La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § IX-7305

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024

Section IX-7305 - Siting and Operation Requirements for Commercial Preparers of Sewage Sludge [Formerly Section 6905]

A. Exemptions

1. A publicly owned treatment works (POTW), as defined in LAC 33:IX.7301.B, shall be exempted from the siting requirements in Subsection B of this Section and the facility closure requirements in Paragraph C.3 of this Section if the POTW prepares only sewage sludge generated at the POTW or sewage sludge generated at a facility that is owned or operated by the POTW and the POTW's sewage sludge treatment facility is located within the POTW's boundary or perimeter.

2. An existing facility that has been issued a sewage sludge and biosolids use or disposal permit shall be exempted from the siting requirements in Subsection B of this Section.

B. Siting

1. Location Characteristics

a. Facilities shall not be located less than 200 feet from a property line. A reduction in this requirement shall be allowed only with the permission, in the form of a notarized affidavit, of the adjoining landowners and occupants. A copy of the notarized affidavit waiving the 200-foot buffer zone shall be entered in the mortgage and conveyance records of the parish for the adjoining landowner's property.

b. Facilities shall not be located less than 300 feet from a private potable water supply or a private water supply elevated storage tank or ground storage tank unless special permission is granted by the private potable water supply owner.

c. Facilities shall not be located less than 300 feet from a public potable water supply or a public water supply elevated storage tank or ground storage tank unless special permission is granted by the Department of Health and Hospitals.

d. Facilities shall not be located less than 100 feet from wetlands, surface waters (streams, ponds, lakes), or areas historically subject to overflow from floods.

e. Facilities shall only be located in a hydrologic section where the historic high water table is at a minimum of a 3-foot depth below the surface, or the water table at the facility shall be controlled to a minimum of a 3-foot depth below this zone.

f. Untreated sewage sludge, other materials, feedstock, or supplements to be utilized at a facility shall not be located less than 25 feet from a subsurface drainage pipe or drainage ditch that discharges directly to waters of the state.

g. New or first-time-permitted facilities that are not located within the boundaries of a legally zoned and established industrial park:

i. shall not be located less than 1,000 feet from an established institution , as defined in LAC 33:IX.7301.B, unless special permission is granted by the owner of the institution. The permission must be in the form of an affidavit executed by the owner waiving the 1,000-foot buffer zone. However, in no case shall the facility be located less than 200 feet from such an institution; and

ii. shall not be located less than 500 feet from an established home residence unless special permission has been granted by the owner and/or lessee of the established home residence in the form of an affidavit executed by the owner and/or lessee waiving the 500-foot buffer zone. However, in no case shall the facility be located less than 200 feet from an established home residence.

h. Facilities that prepare or compost only sewage sludge or blend, mix, or compost sewage sludge and have only woodchips or yard waste (e.g., leaves, lawn clippings, or branches) as feedstock or supplements shall not be located closer than the greater of the following distances from an airport:

i. 1,200 feet from the air operations area, as defined in LAC 33:IX.7301.B; or

ii. the distance called for by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration's airport design requirements.

i. Facilities that blend, mix, or compost sewage sludge that include food or other municipal solid waste as feedstock or supplements shall not be located closer than:

i. 5,000 feet from any airport property boundary (including the air operations area) if the airport does not sell Jet-A fuel and serves only piston-powered aircraft; or

ii. 10,000 feet from any airport property boundary (including the air operations area) if the airport sells Jet-A fuel and serves turbine-powered aircraft, or sells Jet-A fuel and is designed to serve turbine-powered and/or piston-powered aircraft.

j. Storage and processing of sewage sludge or biosolids is prohibited within any of the buffer zones indicated in Subparagraphs B.1.a-i of this Section.

k. Facilities located in, or within 1,000 feet of, swamps, marshes, wetlands, estuaries, wildlife-hatchery areas, habitat of endangered species, archaeological sites, historic sites, publicly owned recreation areas, and similar critical environmental areas shall be isolated from such areas by effective barriers that eliminate probable adverse impacts from facility operations.

l. Facilities located in, or within 1,000 feet of, an aquifer recharge zone shall be designed to protect the area from adverse impacts of operations at the facility.

m. Access to facilities by land or water transportation shall be by all-weather roads or waterways that can meet the demands of the facility and are designed to avoid, to the extent practicable, congestion, sharp turns, obstructions, or other hazards conducive to accidents; and the surface roadways shall be adequate to withstand the weight of transportation vehicles.

2. Facility Characteristics

a. Perimeter Barriers, Security, and Signs

i. All facilities shall have a perimeter barrier around the facility that prevents unauthorized ingress or egress, except by willful entry.

ii. During operating hours, each facility entry point shall be continuously monitored, manned, or locked.

iii. During non-operating hours, each facility entry point shall be locked.

iv. All facilities that receive sewage sludge, other materials, feedstock, or supplements from off-site sources shall post readable signs that list the types of sewage sludge, other materials, feedstock, or supplements that can be received at the facility.

b. Fire Protection and Medical Care. All facilities shall have access to required fire protection and medical care with access gates that are wide enough to allow easy access for emergency vehicles, or such services shall be provided internally.

3. Facility Surface Hydrology

a. Surface-runoff-diversion levees, canals, or devices shall be installed to prevent drainage from the facility to adjoining areas during a 24-hour/25-year storm event. When rainfall records are not available, the design standard shall be 12 inches of rainfall below 3l degrees north latitude and 9 inches of rainfall above 3l degrees north latitude. If the 24-hour/25-year storm event level is lower, the design standard shall be required.

b. Storm water run-on shall be prevented from entering the receiving, processing, curing, and storage areas by the use of berms or other physical barriers.

c. The topography of the facility shall provide for drainage to prevent standing water and shall allow for drainage away from the facility.

d. All storm water and wastewater from a facility must conform to applicable requirements of LAC 33:IX.Chapters 23-67.

4. Facility Geology

a. Except as provided in Subparagraph B.4.c of this Section, facilities shall have natural stable soils of low permeability for the area occupied by the facility, including vehicle parking and turnaround areas, that should provide a barrier to prevent any penetration of surface spills into groundwater aquifers underlying the area or to a sand or other water-bearing strata that would provide conduits to such an aquifer.

b. The natural soil surface must be capable of supporting heavy equipment operation during and after prolonged periods of rain.

c. A design for surfacing natural soils that do not meet the requirements in Subparagraphs B.4.a and b of this Section shall be prepared under the supervision of a professional engineer, licensed in the state of Louisiana with expertise in geotechnical engineering and geohydrology. Written certification by the engineer that the surface satisfies the requirements of Subparagraphs B.4.a and b of this Section shall be provided.

5. Facility Plans and Specifications. Facility plans and specifications represented and described in the permit applications or permit modifications for all facilities must be prepared under the supervision of, and certified by, a professional engineer, licensed in the state of Louisiana.

6. Notification of Completion. Within 10 days of completion of the facility or completion of a facility modification, the owner of the facility shall submit a notification of completion to the administrative authority. The notification of completion shall include a certification statement by a professional engineer, licensed in the state of Louisiana, that the facility meets the plans and specifications as described in the sewage sludge and biosolids use or disposal permit application.

7. Initial Start-Up Inspection

a. Upon issuance of a permit or modification to an existing facility, or construction of a newly permitted facility, a start-up inspection may be made after the permit holder submits the notification of completion and construction certification to the administrative authority.

b. Upon renewal of an existing permit where no physical changes are required, no certification of construction shall be required to be submitted, and no start-up inspection shall be initiated. The owner of the facility may continue use of the facility upon the effective date of the renewal permit.

c. If the administrative authority determines a start-up inspection is required pursuant to Subparagraph B.7.a of this Section, the start-up inspection shall be initiated within 15 working days of receipt of certification by the Office of Environmental Services unless a longer time period is set by mutual agreement.

d. Within 15 working days after a new, existing, or modified facility has undergone an initial start-up inspection, or within 30 days of receipt of the construction certification, the administrative authority shall either issue an approval of the construction or a notice of deficiency to the permittee, unless a longer time period is set by mutual agreement.

C. Operations

1. Operational Requirements for All Preparers of Sewage Sludge

a. Facility Operations and Maintenance Manual

i. A facility operations and maintenance manual shall be developed and forwarded with the permit application to the administrative authority.

ii. The facility operations and maintenance manual shall describe, in specific detail, how the sewage sludge and the other feedstock or supplements to be blended, composted, or mixed with the sewage sludge (if applicable) will be managed during all phases of the preparation process and, if applicable, the land application process. At a minimum, the manual shall address the following:

(a). preparation facility site and project description;

(b). regulatory interfaces;

(c). preparation process management plan;

(d). odor management plan;

(e). methods utilized for managing the biological conditions during the composting procedure (i.e., carbon/nitrogen ratio, moisture, O₂ levels, free air space), when composting is utilized as a preparation process;

(f). worker health and safety management plan;

(g). housekeeping and nuisance management plan;

(h). emergency preparedness plan;

(i). security, community relations, and public access plan;

(j). regulated chemicals (list and location of regulated chemicals kept on-site);

(k). monitoring, sampling, recordkeeping, and reporting procedures;

(l). feedstock, supplements, and process management;

(m). product distribution records;

(n). pollutant reduction plan (for land application of biosolids);

(o). pathogen treatment plan (for land application of biosolids);

(p). vector attraction reduction plan (for land application of biosolids);

(q). site application records (for land application of biosolids);

(r). description of how the land application management practices are met (for land application of biosolids);

(s). description of how the land application site and soil restrictions are met (for land application of biosolids);

(t). operator certification; and

(u). administration of the operations and maintenance manual.

iii. The facility operations and maintenance manual shall be keep on-site and readily available to employees and, if requested, to the administrative authority or his/her duly authorized representative.

b. Facility Operational Standards

i. The facility must include a receiving area, a mixing area, a curing area, a compost storage area for composting operations, drying and screening areas, and a truck wash area, which shall be located on surfaces capable of preventing groundwater contamination (periodic inspections of the surface shall be made to ensure that the underlying soils and the surrounding land surface are not being contaminated).

