Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 567 - Environmental Protection Commission › Title IV - Wastewater Treatment and Disposal › Chapter 68 - Commercial Septic Tank Cleaners › Rule 567-68.10 - Standards for Disposal

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
Disposal of septage from private sewage disposal systems
				  shall be carried out in accordance with the rules established by the
				  department.
(1) Waste from toilet
				units shall be disposed of by discharge to a publicly owned treatment works or
				other permitted wastewater treatment system with the treatment works owner's
				approval.
(2) Septage from septic
				tanks or other types of private sewage disposal systems that normally discharge
				effluent for further treatment (such as mechanical/aerobic treatment tanks,
				siphon tanks or distribution boxes) shall be disposed of by utilizing one or
				more of the following methods:
a. Septage
				shall be discharged to a publicly owned treatment works or other permitted
				wastewater treatment system with the treatment works owner's
				approval.
b. Septage shall be
				discharged to permitted septage lagoons or septage drying beds with the septage
				system owner's approval.
c. Septage
				shall be land-applied in accordance with the following requirements:
(1) The maximum application rate is 30,000
				gallons of septage per acre of cropland per 3 65-day period. The nitrogen
				application rate shall be no more than is utilized by the crop. A crop capable
				of using the nitrogen applied must be grown and harvested from the site after
				application of the maximum annual allocation or, at a minimum, every third
				year.
(2) The following site
				restrictions shall be met when septage is applied to land:
1. Septage shall not be applied to a lawn or
				a home garden.
2. Septage shall not
				be applied to land where there is a bedrock layer or seasonal high water table
				within 3 feet of the soil surface. Determination of these confining layers may
				be ascertained by consulting the soil types noted in the county USDA soil
				surveys.
3. Land application sites
				shall have soil pH maintained above 6.0, unless crops prefer soils with lower
				pH conditions. If the soil pH is below 6.0, it is acceptable to use
				agricultural lime to increase the pH to an acceptable level. Soil pH shall be
				measured and reported as part of the annual waste management plan.
4. The septage shall not be applied to ground
				that has greater than 9 percent slope.
5. If application on frozen or snow-covered
				ground is necessary, it shall be limited to land areas of less than 5 percent
				slope and application rates of less than 2,500 gallons per acre per
				day.
6. Septage shall not be
				applied to land that is 35 feet or less from an open waterway. If septage is
				applied within 200 feet of a stream, lake, sinkhole or tile line surface intake
				located downgradient of the land application site, it shall be injected or
				applied to the surface and mechanically incorporated into the soil within 48
				hours of application.
7. If the
				septage is applied to land subject to flooding more frequently than once in ten
				years, the septage shall be injected or shall be applied to the surface and
				mechanically incorporated into the soil within 48 hours. Information on which
				land is subject to flooding more frequently than once in ten years is available
				from the department.
8. Septage
				shall not be applied within 750 feet of an occupied residence, except the
				residence of the owner of the septic tank that was pumped, nor within 500 feet
				of a well.
9. Crop harvesting
				restrictions:
* Food crops with harvested parts that touch the septage/soil
				  mixture and are totally above ground shall not be harvested for 14 months after
				  application of domestic septage.
* Food crops with harvested parts below the surface of the
				  land shall not be harvested for 38 months after application of domestic
				  septage.
* Animal feed, fiber, and those food crops with harvested
				  parts that do not touch the soil surface shall not be harvested for 30 days
				  after application of the domestic septage. Animals shall not be allowed to
				  graze on the land for 30 days after application of septage.
(3) One of the following vector
				attraction reduction requirements shall be met when septage is applied to land:
1. Septage shall be injected below the
				surface of the land. No significant amount of the septage shall be present on
				the land surface within one hour after the septage is injected.
2. Septage applied to the land surface shall
				be incorporated into the soil within six hours after application to or
				placement on the land.
3. Septage
				shall be stabilized by adding and thoroughly mixing sufficient alkaline
				material such as hydrated or quick lime to produce a mixture with a pH of 12.
				For example, adding and thoroughly mixing approximately 50 pounds of lime with
				each 1,000 gallons of septage is usually sufficient to bring the pH to 12 for
				30 minutes. A minimum of 30 minutes of contact time shall be provided after
				mixing the lime with the septage prior to applying to land. Each container of
				septage shall be monitored for compliance by testing, using a pH meter or
				litmus paper, two representative samples of the batch of lime-treated domestic
				septage taken a minimum of 30 minutes apart to verify that the pH remains at 12
				or greater for the minimum 30-minute time period.
(4) When septage is applied to land, the
				person who applies the septage shall develop the following information and
				shall retain the information for five years:
1. The location, by either street address or
				latitude and longitude, of each site on which septage is applied.
2. The number of acres and precise
				application area in each site on which septage is applied.
3. The gallons of septage applied each
				time.
4. The total gallons applied
				at each site to date for the year.
5. The date and time septage is applied to
				each site.
6. The rate, in gallons
				per acre, at which septage is applied to each site.
7. A description of how the vector attraction
				reduction requirements are met.
8.
				The following certification statement shall be provided with the records when
				the records are submitted to or requested by the department:
"I certify, under penalty of law, that the pathogen
				  requirements and the vector attraction reduction requirements have been met. I
				  am aware that there are significant penalties for false certification including
				  the possibility of fine and imprisonment."
(5) Other methods of stabilization may be
				acceptable if shown to be equivalent to 68.10(2)
"c"
(3)"3"
				above.
d. Septage shall
				be discharged (with owner approval) to a permitted sanitary landfill in
				accordance with 567-Chapters 102 and 103 and the following requirements:
(1) Septage shall be stabilized by adding and
				thoroughly mixing sufficient lime to produce a mixture with a pH of
				12.
(2) A minimum of 30 minutes of
				contact time shall be provided after mixing the lime with the septage prior to
				discharging to the landfill.