Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
Any person seeking to establish a solid waste composting
facility under sections
2 through
4 of this Chapter must provide
information sufficient to meet the standards and submission requirements of
06-096C.M.R. ch.400. The applicant must submit to the Department, on forms
developed by the Department, the following information:
A.
General Information
(1)
Description: A brief
description of the proposed composting facility.
(2)
Topographic Map: The most
recent full size U.S. Geological Survey topographic map (7 1/2 minute series,
if available) of the area, showing the location of the proposed facility, the
property boundary, and, if handling putrescible materials, airports within
10,000 feet of the site, all clearly and accurately delineated. The map must
include all surrounding areas within one mile of the proposed site.
(3)
Aquifer Map: A legible copy
of the most recent Maine Geological Survey Significant Aquifer Map or Sand and
Gravel Aquifer map with the facility site, property boundary and waste handling
area clearly and accurately delineated on the map.
(4)
Tax Map: A legible copy of
the local tax map(s) marked with the facility site and the names and addresses
of abutters on the appropriate lots. For a person proposing outdoor composting
or storage, the map must indicate all residences within 1,000 feet of the waste
handling area.
(5)
Flood
Plain Map: If the proposed site is within 1/4 mile of a 100 year floodplain, a
legible copy of the most recent Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
flood insurance rate maps of the 100-year frequency floodplain, with the
location of the facility and property boundary clearly and accurately
delineated
B.
Site Design Characteristics. An engineering design must be submitted as
part of an application. The sophistication of engineering design required to
develop a site for a composting facility varies according to the physical
characteristics of the site, the size and complexity of the facility, and the
nature of the wastes to be composted. The following components must be included
in any engineering design:
(1)
Site
Plan: A detailed plan of the area within 500 feet of the waste handling
area, with a scale of 1 inch = 100 feet or a larger scale, clearly showing, if
applicable: all structures; protected natural resources; roads; property
boundaries; receiving, composting, curing and storage areas; residences;
erosion and sedimentation control features; odor control structures; water
supply wells and springs; water quality monitoring points; and barriers or
fencing and gates to prevent unauthorized persons access to the site. For
facilities involving outdoor handling of putrescible wastes in an uncovered or
exposed condition, this plan must also note the direction and distance of
airports within 10,000 feet of the waste and waste handling area.
(2)
Plan Views of the Structures and
Utilities: A large scale construction plan view drawing, with a minimum
scale of 1 inch = 40 feet, clearly showing any building(s) with foundations;
processing unit(s); utilities; leachate, storm water, and erosion and
sedimentation control details; and, if applicable, odor control
system.
C.
Composting Facility Design Characteristics
(1)
Process Design: A general
description of the facility's waste composting system must be submitted. The
complexity and degree of detail of the description will vary depending on the
magnitude and complexity of the process. The description must include, if
applicable, process flow diagram(s), the source, volume, and characteristics of
wastes to be received, the products and wastes to be generated; the methods to
be utilized to mix, process and store wastes and products; the processing
equipment to be used on site; provisions for characterization, including
analytical information demonstrating that the incoming wastes meet the
classification proposed to be handled at the facility; an identification of
applicable standards for the product that the facility will produce, including,
residual standards from 06-096C.M.R. ch. 419, or other applicable standards
from these rules, and a description of how these standards will be
met.
(2) Type of composting method
used at the facility (i.e. static pile, aerated static pile, windrow, passive
aerated windrow system, in vessel, agitated bin, etc.);
(3) Methods used in mixing, constructing
compost piles or windrows, curing and storage;
(4) Mixing, windrow construction, screening,
turning, and aeration equipment;
(5) Ratio of residuals and other ingredients
that will be mixed together taking into account the intended use of the
composted residual; and based on a recipe that balances the mixture's:
(a) Ratio of available carbon to
nitrogen;
(b) Moisture content
throughout the process;
(c) Bulk
density throughout the pile;
(d)
Volatile solids content; and
(e)
pH;
(6) Proposed
dimensions of compost piles or windrows;
(7) Method and frequency of aeration,
including turning frequency or mechanical aeration equipment;
(8) Duration of composting process, including
curing or storage time; and
(9)
When applicable, the standards in 06-096C.M.R. ch.419 that the residual is
being processed to meet, and provisions to monitor residual temperature, oxygen
and moisture or other parameters to demonstrate that the standard is
met.
