Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 332 - COMPOSTING › Subchapter A - GENERAL INFORMATION › Section 332.2 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter,
					 shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates
					 otherwise.
(1) Agricultural
				  materials--Litter, manure, bedding, feed material, vegetative material, and
				  dead animal carcasses from agricultural operations.
(2) Agricultural operations--Operations
				  involved in the production of agricultural materials.
(3) Air contaminant--Particulate matter,
				  radioactive material, dust, fumes, gas, mist, smoke, vapor, or odor or any
				  combination thereof produced by processes other than natural. Water vapor shall
				  not be considered an air contaminant.
(4) All-weather roads--A roadway that has
				  been designed to withstand the maximum load imposed by vehicles entering and
				  exiting the facility during all types of weather conditions.
(5) Anaerobic composting--The controlled
				  biological decomposition of organic materials through microbial activity which
				  occurs in the absence of free oxygen. Anaerobic composting does not include the
				  stockpiling of organic materials.
(6) Backyard operations--The composting, land
				  application, and mulching of non-industrial organic material, such as grass
				  clippings, leaves, brush, clean wood material, or vegetative food material,
				  generated by a homeowner, tenant of a single or multi-family residential or
				  apartment complex, or a commercial or institutional complex where the
				  composting, land application or mulching occurs on the dwelling property and
				  the final product is utilized on the same property. Backyard operations include
				  neighborhood composting demonstration sites that generate less than 50 cubic
				  yards of final product per year.
(7) Batch (or Sampling batch)--The lot of
				  produced compost represented by one analytical sample (3,000 cubic yards or
				  5,000 cubic yards depending on facility type).
(8) Beneficial reuse--Any agricultural,
				  horticultural, reclamation, or similar use of compost as a soil amendment,
				  mulch, or component of a medium for plant growth, when used in accordance with
				  generally accepted practice and where applicable is in compliance with the
				  final product standards established by this chapter. Simply offering a product
				  for use does not constitute beneficial reuse. Beneficial reuse does not include
				  placement in a disposal facility, use as daily cover in a disposal facility, or
				  utilization for energy recovery.
(9) Bulking Agent--An ingredient in a mixture
				  of composting materials included to improve structure and porosity (which
				  improve convective air flow and reduce settling and compaction) and/or to lower
				  moisture content. Bulking agents may include but are not limited to: compost,
				  straw, wood chips, saw dust, or shredded brush.
(10) Clean wood material--Wood or wood
				  materials, including stumps, roots, or vegetation with intact rootball,
				  sawdust, pallets, and manufacturing rejects. Clean wood material does not
				  include wood that has been treated, coated or painted by materials such as, but
				  not limited to, paints, varnishes, wood preservatives, or other chemical
				  products. Clean wood material also does not include demolition material, where
				  the material is contaminated by materials such as, but not limited to, paint or
				  other chemicals, glass, electrical wiring, metal, and sheetrock.
(11) Commission--The Texas Commission on
				  Environmental Quality.
(12)
				  Compost--The stabilized product of the decomposition process that is used or
				  distributed for use as a soil amendment, artificial topsoil, growing medium
				  amendment, or other similar uses.
(13) Composting or functionally aerobic
				  composting--The controlled, biological decomposition of organic materials
				  through microbial activity that occurs in the presence of free oxygen.
				  Composting or functionally aerobic composting does not include the stockpiling
				  of organic materials.
(14) Cured
				  compost (CC)--A highly stabilized product that results from exposing mature
				  compost to a prolonged period of humification and mineralization.
(15) Dairy material--Products that have a
				  Standard of Identity defined in 21 Code of Federal Regulations Part
				  131.
(16) Distribute--To sell,
				  offer for sale, expose for sale, consign for sale, barter, exchange, transfer
				  possession or title, or otherwise supply.
(17) Executive director--The Executive
				  Director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or their duly
				  authorized representative.
(18)
				  Facility-- All contiguous land, structures, other appurtenances, and
				  improvements on land used for receiving and storing organic materials and
				  processing them into useable final products.
(19) Feedstock--Any material used for land
				  application or as a basis for the manufacture of compost, mulch, or other
				  useable final product.
(20) Final
				  Product--Composted material meeting testing requirements of §
										332.71
				  of this title (relating to Sampling and Analysis Requirements for Final
				  Product) and awaiting distribution or disposal.
(21) Fish feedstocks--Fish, shellfish, or
				  seafood and by-products of these materials whether raw, processed, or cooked.
				  Fish feedstocks does not include oils and/or greases that are derived from
				  these same materials.
