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(b) "Inactive dam" means a dam and associated settling area that is no longer
15being used for disposal of tailings or wastewater and that has been reclaimed in a
16manner approved by the department.
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17(2) General. The operator shall, at least monthly, visually inspect all of the
18following and record observations in a mining waste site operating log:
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(a) The active portions of the mining waste site for possible damage or
20structural weakening.
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(b) Mining waste handling and monitoring equipment and readings, to ensure
22normal operation and measurements.
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(c) Fences or barriers around the mining waste site, for possible damage.
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(d) The buffer area around the mining waste site, for possible environmental
25damage related to its operation.
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1(3) Active dams. The operator shall, at least monthly, inspect active dams and
2record the findings in the mining waste site operating log. The operator shall record
3at least all of the following findings:
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(a) Condition of vegetation on the dam and within 50 feet from the outside base.
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(b) Piezometric levels within the mass of the dam.
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(c) Condition of soil surfaces on the top and slopes of the dam and within 50 feet
7from the outside base.
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(d) Condition of drainage ditches near the base of the dam.
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(e) Liquid surface level and amount of freeboard.
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(f) Condition of spillways, conduits, and water level control structures.
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11(4) Inactive dams. The operator shall inspect inactive dams quarterly and
12record the findings in the mining waste site operating log. The operator shall record
13at least all of the following findings:
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(a) Condition of soil surfaces on the top and slopes of the dam and within 50 feet
15from the outside base.
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(b) Piezometric levels within the mass of the dam if that instrumentation has
17been determined to be necessary or is required in the long-term care provisions of
18the mining waste site feasibility study and plan of operation.
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(c) Condition of spillways, conduits, and water level control structures.
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20(5) Defective conditions of dams posing risk of adverse impact. When a
21defective condition that poses a significant risk of adverse impact to the environment
22is found during an inspection of a dam, the operator shall ensure that it is recorded
23and corrected at the earliest practicable time. At the earliest practicable time, the
24operator shall make a written report to the department of the condition and the
25actions proposed and taken for its correction. Within 5 business days of receipt of a
1written report, the department may confirm the correction of the condition and
2specify any necessary additional corrective action. An operator shall consider any
3of the following items as indicating a condition that requires prompt investigation
4and that may require corrective action:
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(a) Seepage on the outer face of the dam accompanied by boils, sand cones, or
6deltas.
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(b) Silt accumulations, boils, deltas, or cones in the drainage ditches at the base
8of the dam.
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(c) Cracking of soil surface on the top or either face of the dam.
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(d) Bulging of the outside face of the dam.
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(e) Seepage, damp areas, or boils in the vicinity of, or erosion around, a conduit
12through the dam.
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(f) Any shrinkage of the top or faces of the dam.
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14(6) Potential defects of dams. All of the following conditions indicate
15potential defects and the operator shall closely check them on subsequent
16inspections for an active dam and conduct an intermediate inspection if they exist
17for an inactive dam:
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(a) Patches of overgrown vegetation on the outside face or close to the base of
19the dam.
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(b) Surface erosion, gullying, or wave erosion on the inside of the dam.
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(c) Surface erosion, gullying, or damp areas on the outside of the dam, including
22the berm and the area within 50 feet from the outside base.
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(d) Erosion below any conduit.
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(e) Wet areas or soggy soil on the outside of, or in natural soil below, the dam.
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1(7) Record keeping related to dams. (a) The operator shall retain all records
2relating to dam monitoring, analytical, and verification activities and data,
3including all original strip chart recordings and instrumentation, calibration, and
4maintenance records, until termination of operator responsibility, except to the
5extent that copies of those records have previously been provided to the department.
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(b) The operator shall maintain in a permanent file all of the following
7construction records pertaining to any dam in case they are needed for future
8reference:
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1. Aerial photos of the construction site before construction.
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2. Construction drawings and modifications of the drawings.
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3. Construction specifications and modifications of the specifications.
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4. Results of all soil tests on foundations and fill materials.
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5. Logs of borings and engineering geology reports.
