Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 250 - Department of Environmental Management › Chapter 150 - Water Resources › Subchapter 10 - Wastewater And Storm Water › Part 3 - Rules and Regulations for Sewage Sludge Management (250-RICR-150-10-3) › Section 250-RICR-150-10-3.10 - Land Application

Current through June 14, 2024
A. This rule
				  applies to the land application of sludge that has been treated by one or more
				  of the Processes to Significantly Reduce Pathogens listed in §
										3.28 of this Part. (This
				  rule does not apply to land application of Class A Biosolids or any sludge that
				  has been treated by one of the Processes to Further Reduce Pathogens.) All land
				  application sites must operate under an Order of Approval and must meet the
				  following requirements:
B. Sludge
				  and Soil Analysis. All sludge intended for land application may be required to
				  be tested using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure for the
				  parameters listed in §
										3.31 of this Part and the
				  results submitted to the Office of Water Resources. Sludge intended for land
				  application must meet the limits established in §
										3.33 of this Part for
				  metals and must be tested for the listed characteristics. In addition, soil
				  from the proposed land application site, with the exception of silvicultural
				  lands, must be tested for metals listed in §
										3.33 of this Part and for
				  the parameters listed in §
										3.10(T)(3)
				  of this Part below. The Director shall determine the testing and reporting
				  frequency. All sludge analyses shall be the responsibility of the owner or
				  operator of the facility; all soil analyses shall be the responsibility of the
				  applicant.
C. Land Application
				  Rates. All sludge intended for land application must be applied at an annual
				  rate not to exceed the amount necessary to supply adequate available nitrogen
				  for crop production using good agricultural or silvicultural practices or not
				  to exceed the maximum annual rates recommended by the U.S. Department of
				  Agriculture to achieve fertilizer benefits and soil improvement.
D. Cumulative Loading Rates. The maximum
				  amount of sludge that can be applied to a land application site shall be
				  calculated using the procedure established in §
										3.34 of this Part. The
				  amount of metals in the soil shall be deducted from each calculation.
E. Condition of Sludge. Sludge
				  intended for land application shall be treated by one of the Processes to
				  Significantly Reduce Pathogens listed in §
										3.28 of this Part and shall
				  meet one of the Vector Attraction Reduction Requirements listed in §
										3.30 of this Part. Such
				  treatment shall be the responsibility of the owner or operator of the facility.
				  Sludge intended for land application shall not meet the criteria for hazardous
				  waste.
F. Crops. Food crops with
				  harvested parts that touch the sewage sludge/soil mixture and are totally above
				  the land surface shall not be harvested for fourteen (14) months after
				  application of sewage sludge. Food crops with harvested parts below the surface
				  of the land shall not be harvested for twenty (20) months after application of
				  sewage sludge when the sewage sludge remains on the land surface for four (4)
				  months or longer prior to incorporation into the soil. Food chain crops with
				  harvested parts below the surface of the land shall not be harvested for thirty
				  eight (38) months after application of sewage sludge when the sewage sludge
				  remains on the land surface for less than four (4) months prior to
				  incorporation into the soil. Food crops with harvested parts that do not touch
				  the sewage sludge/soil mixture, feed crops and fiber crops shall not be
				  harvested for thirty (30) days after application of sewage sludge.
G. Turf. Turf grown on land where sewage
				  sludge is applied shall not be harvested for one (1) year after the last
				  application of sewage sludge has occurred when the harvested turf is placed on
				  either land with a high potential for public exposure or a lawn.
H. Public Access. Public access to the land
				  application site shall be prohibited by the owner or operator until one (1)
				  year has passed since the last application of sewage sludge to land with a high
				  potential for public exposure, such as a park or ball field or thirty (30) days
				  has passed since the last application of sewage sludge to land with a low
				  potential for public exposure, such as private farmland.
I. Animal Grazing. Animals whose products are
				  consumed by humans shall not be allowed to graze on land where sewage sludge is
				  applied for thirty (30) days after the last application of sewage sludge has
				  occurred.
J. Frozen Ground. No
				  sludge shall be applied to frozen, flooded or snow-covered ground unless
				  appropriate erosion and runoff control measures are provided.
K. Odor Control. Any land application project
				  must comply with Part 120-05-17 of this Title, as amended, or other rules and
				  regulations pertaining to odors.
L.
				  Groundwater. A minimum of two (2) feet of soil is required between the lowest
				  level of applied sludge and the seasonal high groundwater table as determined
				  by a DEM-licensed Class IV soil evaluator in accordance with the procedures
				  described in Part 6 of this Subchapter. The determination of the seasonal high
				  groundwater table must be witnessed by the Department. In addition, a minimum
				  of three (3) feet of soil is required between the highest level of bedrock and
				  the lowest level of applied sludge.
M. Surface Water. No sludge shall be land
				  applied within two hundred (200) feet of any body of surface water. No sludge
				  shall be applied to land within the watershed of any surface water used as a
				  public drinking water supply. The Director may, if necessary, require
				  continuous monitoring of any surface watercourses in the vicinity of the
				  proposed land application site. Such monitoring shall be of a type and
				  frequency determined by the Director on a case by case basis and shall be the
				  responsibility of the owner or operator.
N. Drinking Water Wells. No sludge shall be
				  land applied within one thousand (1,000) feet of any private drinking water
				  supply well or within the Wellhead Protection Area for a public drinking water
				  supply well. Land application of sludge shall be in accordance with the Rhode
				  Island Groundwater Protection Act of 1985, R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 46-13.1 and
				  any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
O. Distance to Buildings. No sludge shall be
				  land applied within four hundred (400) feet of any domestic, commercial or
				  industrial structure not associated with the proposed land application project.
P. Distance from Property Lines.
				  No sludge shall be land applied within one hundred (100) feet of a property
				  line. This requirement will be met if consent from the adjacent landowner is
				  received.
Q. Monitoring Wells.
				  Groundwater monitoring shall be of a type and frequency determined by the
				  Director on a case by case basis and shall be the responsibility of the owner
				  or operator.
R. Erosion Control.
				  Soil erosion on all land application sites shall be limited to conditions which
				  meet Resource Management System Quality Criteria for soil erosion as defined in
				  the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Field Office Technical
				  Guide for Rhode Island. Erosion control methods on all land application sites
				  shall be consistent with practice standards and specifications in the NRCS
				  Field Office Technical Guide for Rhode Island. Sediment and runoff shall be
				  controlled on all land application sites consistent with the measures within
				  the Rhode Island Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook, RI Department of
				  Environmental Management, USDA Soil Conservation Service and Rhode Island State
				  Conservation Committee, 1989.
S.
				  Transportation. All transportation of sludge shall comply with §
										3.14 of this
				  Part.
T. Submissions for Approval.
				  The following submissions are required as part of an Application for Order of
				  Approval for land application of sludge and must be stamped by a registered
				  professional engineer or land surveyor. These submissions are in addition to
				  the submission requirements listed in §
										3.8 of this Part.
1. Site Plan. A site plan for all areas
				  within the land application site shall be submitted. The site plan must be
				  drawn to a minimum scale of one inch to one hundred feet (1"=100'). The site
				  plan must include the following information:
a. Detailed soil map;
b. Buildings (if any);
c. Wells (if any);
d. Surface watercourses (if any);
e. Roads (if any);
f. Groundwater monitoring wells;
g. Proposed erosion control and runoff
				  collection and treatment systems (if any);
h. Legal boundaries of site;
i. Power lines, pipe lines, rights of way and
				  other utilities, and,
j. North
				  arrow.