Md. Code Regs. 26.04.06.03

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 12, June 14, 2024

Section 26.04.06.03 - Definitions

A. The following terms have the meanings indicated.

B. Terms Defined.

(1) "Aerobic digestion" means the biochemical decomposition of organic matter in sewage sludge by microorganisms in the presence of air.

(2) "Agricultural land" means as defined in COMAR 15.20.06.

(3) "Agronomic rate" means the sewage sludge application rate, in dry weight basis, based on the nitrogen or phosphorus requirement of the crop or vegetation to be grown, whichever is determined to be the most limiting nutrient, that is designed to minimize the amount of the limiting nutrient in the sewage sludge that passes below the root zone of the crop or vegetation grown on the land to the groundwater.

(4) "Anaerobic digestion" means the biochemical decomposition of organic matter in sewage sludge by microorganisms in the absence of air.

(5) "Aquifer" means a geologic formation, group of formations, or portion of a formation capable of yielding significant quantities of groundwater to wells or springs.

(6) "Base flood" means a flood that has a 1 percent chance of occurring in any given year (for example, a flood with a magnitude equaled once in 100 years).

(7) Biosolids.

(a) "Biosolids" means treated sewage sludge that meets the standards for Class A or B sewage sludge.

(b) "Biosolids" does not mean grit and screenings collected at a wastewater treatment plant or ash generated by the incineration of sewage sludge.

(8) "Bulk sewage sludge" means sewage sludge that is not sold or given away in a bag or other container for application to the land.

(9) "Cesspool" means a covered hole or pit to hold sewage.

(10) "Class A sewage sludge" means treated sewage sludge that meets the standards defined in 40 CFR § 503.32(a).

(11) "Class B sewage sludge" means treated sewage sludge that meets the standards defined in 40 CFR § 503.32(b).

(12) "Collection" means any action involved in the gathering or subsequent placement of sewage sludge, or any other product containing sewage sludge, into a vehicle, container, or any other vessel for transportation.

(13) "Composting" means the biological decomposition of organic matter under controlled thermophilic aerobic conditions.

(14) "Constituent" means any component of sewage sludge that is an organic, inorganic, or combination of organic and inorganic substances, including pathogenic organisms.

(15) "Constituent limit" means a numerical value that describes the:

(a) Amount of a constituent allowed per unit amount of sewage sludge, such as milligrams per kilogram of total solids;

(b) Amount of a constituent that can be applied to a unit area of land, such as kilograms per hectare; or

(c) Volume of a material that can be applied to a unit area of land, such as gallons per acre.

(16) "Container" means either an open or closed receptacle with a load capacity of 1 metric ton or less that includes a bucket, box, carton, vehicle or trailer.

(17) "Contaminate" means to introduce a substance that causes the maximum contaminant level for constituents as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in 40 CFR § 141.62(b) to be exceeded in surface or groundwater of the State or that causes the existing concentration of constituents in surface or groundwater to increase when the existing concentration of constituent in the surface or groundwater exceeds the maximum contaminant level for nitrate or other constituents as defined by the USEPA in 40 CFR § 141.62(b).

(18) "Contaminate an aquifer" means to introduce a substance that causes the maximum contaminant level for nitrate or other constituents as defined by the USEPA in 40 CFR § 141.62(b) to be exceeded in the groundwater of the State or that causes the existing concentration of nitrate in the groundwater to increase when the existing concentration of nitrate in the groundwater exceeds the maximum contaminant level for nitrate as defined by the USEPA in 40 CFR § 141.62(b).

(19) "County" means as defined in the Environment Article, § 1-101(c), Annotated Code of Maryland.

(20) "Cover" means soil or other material acceptable to the Department used to cover sewage sludge placed on a sewage sludge site.

(21) "Cover crop" means a crop, such as cereal grains, that is planted following the harvest of summer crops for the purpose of the seasonal protection of soil, the assimilation of residual nitrogen left from a previous crop, and the continued mineralization of nitrogen.

