United States 

Environmental Protection 

Agency 

Office of Research and 

Development 

Washington DC 20460 

EPAf625/R-94/002 

September 1994 

&EPA Guide to Septage 

Treatment and Disposal 
EPAf625/R-94f002 

September 1994 

Guide to 

Septage 

Treatment and 

Disposal 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Office of Research and Development 

Office of Science, Planning, and 

Regulatory Evaluation 

Center for Environmental Research Information 

Cincinnati, OH 

@ Printedon RecycledPaper 
Notice 

This document has been reviewed in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s peer and administrative 

review policies and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. 
Contents 

Page 

ListofFigures ............................................ .vi 

List of Tables ............................................ vii 

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii 

Chapter 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Part I, Administrators’ Guide ..................................... 3 

Chapter 2. Overview of Septage Handling Options ................................... 4 

Chapter 3. Regulatory Requirements .......................................... 11 

Chapter 4. Local Responsibilities ............................................ 13 

Part II. Inspectors’ and Haulers’ Guide ............................... 17 

Chapter 5. Inspecting Septic Tanks .......................................... : 18 

Chapter 6. Pumping Septic Tanks ........................................... 22 

Chapter 7. Regulatory Requirements .......................................... 24 

Part III. Facility Managers’ and Operators’ Guide ..... 

Chapter 8. Septage Receiving ..................... 

Chapter 9. Land Application ..................... 

Chapter 10. Treatment at Wastewater Treatment Plants ........ 

Chapter 11. Independent Septage Treatment Facilities ........ 

Chapter 12. Odor Control ...................... 

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References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

Appendix A. Sourcesof Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 

Appendix B. List of State and EPA Regional Septage Coordinators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - 51 

Appendix C. Example of Local Permit for Septage Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 
List of Figures 

Figure Page 

2-l Diagram of aerated static pile (top) and windrow composting processes .......... 

4-l Example of proposed local ordinance for septage disposal ................. 

5-l Trpical residential septic tank ............................... 

5-2 Measuring solids accumulation in a septic tank ...................... 

8-l Examples of septage receiving station layouts ....................... 

8-2 Example of a septage manifest ............................... 

9-l Certification of pathogen reduction and vector attraction requirements .......... 

10-l Allowable septage loadings to a sewage treatment plant having a septage hoIding tank ... 

12-1 Diagram of a biofilter for odor control ........................... 

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List of Tables 

Table 

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Page 

Overview of Approaches to Septage Treatment and Disposal ........... 

Characteristics of Septage: Conventional Parameters ............... 

Characteristics of Septage: Metals and Organics .................. 

Summary of Land Application Options ...................... 

Summary of Septage Stabilization Options .................... 

Summary of Options for Handling Septage at WWTPs .............. 

Examples of State Septage Regulations ...................... 

Guidelines for Selecting a Septage Disposal System ................ 

O&M Checklist for Septage Receiving Facilities .................. 

O&M Checklist for Equipment Used in Applying Septage to Land ........ 

Federal Crop and Site Restrictions for Land Application of Domestic Septage ... 

Procedure for Lime-Stabilizing Septage Within the Pumper Truck ......... 

Impacts of Septage Addition to a WWTP ..................... 

O&M Checklist for Handling Septage at a WWTP ................ 

O&M Checklist for Lime Stabilization of Septage ................. 

O&M Checklist for Dewatering Using Drying Beds ................ 

O&M Checklist for Mechanical Dewatering Systems ............... 

O&M Checklist for Static Pile Composting of Septage Solids ........... 

O&M Checklist for Windrow Cornposting of Septage Solids ........... 

Guidelines for Minimizing Odor Emissions at a Septage Receiving Facility .... 

Guidelines for Minimizing Odor Problems at Land Application Sites ....... 

Summary of Odor Treatment Alternatives ..................... 

Recommended Design Criteria for a Biofilter ................... 

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Ahnowledgments 

The principal author of this guide was Robert PG. Bowker, Bowker Q Associates, Inc., Portland, Maine, under Contract 

No. 68-CO-0068 to Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG), Lexington, Massachusetts. Randy Revetta, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) Center for Environmental Research Information (CERI), Cincinnati, Ohio, was the EPA Project Officer. James Kreissl, CERI, provided substantial technical editing and guidance during the development of the document. 

Editing and graphics support was provided by ERG under the direction of Heidi Schultz. 

We would like to acknowledge the following reviewers for their important contributions to this effort: 

Marcia Deizrnan and Joseph Rezek Robert Rubin 

Rezek Henry Meisenheimer Q Gende, Inc. North Carolina State University 

Libertyville, Illinois Raleigh, North Carolina 

Tom Ferrer0 

Nutrecon, Inc. 

Ambler, Pennsylvania 

Kevin Sherman 

Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services 

Tallahassee, Florida 

Tim Frank 

National Association of Waste Transporters 

Sayville , New York 

John Smith 

J.M. Smith & Associates 

Cincinnati, Ohio 

Anish Jantrania 

National Small Flows Clearinghouse 

Morgantown, West Virginia 

Ellen Vause 

Florida Septic, Inc. 

Hawthorne, Florida 

Bob Kendall 

Cole Publishing 

Three Lakes, Wisconsin 

John Walker 

EPA Office of Water 

Washington, DC 

John Melby 

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 

Madison, Wisconsin 

Hollis Warren 

Hollis Warren, Inc. 

Wyoming, Delaware 

Mark Ronayne 

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality 

Portland, Oregon 

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