D.
Compost
Distribution and Use Plan.The applicant must submit the application
information required for licensing a utilization program under 06-096C.M.R.
ch.419. The applicant must describe the disposition of other materials,
including residue, generated at the facility that are not covered under a
beneficial use or agronomic utilization program. The Department may require
financial assurance in the form of a letter of credit, escrow account, or other
approved financial security to finance the cost of potential remediation or
disposal of waste, residue, including compost screenings, or secondary
materials.
E.
Operations
Manual.The applicant must submit an operations manual, containing the
information required in section 4 of this Chapter.
F.
Environmental Monitoring
Plan.The applicant must submit an environmental monitoring plan pursuant
to section
2(B)(3) of this
Chapter, including a waste characterization analytical work plan, if required
by the Department.
G.
Odor
Control
(1) For facilities other than
those that compost wastewater treatment sludge from publicly owned treatment
works and facilities that compost septage: Based upon the location, design, and
operational procedures of the proposed facility, the applicant must demonstrate
that the facility will not cause an odor nuisance. The facility may not cause
more than a one hour average odor impact of 2 dilutions to threshold (2D/T), in
any calendar year at any occupied buildings.
NOTE: D/T is defined by ASTM Method E679-91 (1997), "Standard
Practice for Determination of Odor and Taste Thresholds By a Forced-Choice
Ascending Concentration Series Method of Limits". The applicant may wish to
demonstrate that it will meet this standard at the processing facility's
property boundary, to ensure that nuisance odors at occupied buildings will not
occur if the areas near the facility are subsequently developed.
(2) For facilities that compost
wastewater treatment sludge from publicly owned treatment works and facilities
that compost septage: An odor management plan must be submitted that includes
provisions for the prevention and control of nuisance odor during routine
operations and construction activities based upon the location, design, and
operational procedures of the proposed facility. The odor management plan must
include the following information:
(a) An
evaluation of potential process odor and potential off-site
influences;
(b) Proposed methods to
prevent nuisance odor which may include systems for the enclosure of nuisance
odor-producing materials and processes;
(c) Proposed methods to control, reduce or
eliminate nuisance odor; and proposed uses of technology and an evaluation of
the effectiveness of the technology to control, reduce or eliminate nuisance
odor;
(d) Provisions to monitor and
formally document facility nuisance odor if identified at the property
boundary;
(e) A procedure to
formally record and respond to odor complaints in a timely manner;
(f) Odor response procedures that include
response actions to be implemented after the occurrence of an odor event or the
determination of nuisance odor is made. The procedures must outline the
responsibilities of facility personnel, notification provisions to the
Department and the community, and include potential actions that may be taken
along with associated timeframes for implementation;
(g) Provisions to maintain and store back-up
equipment or obtain replacement equipment in a timely manner during shutdown
and malfunction events that is critical to the function of the odor control
system; and
(h) Provisions to
record odor related information, including monitoring data and any exceedances
which may occur.
NOTE: The scope and detail required in this plan will be
determined by facility-specific conditions including the complexity of the
facility and waste type(s). Existing plans may be used to demonstrate
compliance provided that they meet, or are modified to meet, the requirements
of this section.
H.
Site Investigation. A
subsurface investigation must be conducted whenever the proposed composting
facility includes the use of in situ soils as any part of a
soil base pad for handling solid wastes, includes structures requiring
foundations, or includes subsurface wastewater holding or disposal systems. The
data must consist of soil test data in the proposed handling areas from a
certified professional describing and evaluating the surficial geology and/or
the subsurface soils. This information must demonstrate that the facility
design is compatible with the site's soil characteristics, as determined by
applicable engineering standards of practice.
