Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD › Chapter 31 - VIRGINIA POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (VPDES) PERMIT REGULATION › Part VI - Standards for the Use of Biosolids or Disposal of Sewage Sludge › Article 1 - General Requirements › Section 9VAC25-31-500 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
In addition to the definitions given in Part I
						(9VAC25-31-10 et seq.)
						of this chapter, the following definitions apply to Part VI (9VAC25-31-420
						et seq.) of this chapter. Where the same term is defined in both parts, the
						definition of Part VI of this chapter applies to the use of the term in Part VI
						of this chapter.
"Active sewage sludge unit" means a sewage sludge unit
						that has not closed.
"Aerobic digestion" means the biochemical decomposition
						of organic matter in sewage sludge into carbon dioxide and water by
						microorganisms in the presence of air.
"Agricultural land" means land on which a food crop, a
						feed crop, or a fiber crop is grown. This includes range land and land used as
						pasture.
"Agronomic rate" means the whole sludge application rate
						(dry weight basis) designed:
(i) to
					 provide the amount of nitrogen needed by the food crop, feed crop, fiber crop,
					 cover crop, or vegetation grown on the land and
(ii) to minimize the amount of nitrogen in
					 the biosolids that passes below the root zone of the crop or vegetation grown
					 on the land to the groundwater.
"Anaerobic digestion" means the biochemical decomposition
						of organic matter in sewage sludge into methane gas and carbon dioxide by
						microorganisms in the absence of air.
"Annual pollutant loading rate" or "APLR" means the
						maximum amount of a pollutant that can be applied to a unit area of land during
						a 365-day period.
"Annual whole sludge application rate" or "AWSAR" means
						the maximum amount of biosolids (dry weight basis) that can be applied to a
						unit area of land during a 365-day period.
"Apply biosolids" or "biosolids applied to the land"
						means land application of biosolids.
"Aquifer" means a geologic formation, group of geologic
						formations, or a portion of a geologic formation capable of yielding
						groundwater to wells or springs.
"Base flood" means a flood that has a one percent chance
						of occurring in any given year (i.e., a flood with a magnitude equaled once in
						100 years).
"Bulk biosolids" means biosolids that are not sold or
						given away in a bag or other container for application to the land.
"Class I sludge management facility" means any publicly
						owned treatment works (POTW) required to have an approved pretreatment program
						under this chapter and any treatment works treating domestic sewage classified
						as a Class I sludge management facility by the department because of the
						potential for its biosolids use or sewage sludge disposal practice to affect
						public health and the environment adversely.
"Contaminate an aquifer" means to introduce a substance
						that causes the maximum contaminant level for nitrate in the Virginia Water
						Quality Standards or in
						40 CFR
						141.62(b) to be exceeded in
						groundwater or that causes the existing concentration of nitrate in groundwater
						to increase when the existing concentration of nitrate in the groundwater
						exceeds the maximum contaminant level for nitrate in the Virginia Water Quality
						Standards or
						40 CFR
						141.62(b).
"Cover" means soil or other material used to cover sewage
						sludge placed on an active sewage sludge unit.
"Cumulative pollutant loading rate" means the maximum
						amount of an inorganic pollutant that can be applied to an area of land.
"Density of microorganisms" means the number of
						microorganisms per unit mass of total solids (dry weight) in the biosolids or
						sewage sludge.
"Displacement" means the relative movement of any two
						sides of a fault measured in any direction.
"Domestic septage" means either liquid or solid material
						removed from a septic tank, cesspool, portable toilet, Type III marine
						sanitation device, or similar treatment works that receives only domestic
						sewage. Domestic septage does not include liquid or solid material removed from
						a septic tank, cesspool, or similar treatment works that receives either
						commercial wastewater or industrial wastewater and does not include grease
						removed from a grease trap at a restaurant.
"Domestic sewage" means waste and wastewater from humans
						or household operations that is discharged to or otherwise enters a treatment
						works.
"Dry tons" means dry weight established as representative
						of land applied biosolids and expressed in units of English tons.
"Dry weight" means the measured weight of a sample of
						sewage sludge or biosolids after all moisture has been removed in accordance
						with the standard methods of testing and often represented as percent
						solids.
"Dry weight basis" means calculated on the basis of
						having been dried at 105°C until reaching a constant mass (i.e.,
						essentially 100% solids content).
