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Relationship of this Manual to the Regulations and to Other Documents

The regulations in Subpart F and 40 CFR Part 270 will continue to be the primary

location of the performance standards for ground water monitoring, and the hazardous waste

permit information requirements, respectively. This Manual serves to elaborate upon the

applicable requirements and available options for meeting the performance standards. While

directly applicable only to monitoring regulated units at permitted RCRA facilities, the

contents of this Manual may provide useful guidance for other Agency ground water

monitoring programs as well, particularly municipal solid waste landfills regulated under 40

CFR Part 258, RCRA facilities that are in interim status (regulated under 40 CFR Part 265),

RCRA facilities that are implementing the corrective action process for solid waste

management units (40 CFR Part 264  264.101), and hydrogeologic investigations at

Superfund sites. The information contained in this Manual also could be useful for the design

and operation of ground water monitoring systems required by any regulatory program (e.g.,

Toxic Substances Control Act).

In September 1986 the Agency released two documents relating to RCRA ground 

water monitoring: The RCRA Ground Water Monitoring Technical Enforcement Guidance

Document (TEGD) and "Chapter Eleven   Ground Water Monitoring" of EPA's manual titled

Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste (USEPA 1986c, commonly known as "SW 846").

The TEGD was distributed by the Office of Waste Programs Enforcement (OWPE) and is the

most recent USEPA guidance document that specifically addresses RCRA ground water

monitoring. The TEGD is presently available from the National Technical Information

Service (703/487 4650) as document number PB87 107 751 and from the Government

Printing Office (202/783 3238) as document number GPO:055 000 00 260 6. SW 846 is

developed by the Office of Solid Waste and provides sampling and analysis methodology

related to compliance with RCRA regulations. SW 846 is distributed through the Government

Printing Office as document number GPO:955 001 00000 1 .

This Manual has been developed by the Agency to update and supplement information

contained in the TEGD and Chapter Eleven of SW 846 to assist the regulated community in

addressing the requirements Subpart F. The TEGD provides guidance for interim status

facilities that have not received an operating permit and are thus subject to the requirements

specified under 40 CFR Part 265. Whereas the TEGD was written primarily for the use of

enforcement officials when implementing the interim status provisions, 40 CFR  265.90 et

seq, this Manual was written to assist and direct owners and operators of permitted facilities

in the design and implementation of ground water monitoring programs. Although written for

use by owners and operators of permitted facilities, Chapter Eleven of SW 846 was not

intended to function as a comprehensive guide for ground water monitoring; rather, it is a

short listing of ground water monitoring protocols.

The Agency recognizes that the science of ground water monitoring is advancing and

therefore, has issued this Manual to present viable new methodologies. Most of the

November 1992

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