Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 330 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES › Title 330 CMR 31.00 - Plant Nutrient Application Requirements For Agricultural Land And Land Not Used For Agricultural Purposes › Section 31.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
As used throughout
				330 CMR 31.00, the following
				terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
				otherwise:
Agricultural Byproducts
. Secondary
				organic materials produced from the raising of animals and crops as part of
				agronomic, horticultural, silvicultural, or livestock operations including, but
				not limited to, animal manure, liquid manure, bedding materials, plant stalks,
				leaves, and other vegetative matter and byproducts from the on-farm processing
				of fruits, vegetables, dairy and other food products.
Agricultural Land
. Land used for
				agriculture or farming as defined in M.G.L. c. 128, § 1A.
Agricultural Operation
. A business
				engaged in agriculture or farming as defined in M.G.L. c. 128, § 1A. For
				the purposes of
				330 CMR 31.00, an
				agricultural operation shall include all operations, whether conducted on one
				or more parcels of land within the Commonwealth, which are owned or operated by
				the same person.
Agricultural Process Water
. Process
				water that is generated as a byproduct from Agricultural Operation activities
				and processing of agricultural products. Agricultural Process Water includes,
				but is not limited to, water generated as a byproduct in a milking parlor,
				milkhouse, or bottling operation.
Animal Manure
. Animal excrement which
				is produced at an agricultural operation.
Animal
				Manure
includes materials such as bedding, milking parlor process
				water, milkhouse process water and other materials after commingling with that
				excrement.
Applicator
. A person who applies any
				type of plant nutrient whether for hire or as the owner or operator of the
				agricultural operation or land.
Biosolids
. Any thickened liquid,
				suspended or settled solid, or dried residue extracted from sewage at a sewage
				treatment plant, including domestic sewage, that:
(a) contains recognized plant nutrients, or liquid byproducts,
				that meet federal and state regulations for beneficial use by land application
				or other methods; and
(b) is regulated as sewage sludge and septage pursuant to
				310 CMR 32.00:
Land
				Application of Sludge and Septage
.
Bottling Process Water
. Process water
				that is generated with the washing and rinsing associated with the bottling of
				agricultural products. Bottling process water does not include process water
				from bottling operations not directly associated with, and located on the same
				property of, the agricultural operation performing the bottling, or stand alone
				bottling operations.
Buffer or Vegetated Buffer
. A
				permanent strip of dense perennial vegetation established parallel to the
				contours of, and perpendicular to, the dominant slope of the field for the
				purposes of slowing water runoff, enhancing water infiltration and minimizing
				the risk of any potential nutrients from leaving the field and reaching surface
				waters.
Coarse Textured Soil
. A soil
				identified by the United States Department of Agriculture as having textures of
				loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or sand.
Crop Nutrient Needs
. The primary
				nutrient requirements of a crop determined as pounds of nitrogen (N),
				phosphorus (P2O5), and potassium
				(K2O) required for production of a crop yield
				unit.
Department
. The Massachusetts
				Department of Agricultural Resources.
Digestate
. The material remaining
				after the anaerobic digestion process comprised of undigested solids and the
				liquid fraction of the input material.
Fertilizer
. Commercially produced
				fertilizers used as soil and plant amendments, containing a guaranteed analysis
				of primary nutrients; does not include a product blended from organic compost
				or natural organic fertilizer.
Frequently Flooded Soils
. A frequency
				class in which flooding, ponding, or saturation is likely to occur often under
				usual weather conditions (more than 50% chance in any year, or more than 50
				times in 100 years).
Frozen Soil
. Soil that is frozen at
				least two inches deep.
Gravelly Soil
. Soil containing
				material that is 15% to 50%, by volume, rounded or angular rock fragments, not
				prominently flattened, up to three inches in diameter.
Growing Season
. The part of the year
				during which climatic conditions allow plants to grow in an outdoor
				environment. This period of time may not exceed 12 months from the date of an
				application of Phosphorus Containing Fertilizer.
Heavy Rain
. Rainfall greater than or
				equal to two inches in a 24 hour period and the weather forecast keyword is
				"likely".
Impervious Surface
. Any structure,
				surface, or improvement that reduces or prevents absorption of storm water into
				land, and includes concrete, asphalt, paver blocks, gravel, decks, patios,
				elevated structures, and other similar structures, surfaces, or
				improvements.
Incorporation
. The mixing of
				fertilizer or other materials with the surface soil using standard agricultural
				practices, such as tillage.
In-field Stacking
. The practice of
				stacking solid animal manure or agricultural byproducts on cropland, hayland
				and pasture areas to be applied at a later time to the agricultural land as
				plant nutrients.
Label
. The display of all written,
				printed, or graphic matter on the immediate container or a statement
				accompanying a fertilizer or soil conditioner.
Lawn Patch Product
. A premixed blend
				of grass seed, fertilizer, and mulch.
Management Unit
. An area sharing
				common characteristics, including soil type, nutrient content, and plant type
				or crop produced, so that nutrients can be recommended and managed in a uniform
				and consistent manner.
Milkhouse Process Water
. Residual milk
				and wash water that is generated with the normal operation of a milkhouse.
				Milkhouse process water does not include the process water containing large
				volumes of milk or contamination resulting from bulk tank failure or other
				operation failures, which shall not be land applied.
Natural Organic Fertilizer
. A
				fertilizer product that is derived from either a plant or animal product
				containing one or more elements, other than carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which
				are essential for plant growth. These materials may be subject to biological
				degradation processes under normal conditions of aging, rainfall, sun-curing,
				air drying, composting, rotting, enzymatic or anaerobic or aerobic bacterial
				action or any combination of those conditions. These materials shall not be
				mixed with synthetic materials or changed in any physical or chemical manner
				from the material's initial state except by manipulations such as drying,
				cooking, chopping, grinding, shredding, hydrolysis or pelleting.