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6. Copies of construction progress inspections pertinent to core trench, toe
15drain, internal drains, and other significant phases of the structure including, at the
16option of the operator, photographs of various structural items.
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7. Aerial photos of the entire dam taken within 90 days after all construction
18is completed.
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8. A description of and justification for all deviations or variances from the
20construction plans and specifications.
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21(8) Responses to unplanned events. If a mining waste site has an accidental
22or emergency discharge, a fire, an explosion, or other unplanned or unpredicted
23event that is likely to damage human health or the environment, the operator shall
24follow the procedures set forth in the contingency plan under s. 295.51 (6) (f) and
1shall report the incident to the department and to county, town, and tribal
2governmental agencies immediately after the operator has discovered the event.
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3(9) Annual report. The operator shall submit to the department an annual
4summary report concerning the mining waste site containing all of the following:
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(a) Statistical summaries of annual and cumulative data.
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(b) A comparison of the summaries under par. (a) to mining waste
7characterization, leachate characterizations, effluent predictions, and baseline
8water quality and background water quality data as contained in the approved
9mining waste site feasibility study and plan of operation.
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(c) The results of verification procedures and a presentation of the error
11associated with each parameter reported.
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(d) Information from monitoring wells that have not been affected, including
13a discussion of whether the baseline values should be modified due to natural
14variability and what the new values should be.
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15(10) Applicability. This section does not apply to a surface mine that is
16backfilled with mining waste.
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17295.64 Mining site monitoring; general.
(1) General. The department,
18as a condition of a mining permit, shall require the operator to perform adequate
19monitoring of environmental changes during the course of the mining and for the
20additional period of time that is necessary to satisfactorily complete reclamation and
21completely release the operator from any bonds or other security required. The
22department may monitor environmental changes concurrently with the operator
23and for an additional period after the security is released.
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24(2) Analyses. (a) The department shall review baseline water quality data
25with respect to groundwater and monitoring data associated with the mine, mining
1waste sites, and sites for the disposal of wastes that are not mining wastes at the time
2of each review of the mining permit or reclamation plan under s. 295.63 (3) and when
3the operator requests a modification of the mining permit or reclamation plan.
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(b) An operator shall have bacteriological analyses of water samples and all
5radiological analyses associated with the mining site performed by the state
6laboratory of hygiene or at a laboratory certified or approved by the department of
7health services. An operator shall have other laboratory tests the results of which
8are submitted to the department under this subchapter performed by a laboratory
9certified or registered under s. 299.11, except that this requirement does not apply
10to any of the following:
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1. Physical testing of soil.
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2. Air quality tests.
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3. Tests for hydrogen ion concentration (pH).
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4. Tests for chlorine residual.
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5. Tests for temperature.
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16295.643 Mining waste site monitoring.
(1) General. The department may
17require the monitoring of groundwater, surface water, leachate, or other physical
18features associated with a mining waste site.
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19(2) Physical features. The department may require the monitoring of air
20quality, berms, embankments, vegetation growth, and drainage control structures
21associated with the mining waste site. The department may require monitoring of
22other chemical or biological conditions, if the department determines that the
23monitoring is necessary to assess the impact of the mining waste site on critical
24aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
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1(3) Monitoring wells and other devices. (a) The department shall require
2the installation of groundwater monitoring wells at a mining waste site. The
3department may require installation of leachate monitoring wells, lysimeters,
4moisture probes, and similar devices and associated water quality sampling and
5analysis programs to detect the effects of leachate on groundwater.
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(b) The department shall determine the required number of groundwater
7monitoring wells based on the size of the mining waste site, the design of the mining
8waste site, the types of mining waste, and the hydrologic and geologic setting of the
9mining waste site. The department shall ensure that the number of wells is adequate
10to yield samples representative of the groundwater quality both up gradient and
11down gradient of the mining waste site.
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(c) An operator shall construct all monitoring wells in accordance with ch. NR
13141, Wis. Adm. Code, and in such a manner as to prevent, to the extent practicable,
14the exchange of water between aquifers.
