Small Business and Class V Wells
Small businesses throughout the
United States generate wastewater from their commercial and
industrial operations. Many manage their wastewater in an
environmentally sound fashion by recycling or collecting it in
holding tanks for later treatment off site, or they dispose of it
in properly connected sewers. However, some businesses, usually
without access to sewer systems, rely on shallow underground
disposal. They use dry holes or cesspools, or send their
industrial/commercial wastewater into septic systems. The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines this type of
disposal practice as Class V under its Underground Injection
Control regulations. Because the commercial/industrial waste
likely contains toxic and harmful chemicals, Class V wells have
lead to contamination of underground sources of drinking water
adversely impacting the environment and community drinking water
supplies.
Over the past decade, communities throughout United States have had to address the contamination of their underground sources of drinking water by the waste disposal practices of local businesses. The costs associated with cleaning up ground water contamination has ranged from tens of thousands to millions of dollars per site. For example, an electroplating company in Vancouver, Washington, discharged waste into a dry well contaminating a well field that served 10,000 residents. The remedial action is expected to cost about $3.8 million. Also, the Agency is aware of a number of Superfund sites that are the direct result of Class V disposal activities as well as other examples of contamination incidence caused by Class V wells cited throughout this notification.
To address the risk posed by Class V injection wells to drinking water supplies EPA proposed changes to the Class V Underground Injection Control (UIC) regulations that would add new requirements for relatively high-risk Class V wells in areas near drinking water supplies. The proposal would ban Class V motor vehicle waste disposal wells and large-capacity cesspools located in ground water-based source water protection areas being delineated by States under the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). In addition, fluids released in Class V industrial waste disposal wells in ground water-based source water protection areas would be required to meet certain standards of quality.
EPA proposed these new requirements because available information shows that Class V motor vehicle waste disposal wells, cesspools, and industrial waste disposal wells pose a high risk of ground water contamination. Targeting the requirements to those wells near ground water-based drinking water supplies will achieve substantial protection of underground sources of drinking water. The proposal builds on the Class V strategy and minor rule changes proposed on August 28, 1995 (60 FR 44652) by incorporating public comments on that proposal and by integrating the Class V UIC program with the Source Water Assessment and Protection Program created by the 1996 SDWA Amendments.
Office of Advocacy Comments Web Comments
| Privacy | Viewing Utilities | Text Only |
*Last Modified: 02-22-2002