Michigan Administrative Code › Department - Environmental Quality › Water Resources Division › Water Resources Protection › Part 24 - LAND APPLICATION OF BIOSOLIDS › Section R. 323.2402 - Definitions

Current through Vol. 24-12, July 15, 2024
Rule 2402.
(1) As
				  used in these rules:
(a) "Act" means Act No.
				  451 of the Public Acts of 1994, as amended, being §324.101 et seq. of the
				  Michigan Compiled Laws.
(b)
				  "Aerobic digestion" means the biochemical decomposition of organic matter in
				  biosolids into carbon dioxide and water by microorganisms in the presence of
				  air.
(c) "Agricultural land" means
				  land on which a food crop, a feed crop, or a fiber crop is grown. The term
				  includes range land and land used as pasture.
(d) "Agronomic rate" means the calculated
				  biosolids application rate (dry weight basis) which provides the amount of
				  plant-available nitrogen (PAN) needed by the crop or vegetation grown on the
				  land; which minimizes the amount of nitrogen that passes below the root zone of
				  the crop or vegetation grown; and which considers the amounts of phosphate
				  (P2O5) and potash (K2O) added by the biosolids as part of the total nutrient
				  management plan.
(e) "Anaerobic
				  digestion" means the biochemical decomposition of organic matter in biosolids
				  into methane gas and carbon dioxide by microorganisms in the absence of
				  air.
(f) "Annual pollutant loading
				  rate" means the maximum amount of a pollutant in biosolids that can be applied
				  to a unit area of land during a 365-day period.
(g) "Annual whole biosolids application rate"
				  means the maximum amount of biosolids (dry weight basis) that can be applied to
				  a unit area of land during a 365-day period.
(h) "Biosolids" means solid, semisolid, or
				  liquid residues generated during the treatment of sanitary sewage or domestic
				  sewage in a treatment works. The term "biosolids" includes, but is not limited
				  to, scum or solids removed in primary, secondary, or advanced wastewater
				  treatment processes and a derivative of the removed scum or solids.
(i) "Bulk biosolids" means biosolids that are
				  not sold or given away in a bag or other container for application to a lawn or
				  home garden.
(j) "Class A" means
				  biosolids that meet the requirement in R 323.2414(2)(b) and the requirements in
				  R 323.2414(2)(c), (d), (e), (f), (g), or (h) with respect to
				  pathogens.
(k) "Class B" means
				  biosolids that meet the requirements in R 323.2414(3)(c), (d), or (e) with
				  respect to pathogens.
(l)
				  "Cumulative pollutant loading rate" means the maximum amount of an inorganic
				  pollutant that can be applied to an area of land.
(m) "Department" means the director of the
				  department of environmental quality or his or her designee.
(n) "Derivative" means a product for land
				  application derived from biosolids that does not include solid waste or other
				  waste regulated under the act. A derivative does not include materials or
				  treatment chemicals, that is, lime or ferric chloride, integral to wastewater
				  treatment and biosolids unit processes.
(o) "Detroit consumer price index" means the
				  most comprehensive index of consumer prices available for the Detroit area from
				  the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics.
(p) "Distributor" means a person who applies,
				  markets, or distributes, except at retail, a derivative.
(q) "Domestic sewage" means waste and
				  wastewater from humans or household operations that is discharged to, or
				  otherwise enters, a treatment works.
(r) "Dry weight basis" means calculated on
				  the basis of having been dried at 105 degrees Celsius until reaching a constant
				  mass that is essentially 100% solids content.
(s) "EPA" means the United States
				  environmental protection agency.
(t) "Exceptional quality" or "EQ" means
				  biosolids or a derivative that meets all of the following criteria:
(i) Pollutant ceiling concentrations in R
				  323.2409(5)(a).
(ii) Pollutant
				  concentrations in R 323.2409(5)(c).
(iii) One of the vector attraction reduction
				  options in R 323.2415(4)(a) to (h) and 1 of the class A pathogen reduction
				  alternatives in R 323.2414(2)(a).
(u) "Feed crops" means crops produced
				  primarily for consumption by animals.
