310 CMR, § 32.24 - Soil Sampling Requirements for Land Application of Type II or Type III Sludge or Septage

(1) Frequency. A representative soil sample shall be taken and analyzed from a site prior to:

(a) the first application of Type II or Type III sludge or septage to that site, and

(b) the filing of an application to the Department for a fifth Land Application Certificate after four Land Application Certificates have been issued without representative soil samples having been analyzed.

All soil samples shall be taken and analyzed in compliance with 310 CMR 32.24, in order to be deemed in compliance with this requirement.

(2) Parameters. Soil samples shall be sampled and analyzed for the following, each, except for pH and cation exchange capacity, expressed in terms of total (and not extractable) pounds per acre:

(a) pH;

(b) cation exchange capacity (CEC), expressed in milliequivalents per 100 grams of soil,

(c) Total Nitrogen (N);

(d) Ammonium Nitrogen (NH₄-N);

(e) Nitrate Nitrogen (N0₃-N);

(f) Phosphorus (P);

(g) Potassium (K);

(h) Cadmium (Cd);

(i) Total Chromium (Cr);

(j) Copper (Cu);

(k) Lead (Pb);

(l) Mercury (Hg);

(m) Nickel (Ni);

(n) Zinc (Zn);

(o) Molybdenum (Mo);

(p) PCBs, if sludge or septage contains concentrations of PCBs equal to or greater than two parts per million; and

(q) any additional substance for which sampling and analysis is required by the Department at the request of the board of health of a city or town in which Type II or Type III sludge or septage is or is intended to be land applied or on the Department's own initiative upon review of information submitted in compliance with 310 CMR 32.00 or of any other information which the Department has.

(3) Alternative Monitoring Requirements. On its own initiative or at the request of the board of health of a city or town in which Type II or Type III sludge or septage is being land applied, the Department may either increase sampling frequency if analysis results are inadequate or inconsistent, or reduce sampling frequency and/or the materials for which sampling and analysis are required if the soil quality consistently meets the requirements set forth in 310 CMR 32.23. The Department shall give written notice of approved changes in monitoring, including the duration of such permitted changes, to the applicant and the Board of Health of the city or town in which the sludge or septage is to be land applied.

(4) Methods. All sampling and analysis shall be in compliance with 310 CMR 32.70.

Notes

310 CMR, § 32.24

Amended by Mass Register Issue 1322, eff. 9/23/2016.