(22) "Crop residue" means vegetative matter remaining on the soil surface after harvest, which is capable of minimizing rainfall impact energy to reduce soil erosion potential.

(23) "Crops for direct human consumption" means crops that are consumed by humans without processing to minimize pathogens before marketing to the consumer.

(24) "Cumulative constituent loading rate" means the maximum amount of an inorganic constituent that can be applied to an area of land.

(25) "CWA" means the Federal Clean Water Act (formerly referred to as either the Federal Water Pollution Act or the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972), Public Law 92-500, as amended by Public Law 95-217, Public Law 95-576, Public Law 96-483, Public Law 97-117, and Public Law 100-4.

(26) "Density of microorganisms" means the number of microorganisms per unit mass of total solids in dry weight in the sewage sludge.

(27) "Department" means the Maryland Department of the Environment.

(28) Disposal.

(a) "Disposal" means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placement of sewage sludge into or on any land or water.

(b) "Disposal" includes incineration or landfilling.

(29) "Dried sewage sludge" means sewage sludge with total solids content greater than 35 percent.

(30) "Dry weight basis" means a weight calculated on the basis of sewage sludge having been dried at 105°C until reaching a constant mass, which is essentially 100 percent solids content.

(31) "Established crop" means a crop that has germinated and attained at least 70 percent surface coverage on the field as measured by the standard line-transect method.

(32) "Feed crops" means crops produced primarily for consumption by animals.

(33) "Fiber crops" means crops that produce fiber for processing into woven material, such as flax and cotton.

(34) "Field ditch" means a perennial or intermittent man-made drainage ditch that:

(a) Was never a natural stream;

(b) Is distinguished from a natural stream by its landscape position and associated soil mapping units, as found in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) soil survey for the county; and

(c) Is not within a:

(i) Floodplain soil-mapping unit;

(ii) Hydric soil that is mapped as a narrow, elongated feature in a fluvial or floodplain position; and

(iii) Soil-mapping unit that has a slope class of "B" or steeper.

(35) "Final cover" means the last layer of soil or other material placed on a sewage sludge site at closure.

(36) "Final utilization" means the complete and ultimate utilization of sewage sludge after which the sewage sludge receives no further treatment or processing.

(37) "Food chain crops" means crops grown for human consumption, crops grown as feed for animals that will be consumed by humans, and tobacco.

(38) "Food crops" means same as food chain crops.

(39) "Forest" means a tract of land thick with trees and underbrush.

(40) "Grit" means sand, gravel, cinders, or other materials with a high specific gravity removed during the treatment of wastewater in a wastewater treatment plant.

(41) "Groundwater" means water below the land surface in a saturated zone.

(42) "Handle" means same as market.

(43) "Holding tank" means a watertight receptacle, which is used, or intended to be used, for the collection of sewage.

(44) "Incineration" means the controlled combustion of organic matter and inorganic matter in sewage sludge by high temperatures in an enclosed device.

(45) "Incinerator" means a furnace or combustion unit that uses controlled flame combustion for the thermal destruction of sewage sludge with or without other wastes.

(46) "Incinerator ash" means the residual ash generated during the firing of a waste to energy facility or an incinerator.

(47) "Label" means the display of all written, printed, or graphic material on the immediate container, or information accompanying the material.

(48) "Land application" means the placement of sewage sludge, or any other product containing sewage sludge on or mixed with or injected into land used to support vegetative growth.

(49) Land with a High Potential for Public Exposure.

(a) "Land with a high potential for public exposure" means land that the public uses frequently.

(b) "Land with a high potential for public exposure" includes a public contact site and a marginal land located in a populated area, such as a construction site located in a city.

(50) Land with a Low Potential for Public Exposure.

(a) "Land with a low potential for public exposure" means land that the public uses infrequently.

(b) "Land with a low potential for public exposure" includes agricultural land, forest, and a marginal land located in an unpopulated area, such as a strip mine located in a rural area.