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15(4) Destruction of monitoring devices. (a) If for any reason a monitoring well
16or other monitoring device associated with a mining waste site is destroyed or
17otherwise fails to function properly, the operator shall notify the department in
18writing within 5 days of discovering the destruction or malfunction.
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(b) The operator shall either restore the monitoring well or other device or
20properly abandon it and replace it with a functioning device within 60 days of
21notifying the department under par. (a) unless the department notifies the operator
22otherwise in writing within 30 days of receiving notice from the operator.
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23(5) Sampling other wells. The department may require an operator to sample
24public or private wells as part of a regular monitoring program or to determine the
25extent of groundwater contamination associated with a mining waste site. If the
1owner of a well does not authorize access for sampling, the operator shall promptly
2notify the department.
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3(6) Required monitoring and analysis. (a) An operator shall monitor
4groundwater at locations identified in the waste site feasibility study and plan of
5operation on a quarterly basis, during March, June, September, and December,
6unless the department agrees to an alternate schedule. The department may base
7an alternate schedule on the hydrogeologic system's characteristics, such as flow
8velocity and stratigraphy, and on fluctuations in quality as determined through
9background water quality or baseline water quality sampling and mining waste
10type. The operator shall analyze for the parameters listed in the approved waste site
11feasibility study and plan of operation.
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(b) An operator shall use the methods for groundwater and surface water
13sample collection, preservation, and analysis that are specified in the approved
14mining waste site facility study and plan of operation.
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15(7) Water elevation measurements. The operator shall make water elevation
16measurements on a quarterly basis.
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17(8) Operations report. The department may require an operator to submit an
18operations report to assess the effectiveness and environmental acceptability of
19mining waste site operations. The operator may include in the report a discussion
20of confinement of the active fill area and an analysis of leachate and other
21monitoring, surface water control and erosion control, revegetation, settlement,
22volume of the mining waste site utilized, leachate quantity and quality, slope
23stability, equipment performance, volume and type of waste disposed of, and other
24relevant parameters.
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1(9) Reports of monitoring data. The operator shall forward to the department,
2within 60 days after sampling, 3 copies of the monitoring data required by this
3section to be collected during each quarter.
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4295.645 Groundwater quality, monitoring, and response. (1) 5Definitions. In this section:
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(a) "Alternative concentration limit" means the concentration of a substance
7in groundwater established by the department to replace a groundwater quality
8standard when the department grants an exemption.
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(b) "Statistically significantly different" means an amount of change
10determined by the use of statistical tests for measuring significance at the 95 percent
11confidence level.
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12(2) Design management zone. (a) Notwithstanding the rule-making authority
13in s. 160.21 (2) and except as provided under par. (b), for the purposes of ch. 160, the
14horizontal distance to the boundary of the design management zone for a mining
15operation is 1,200 feet from the limits of the engineered structures of the mining
16waste site, including any wastewater and sludge storage or treatment lagoons, the
17edge of the mine, and the adjacent mine mill and ferrous mineral processing facilities
18or at the boundary of the property owned or leased by the applicant, whichever
19distance is less.
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(b) When issuing or modifying a mining permit or issuing or reissuing any other
21approval, the department may expand the design management zone by a horizontal
22distance of up to an additional 1,200 feet in any direction as provided in this
23paragraph, but not beyond the boundary of the property owned or leased by the
24applicant. The department may not expand the design management zone unless the
25applicant demonstrates all of the following:
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11. That preventive action limits and enforcement standards or alternative
2concentration limits cannot be met at the boundary of the design management zone
3if it is not expanded.
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2. That preventive action limits and enforcement standards or alternative
5concentration limits will be met at the boundary of the expanded design
6management zone.
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(c) Notwithstanding the rule-making authority in s. 160.21 (2), for the
8purposes of ch. 160, the vertical distance to the boundary of the design management
9zone for a mining site, including any mining waste site, extends no deeper than 1,000
10feet into the Precambrian bedrock or than the final depth of the mining excavation,
11whichever is greater.
