Section 140.14. Statistical procedures.

 

(1)  If a preventive action limit or an enforcement standard for a substance listed in Table 1 or 2, an alternative concentration limit issued in accordance with s. NR 140.28 or a preventive action limit for an indicator parameter established according to s. NR 140.20 (2) is attained or exceeded at a point of standards application:

(a) The owner or operator of the facility, practice or activity at which a standard is attained or exceeded shall notify the appropriate regulatory agency that a standard has been attained or exceeded; and

(b) The regulatory agency shall require a response in accordance with the rules promulgated under s. 160.21 , Stats. No response shall be required if it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the appropriate regulatory agency that a scientifically valid determination cannot be made that the preventive action limit or enforcement standard for a substance in Table 1 or 2 has been attained or exceeded based on consideration of sampling procedures or laboratory precision and accuracy, at a significance level of 0.05.

(2)  The regulatory agency shall use one or more valid statistical procedures to determine if a change in the concentration of a substance has occurred. A significance level of 0.05 shall be used for all tests.

(3)  In addition to sub. (2) , the following applies when a preventive action limit or enforcement standard is equal to or less than the limit of quantitation:

(a) If a substance is not detected in a sample, the regulatory agency may not consider the preventive action limit or enforcement standard to have been attained or exceeded.

(b) If the preventive action limit or enforcement standard is less than the limit of detection, and the concentration of a substance is reported between the limit of detection and the limit of quantitation, the regulatory agency shall consider the preventive action limit or enforcement standard to be attained or exceeded only if:

1. The substance has been analytically confirmed to be present in the same sample using an equivalently sensitive analytical method or the same analytical method, and

2. The substance has been statistically confirmed to be present above the preventive action limit or enforcement standard, determined by an appropriate statistical test with sufficient samples at a significance level of 0.05.

(c) If the preventive action limit or enforcement standard is between the limit of detection and the limit of quantitation, the regulatory agency shall consider the preventive action limit or enforcement standard to be attained or exceeded if the concentration of a substance is reported at or above the limit of quantitation.

History: Cr. Register, September, 1985, No. 357 , eff. 10-1-85; am. (1) (intro.) and (b), r. and recr. (2), Register, October, 1988, No. 394 , eff. 11-1-88; am. (1) (b), (2) and (3) (b), Register, September, 1990, No. 417 , eff. 10-1-90; am. (1) (b), Register, March, 1994, No. 459 , eff. 4-1-94; r. and recr. (3) (intro.), (a), (b), renum. (3) (c) to be 140.16 (5) and am., Register, August, 1995, No. 476 , eff. 9-1-95.