Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-308 - Biosolids management › Section 173-308-080 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
Unless the department determines that the context of the rule
				requires otherwise, the following definitions are applicable for the purposes
				of this chapter.
"Administrator"
means the Administrator of the
				United States Environmental Protection Agency, or an authorized
				representative.
"Aerobic digestion"
is the biochemical
				decomposition of organic matter in biosolids into carbon dioxide and water by
				microorganisms in the presence of air. Aerobic digestion does not include
				composting.
"Agricultural land"
is land on which a food crop,
				feed crop, or fiber crop is grown. This includes range land and land used as
				pasture.
"Agronomic rate"
is the biosolids application rate
				that provides the amount of nitrogen necessary for the optimum growth of
				targeted vegetation, and that will not result in the violation of applicable
				standards or requirements for the protection of ground or surface water as
				established under
				chapter
				90.48 RCW and related
				rules including chapters 173-200 and 173-201A WAC.
"Anaerobic digestion"
is the biochemical
				decomposition of organic matter in biosolids into methane gas and carbon
				dioxide by microorganisms in the absence of air. Anaerobic digestion does not
				include composting.
"Apply biosolids or biosolids applied to the land"
means the land application of biosolids for the purpose of beneficial
				use.
"Beneficial use facility"
means a receiving-only
				facility consisting of a site or sites where biosolids from other treatment
				works treating domestic sewage are applied to the land for beneficial use,
				which has been permitted as a treatment works treating domestic sewage in
				accordance with the provisions of WAC
				173-308-310, and that has been
				designated as a beneficial use facility through the permitting process.
"Beneficial use of biosolids"
means the
				application of biosolids to the land for the purposes of improving soil
				characteristics including tilth, fertility, and stability to enhance the growth
				of vegetation consistent with protecting human health and the
				environment.
"Biosolids"
means municipal sewage sludge that is
				a primarily organic, semisolid product resulting from the wastewater treatment
				process, that can be beneficially recycled and meets all applicable
				requirements under this chapter. Biosolids includes a material derived from
				biosolids, and septic tank sludge, also known as septage, that can be
				beneficially recycled and meets all applicable requirements under this chapter.
				For the purposes of this rule, semisolid products include biosolids or products
				derived from biosolids ranging in character from mostly liquid to fully dried
				solids.
"Biosolids sold or given away in a bag or other
				container"
means biosolids sold or given away to the general public in a
				bag or other container holding less than 1 metric ton (1.1 U.S. tons).
"Bulk biosolids"
means biosolids that are not sold
				or given away in a bag or other container for application to the land.
"Ceiling concentration"
means the maximum
				concentration of a pollutant in any biosolids sample, beyond which level the
				biosolids would be classified as sewage sludge not suitable for application to
				the land. Ceiling concentrations are established in Table 1 of WAC
				173-308-160.
"Class I biosolids management facility"
is any
				publicly owned treatment works (POTW), as defined in
				40 C.F.R.
				501.2, required to have an approved
				pretreatment program under 40 C.F.R.
				403.8(a) (including any POTW
				located in a state that has elected to assume local program responsibilities
				under 40 C.F.R.
				403.10(e)), and any
				treatment works treating domestic sewage, as defined in
				40 C.F.R.
				122.2, classified as a Class I biosolids
				management facility by the EPA Regional Administrator, or in the case of
				approved state programs, the Regional Administrator in conjunction with the
				state director, because of the potential for its biosolids use or disposal
				practice to affect public health and the environment adversely.
"Clean Water Act"
or
"CWA"
means the
				Clean Water Act or Federal Clean Water Act (FCWA) (formerly referred to as
				either the Federal Water Pollution Act or the Federal Water Pollution Control
				Act Amendments of 1972), Public Law 92-500, as amended by Public Law 95-217,
				Public Law 95-576, Public Law 96-483, Public Law 97-117, and Public Law
				100-4.
"Composting"
means the biological degradation of
				organic material under controlled conditions designed to promote aerobic
				decomposition. This does not include the treatment of sewage sludge in a
				digester at a wastewater treatment plant.
"Cumulative pollutant loading rate"
is the maximum
				amount of a pollutant that can be applied to an area of land from biosolids
				that exceed the pollutant concentration limits established in Table 3 of WAC
				173-308-160.
"Density of microorganisms"
is the number of
				microorganisms per unit mass of total solids (dry weight) in the
				biosolids.
"Department"
means the Washington state department
				of ecology and, within the scope of its delegation, a local health jurisdiction
				that has been delegated authority under WAC
				173-308-050.