(51) "Leachate" means any liquid that has percolated through solid waste including sewage sludge and may contain dissolved, miscible, or suspended material from the sewage sludge or solid waste pile.

(52) "Liquid byproducts" means liquid that:

(a) Is generated from the contact of precipitation with sewage sludge in storage;

(b) Separates from sewage sludge during storage; or

(c) Is generated from cleaning a treatment, composting, storage, or distribution facility.

(53) "Liquid sewage sludge" means sewage sludge with solids content less that 15 percent or sewage sludge that fails the free liquids test described in Regulation .09C(4)(b) of this chapter.

(54) "Local health official" means the county health officer, the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health, the Director of the Office of Environmental Protection at Montgomery County, other local officials as identified by the Department, or their designees.

(55) "Lower explosive limits" means the lowest percent by volume of a mixture of explosive gases that will propagate a flame in air at 25°C and atmospheric pressure.

(56) "Management unit" means an area sharing common characteristics, including soil type, nutrient content, and plant type or crop produced, so that nutrients can be recommended and managed in a uniform and consistent manner.

(57) Marginal Land.

(a) "Marginal land" means land where the soil characteristics provide poor support for normal vegetative growth over time, and are being, or are proposed to be, revegetated.

(b) "Marginal land" may include land regraded after surface mining activities, abandoned strip mine areas, areas where topsoil has been removed, filled areas, a landfill closure cap, and closed and capped landfills.

(58) Market.

(a) "Market" means to barter, sell, offer for sale, consign, furnish, provide, or otherwise supply a material as part of a commercial enterprise or a giveaway program.

(b) "Market" does not mean marketing to a distribution facility regulated by the Department under Regulations .32-.36 of this chapter.

(59) "Mineralization" means the process that converts unavailable organic forms of nutrient elements to an available inorganic state as a result of bacterial decomposition.

(60) "Municipal landfill" has the meaning stated in COMAR 26.04.07.

(61) "Nuisance" means unreasonable interference with the quality of life of the public because of the characteristics of noise, odor, solids, vapors, liquids, or gases, which causes distress or potential health impacts to members of the public or residents or users of properties adjacent to a site where sewage sludge is being utilized or has been utilized, as determined by the Department.

(62) "Nutrient Management Plan" has the meaning stated in COMAR 15.20.08.

(63) "Pasture land" means land on which animals feed directly on feed crops, such as legumes, grasses, or grain stubble.

(64) "Pathogenic organisms" means organisms capable of causing disease in humans that include certain bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and viable helminth ova.

(65) "Permanent facility" means a facility that is designed primarily for sewage sludge treatment or sewage sludge composting.

(66) "Permitting Authority" means the Maryland Department of the Environment.

(67) "Permittee" means a person who holds a Sewage Sludge Utilization Permit.

(68) "Person" means the federal government, the State, any county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the State, or any of their units, or an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor, administrator, fiduciary, or representative of any kind, or any partnership, firm, association, public or private corporation, or any other entity.

(69) "PFRP" means a process to further reduce pathogens.

(70) "pH" means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration measured at 25°C or measured at another temperature and then converted to an equivalent value at 25°C.

(71) "Privy" means an earth or watertight pit or receptacle for receiving non-water-carried human wastes over which is placed a privy house containing a toilet seat or seats.

(72) "PSRP" means a process to significantly reduce pathogens.

(73) Public Contact Site.

(a) "Public contact site" means land with a high potential for contact by the public.

(b) "Public contact site" includes public parks, athletic fields, cemeteries, plant nurseries, turf farms, and golf courses.

(74) "Qualified groundwater scientist" means an individual with a baccalaureate or post-graduate degree in the natural sciences or engineering who has sufficient training and experience in groundwater hydrology and related fields, as may be demonstrated by State registration, professional certification, or completion of accredited university programs, to make sound professional judgments regarding groundwater monitoring, constituent fate and transport, and corrective action to the satisfaction of the Department.

(75) "Reclamation site" means same as a "marginal land."

(76) "Runoff" means any precipitation, leachate, or other liquid that drains over land from any part of a site that is derived from precipitation.

