The permit-by-rule provisions of this section shall apply to
the disposal by burial of cull potatoes that meet all of the standards of this
section. Any burial which does not conform to all of these standards, or which
involves any waste other than cull potatoes or inert fill, will require formal
application to the Department for a license to develop and operate a solid
waste disposal facility under sections 1-6. The Department assumes that the
burial of cull potatoes in strict conformity with these permit-by-rule
provisions will meet the standards of 06-096 CMR ch. 400, section
4. The burial of cull potatoes
licensed under this section is exempt from the requirements of 06 -096 CMR ch. 400, sections 6,
7, 9, 10, and 11. No variances to the
requirements of this section may be granted.
A.
Notification Requirements. At
least 5 working days prior to initiating burial of cull potatoes, the applicant
shall submit to the Department a permit-by-rule notification of the cull potato
burial, on a form provided by the Department.
Between June 10 and October 1 of any year, the 5 working day
notice requirement may be waived if the person responsible for the cull potato
burial hand delivers a completed permit-by-rule notification to the Department,
Division of Solid Waste, and staff determine that all the provisions of this
section are met and authorize the burial.
The notification must include:
(1) A notice and statement of intent to
dispose of cull potatoes on land either owned by the farmer who is responsible
for growing the crop which produced the cull potatoes or owned by a person
granting written permission for burial of cull potatoes. The notice and
statement must give the name of the property owner, the road and map location
of the proposed burial site, and, if the land is not owned by the farmer
responsible for growing the cull potatoes, a statement signed by the property
owner that no monetary remuneration will be received in exchange for permission
to bury cull potatoes at the site.
(2) A statement signed by the person
responsible for the burial of the cull potatoes that the burial of cull
potatoes will conform with the requirements of this section.
(3) A copy of the public notice provided
pursuant to subsection B below.
NOTE: In an emergency, Department staff can be
contacted on weekends and holidays through the spill response hotline -
1-800-482-0777.
B.
Public Notice. Within 15 days
prior to the burial of cull potatoes under the provisions of this section, the
person responsible for the burial shall provide written notice to all abutting
property owners, to the town clerk or other appropriate municipal official, and
to the Department (Division of Solid Waste). That notice must include:
(1) The name of the person or company
responsible for the burial;
(2) The
location, dates of burial, estimated volume or tonnage, and estimated area
involved; and
(3) A statement that
the burial will comply with all standards contained in these rules.
Public notice of the filing of this type of permit-by-rule
in accordance with 06-096 CMR ch. 400, section 3(B)(1)(c) is not
required.
C.
Standards. To qualify for a "Permit by Rule" all of the following
standards must be met. Failure to meet any of these standards will require
formal application to the Department for a license to develop and operate a
solid waste disposal facility.
(1) No wastes
other than cull potatoes and inert fill shall be disposed at the
site;
(2) Cull potatoes may be
buried in an approved area only one (1) time, except that a new permit-by-rule
application may be filed for an area where cull potatoes were previously buried
after decomposition of the potatoes placed earlier is complete.
(3) Cull potatoes must be buried in a trench
that does not exceed 12 feet in width and which is separated along its length
from adjacent trenches by a minimum width of soil equal to the trench width.
Cull potatoes must be placed in any trench such that:
(a) The thickness of the cull potatoes does
not exceed 2 feet;
(b) The
separation between cull potatoes and the seasonal high water table is at least
18 inches as determined by drainage mottles, or as created by the installation
of a curtain drain or a drainage ditch; and
(c) The separation between cull potatoes and
bedrock is at least 24 inches.
NOTE: Cull potato burial should be as shallow as
is practical to take advantage of the more biologically active upper soil
horizons, in order to facilitate tuber breakdown and the uptake of nutrients in
the leachate.
(4) The depth to the seasonal high water
table and to bedrock must be determined by a qualified Natural Resource
Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture ("NRCS")
soil scientist, a State of Maine certified soil scientist, or a NRCS employee
under the direction of a NRCS or Maine certified soil scientist. A report
including the findings of the soil scientist or NRCS employee, and the burial
plan prepared by a qualified professional must be included in the
permit-by-rule application.
(5)
Burial must not take place within a sand and gravel deposit; in, on or over a
wetland, or on land adjacent to a wetland such that material or soil may be
washed into it, without obtaining a permit pursuant to 38 M.R.S.A. §480-E.
on a 10 year flood plain; or on any area with a slope greater than 15%. Burial
over a sand and gravel deposit is permitted provided that the cull potatoes are
separated from the sand and gravel by a minimum of 24 inches of loamy sand or
finer textured soils.
(6) No burial
shall take place within 100 feet of a classified body of surface
water.
(7) There must be a minimum
100 foot buffer between the burial area and all abutting property boundaries,
unless written permission is obtained from all owners of abutting property
closer than 100 feet.
(8) No burial
shall take place within 100 feet of any neighboring residence.
(9) No burial shall take place within 300
feet of the nearest water supply well or water supply spring unless the
resident owner of the property is notified and specifically waives this
standard in writing.
(10)
Immediately upon delivery of the cull potatoes to the burial site, the trenches
must be prepared and potatoes placed in the trenches, and the potatoes covered
with 18 inches of soil, the top 4 inches of which must be suitable for plant
growth. Finished grade must be maintained between 2 and 30% and must be
designed to avoid ponding and to promote runoff until the cull potatoes have
completely decomposed. The site must be limed, fertilized, and seeded within 7
days of burial, if covered before September 15. If covered with soil after
September 15, the soil cover must be mulched sufficiently to minimize erosion
of the cover soil and must be limed, fertilized, and seeded before May 15th of
the following year. Lime, fertilizer, and seed shall be applied as follows:
- apply 3 tons/acre of ground limestone
- apply 800 pounds/acre of 10-20-20 fertilizer, or
equivalent
- apply 21 pounds/acre of the following seed mix by drilling
or broadcasting followed by cultipacking
- 10 pounds/acre tall fescue
- 10 pounds/acre creeping red fescue
- 1 pound/acre redtop
Other seed mixtures or fertilizer amounts may be substituted
if recommended by the local Soil and Water Conservation
District.
(11) Cull potato
burial sites shall be inspected periodically for problems with stabilization,
erosion, leachate breakout, and volunteer sprouting. Any observed problems
shall be corrected immediately.
(12) The applicant shall keep a record
containing the following information for 10 years after burial of cull potatoes
under this section, unless an employee of NRCS, the Maine Department or
Agriculture, or the Maine Department of Environmental Protection approves a
lesser time after a site investigation. This record shall be available for
inspection by employees of the State of Maine or the NRCS upon request.
(i) A complete copy of the permit-by-rule
application filed with the Department.
(ii) The location(s) cull potatoes were
buried.
(iii) The volume of cull
potatoes buried.
(iv) Information
on trench width(s), length(s) and depth(s).
(v) Distances between areas where cull
potatoes were buried and the permanent features listed in sections 8(C)(5),(6),
(7), (8), and (9).
(vi) The date(s)
when cull potatoes were buried.
