18 AAC 80.320. Sampling requirements for pesticides and other organic chemicals

For purposes of this section, a GWUDISW source is considered a surface water source. The owner or operator of a Class A public water system shall conduct monitoring to determine compliance with the MCLs for pesticides specified in 18 AAC 80.300(b) (2)(A) and for other organic contaminants specified in 18 AAC 80.300(b) (2)(D) as follows:

(1) the owner or operator of a groundwater system shall take a minimum of one sample at each entry point to the distribution system that is representative of each groundwater source or water treatment works; each of these points is a sampling point; samples must be collected after treatment; the owner or operator shall take each subsequent sample at the same sampling point unless conditions make another sampling point more representative of each source or water treatment works;

(2) the owner or operator of a surface water system or a combination-source system shall take a minimum of one sample at each entry point to the distribution system or at points in the distribution system that are representative of each surface water source or water treatment works; each of these points is a sampling point; samples must be collected after treatment; the owner or operator shall take each subsequent sample at the same sampling point unless conditions make another sampling point more representative of each surface water source or water treatment works;

(3) if the system draws water from more than one source and the sources are combined before distribution, the owner or operator shall sample after treatment at an entry point to the distribution system during periods of typical operating conditions when the water is representative of all sources being used;

(4) with respect to monitoring frequency,

(A) the owner or operator shall take four consecutive quarterly samples for each applicable contaminant listed in 18 AAC 80.300(b) (2)(A) and (D) during each compliance period;

(B) the owner or operator of a system serving more than 3,300 individuals that does not detect a contaminant in the initial compliance period may reduce the sampling frequency to a minimum of two quarterly samples in one year during each subsequent compliance period; and

(C) the owner or operator of a system serving 3,300 or fewer individuals that does not detect a contaminant in the initial compliance period may reduce the sampling frequency to a minimum of one sample during each subsequent compliance period;

(5) if the department determines that a waiver serves the interests of public health, and subject to (6) of this section, the department will waive the requirements of (4) of this section for a compliance period upon application by the owner or operator of a Class A public water system; an owner or operator who makes an application shall use the procedures described in the department's Synthetic Organic Chemicals (SOCs) and Other Organic Chemicals (OOCs) Monitoring Waiver Application , adopted by reference in 18 AAC 80.010(b) ; an application for a waiver or renewal of a waiver must be accompanied by the fee required by 18 AAC 80.1910(b)(6)(A); based upon new information received, the department will modify or revoke a waiver issued under this paragraph, if the department determines that modification or revocation serves the interests of public health;

(6) in deciding whether to issue a waiver under (5) of this section, the department will evaluate

(A) information about previous uses within the system's waiver review area of each contaminant for which a waiver is sought; uses subject to evaluation include transport, storage, and disposal;

(B) the susceptibility of the system to contaminants; indicators of susceptibility include previous analytical results, proximity to a potential point source or nonpoint source of contamination, how well the water source is protected against contamination, and environmental persistence and transport;

(D) the use of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in pumps, transformers, and other equipment used in the production, storage, or distribution of water;

(7) if an organic contaminant listed in 18 AAC 80.300(b) (2)(A) and (D) is detected in a sample,

(A) the owner or operator must monitor quarterly for each contaminant that was detected at each sampling point where that contaminant was detected;

(B) the department will decrease the monitoring requirement in (A) of this paragraph if the department determines that the system is reliably and consistently below the MCL for the detected contaminant; the department will not make this determination unless the owner or operator takes a minimum of

(i) two quarterly samples for each groundwater source in which an organic contaminant listed in 18 AAC 80.300(b) (2)(A) or (D) is detected; and

(ii) four quarterly samples for each surface water source in which an organic contaminant listed in 18 AAC 80.300(b) (2)(A) or (D) is detected;

(C) and if the department determines that the system is reliably and consistently below the applicable MCL, the department will allow the system to monitor annually; the owner or operator of a system that monitors annually shall monitor during the calendar quarter that previously yielded the highest analytical result;

(D) the owner or operator of a system with three consecutive annual samples under (C) of this paragraph with no detection of a contaminant may apply to the department for a waiver as specified in (5) of this section; and

(E) and if monitoring results in detection of one or more of the contaminants aldicarb, aldicarb sulfone, aldicarb sulfoxide, heptachlor and heptachlor epoxide, subsequent monitoring must analyze for all of those contaminants;

(8) the owner or operator of a system that exceeds an MCL for pesticides or other organic contaminants listed in 18 AAC 80.300(b) (2)(A) and (D), as analyzed under 18 AAC 80.1100(e), shall monitor quarterly for each contaminant that exceeded the MCL; if a minimum of four quarterly samples show that the system is in compliance and the department determines that the system is reliably and consistently below the MCL, as determined under 18 AAC 80.305(c) , the owner or operator shall monitor annually as specified in (7)(C) of this section;

(9) the department will require a confirmation sample for positive or negative results, if the department determines that a confirmation sample serves the interests of public health; if the department requires a confirmation sample, the department will average the sampling result with the first sampling result and use the average to determine compliance as specified in 18 AAC 80.305(c) ; the department will delete results of obvious sampling errors from this calculation;

(10) the department will reduce the total number of samples that must be analyzed by allowing compositing if the detection limit of the method used or the results of an analysis is less than one-fifth of the MCL; a composite of samples must be analyzed within 14 days after sample collection as follows:

(A) if the analysis of the composite sample detects one or more of the pesticides or other organic contaminants listed in 18 AAC 80.300(b) (2)(A) and (D), then, within 14 days after being notified of the analytic results, the owner or operator of the system shall take a follow-up sample from each sampling point included in the composite and ensure that each sample is analyzed for each contaminant detected;

(B) if duplicates of the original sample taken from each sampling point used in the composite are available, the owner or operator may use the duplicates instead of resampling; the duplicates must be analyzed and the results reported to the department within 14 days after collection, subject to the report certification requirements of 18 AAC 80.1900;

(C) if the system serves more than 3,300 individuals, the department will allow compositing only at sampling points within a single system; if the system serves 3,300 or fewer individuals, the department will allow compositing among different systems; and

(11) if monitoring data are generally consistent with the requirements of this section, the department will allow systems to use that data to satisfy the monitoring requirement for the initial compliance period.

History: Eff. 10/1/99, Register 151; am 1/11/2006, Register 177

Authority: AS 46.03.020

The Alaska Administrative Code was automatically converted to HTML from a plain text format. Every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy, but neither Touch N' Go Systems nor the Law Offices of James B. Gottstein can be held responsible for any possible errors. This version of the Alaska Administrative Code is current through June, 2006.

If it is critical that the precise terms of the Alaska Administrative Code be known, it is recommended that more formal sources be consulted. Recent editions of the Alaska Administrative Journal may be obtained from the Alaska Lieutenant Governor's Office on the world wide web. If any errors are found, please e-mail Touch N' Go systems at E-mail. We hope you find this information useful. Copyright 2006. Touch N' Go Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.