"Director"
means the director of the department of
				ecology or his or her authorized representative.
"Disposal on an emergency basis"
means a period up
				to but not exceeding one year. Generally, emergency situations requiring the
				use of disposal facilities will normally occur as a result of inclement weather
				conditions at a beneficial use site, contractual or technical difficulties in
				the treatment, transportation, or application of the biosolids, or as a result
				of short term economic or administrative barriers, any and all of which are
				expected to be resolved within a period of one year.
"Disposal on a long-term basis"
means to adopt
				disposal as a preferred method of management for at least five years, or for an
				indefinite period of time with no expectation for pursuing other management
				alternatives.
"Disposal on a temporary basis"
means a period of
				more than one but less than five years. Generally, situations requiring the
				temporary use of disposal facilities will normally occur as a result of
				deficiencies in the wastewater or biosolids treatment process, or economic,
				administrative, or contractual constraints which cannot be resolved in less
				than one year.
"Domestic sewage"
is waste and wastewater from
				humans or household operations that is discharged to or otherwise enters a
				treatment works.
"Dry weight basis"
means calculated on the basis
				of having been dried at 105°C (221°F) until reaching a constant mass
				(i.e., essentially one hundred percent solids content).
"EPA"
means the United States Environmental
				Protection Agency.
"Exceptional quality biosolids"
means biosolids
				that meet the pollutant concentration limits in Table 3 of WAC
				173-308-160,
and
at
				least one of the Class A pathogen reduction requirements in WAC
				173-308-170,
and
at
				least one of the vector attraction reduction requirements in WAC
				173-308-180.
"Facility"
means a treatment works treating
				domestic sewage as defined in this chapter, unless the context of the rule
				requires otherwise. For the purposes of this chapter a facility is considered
				to be new if it has not been previously approved for the treatment, storage,
				use, or disposal of biosolids or sewage sludge.
"Feed crops"
are crops produced primarily for
				consumption by animals.
"Fiber crops"
are crops such as flax and cotton
				including, but not limited to, those whose parts or by-products may be consumed
				by humans or used in the production or preparation of food for human
				consumption.
"Food crops"
are crops consumed by humans. These
				include, but are not limited to, fruits, vegetables, grains, and
				tobacco.
"Forest"
is an area of land that is managed for
				the production of timber or other forest products, or for benefits such as
				recreation and watershed protection, and that is or will be dominated by trees
				under the current system of management. For the purposes of this rule, other
				areas of land that are not regulated as agricultural land, public contact
				sites, land reclamation sites, or lawns or home gardens are considered forest
				land.
"General permit"
means a permit issued by the
				department in accordance with the procedures established in this chapter, to be
				effective in a designated geographical area, that authorizes the application of
				biosolids to the land or the disposal of sewage sludge in a municipal solid
				waste landfill, under which multiple treatment works treating domestic sewage
				may apply for coverage.
"Geometric mean"
means the antilogarithm of the
				arithmetic average of the logarithms of the sample values, or the nth root of
				the product of n sample values.
"Groundwater"
means water in a saturated zone or
				stratum beneath the surface of land or below a surface water body.
"Health jurisdiction"
or
"local health
				jurisdiction"
means city, county, city-county, or district public health
				jurisdiction as defined in
				chapters
				70.05,
				70.08, and
				70.46 RCW.
"Individual permit"
means a permit issued by the
				department to a single treatment works treating domestic sewage in accordance
				with WAC 173-308-310, which authorizes the
				management of biosolids or sewage sludge.
"Industrial septage"
or
"commercial
				septage"
is the contents from septic tanks or similar systems that
				receive wastewater generated in a commercial or industrial process. This
				definition includes, but is not limited to, grease trap wastes generated at
				restaurants and similar food service facilities.
"Industrial wastewater"
or
"commercial
				wastewater"
is wastewater generated in a commercial or industrial
				process.
"Land application"
is the application of biosolids
				to the land surface by means such as spreading or spraying, the injection of
				biosolids below the land surface, or the incorporation of biosolids into the
				soil, for the purpose of beneficial use.
"Land with a low potential for public exposure"
is
				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).
"Land with a high potential for public exposure"
is 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).
"Local health jurisdiction"
see definition of
				health jurisdiction.
"Manufactured inerts"
means wastes such as
				plastic, metals, ceramics and other manufactured items that remain relatively
				unchanged during wastewater or biosolids treatment processes.
"Monthly average"
is the arithmetic mean of all
				measurements taken during the month.
"Municipal sewage sludge"
means sewage sludge
				generated from a publicly owned treatment works. For the purposes of this
				chapter, sewage sludge generated from the treatment of only domestic sewage in
				a privately owned or industrial treatment facility is considered municipal
				sewage sludge.