(22) Foreign
				  matter--Inorganic and organic constituents that are not readily decomposed,
				  including metals, glass, plastics, and rubber, but not including sand, dirt,
				  and other similar materials.
(23)
				  Grab sample--A single sample collected from one identifiable
				  location.
(24) Grease--See the
				  definition of Oil in this section.
(25) Hours of operation--Those hours when the
				  facility is open to receive feedstock, incorporate feedstock into the process,
				  retrieve product from the process, and/or ship product.
(26) Land application--The spreading of yard
				  trimmings, manure, clean wood material, and/or vegetative food materials onto
				  the surface of the land or the incorporation of these materials within three
				  feet of the surface.
(27)
				  Leachate--Liquid that has come in contact with or percolated through materials
				  being stockpiled, processed, or awaiting removal and that has extracted,
				  dissolved, or suspended materials. Leachate also includes condensate from gases
				  resulting from the composting process.
(28) Manure--Animal excreta and residual
				  materials that have been used for bedding, sanitary, or feeding purposes for
				  such animals.
(29) Mature
				  compost--Mature compost is the stabilized product of composting that has
				  achieved the appropriate level of pathogen reduction (see definitions of "PFRP"
				  and "PSRP" in this section) and is beneficial to plant growth, and meets the
				  requirements of Table 2 of §
										332.72 of
				  this title (relating to Final Product Grades).
(30) Maturity--A measure of the lack of
				  biological activity in freshly aerated materials, resulting from the
				  decomposition of the incoming feedstock during the active composting
				  period.
(31) Meat feedstocks--Meat
				  and meat by-products whether raw, processed, or cooked including whole animal
				  carcasses, poultry, and eggs. Meat feedstocks does not include oils and/or
				  greases that are derived from these same materials.
(32) Mixed municipal solid waste--Garbage,
				  refuse, and other solid waste from residential, commercial, industrial
				  non-hazardous, and community activities that is generated and collected in
				  aggregate.
(33) Mulch--Ground,
				  coarse, woody yard trimmings, and clean wood material. Mulch is normally used
				  around plants and trees to retain moisture and suppress weed growth, and is
				  intended for use on top of soil or other growing media rather than being
				  incorporated into the soil or growing media. Mulch does not include wood from
				  trees or other plants that have been systemically killed using
				  herbicides.
(34) Municipal sewage
				  sludge--Solid, semi-solid, or liquid residue generated during the treatment of
				  domestic sewage in treatment works. Sewage sludge includes, but is not limited
				  to, domestic septage; scum or solids removed in primary, secondary, or advanced
				  wastewater treatment processes; and material derived from sewage sludge. Sewage
				  sludge does not include ash generated during the firing of sewage sludge in a
				  sewage sludge incinerator or grit and screening generated during preliminary
				  treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works.
(35) Nuisance--Nuisances as set forth in the
				  Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 341, the Texas Water Code, Chapter 26,
				  and §
										101.4 of this
				  title (relating to Nuisance).
(36)
				  Oil--Any material rendered from vegetative material, dairy material, meat or
				  fish feedstocks that is soluble in trichlorotrifluoroethane. It includes other
				  material extracted by the solvent from an acidified sample and not volatilized
				  during the test. Oil and greases do not include grease trap waste.
(37) One hundred-year floodplain--Any land
				  area that is subject to a 1.0% or greater chance of flooding in any given year
				  from any source.
(38) Operator--The
				  person(s) responsible for operating the facility or part of a
				  facility.
(39) Quality
				  Assurance/Quality Control (QAQC) plan--A written plan to describe standard
				  operating procedures used to sample, prepare, store, and test final product,
				  and report test results. The plan outlines quality assurance criteria, as well
				  as quality control procedures, needed to meet the operational specifications of
				  this chapter.
(40) Quality
				  Assurance Program Plan (QAPP)--A QAQC plan prepared by the agency that may be
				  substituted for the QAQC plan.
(41)
				  Paper--A material made from plant fibers (such as, but not limited to wood
				  pulp, rice hulls, and kenaf). The sludge byproduct resulting from the
				  production of paper may be approved as a feedstock pursuant to §
										332.33(b)
				  of this title (relating to Required Forms, Applications, Reports, and Request
				  To Use the Sludge Byproduct of Paper Production).
(42) Permit--A written document issued by the
				  commission that, by its conditions, may authorize the owner or operator to
				  construct, install, modify, or operate a facility or operation in accordance
				  with specific limitations.
(43)
				  Person--Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental
				  subdivision, or public or private organization of any character.
(44) PFRP--The process to further reduce
				  pathogens as described in 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 503, Appendix
				  B.
