An Act Regarding the Disposal of Sludge
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0670
Committee: Natural Resources
Sponsors: HALL, DAMON, TREAT, GERZOFSKY
Amends: 38 MRSA §1303-C, 38 MRSA §1310-U, 38 MRSA §1310

12lst MAINE LEGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 670 
S.P.234 
In Senate, February 14,2003 
An Act Regarding the Disposal of Sludge 
Reference to the Committee on Natural Resources suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator HALL of Lincoln. 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Cosponsored by Senators: DAMON of Hancock, TREAT of Kennebec, Representative: 
GERZOFSKY of Brunswick . 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 38 MRS A §1303-C, sub-§§7-A to 7-C are enacted to read: 
7-A. 
Compost. 
"Compost" 
means 
any 
organic 
material ( 
excluding human waste, that has undergone a composting process. 
7-B. 
Compos ted 
slugge. 
"Composted 
sludge" 
means 
any 
organic material that includes human waste and that has undergone 
a composting process. 
7-C. 
Composting. 
"Composting" 
means 
the 
biological 
decomposition of organic materials under predominantly aerobic 
condi tions and controlled temperatures between 110 degrees and 
degrees Fahrenheit. 
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §1303-C. sub-§18-A is enacted to read: 
la-A. 
Manur~e~.~ __ 
'~'M~a=n=u~r~e_" __ =m=e~a=n~s~~t=h=e~_e~x~c=r~e=m=e=n~t~~a~n~d=-_u~r=i=n=e 
created by 
animals, 
including 
any 
bedding material, 
used 
to 
fertilize the soil. 
Sec.3. 38 MRSA §1303-C. sub-§24-A is enacted to read: 
24-A. 
Residual. 
"Residual" means any material generated as 
a by-product of a nonagricultural production or treatment process 
that has value as 
a 
source of crop nutrients or as 
a 
soil 
amendment. 
"Residual" does not include composted Sludge. 
Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §1310-U. first 1[, as amended by PL 1995, c. 
656, Pt. A, §26, is further amended to read: 
MYRieipaliEies 
Except 
as 
provided 
in 
section 
1310-CC, 
municipalities are prohibited from enacting stricter standards 
than those contained in this chapter and in the solid waste 
management rules adopted pursuant to this chapter governing the 
hydrogeological criteria for siting or 
designing solid waste 
disposal facilities or governing the engineering criteria related 
to waste handling and disposal areas of a solid waste disposal 
facility. 
Except as provided in section 2173, municipalities are 
further prohibited 
from 
enacting or 
applying ordinances that 
regulate solid waste disposal facilities owned by the office or a 
regional association. 
• 
• 
• 
• 
Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §1310·CC is enacted to read: 
§1310-CC. 
Sludge: septage: composted sludge 
Page l-LRI037 (1) 
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• 
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1. 
Municipal ordinances. 
Nothing in this chapter prohibits 
a municipality from enacting standards that are stricter than 
those standards adopted under this chapter for the storage and 
use of sludge. septage or composted sludge if the ordinance is 
adopted by the governing body of the municipality after a public 
hearing is held. 
This subsection does not apply to the storage 
and use of compost. manure or residuals. 
2. 
Record of use. 
If sludge, septage or composted sludge 
is spread on 
land, 
the 
owner 
of the 
land shall record the 
following information with the register of deeds for the county 
where the land is situated: 
A. 
The location of the property on which the material was 
spread; 
B. 
The date when the material was spread; and 
c. 
The volume and type of material spread. 
SUMMARY 
This bill allows a municipality to enact stricter standards 
than the standards adopted by the Department of Environmental 
Protection 
for 
the 
storage 
and 
use 
of 
sludge, 
septage 
and 
composted sludge, provided the governing body of the municipality 
adopted the stricter standards after a public hearing was held. 
The 
authority to 
adopt stricter standards does not apply to 
compost, manure or residuals. 
The bill also requires a property 
owner to record information with the register of deeds if sludge, 
septage or composted sludge is spread on the owner's land .