"Municipality"
means a city, town, borough,
				county, parish, district, association, or other public body (including an
				inter-municipal agency of two or more of the foregoing entities) created by or
				under state law, or a designated and approved management agency under section
				208 of the Clean Water Act, 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 section 201(e) of the
				Clean Water Act, as amended, that has as one of its principal responsibilities
				the treatment, transport, use, or disposal of biosolids.
"Nonexceptional quality biosolids"
means biosolids
				that do not meet the criteria of "exceptional quality biosolids" as defined in
				this section.
"Other container"
is 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 (1.1 U.S. tons)
				or less.
"Owner"
means any person with ownership interest
				in a site or facility, or who exercises control over a site or facility, but
				does not include a person who, without participating in management of the site
				or facility, holds indicia of ownership primarily to protect the person's
				security interest.
"Pasture"
is land on which animals feed directly
				on feed crops such as legumes, grasses, grain stubble, or stover.
"Pathogenic organisms"
are disease causing
				organisms. These include, but are not limited to, certain bacteria, protozoa,
				viruses, and viable helminth ova.
"Permit"
means an authorization, license, or
				equivalent control document issued by the director to implement the
				requirements of this chapter. Unless the context requires differently, the use
				of the term in this chapter refers to individual permits, general permits, and
				coverage under general permits.
"Person"
is an individual, association,
				partnership, corporation, municipality, state or federal agency, or an agent or
				employee thereof.
"Person who prepares biosolids"
is either the
				person who generates biosolids during the treatment of domestic sewage in a
				treatment works or the person who derives a material from biosolids.
"pH"
means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the
				hydrogen ion concentration.
"Place sewage sludge"
or
"sewage sludge
				placed"
means to dispose of sewage sludge.
"Pollutant"
is 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 Administrator of EPA, 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"
is 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), the volume of a
				material that can be applied to a unit area of land (e.g., gallons per acre),
				or the number of pathogens or indicator organisms per unit of biosolids.
				Pollutant limits are established in Tables 1 - 3 of WAC
				173-308-160, in 173-308-170, and
				in 173-308-270.
"Public contact site"
is land with a high
				potential for contact by the public. This includes, but is not limited to,
				public parks, ball fields, cemeteries, plant nurseries, turf farms, and golf
				courses.
"Publicly owned treatment works"
means a treatment
				works treating domestic sewage that is owned by a municipality, the state of
				Washington, or the federal government.
"Range land"
is generally open, uncultivated land
				dominated by herbaceous or shrubby vegetation that may be used for grazing or
				browsing, either by wildlife or livestock.
"Receiving-only facility"
means a treatment works
				treating domestic sewage that only receives sewage sludge or biosolids from
				other sources for further treatment and/or application to the land, and which
				does not generate any biosolids from the treatment of domestic sewage.
"Reclamation site"
is drastically disturbed land
				that is reclaimed using biosolids. This includes, but is not limited to, strip
				mines and construction sites.
"Regional administrator"
means the Regional
				Administrator of Region 10 of the Environmental Protection Agency or his/her
				authorized representative.
"Residential equivalent value"
means the number of
				residential equivalents determined for a facility under chapter 173-224 WAC or
				a value similarly obtained under WAC
				173-308-320.
"Restrict public access"
means to minimize access
				of nonessential personnel to land where biosolids are applied, through the use
				of natural or artificial barriers, signs, remoteness, or other means.
"Saturated zone"
means the zone below the water
				table in which all interstices are filled with water.
"Septage"
or
"domestic septage"
is
				liquid or solid material removed from septic tanks, cess pools, portable
				toilets, type III marine sanitation devices, vault toilets, pit toilets, RV
				holding tanks, or similar systems that receive only domestic sewage. Septage
				may also include commercial or industrial septage mixed with domestic septage
				if approved in accordance with the provisions in WAC
				173-308-020(3)(g).
"Septage managed as biosolids originating from sewage
				sludge"
means septage managed as if it had originated from a sewage
				treatment process at a wastewater treatment facility including, but not limited
				to, meeting the sampling requirements in WAC
				173-308-140, the monitoring
				requirements in WAC
				173-308-150, the pollutant limits
				in WAC 173-308-160, the pathogen
				reduction requirements in WAC
				173-308-170, and the vector
				attraction reduction requirements in this chapter.
"Septage management facility"
means a person who
				applies septage to the land or one that treats septage for application to the
				land.
"Sewage sludge"
is solid, semisolid, 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.