(v) "Fiber crops" means crops such as flax
				  and cotton.
(w) "Food crops" means
				  crops consumed by humans. The term includes, but is not limited to, fruits,
				  vegetables, and tobacco.
(x)
				  "Forest" means a tract of land that is thick with trees and
				  underbrush.
(y) "Generator" means a
				  person who generates biosolids that are applied to land.
(z) "Groundwater" means water below the land
				  surface in the saturated zone.
(aa)
				  "Incorporation" means the blending of surface-applied biosolids into the soil
				  so that a significant amount of the biosolids is not present on the land
				  surface within 1 hour after blending.
(bb) "Injection" means the placement of
				  biosolids below the land surface so that a significant amount of the biosolids
				  is not present on the land surface within 1 hour after land
				  application.
(cc) "Land
				  application" means spraying or spreading biosolids onto the land surface,
				  injecting biosolids below the land surface, or incorporating biosolids into the
				  soil so that the biosolids can either condition the soil or fertilize crops or
				  vegetation grown in the soil.
(dd)
				  "Land application plan" means the process a generator uses to identify and
				  select land application sites that are not included in a land application site
				  list. At a minimum a plan shall include all of the following:
(i) A description of the geographical area
				  covered by the plan.
(ii)
				  Identification of the criteria used for site selection.
(iii) A description of how the sites are
				  managed.
(ee) "Land with
				  a low potential for public exposure means land that the public uses
				  infrequently. The term includes, but is not limited to, agricultural land, a
				  forest, and a reclamation site located in an unpopulated area, for example, a
				  strip mine located in a rural area.
(ff) "Land with a high potential for public
				  exposure" means land that the public uses frequently. The term includes, but is
				  not limited to, a public contact site and a reclamation site located in a
				  populated area, for example, a construction site located in a city.
(gg) "Listed land application site" means a
				  site which has been approved by the department and is used for biosolids land
				  application by a generator.
(hh)
				  "Local unit" means a county, city, village, or township or an agency or
				  instrumentality of these entities.
(ii) "Other container" means either an open
				  or closed receptacle. The term includes, but is not limited to, a bucket, a
				  box, a carton, and a vehicle or trailer that has a load capacity of 1 metric
				  ton or less.
(jj) "Pasture" means
				  land on which animals feed directly on feed crops such as legumes, grasses,
				  grain stubble, or stover.
(kk)
				  "Pathogenic organisms" means disease-causing organisms. The term includes, but
				  is not limited to, certain bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and viable helminth
				  ova.
(ll) "Permit" means 1 of the
				  following:
(i) A national pollutant discharge
				  elimination system (NPDES) permit that is issued by the department under
				  section 3112(1) of the act to control wastewater discharges to the surface
				  waters and to manage biosolids.
(ii) A permit that is issued by the
				  department under section 3112(1) of the act to control wastewater discharges to
				  the groundwaters and to manage biosolids.
(iii) A biosolids permit issued by the
				  department.
(mm)
				  "Permitting authority" means the department.
(nn) "Person" means an individual,
				  association, partnership, corporation, local unit, state or federal agency, or
				  an agent or employee of any of the entities specified in this
				  definition.
(oo) "Person who
				  prepares biosolids" means either the person who generates biosolids during the
				  treatment of domestic sewage or sanitary sewage in a treatment works or the
				  person who derives a material from biosolids.
(pp) "pH" means the logarithm of the
				  reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration measured at 25 degrees Celsius or
				  measured at another temperature and then converted to an equivalent value at 25
				  degrees Celsius.
(qq) "Pollutant"
				  means an organic substance, an inorganic substance, a combination of organic
				  and inorganic substances, or a pathogenic organism that, after discharge and
				  upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation, or assimilation into an organism either
				  directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through the food
				  chain, could, on the basis of information available to the administrator of EPA
				  or the department, cause any of the following in either organisms or offspring
				  of the organisms:
(i) Death.
(ii) Disease.
(iii) Behavioral abnormalities.
(iv) Cancer.
(v) Genetic mutations.