(77) "Screenings" means materials such as rags or debris collected during the primary treatment of wastewater in a wastewater treatment plant.

(78) "Sewage sludge" means any thickened liquid, suspension, settled solid, or dried residue that a sewage treatment plant extracts from sewage.

(79) "Sewage sludge cake" means sewage sludge with total solids content between 15 and 35 percent.

(80) "Sewage sludge compost" means a sewage sludge produced by the decomposition of a mixture of sewage sludge and a bulking agent, such as wood chips, that destroys primary pathogenic and malodorous components.

(81) Sewage Sludge Generator.

(a) "Sewage sludge generator" means a person who owns or operates a facility that receives and processes sewage in this State or produces sewage sludge to be utilized in this State.

(b) "Sewage sludge generator" includes:

(i) The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission; and

(ii) The Maryland Environmental Service.

(c) "Sewage sludge generator" does not include the owner or operator of a septic system.

(82) "Sewage Sludge Utilization Permit" means a permit, issued by the Department, to utilize sewage sludge.

(83) "Sewage sludge utilizer" means any person who utilizes sewage sludge in this State.

(84) "Sewage treatment plant" means a wastewater treatment plant.

(85) "SOUR" means the specific oxygen uptake rate that represents the mass of oxygen consumed per unit time per unit mass of total solids, in dry weight basis, in the sewage sludge.

(86) "State" means the State of Maryland unless otherwise specified.

(87) "Storage" means the containment of sewage sludge, or any other product containing sewage sludge after removal from a wastewater treatment plant and before utilization.

(88) "Surface water" means all waters of the State that are not groundwater.

(89) "Tidal wetland" has the meaning stated in COMAR 26.04.02.02.

(90) "Total solids" means the materials in sewage sludge that remain as residue when the sewage sludge is dried at 103 to 105°C.

(91) "Transportation" means the movement or conveyance of sewage sludge or any other product containing sewage sludge by air, rail, road, pipeline, or water.

(92) "Treatment" means a process, which alters, modifies, or changes the biological, physical, or chemical characteristics of sewage or sewage sludge.

(93) "Unstable area" means land subject to natural or human-induced forces including land on which soils are subject to mass movement, areas underlain by limestone or marble, ("karst terrain"), and areas subject to dissolution features, such as the formation of sinkholes.

(94) "USDA-NRCS" means the United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service.

(95) "User" means a person other than a sewage sludge utilizer whom does not require a Sewage Sludge Utilization Permit to use a Class A sewage sludge as fertilize or soil conditioner in residential or commercial property.

(96) Utilize Sewage Sludge.

(a) "Utilize sewage sludge" means to collect, handle, burn, store, treat, or transport sewage sludge to or from a sewage sludge generator or utilizer in this State, to apply sewage sludge to land, or to dispose of sewage sludge.

(b) "Utilize sewage sludge" includes composting, distribution, generating energy, marketing, conducting innovative or research projects, disposing or alternatively utilizing at a municipal landfill, or constructing and operating a landfill for sewage sludge, or any product containing sewage sludge, which is either generated or utilized in the State.

(97) "Vector attraction" means the characteristic of sewage sludge that attracts rodents, flies, mosquitoes, or other organisms capable of transporting infectious agents.

(98) "Volatile solids" means the amount of the total solids in sewage sludge lost when the sewage sludge is combusted at 550°C in the presence of excess air.

(99) "Wastewater treatment plant" or "WWTP" means a facility designed and constructed to receive, treat, or store sewage or sewage combined with other waterborne waste.

Md. Code Regs. 26.04.06.03

Regulations .03 amended effective August 3, 1981 (8:15 Md. R. 1307)
Regulations .03, Sewage Sludge Management, adopted effective November 3, 1986 (13:22 Md. R. 2399)
Regulation .03A amended effective December 10, 1990 (17:24 Md. R. 2837)
Regulations .03 adopted effective 41:10 Md. R. 562, eff.5/26/2014