"Significant change in biosolids management
				practices"
means, but is not limited to, the following: A change in the
				quality of biosolids that are applied to the land, either from class A to class
				B for pathogens, or from Table 3 to Table 1 of WAC
				173-308-160 for pollutant limits;
				the addition of a new area to which biosolids will be applied which was not
				previously disclosed during a required public notice process; for class B
				biosolids only, a change from nonfood crops to food crops, a change from crops
				where the harvestable portions do not contact the biosolids/soil mixture to
				crops where the harvestable portions contact the biosolids/soil mixture, or a
				change in site classification from land with a low potential for public
				exposure to land with a high potential for public exposure; or any change or
				deletion of a requirement established in an approved land application plan or
				established as a condition of coverage under a permit that would result in a
				decrease in buffer size, site monitoring, or facility reporting requirements,
				which was not otherwise provided for in the permit or plan approval
				process.
"Site"
means all areas of land, including buffer
				areas, which are identified in the scope of an approved site specific land
				application plan. A site is considered to be new or expanded when biosolids are
				applied to an area not approved in a site specific land application plan or
				that was not previously disclosed during a required public notice
				process.
"Specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR)"
is the mass
				of oxygen consumed per unit time per unit mass of total solids (dry weight
				basis) in the biosolids.
"State"
means the state of Washington.
"Store or storage of biosolids or sewage sludge"
is the placing of biosolids or sewage sludge on land or in surface impoundments
				or other containment devices in which the biosolids or sewage sludge remain for
				two years or less, except where a greater time period has been approved by the
				department. This does not include the placing of biosolids or sewage sludge on
				land or in surface impoundments or other containment devices for treatment or
				disposal.
"Stover"
is the nongrain, above-ground part of a
				grain crop, often corn or sorghum.
"Surface impoundment"
means a facility or part of
				a facility which is a natural topographic depression, man-made excavation, or
				diked area formed primarily of earthen materials (although it may be lined with
				man-made materials), and which is designed to hold an accumulation of liquids
				or sludges. The term includes holding, storage, settling, and aeration pits,
				ponds, or lagoons, but does not include injection wells.
"Surface waters of the state"
means surface waters
				of the state as defined in WAC
				173-201A-020.
"Tank"
means a stationary device designed to
				contain an accumulation of liquid or semisolid materials and which is
				constructed primarily of nonearthen materials to provide structural
				support.
"Temporary, small-scale storage"
is the storage of
				biosolids or sewage sludge for no more than thirty days in a tank holding no
				more than 10,000 gallons with a total on-site maximum volume of no more than
				20,000 gallons.
"Total solids"
are the materials in biosolids that
				remain as residue when the biosolids are dried at 103 to 105°C (217.4 to
				221°F).
"Treat or treatment of biosolids"
is the
				preparation of biosolids for final use or disposal. This includes, but is not
				limited to, thickening, stabilization, and dewatering of biosolids. This does
				not include storage of biosolids.
"Treatment works"
is 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.
"Treatment works treating domestic sewage"
means a
				publicly owned treatment works or any other sewage sludge or wastewater
				treatment devices or systems, regardless of ownership, used in the storage,
				treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal or domestic sewage or sewage
				sludge, including land dedicated for the disposal of sewage sludge. Treatment
				works treating domestic sewage also includes beneficial use facilities and
				septage management facilities as defined in this section, and a person, site,
				or facility designated as a treatment works treating domestic sewage in
				accordance with WAC
				173-308-310(1)(b).
				This definition does not include septic tanks or similar devices or temporary,
				small-scale storage as defined in this section.
"Unstabilized solids"
are organic materials in
				biosolids that have not been treated in either an aerobic or anaerobic
				treatment process.
"Vector attraction"
is the primarily odorous
				characteristic of biosolids that attracts rodents, flies, mosquitoes, or other
				organisms capable of transporting infectious agents.
"Volatile solids"
is the amount of the total
				solids in biosolids that are lost when the biosolids are combusted at 550°C
				(1,022°F) in the presence of excess air.
"Waters of the state"
means waters of the state as
				defined in
				RCW
				   90.48.020.
"Wetlands"
means those areas that are inundated or
				saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration to
				support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of
				vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands
				generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.
Statutory Authority: Chapters 70.95J and
				  70.95 RCW. 07-12-010 (Order 06-06),
				  § 173-308-080, filed 5/24/07, effective 6/24/07. Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				     70.95J.020 and
				  70.95.255. 98-05-101 (Order
				  97-30), § 173-308-080, filed 2/18/98, effective
				  3/21/98.