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12(3) Point of standards application. (a) Any point at which groundwater is
13monitored is a point of standards application to determine whether a preventive
14action limit or an alternative concentration limit to a preventive action limit has been
15attained or exceeded for an activity regulated under a mining permit or another
16approval related to the mining operation. Any of the following is a point of standards
17application to determine whether an enforcement standard or an alternative
18concentration limit to an enforcement standard has been attained or exceeded for an
19activity regulated under a mining permit or another approval related to the mining
20operation:
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1. Any point of present groundwater use.
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2. Any point beyond the boundary of the property on which the activity is
23conducted, subject to par. (b).
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3. Any point that is within the boundary of the property on which the activity
25is conducted but is beyond the design management zone, subject to par. (b).
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1(b) No point at a depth of greater than 1,000 feet into the Precambrian bedrock
2or than the final depth of the mining excavation, whichever is greater, is a point of
3standards application under this subsection.
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(c) Section 160.21 (2) does not apply to an activity regulated under this
5subchapter.
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6(4) Change in groundwater quality. If the analysis of samples collected
7through monitoring indicates that the quality of groundwater is statistically
8significantly different from either baseline water quality or background water
9quality and the evaluation of the data shows a reasonable probability that without
10intervention groundwater quality standards or alternative concentration limits will
11be attained or exceeded, the operator shall do all of the following:
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(a) Notify the department within 10 days after the operator receives the results
13of the analysis of the samples.
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(b) Determine, if possible, the cause of the difference in water quality, such as
15a spill, a design failure, or an improper operational procedure.
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(c) Determine the extent of groundwater contamination or the potential for
17groundwater contamination.
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(d) Implement the applicable portions of the approved contingency plan.
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19(5) Response concerning preventive action limits. In accordance with s. NR
20140.24 (1) to (5), Wis. Adm. Code, the department shall evaluate the range of
21responses proposed by the operator when a preventive action limit or an alternative
22concentration limit to a preventive action limit is attained or exceeded and the
23analysis of samples indicates that the quality of groundwater is statistically
24significantly different from either baseline water quality or background water
25quality at a point of standards application. In designating the appropriate response,
1the department shall evaluate the operator's proposed range of responses, including
2any alternate responses to those identified in s. NR 140.24, Wis. Adm. Code. For any
3alternate responses, the department shall consider the technical and economic
4feasibility of alternate responses, the practicality of stopping the further release of
5the substance, and the risks and benefits of continued mining operations. The
6department shall designate the appropriate response, except that, notwithstanding
7s. 160.21 (3) and the rule-making authority under s. 160.21 (1), the department may
8not prohibit a practice or activity or require closure and abandonment of a mining
9waste site, including any wastewater and sludge storage or treatment lagoon, unless
10it has followed the procedures in s. 295.78 and satisfies the requirements of s. 160.23
11(4) and (6). The department may determine that no response is necessary and that
12an exemption is not required when the requirements of s. NR 140.24 (5) (a) or (b), Wis.
13Adm. Code are met.
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14(6) Response concerning enforcement standards. (a) In accordance with s.
15NR 140.26 (1) and (2), Wis. Adm. Code, the department shall evaluate the range of
16responses proposed by the operator based on the responses listed in Table 6 of s. NR
17140.26, Wis. Adm. Code, when an enforcement standard or an alternative
18concentration limit to an enforcement standard is attained or exceeded and the
19analysis of samples indicates that the quality of groundwater is statistically
20significantly different from either baseline water quality or background water
21quality at a point of standards application. In designating the appropriate response,
22the department shall evaluate the operator's proposed range of responses against
23those identified in Table 6 of s. NR 140.26, Wis. Adm. Code. The department shall
24designate the appropriate response, except that, notwithstanding ss. 160.21 (3) and
25160.25 (1) (a) and the rule-making authority under s. 160.21 (1), the department may
1not prohibit a practice or activity or require closure and abandonment of a mining
2waste site, including any wastewater and sludge storage or treatment lagoon, unless
3it has followed the procedures in s. 295.78 and all of the following apply: