Md. Code Regs. 15.20.13.20

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 26, December 27, 2024

Section 15.20.13.20 - [Effective until 4/15/2025] Agricultural Land

A. The Department may issue a Food Processing Residuals Utilization Permit to apply food processing residuals on agricultural land if the following requirements are met:

(1) The food processing residuals have been registered by the Department as a soil conditioner and otherwise meets the requirements of the Department to be registered as a soil conditioner;

(2) A nutrient management plan is prepared for the site by a certified and licensed nutrient management consultant in accordance with the requirements of COMAR 15.20.04, and is in compliance with COMAR 15.20.07 and 15.20.08; and

(3) Expected crop yields submitted to the Department as part of the Food Processing Residuals Utilization Permit Application are determined to be in accordance with the requirements in COMAR 15.20.08.

B. The Department may restrict or apply special provisions for the land application of food processing residuals on fields that are adjacent to or bordering homes, schools, places of worship, hospitals, legal boundaries of incorporated municipalities, or other locations of concern as determined by the Department.

C. Food processing residuals may be applied on agricultural land only if the following requirements are met:

(1) The requirements of §A(1)-(3) of this regulation;

(2) Requirements concerning minimum buffer distances, as follows:

(a) Food processing residuals may not be applied closer than the minimum buffer distance to a feature of concern identified in Table 1 of §C(2)(b) of this regulation, unless the Department establishes an alternate minimum buffer distance in accordance with §C(2)(d) of this regulation.

(b) Table 1 - Minimum Buffer Distances

Feature of Concern	Minimum Buffer Distance
	Injection of FPRs or Surface Application of FPRs with Incorporation
Bedrock outcrops	25 feet
Field ditches	10 feet
Incorporated municipality boundary lines	400 feet
Occupied off-site dwelling	100 feet
Occupied on-site dwelling	100 feet
Property lines	25 feet
Public roads	15 feet from the edge of the road
Surface waters unless Equivalent Best Management Practices are installed	100 feet
Wells, nonpotable	25 feet
Wells, potable	100 feet

(c) For agricultural land located within a critical area as identified by the Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays, food processing residuals:

(i) May not be land applied within 100 feet of the Mean High-Water Line of tidal waters or the landward edge of tidal wetlands; and

(ii) May only be subsurface injected or incorporated between 101 and 1,000 feet of the Mean High-Water Line of tidal waters or the landward edge of tidal wetlands;

(d) Except as otherwise prohibited by law, the Department may modify the minimum buffer distances established in §C(2)(b) of this regulation as follows:

(i) The Department may increase or decrease the minimum buffer distance associated with any feature of concern identified in Table 1 of §C(2)(b) of this regulation;

(ii) The Department may establish minimum buffer distances for features of concern not identified in Table 1 of §C(2)(b) of this regulation, such as particular categories of land use; and

(iii) In modifying the minimum buffer distances, the Department may consider the food processing residuals application method, the application rate, adjacent land use, land slopes, vegetated filter strip, the type and condition of any surrounding bodies of water, and any other factor considered relevant by the Department;

(3) Requirements concerning slope, as follows:

(a) Unless modified by the Department in accordance with §C(4)(b) of this regulation, the following requirements concerning slope shall be met:

(i) Food processing residuals may not be applied on a slope that is greater than 15 percent;

(ii) Liquid food processing residuals which are surface applied on a slope that is greater than 6 percent shall be applied in accordance with COMAR 15.20.08; and

(iii) Food processing residuals may be subsurface injected on a slope that is up to 15 percent; and

(b) The limits of §C(3)(a) of this regulation may be modified by the Department, but only if the Department determines that sediment and erosion controls or other features at a site, or both, are sufficient to protect the public health and the environment:

(4) Food processing residuals may not be applied when:

(a) The soil is saturated;

(b) The ground is flooded, ponded, frozen, or covered with snow: or

(c) Weather conditions prevent compliance with the requirement to incorporate the food processing residuals into the soil:

(5) The timing of food processing residuals land application shall be in accordance with the requirements of COMAR 15.20.08;

(6) Food processing residuals shall be applied in a manner approved by the Department using conventional agricultural equipment, such as manure spreaders, spray equipment, or other applicators, or by commercial equipment specifically designed for food processing residuals application on agricultural land, with all conventional agricultural and commercial equipment used for agricultural land application required to be calibrated in accordance with the manufacturer s recommendations before land application of the food processing residuals begins;

(7) Food crops harvested off food processing residuals land application sites shall meet applicable produce safety requirements; and

(8) Trucks, tractors, and equipment shall be cleaned or otherwise addressed on the site to prevent drag-out of soil or food processing residuals onto public roads.

Md. Code Regs. 15.20.13.20

Regulations .20 adopted effective 51:23 Md. R. 1035, effective 10/16/2024, exp. 4/15/2025 (Emergency).