310 CMR 32.25 - Approval of Site for Land Application of Type II or Type III Sludge or Septage

(1) No person shall land apply Type II or Type III sludge or septage on any site without the prior written approval of the Department, issued in the form of a Land Application Certificate. Each Land Application Certificate shall be valid only for the site specified therein. Each Land Application Certificate shall be valid for no more than one year.

(2) Each person who intends to or does land apply Type II or Type III sludge or septage on any site shall submit to the Department for its approval an application for a Land Application Certificate. At the time it submits the application to the Department, the applicant shall submit a copy of the application to the board of health of the city or town in which the land application site is located. If the person who intends to or does land apply Type II or Type III sludge or septage on a site is different from the person who owns the site, both persons shall be considered applicants and both shall sign, and be responsible for the contents of, the application. The Department may prescribe an application form which shall be used by each person applying for a Land Application Certificate.

(3) Each application for a Land Application Certificate shall contain all information necessary to persuade the Department that sludge or septage will be land applied at the site in question only in compliance with 310 CMR 32.00. Without limiting the generality of the previous sentence, each application for a Land Application Certificate shall include at a minimum the following information, noting the source of the information where applicable:

(a) A scaled topographic map, preferably of the United States Geological Survey, showing:

1. the location of the land application site,

2. the location of the sludge or septage storage site, and

3. all sources of water supply which are used by public or non-public water systems and which are on or abutting the site.

(b) A scaled plot plan showing:

1. the site where sludge or septage is to be land applied;

2. the site where sludge or septage is to be stored;

3. the location of every well which is known by the applicant and which is:

a. used as a source of drinking water supply by a public water system or as a private drinking water supply well, and

b. is located within 2, 500 feet of the land application site or of the site where sludge or septage is to be stored;

4. the location of every surface water which is used as a source of drinking water supply by a public water system and which is located within 2, 500 feet of either the land application site or the site where sludge or septage is to be stored;

5. the location of all surface water within 2, 500 feet of the land application site or of the site where sludge or septage is to be stored; and

6. the location of the 100-year flood plain, if applicable, as mapped by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

(c) The number of acres available for, or intended to be used for, land application.

(d) Information about the soil at the site, including:

1. the slope of the site, as measured from the horizontal plane;

2. a Soil Conservation Service soil survey map or a comparable soil map, prepared by a scientist who has expertise in soil and experience in mapping, which delineates the area(s) in which sludge or septage is to be land applied or stored or both;

3. a USDA description of the soil, including such information as the soil name, soil texture, physical and chemical properties, and other information appropriate to determine whether the soil is suitable for land application of Type II or Type III sludge or septage.

(e) The depth to maximum high groundwater table.

(f) Erosion control and run-off prevention practices which are needed and/or used or intended to be used.

(g) Drainage practices which are needed and/or used or intended to be used.

(h) The results of soil analysis done in compliance with 310 CMR 32.24.

(i) Any other information as required by the Department concerning the site.

(j) Information about what is to be grown on the land application site, including:

1. the type of crop or vegetation being grown or to be grown,

2. the anticipated planting time,

3. the anticipated harvest time, and

4. the anticipated use of the crop or vegetation.

(k) Information about what animals are to be grazed on the land application site, including:

1. what kinds of animals are being grazed or to be grazed, and the number of each type of animal,

2. the length of the grazing periods,

3. the amount of time between the completion of land application and the beginning of grazing on the land application site, and

4. The supplemental feeding practices being used or to be used.

(l) The name and address of every facility from which sludge or septage is or will be obtained.

(m) Information about how land application is to be done, including:

1. the proposed land application rate,

2. the proposed land application method, and

3. the proposed date(s) of land application.

(n) Information about how the sludge or septage is to be transported to the land application site, including:

1. the proposed method of transportation,

2. the proposed route of transportation,

3. the proposed frequency and date(s) of transportation, and

4. the name and address of the transporter.

(o) Information about the sludge or septage to be land applied, including:

1. the type of sludge or septage to be land applied and, for each type, the amount to be land applied, and

2. the amount and type of each sludge and septage previously land applied at the site, to the extent known, and

3. whether or not the applicant proposes to use any Type II or Type III sludge or septage for which the Department has granted a variance from a stabilization requirement pursuant to 310 CMR 32.12(1)(c).

(p) A general statement describing the measures to be taken to otherwise comply with 310 CMR 32.00.

(4) Each Land Application Certificate shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the Department may reasonably impose. Each person receiving a Land Application Certificate shall comply with such terms and conditions.

(5) When the Department has determined that it has received a fully completed application for a Land Application Certificate, it shall so notify the applicant and the board of health of the city or town in which the land application site is located. The Department shall seek the concurrence of the board of health of the city or town in which the land application site is located prior to granting a Land Application Certificate. Said board of health shall be deemed to have given concurrence without terms or conditions unless it notifies the Department to the contrary not later than 35 days after the notice given by the Department to the board of health pursuant to the first sentence of 310 CMR 32.25(5). The Department shall grant a Land Application Certificate without the concurrence of said board of health only if the Department determines, after evaluating relevant evidence, that the board of health has acted unreasonably in refusing or conditioning its concurrence.

Notes

310 CMR 32.25

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