"Exceptional quality biosolids" means biosolids that have
						received an established level of treatment for pathogen control and vector
						attraction reduction and contain known levels of pollutants, such that they may
						be marketed or distributed for public use in accordance with this
						regulation.
"Fault" means a fracture or zone of fractures in any
						materials along which strata on one side are displaced with respect to strata
						on the other side.
"Feed crops" means crops produced primarily for
						consumption by animals.
"Fiber crops" means crops such as flax and cotton.
"Field" means an area of land within a site where land
						application is proposed or permitted.
"Final cover" means the last layer of soil or other
						material placed on a sewage sludge unit at closure.
"Food crops" means crops produced primarily for
						consumption by humans. These include, but are not limited to, fruits,
						vegetables, and tobacco.
"Forest" means a tract of land thick with trees and
						underbrush.
"Groundwater" means water below the land surface in the
						saturated zone.
"Holocene time" means the most recent epoch of the
						Quaternary period, extending from the end of the Pleistocene epoch to the
						present.
"Industrial wastewater" means wastewater generated in a
						commercial or industrial process.
"Land application" means in regard to biosolids, the
						distribution of biosolids by spreading or spraying on the surface of the land,
						injecting below the surface of the land, or incorporating into the soil with a
						uniform application rate for the purpose of fertilizing the crops and
						vegetation or conditioning the soil. Sites approved for land application of
						biosolids in accordance with this chapter are not to be considered to be
						treatment works. Bulk disposal of stabilized sludge in a confined area, such as
						in landfills, is not land application. For the purpose of this chapter, the use
						of biosolids in agricultural research and the distribution and marketing of
						exceptional quality biosolids are not land application.
"Land application area" means, in regard to biosolids,
						the area in the permitted field, excluding the setback distances, where the
						biosolids may be applied.
"Land applier" means someone who land applies biosolids
						pursuant to a valid permit from the department as set forth in this chapter and
						9VAC25-32-690
						through
						9VAC25-32-760.
"Land with a high potential for public exposure" means
						land that the public uses frequently. This includes, but is not limited to, a
						public contact site and a reclamation site located in a populated area (e.g., a
						construction site located in a city).
"Land with a low potential for public exposure" means
						land that the public uses infrequently. This includes, but is not limited to,
						agricultural land, forest, and a reclamation site located in an unpopulated
						area (e.g., a strip mine located in a rural area).
"Leachate collection system" means a system or device
						installed immediately above a liner that is designed, constructed, maintained,
						and operated to collect and remove leachate from a sewage sludge unit.
"Liner" means soil or synthetic material that has a
						hydraulic conductivity of 1 X 10-7 centimeters per
						second or less.
"Local monitor" means a person or persons employed by a
						local government to perform the duties of monitoring the operations of land
						appliers pursuant to a local ordinance.
"Local ordinance" means an ordinance adopted by counties,
						cities, or towns in accordance with § 62.1-44.19:3 of the Code of
						Virginia.
"Lower explosive limit for methane gas" means the lowest
						percentage of methane gas in air, by volume that propagates a flame at 25°C
						and atmospheric pressure.
"Monthly average" means the arithmetic mean of all
						measurements taken during the month.
"Municipality" means a city, town, county, district,
						association, or other public body (including an intermunicipal Agency of two or
						more of the foregoing entities) created by or under state law; an Indian tribe
						or an authorized Indian tribal organization having jurisdiction over sewage
						sludge management; or a designated and approved management agency under §
						208 of the CWA, as amended. The definition includes a special district created
						under state law, such as a water district, sewer district, sanitary district,
						utility district, drainage district, or similar entity, or an integrated waste
						management facility as defined in § 201(e) of the CWA, as amended, that
						has as one of its principal responsibilities the treatment, transport, use, or
						disposal of biosolids or sewage sludge.
"Odor sensitive receptor" means, in the context of land
						application of biosolids, any health care facility, such as hospitals,
						convalescent homes, etc. or a building or outdoor facility regularly used to
						host or serve large groups of people such as schools, dormitories, or athletic
						and other recreational facilities.
"Other container" means either an open or closed
						receptacle. This includes, but is not limited to, a bucket, a box, a carton,
						and a vehicle or trailer with a load capacity of one metric ton or less.
"Pasture" means land on which animals feed directly on
						feed crops such as legumes, grasses, grain stubble, or stover.
"Pathogenic organisms" means disease-causing organisms.
						These include, but are not limited to, certain bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and
						viable helminth ova.
