Indiana Administrative Code
Title 327 - WATER POLLUTION CONTROL DIVISION
Article 7.1 - WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT
Rule 8 - Land Application of Septage
Section 8-9 - Land application management practices
Universal Citation: 327 IN Admin Code 8-9
Current through September 18, 2024
Authority: IC 13-14-8; IC 13-18-12-4
Affected: IC 13-18-12; IC 25-31.5
Sec. 9.
(a) The land application of septage must be performed in accordance with the following:
(1) Prior to land application, loads
containing domestic septage must be treated to reduce pathogens as follows:
(A) If the load is domestic septage only:
(i) the pH must be raised to twelve (12) or
higher by addition of alkaline material and, without the addition of more
alkaline material, must remain at twelve (12) or higher for at least thirty
(30) minutes; and
(ii) the
procedure must be done at a minimum of two (2) times, once at the start of
thirty (30) minutes and once at the end of thirty (30) minutes.
(B) If the load is a combination
of domestic septage and grease:
(i) the pH
must be raised to twelve (12) or higher by addition of alkaline material and,
without the addition of more alkaline material, must remain at twelve (12) or
higher for at least two (2) hours; and
(ii) the procedure must be done at a minimum
of two (2) times, once at the start of two (2) hours and once at the end of two
(2) hours.
(C) For
clauses (A) and (B), a temperature reading of the septage must be taken at the
same time the pH reading is taken and a temperature correction must be
performed if the temperature is not twenty-five (25) degrees Centigrade
(seventy-seven (77) degrees Fahrenheit), as follows:
(i) For every degree the temperature is above
twenty-five (25) degrees Centigrade (seventy-seven (77) degrees Fahrenheit), pH
must be adjusted up three one-hundredths (.03) pH units.
(ii) For every degree the temperature is
below twenty-five degrees (25) Centigrade (seventy-seven (77) degrees
Fahrenheit), pH may be adjusted down three one-hundredths (.03) pH
units.
(D) A process to
reduce pathogens other than lime stabilization may be used only as listed and
described in 40 CFR 503 *.
(E) A
process to reduce pathogens in domestic septage or a combination of domestic
septage and grease other than lime stabilization must be approved by the
commissioner prior to use based on a plan submitted by the permittee specifying
how the specific treatment process will be used.
(2) The septage must:
(A) be applied by:
(i) injection; or
(ii) incorporation into the soil within six
(6) hours of application;
(B) pass through a screening device to
prevent plastics and other objectionable material from being applied to the
soil; and
(C) be applied uniformly
to prevent overlapping.
(3) Each container of septage applied to the
land must be monitored by the operator for compliance with the:
(A) treatment process for domestic septage or
a combination of domestic septage and grease; or
(B) land application method used under
subdivision (2) for grease.
(4) Land application is prohibited under any
of the following conditions:
(A) When either
or both of the following occurs:
(i) The
surface soil temperature is less than thirty-two (32) degrees Fahrenheit at the
time of intended application.
(ii)
The site is snow covered.
(B) When the moisture holding capacity of the
soil has been exceeded.
(C) On
slopes greater than six percent (6%) when land applying by incorporation or on
slopes greater than eighteen percent (18%) when land applying by
injection.
(D) On any area of the
site when a soil type within the boundary of the site is reported to have a
seasonal water table within three (3) feet of the land surface as:
(i) determined using United States Department
of Agriculture, Indiana Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) soil
survey data**; or
(ii) certified
by:
(AA) a soil scientist registered under IC
25-31.5; or
(BB) the American
Registry of Certified Professionals in Agronomy, Crops, and Soils
(ARCPACS).
(E)
Under any other conditions that would result in, or are likely to result in,
run-off of septage from the site of application.
(5) Septage must not be:
(A) discharged or allowed to drain to the
waters of the state; or
(B) applied
to:
(i) road ditches;
(ii) swales, sink holes, field depressions,
or channels that carry running water during snow melt or rainfall.
(C) placed on the land in one (1)
location and allowed to accumulate.
(6) Injection of septage below the surface of
the land must leave no significant amount of the septage present on the land
within one (1) hour after application.
(7) All septage must be disposed so that no
threat to human health or the environment is created.
(b) The following requirements apply to land that is used for the application of grease or a combination of domestic septage and grease:
(1) The land must not be used for
the production of any food crop unless the soil is tested annually and the
results meet the requirements of
40
CFR 257.3-5(a)(1) *, using
the definitions found in
40
CFR 257.3-5(c) *.
(2) The test results must be submitted to the
department on an annual basis.
(3)
The land is subject to the limitations and restrictions regarding land use and
crop management in section 10 of this rule.
(c) Land that is used for the application of only domestic septage may be used for the production of food crops when the limitations and restrictions regarding land use and crop management contained in section 10 of this rule are followed.
*These documents are incorporated by reference. Copies may be obtained from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov, or are available for review at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Office of Legal Counsel, Indiana Government Center North, 100 North Senate Avenue, Thirteenth Floor, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204.
**USDA NRCS soil survey data can be found at https://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm.
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