headwells shall be documented in accordance with s. NR 507.14 (1) and (5) (a).

NR 507.09 History History: Cr. Register, June, 1996, No. 486, eff. 7-1-96.

NR 507.10 NR 507.10 Collection basin lysimeter design and installation. All collection basin lysimeters required under s. NR 504.06 (5) (u) shall be located, designed and installed so as to obtain reliable and representative information regarding movement of liquid through the landfill liner. All collection basin lysimeters shall be documented in accordance with s. NR 507.14 (1) and (5) (a).