"Person who prepares biosolids" means either the person
						who generates biosolids during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment
						works or the person who derives a material from sewage sludge.
"pH" means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the
						hydrogen ion concentration measured at 25° Celsius or measured at another
						temperature and then converted to an equivalent value at 25°
						Celsius.
"Place sewage sludge or sewage sludge placed" means
						disposal of sewage sludge on a surface disposal site.
"Pollutant" means an organic substance, an inorganic
						substance, a combination of organic and inorganic substances, or a pathogenic
						organism that, after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation, or
						assimilation into an organism either directly from the environment or
						indirectly by ingestion through the food chain, could, on the basis of
						information available to the department, cause death, disease, behavioral
						abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions (including
						malfunction in reproduction), or physical deformations in either organisms or
						offspring of the organisms.
"Pollutant limit" means a numerical value that describes
						the amount of a pollutant allowed per unit amount of biosolids (e.g.,
						milligrams per kilogram of total solids); the amount of a pollutant that can be
						applied to a unit area of land (e.g., kilograms per hectare); or the volume of
						a material that can be applied to a unit area of land (e.g., gallons per
						acre).
"Public contact site" means land with a high potential
						for contact by the public. This includes, but is not limited to, public parks,
						ball fields, cemeteries, and golf courses.
"Qualified groundwater scientist" means an individual
						with a baccalaureate or post-graduate degree in the natural sciences or
						engineering who has sufficient training and experience in groundwater hydrology
						and related fields, as may be demonstrated by state registration, professional
						certification, or completion of accredited university programs, to make sound
						professional judgments regarding groundwater monitoring, pollutant fate and
						transport, and corrective action.
"Range land" means open land with indigenous
						vegetation.
"Reclamation site" means drastically disturbed land that
						is reclaimed using biosolids. This includes, but is not limited to, strip mines
						and construction sites.
"Run-off" means rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that
						drains overland on any part of a land surface and runs off of the land
						surface.
"Seismic impact zone" means an area that has a 10% or
						greater probability that the horizontal ground level acceleration of the rock
						in the area exceeds 0.10 gravity once in 250 years.
"Sewage sludge" means solid, semi-solid, or liquid
						residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a 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
						a 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 screenings generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage
						in a treatment works.
"Sewage sludge unit" means land on which only sewage
						sludge is placed for final disposal. This does not include land on which sewage
						sludge is either stored or treated. Land does not include surface
						waters.
"Sewage sludge unit boundary" means the outermost
						perimeter of an active sewage sludge unit.
"Site" means the area of land within a defined boundary
						where an activity is proposed or permitted.
"Specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR)" means the mass of
						oxygen consumed per unit time per unit mass of total solids (dry weight basis)
						in the sewage sludge.
"Store or storage of sewage sludge" means the placement
						of sewage sludge on land on which the sewage sludge remains for two years or
						less. This does not include the placement of sewage sludge on land for
						treatment.
"Surface disposal site" means an area of land that
						contains one or more active sewage sludge units.
"Total solids" means the materials in sewage sludge that
						remain as residue when the sewage sludge is dried at 103°C to
						105°C.
"Treat or treatment of sewage sludge" means the
						preparation of sewage sludge for final use or disposal. This includes, but is
						not limited to, thickening, stabilization, and dewatering of sewage sludge.
						This does not include storage of sewage sludge.
"Treatment works" means either a federally owned,
						publicly owned, or privately owned device or system used to treat (including
						recycle and reclaim) either domestic sewage or a combination of domestic sewage
						and industrial waste of a liquid nature.
"Unstable area" means land subject to natural or
						human-induced forces that may damage the structural components of an active
						sewage sludge unit. This includes, but is not limited to, land on which the
						soils are subject to mass movement.
"Unstabilized solids" means organic materials in sewage
						sludge that have not been treated in either an aerobic or anaerobic treatment
						process.
"Use" means to manage or recycle a processed waste
						product in a manner so as to derive a measurable benefit as a result of such
						management.
"Vector attraction" means the characteristic of biosolids
						or sewage sludge that attracts rodents, flies, mosquitoes, or other organisms
						capable of transporting infectious agents.
"Volatile solids" means the amount of the total solids in
						sewage sludge lost when the sewage sludge is combusted at 550°C in the
						presence of excess air.
Statutory Authority: § 62.1-44.15 of the Code of
						  Virginia; § 402 of the federal Clean Water Act; 40 CFR Parts 122, 123,
						  124, 403, and 503.