SITE INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE

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INFORMATION SHEET ORDER NO. R5-2003-0044 GENERAL ORDER FOR LAND DISPOSAL OF GROUNDWATER OR SURFACE WATER FROM CLEANUP OF PETROLEUM FUEL POLLUTION This Order is proposed to serve as general Waste Discharge Requirements for the discharge to land for disposal of groundwater or surface water produced during the investigation and cleanup of groundwater or surface water polluted with petroleum fuels such as, but not limited to, gasoline, diesel, and heavier fuel oils. The wastewater may be discharged to ponds, infiltration basins, spray disposal areas, subsurface infiltration, but not to surface waters. The treatment and discharge of groundwaters polluted with other chemicals, such as industrial solvents or pesticides, will not be covered by this Order. This Order will not cover: 1) Treated wastewaters discharged to municipal wastewater collection systems (which do not need waste discharge requirements from the Regional Board), and 2)waste discharges to surface waters and surface water drainage courses (which require an NPDES Permit adopted by the Regional Board). Petroleum fuel constituents and additives in groundwater and/or surface water pose a threat or cause impact to existing and potential beneficial uses of groundwater. The number of proposed and ongoing groundwater cleanups of fuel constituents is increasing. The primary constituents of concern with petroleum products include, but are not limited to: total petroleum hydrocarbons in the gasoline, diesel and heavier ranges, and include individual compounds such as: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons: and fuel additives such as methyl tertiary butyl ether (MtBE); and organic lead. In addition, other fuel oxygenates and additives such as methanol, ethanol, Tertiary Butyl Alcohol (TBA), Di-isopropyl Ether (RIPE), Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE), Tertiary Amyl Methyl Ether (TAME), and other compounds may also be of concern. Existing wastewater treatment technology is capable of dependably removing these constituents to concentrations that are generally non-detectable by current analytical technology, but can be costly. Fuel oxygenates, such as MTBE and TBA, have become a more recent concern and can also be removed using the same wastewater treatment technology, although they are more difficult to remove, than other fuel components, and may require larger systems and longer remedial duration. The Department of Health Services secondary drinking water standard for MtBE is 5.0 gg/L (ppb), based on the taste and odor threshold. And the TBA concentration of 12 µg/L is the California Drinking Water Action level. The taste and odor threshold for DIPE has been published in the literature as 0.8 µg/L. Wastewater from a groundwater or surface water cleanup may include: treated water which had been impacted with fuel constituents; non-impacted water pumped from beneath a layer of free product in order to establish a cone of depression to aid in the containment and extraction of the free product; extracted water from short and long term pump tests; well development water; and purge water prior to well sampling. These wastewaters may be produced and treated on a continuous or batch basis. Treated wastewater may be disposed of by subsurface injection, subsurface infiltration, surface infiltration, evaporation, land spreading, spray disposal, reclamation for irrigation of landscape or selected crops, or for industrial process reuse.