ii. All containers shall provide containment of the sewage sludge and the other feedstock or supplements to be blended, composted, or mixed with the sewage sludge, and thereby control litter and other pollution of adjoining areas.

iii. Provisions shall be made for the daily cleanup of the facility, including equipment and waste-handling areas.

iv. Treatment facilities for washdown and contaminated water shall be provided, or the wastewater contained, collected, and transported off-site to an approved wastewater treatment facility.

v. Leachate produced in the composting process:

(a). shall be collected and disposed off-site at a permitted facility; or

(b). shall be collected, treated, and discharged on-site in accordance with LAC 33:IX.Chapters 23-67; or

(c). may be reused in the composting process as a source of moisture.

vi. Sufficient equipment shall be provided and maintained at all facilities to meet their operational needs.

vii. Odor Management

(a). The production of odor shall be minimized.

(b). Processed air and other sources of odor shall be contained and, if necessary, treated in order to remove odor before discharging to the atmosphere.

viii. Receiving and Monitoring Sewage Sludge, Other Materials, Feedstock, or Supplements Used

(a). Any facility used to prepare sewage sludge shall be equipped with a device or method to determine quantity (by wet-weight tonnage), sources (whether the sewage sludge, other materials, feedstock, or supplements to be mixed with the sewage were generated in-state or out-of-state), and types of other materials, feedstock, or supplements. The facility shall also be equipped with a device or method to control entry of sewage sludge, other materials, feedstock, or supplements coming on-site and prevent entry of unrecorded or unauthorized deliverables (i.e., hazardous, industrial, unauthorized, or unpermitted solid waste).

(b). Other feedstock and supplements that are blended, composted, or mixed with sewage sludge shall be treated for the effective removal of sharps including, but not limited to, sewing needles, straight pins, hypodermic needles, telephone wires, and metal bracelets.

(c). Any facility used to prepare sewage sludge shall be equipped with a central control and recordkeeping system for tabulating the information required in Subclause C.1.b.viii.(a) of this Section.

ix. Personnel. All facilities shall have the personnel necessary to achieve the operational requirements of the facility.

2. Additional Operational Requirements for Composters

a. The composting procedure shall begin within 24 hours of receipt of the material to be prepared as a compost.

b. Adequate covers shall be provided for windrows during the curing stage to protect the compost from rainwater.

c. Covered areas shall be provided where feedstock is prepared.

d. Any compost made from sewage sludge that cannot be used according to these regulations shall be reprocessed or disposed of in an approved facility.

e. Composted sewage sludge shall be used, sold, or disposed of at a permitted disposal facility within 36 months of completion of the composting process.

f. The final composted product shall be stable and mature. In addition to meeting the applicable time and temperature for pathogen and vector attraction reduction requirements, proof of the stability and maturity of the final composted product shall be provided by utilizing the applicable methods in the source referenced in LAC 33:IX.7301.I.2.j.

3. Facility Closure Requirements

a. Notification of Intent to Close a Facility. All permit holders shall notify the administrative authority in writing at least 90 days before closure or intent to close, seal, or abandon any individual units within a facility and shall provide the following information:

i. the date of planned closure;

ii. changes, if any, requested in the approved closure plan; and

iii. the closure schedule and estimated cost.

b. Closure Requirements

i. An insect and rodent inspection is required before closure. Extermination measures, if required, must be provided.

ii. All remaining untreated and unprepared sewage sludge, other materials, feedstock, and supplements shall be dewatered, removed, and disposed of in a permitted facility within 10 days of ceasing operations.

iii. All biosolids shall be used or disposed of in accordance with the provisions set forth in these regulations within 10 days of ceasing operations.

c. Additional Closure Requirements. Additional closure requirements for commercial preparers of sewage sludge who utilize composting as the process to prepare the sewage sludge and for all other commercial preparers of sewage sludge who prepare an amount of sewage sludge equal to or greater than 15,000 metric tons per year are as follows.

i. The permit holder shall verify that the soils within the facility boundary have not been contaminated in the operation of the facility.

ii. If contamination exists, in order to satisfy the closure requirements of this Section the permit holder must utilize the Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) standards in accordance with LAC 33:I.Chapter 13 to the fullest extent possible. Any residual contamination must meet the RECAP standards approved by the administrative authority, including any residual contamination in the underlying and surrounding soils and/or groundwater. Otherwise, the permit holder shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the administrative authority to perform corrective action (i.e., additional closure activities including site investigation, remedial investigation, a corrective action study, and/or remedial action).

d. Closure Inspection. After the closure requirements have been met, the permit holder shall file a request for a closure inspection with the Office of Environmental Services.

e. Release of Closure Funds. After the closure inspection and subsequent determination by the administrative authority that a facility has completed closure, the administrative authority shall release the closure fund to the permit holder.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § IX-7305

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Planning Division, LR 28:794 (April 2002), repromulgated LR 30:233 (February 2004), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs Division, LR 31:2516 (October 2005), LR 33:2382 (November 2007), LR 35:930 (May 2009), LR 37:2995 (October 2011).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2074(B)(1)(c) and (B)(3)(e).