Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 312 - SLUDGE USE, DISPOSAL, AND TRANSPORTATION › Subchapter A - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 312.3 - Exclusions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) This chapter
				  does not authorize processes used to treat domestic sewage or for processes
				  used to treat sewage sludge or domestic septage prior to final use or disposal,
				  except as provided in §
										312.82 and
				  §
										312.83
				  of this title (relating to Pathogen Reduction and Vector Attraction
				  Reduction).
(b) This chapter does
				  not require the selection of a method of use or disposal for sewage sludge,
				  biosolids, or domestic septage. The determination of the way sewage sludge,
				  biosolids, or domestic septage is used or disposed is a local
				  determination.
(c) This chapter
				  does not authorize sewage sludge or biosolids co-fired in an incinerator with
				  other wastes or for the incinerator in which sewage sludge or biosolids and
				  other wastes are co-fired. Other wastes do not include auxiliary fuel, as
				  defined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §503.41(b), fired in an
				  incinerator.
(d) This chapter does
				  not authorize the use and disposal of sewage sludge generated at an industrial
				  facility, unless the sewage sludge is of a domestic origin and the sewage
				  sludge is generated from the treatment of domestic sewage. If a process at an
				  industrial facility that primarily treats industrial wastewater combines
				  domestic sewage with any type of industrial solid waste, any resulting sewage
				  sludge, process waste, or wastewater generated at the industrial facility will
				  be considered to be industrial solid waste and must be processed, stored, or
				  disposed of in accordance with the applicable requirements of Chapter 335 of
				  this title (relating to Industrial Solid Waste and Municipal Hazardous Waste).
				  If a facility that primarily treats domestic wastewater combines domestic
				  sewage with any type of industrial solid waste, any resulting sewage sludge,
				  process waste, or wastewater generated at the facility will be considered to be
				  domestic sewage sludge and must be processed, stored, or disposed of in
				  accordance with the applicable requirements of this chapter.
(e) This chapter does not authorize the use
				  or disposal of sewage sludge or other wastes determined to be a hazardous
				  waste, as defined in §
										335.1 of
				  this title (relating to Definitions) or as determined in accordance with 40 CFR
				  Part 261 as amended through February 22, 2019 (84 FR 5816).
(f) This chapter does not authorize the use
				  or disposal of sewage sludge, biosolids, or water treatment residuals with a
				  concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls equal to or greater than 50
				  milligrams per kilogram of total solids (dry weight basis).
(g) This chapter does not authorize the use
				  or disposal of ash generated during the firing of sewage sludge or biosolids in
				  an incinerator.
(h) This chapter
				  does not authorize the storage of sewage sludge, biosolids, domestic septage,
				  grease trap waste, chemical toilet waste, or grit trap waste, except as
				  provided for in §
										312.50
				  of this title (relating to Storage and Staging of Biosolids and Domestic
				  Septage) and §
										312.147 of this
				  title (relating to Temporary Storage).
(i) This chapter does not authorize the
				  processing, use, or disposal of grease trap waste, grit trap waste, chemical
				  toilet waste, grit (e.g., sand, gravel, cinders, or other materials with a high
				  specific gravity), screenings (e.g., relatively large materials such as rags),
				  or other wastes generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage in a
				  treatment works.
(j) This chapter
				  does not authorize the use or disposal of industrial septage or a mixture of
				  domestic septage and industrial septage.
(k) This chapter does not apply to wastes
				  resulting from activities associated with the exploration, development, and
				  production of oil or gas or geothermal resources, as defined in §
										335.1 of
				  this title, except for domestic septage or sewage sludge which may be collected
				  at facilities where such activities occur, that is not mixed in any manner with
				  other oil, gas, or geothermal wastes.
(l) Experimental use shall be excluded from
				  the requirements of this chapter, provided the following conditions are met at
				  the time the sewage sludge or biosolids are placed on a land application unit
				  or reclamation site:
(1) the metal
				  concentrations established in §312.43(b)(3) (Table 3) of this title
				  (relating to Metal Limits) shall be met;
(2) one of the vector attraction reduction
				  alternatives in §312.83(b)(1) - (11) of this title shall be met;
(3) the pathogen reduction compliance
				  requirements established in §
											312.82(a) or
				  (b) of this title shall be met;
(4) the applicant shall receive written
				  approval from the executive director prior to commencement of operations for
				  the experimental project; and
(5)
				  the applicant shall submit to the executive director the aims and goals of the
				  project and any other additional information the executive director believes
				  necessary to establish the experimental nature of the project.