(vi) Physiological malfunctions, including
				  malfunction in reproduction.
(vii)
				  Physical deformations.
(rr) "Pollutant limit" means a numerical
				  value that describes the amount of a pollutant allowed per unit amount of
				  biosolids, for example milligrams per kilogram of total solids; the amount of a
				  pollutant that can be applied to a unit area of land, for example, kilograms
				  per hectare or pounds per acre; or the volume of a material that can be applied
				  to a unit area of land, for example, gallons per acre.
(ss) "Public contact site" means land that
				  has a high potential for contact by the public. The term includes, but is not
				  limited to, any of the following:
(i) Public
				  parks.
(ii) Ball fields.
(iii) Cemeteries.
(iv) Plant nurseries.
(v) Turf farms.
(vi) Golf courses.
(tt) "Range land" means open land that has
				  indigenous vegetation.
(uu)
				  "Reclamation site" means drastically disturbed land that is reclaimed using
				  biosolids. The term includes, but is not limited to, strip mines and
				  construction sites.
(vv) "Residuals
				  management program" means a program which is required by a generators permit
				  and which is developed in accordance with R 323.2403(3)(a) to (d).
(ww) "Retail" means EQ biosolids or an EQ
				  derivative sold directly to the consumer or through retail establishments in
				  bags or other containers that have a load capacity of 1 metric ton (2200
				  pounds) or less of biosolids.
(xx)
				  "Sanitary sewage" means waste and wastewater from humans, households, or
				  industrial or commercial operations that is discharged to, or otherwise enters,
				  a treatment works.
(yy) "Saturated"
				  or "saturated zone" means the soil pores, that is, spaces between the soil
				  particles or rock are completely filled with water.
(zz) "Septage" means either liquid or solid
				  material that is removed from any of the following that receive only domestic
				  sewage.
(i) A septic tank.
(ii) A cesspool.
(iii) A portable toilet.
(iv) A type III marine sanitation
				  device.
(v) A similar treatment
				  works.
(aaa) "Site"
				  means a contiguous tract of land to which biosolids or a derivative is
				  land-applied in accordance with the requirements in these rules.
(bbb) "Specific oxygen uptake rate" or "SOUR"
				  means the mass of oxygen consumed per unit time per unit mass of total solids
				  (dry weight basis) in biosolids.
(ccc) "Surface application" means the
				  spraying or spreading of biosolids or derivatives onto the land surface for use
				  as a soil conditioner or as a nutrient source for plant growth.
(ddd) "Surface disposal" means the placement
				  of biosolids on an area of land for final disposal as defined in 40 C.F.R. part
				  503, subpart C.
(eee) "Surface
				  water" means any of the following:
(i)
				  Lakes.
(ii) Rivers.
(iii) Streams.
(iv) Wetlands.
(v) All other watercourses.
(vi) Waters within the jurisdiction of this
				  state.
(vii) The Great Lakes
				  bordering this state.
(fff) "Treatment of" or "to treat," with
				  respect to biosolids, means the preparation of biosolids for final use or
				  disposal. The term includes, but is not limited to, the thickening,
				  stabilization, and dewatering of biosolids. The term does not include the
				  storage of biosolids.
(ggg)
				  "Treatment works" means either a federally owned, publicly owned, or privately
				  owned device or system used to treat, including recycling and reclaiming,
				  either domestic sewage or sanitary sewage.
(hhh) "Total solids" means the materials in
				  biosolids that remain as residue when biosolids are dried at 103 to 105 degrees
				  Celsius.
(iii) "Unstabilized
				  solids" means organic materials in biosolids that have not been treated in
				  either an aerobic or anaerobic treatment process.
(jjj) "Vector attraction" means the
				  characteristic of biosolids that attracts rodents, flies, mosquitoes, or other
				  organisms capable of transporting infectious agents.
(kkk) "Volatile solids" means the amount of
				  the total solids in biosolids lost when biosolids are combusted at 550 degrees
				  Celsius in the presence of excess air.
(lll) "Wetlands" means areas that are
				  inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and
				  duration to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a
				  prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil
				  conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar
				  areas.