Non-agricultural Turf or Lawn
. Any
				non-agricultural land area that is covered by any grass species, excluding
				flower or vegetable gardens, pasture, hay land, trees, shrubs, turf grown on
				turf farms or any form of agricultural production or use.
Non-professional
. Any person who
				applies a plant nutrient and is not for-hire or does not perform the
				application as part of his or her employment.
NRCS
. The Natural Resources
				Conservation Services of the United States Department of Agriculture.
Nutrient Application Rate
. The
				quantity of primary nutrients, expressed as total nitrogen (N), available
				phosphate (P2O5), and soluble
				potash (K2O) used to supply crop or plant nutrient
				needs.
Nutrient Content
. The percentage by
				weight of any primary nutrient, expressed as total nitrogen (N), available
				phosphate (P2O5), or soluble
				potash (K2O), in any type or source of plant
				nutrients.
Operator
. A person who manages and/or
				owns an agricultural operation.
Organic Compost
. The biologically
				stable humus-like material derived from composting or the aerobic, thermophilic
				decomposition of organic matter.
Person
. Any individual, partnership,
				corporation, firm, association, authority, trust or group, including, but not
				limited to, a municipality, county, the Commonwealth and its agencies, and the
				federal government.
Phosphorus Containing Fertilizer
.
				Fertilizer labeled for use on lawn or non-agricultural turf in which the
				available phosphate content is greater than 0.67% by weight, excluding organic
				compost and natural organic fertilizer.
Plan or Nutrient Management Plan
. A
				written plan to manage the amount, placement, timing, and application of plant
				nutrient materials in order to minimize nutrient loss or runoff and to maintain
				the productivity of soil when growing agricultural products.
Plant Nutrient
. Substance that
				contains one or more of the primary nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus, or
				potassium, including but not limited to, animal manure, fertilizer, organic
				compost, natural organic fertilizer, agricultural byproducts, digestate,
				biosolids or combinations thereof.
Primary Nutrient
. The macronutrients
				elements for plant growth which are total nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and
				potassium (K).
Retailer
. Any person who sells
				fertilizer.
Renovation
. The process of replacing
				the turf plants on a site without making changes to the soil or grade, which
				does not normally include total removal of existing vegetation, but may include
				eradication of the existing stand with non-selective herbicides or extended
				covering. Renovation may include the use of superficial cultivation with
				aeration, dethatching, overseeding or similar pieces of equipment to insure
				good seed to soil contact and enhance the renovation process
Saturated Soil
. Soil soaked with
				moisture to the point that it cannot absorb any more liquid.
Snow Covered Soil
. Soil covered by one
				inch or more of snow or by ½ inch or more of ice.
Soil Test
. A technical analysis of
				soil conducted by a laboratory using methods and procedures recommended by the
				University of Massachusetts Amherst Extension as appropriate for Commonwealth
				soils.
Stackable Agricultural Byproduct
.
				Agricultural byproducts material with equal or less than 60% moisture
				content.
Surface Waters
. As defined by 314 CMR.
				4.00:
Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards
, all
				waters other than groundwaters within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth,
				including, without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs,
				impoundments, estuaries, wetlands, coastal waters and vernal pools. For the
				purpose of
				330 CMR 31.00, Surface waters
				shall not include areas where the sole purpose is to grow crops, including but
				not limited to, interior ditches, channels, canals, irrigation ponds or
				tailwater recovery ponds, provided that the application of plant nutrients are
				done in accordance with
UMass Guidelines
for such crop growing
				system.
UMass
. The University of Massachusetts
				Amherst Extension.
UMass Guidelines
. The
				University of Massachusetts Amherst Extension published guidelines and/or
				materials developed by UMass for agricultural crops, Animal Manure management,
				Plant Nutrient use and application, and turf, which have been established by
				the University of Massachusetts Amherst Extension.
USDA
. United States Department of
				Agriculture.
Waters of the Commonwealth
. All waters
				within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, including, without limitation,
				rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments, estuaries, wetlands,
				coastal waters, ground waters, and vernal pools, as defined by
				314 CMR 5.00:
Ground
				Water Discharge Permit Program
.
Zone A
. The land area between the
				surface water source and the upper boundary of the bank; the land area within a
				400 foot lateral distance from the upper boundary of the bank of a Class A
				surface water source, as defined in
				314 CMR
				4.05(3)(a):
Class
				A
; and the land area within a 200 foot lateral distance from the upper
				boundary of the bank of a tributary or associated surface water body, as
				defined by
				310 CMR
				22.00:
Drinking Water
.
Zone I of a Public Water Supply Well
.
				The protective radius required around a public water supply well or wellfield
				regulated by
				310 CMR
				22.00:
Drinking Water
. For public
				water system wells with approved yields of 100,000 gpd or greater, the
				protective radius is 400 feet. Tubular wellfields require a 250-foot protective
				radius. Protective radii for all other public water system wells are determined
				by the following equation: Zone I radius in feet = (150 x log of pumping rate
				in gpd) - 350. This equation is equivalent to the chart in the Guidelines and
				Policies for Public Water Systems. A default Zone I radius or a Zone I radius
				otherwise computed and determined by the Department shall be applied to
				transient non-community (TNC) and non-transient non-community (NTNC) wells when
				there is no metered rate of withdrawal or no approved pumping rate. In no case
				shall the Zone I radius be less than 100 feet.