(45) Positively-sorted organic
				  material--Positively-sorted organic material includes materials such as, but
				  not limited to, yard trimmings, clean wood materials, manure, vegetative
				  material, paper, and meat and fish feedstocks that are sorted or pulled out as
				  targeted compostable organic materials from mixed municipal solid waste prior
				  to the initiation of processing.
(46) Processing--Actions that are taken to
				  land apply feedstocks or convert feedstock materials into finished compost,
				  mulch, or a useable final product. Processing does not include the stockpiling
				  of materials.
(47) PSRP--The
				  process to significantly reduce pathogens as described in 40 Code of Federal
				  Regulations Part 503, Appendix B.
(48) Recyclable material--For purposes of
				  this chapter, a recyclable material is a material that has been recovered or
				  diverted from the solid waste stream for purposes of reuse, recycling, or
				  reclamation, a substantial portion of which is consistently used in the
				  manufacture of products that may otherwise be produced from raw or virgin
				  materials. Recyclable material is not solid waste unless the material is deemed
				  to be hazardous solid waste by the administrator of the United States
				  Environmental Protection Agency, whereupon it shall be regulated accordingly
				  unless it is otherwise exempted in whole or in part from regulation under the
				  federal Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and
				  Recovery Act. If, however, recyclable materials may become solid waste at such
				  time, if any, as it is abandoned or disposed of rather than recycled, whereupon
				  it will be solid waste with respect only to the party actually abandoning or
				  disposing of the material.
(49)
				  Recycling--A process by which materials that have served their intended use or
				  are scrapped, discarded, used, surplus, or obsolete are collected, separated,
				  or processed and returned to use in the form of raw materials in the production
				  of new products. Recycling includes the composting process if the compost
				  material is put to beneficial reuse as defined in this section.
(50) Residence--A single-family or
				  multi-family dwelling.
(51)
				  Run-off--Any rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that drains over land from
				  any part of a facility.
(52)
				  Run-on--Any rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that drains over land onto any
				  part of a facility.
(53)
				  Semi-mature compost (SMC)--Organic matter that has been through the
				  thermophilic stage and achieved the appropriate level of pathogen reduction
				  (see definitions of "PFRP" and "PSRP" in this section). It has undergone
				  partial decomposition but it is not yet stabilized into mature compost.
				  Semi-mature compost shall not be packaged, as uncontrolled microbial
				  transformations will occur.
(54)
				  Solid waste--Garbage; rubbish; refuse; sludge from a wastewater treatment
				  plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility; and
				  other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained
				  gaseous material resulting from industrial, municipal, commercial, mining, and
				  agricultural operations from community and institutional activities.
(55) Source-separated--Set apart from waste
				  after use or consumption by the user or consumer.
(56) Source-separated organic
				  material--Organic materials from residential, commercial, industrial, and other
				  community activities, that at the point of generation have been separated,
				  collected, and transported separately from non-organic materials, or
				  transported in the same vehicle as non-organic materials but in separate
				  compartments. Source-separated organic material may include materials such as,
				  but not limited to, yard trimmings, clean wood materials, manure, vegetative
				  material, and paper. Yard trimmings and clean wood material collected with
				  whitegoods, as in brush and bulky item collections, will be considered
				  source-separated organic materials for the purposes of these rules.
(57) Stockpile--A collection of materials
				  that is either awaiting processing or removal.
(58) Unauthorized material--Material that is
				  not authorized to be processed in a particular type of composting, mulching, or
				  land application facility.
(59)
				  Vector--An agent, such as an insect, snake, rodent, bird, or animal capable of
				  mechanically or biologically transferring a pathogen from one organism to
				  another.
(60) Vegetative
				  material--Fruit, vegetable, or grain material whether raw, processed, liquid,
				  solid, or cooked. Vegetative material does not include oils and/or greases that
				  are derived from these same materials.
(61) Voucher--Provides the same information
				  as required on a label to persons receiving compost distributed in
				  bulk.
(62) Wet weight--The weight
				  of the material as used, not a weight that has been adjusted by subtracting the
				  weight of water within the feedstock.
(63) Wetlands--Those areas defined as
				  wetlands in the Texas Water Code, Chapter 26.
(64) White goods--Discarded large household
				  appliances such as refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, or
				  dishwashers.
(65) Yard
				  trimmings--Leaves, grass clippings, yard and garden debris, and brush,
				  including clean woody vegetative material not greater than six inches in
				  diameter, that results from landscaping maintenance and land-clearing
				  operations. Yard trimmings does not include stumps, roots, or shrubs with
				  intact root balls.