49-223. Aquifer water quality standards
A. Primary drinking water maximum contaminant levels established by the
administrator before August 13, 1986 are adopted as drinking water aquifer water quality
standards. The director may only adopt additional aquifer water quality standards by
rule. Within one year after the administrator establishes additional primary drinking
water maximum contaminant levels, the director shall open a rule making docket pursuant
to section 41-1021 for adoption of those maximum contaminant levels as drinking water
aquifer water quality standards. If substantial opposition is demonstrated in the rule
making docket regarding a particular constituent, the director may adopt for that
constituent the maximum contaminant level as a drinking water aquifer water quality
standard upon making a finding that this level is appropriate for adoption in Arizona as
an aquifer water quality standard. In making this finding, the director shall consider
whether the assumptions about technologies, costs, sampling and analytical methodologies
and public health risk reduction used by the administrator in developing and implementing
the maximum contaminant level are appropriate for establishing a drinking water aquifer
water quality standard. For purposes of this subsection "substantial opposition" means
information submitted to the director that explains with reasonable specificity why the
maximum contaminant level is not appropriate as an aquifer water quality standard.
B. The director may adopt by rule numeric drinking water aquifer water quality
standards for pollutants for which the administrator has not established primary drinking
water maximum contaminant levels or for which a maximum contaminant level has been
established but the director has determined it to be inappropriate as an aquifer water
quality standard pursuant to subsection A of this section. These standards shall be
based on the protection of human health. In establishing numeric drinking water aquifer
water quality standards, the director shall rely on technical protocols appropriate for
the development of aquifer water quality standards and shall base the standards on
credible medical and toxicological evidence that has been subjected to peer review.
C. Any person may petition the director to adopt a numeric drinking water aquifer
quality standard for any pollutant for which no drinking water aquifer quality standard
exists. The director shall grant the petition and institute rule making proceedings
adopting a numeric standard as provided under subsection B of this section within one
hundred eighty days if the petition shows that the pollutant is a toxic pollutant, that
the pollutant has been, or may in the future be, detected in any of the state's drinking
water aquifers, and that there exists technical information on which a numeric standard
might reasonably be based. Within one year of the commencement of the rule making
proceeding, the director shall either adopt a numeric standard or make and publish a
finding that, pursuant to subsection B of this section, the development of a numeric
standard is not possible. The decision to not adopt a numeric standard shall, for
purposes of judicial review, be treated in the same manner as a rule adopted pursuant to
title 41, chapter 6.
D. For purposes of assessing compliance with each aquifer water quality standard
adopted pursuant to this section, the director shall for purposes of articles 3 and 4 of
this chapter, and may for purposes of other provisions of this title, identify sampling
and analytical protocols appropriate for detecting and measuring the pollutant in the
aquifers in the state.
E. Within one year from the reclassification of an aquifer to a non-drinking water
status, pursuant to section 49-224, the director shall adopt water quality standards for
that aquifer. For any pollutants which were not the basis for the reclassification, the
applicable standard shall be identical with the standard for those pollutants adopted
pursuant to subsections A and B of this section. For any pollutants which were the basis
for reclassification, the standard shall be sufficient to achieve the purpose for which
the aquifer was reclassified but shall minimize unnecessary degradation of the aquifer by
taking into consideration the potential long-term uses of the aquifer and the short-term
and long-term benefits of the activities resulting in discharges into the aquifer.
F. The director shall adopt water quality standards for an aquifer for which a
petition has been submitted pursuant to section 49-224, subsection D sufficient to
achieve the non-drinking water use for which that aquifer was classified, taking into
consideration the potential long-term uses of that aquifer and the short-term and
long-term benefits of the discharging activities creating that aquifer.
G. In any action pursuant to this title, aquifer water quality protection
provisions, including monitoring requirements, may be imposed only for pollutants for
which aquifer water quality standards have been established that are likely to be present
in a discharge. Indicator parameters and quality assurance parameters appropriate for
such pollutants also may be specified.
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