A.
Applicability. This section
applies to compost facilities that choose to follow the siting, design and
operational standards in this section and compost the following residuals:
(1) Any amount of Type IA residuals;
and/or
(2) Up to 400 cubic yards
monthly of Type IB residuals; and/or
(3) Up to 200 cubic yards monthly of Type IC
residuals or up to 200 cubic yards monthly of Type II residuals.
If the conditions of this section will not be met, or if the
applicant chooses to site, design or operate the facility in a manner that
would not meet the standards of this section, then the applicant must submit an
application to the Department for a license to develop and operate the compost
facility under sections
2 through
4 of this Chapter. Facilities licensed
under this section are subject to the operating standards in section
4 of this Chapter.
B.
Reduced Procedure Siting
and Design Standards.In addition to the general siting and design
standards contained in section
2 of this Chapter, a compost facility
licensed under this section must comply with the following standards:
(1)
Working surface:Mixing,
composting, curing, storing or otherwise handing residuals, and compost at the
facility must be on surfaces meeting one of the following standards:
(a) On soils that a Maine Certified Soil
Scientist has determined are moderately well-drained to well-drained, as
classified by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and that are at least
24 inches above the seasonal high water table, bedrock, and sand or gravel
deposits.
(b) On a pad that is
constructed a minimum of two (2) feet above the seasonal high water table and
is either composed of:
(i) a minimum of
eighteen (18) inches of soil material having between 15 and 35% fines, covered
with a minimal six (6)- inch drainage layer of compacted gravel; or
(ii) soil covered with asphalt or
concrete.
(c)
Alternative Surface: On a surface determined by a Maine Certified
Soil Scientist, soil engineer or other qualified individual as being suitable
for the proposed activity, taking into account the other aspects of the
facility design, such as a roofed structure or in-vessel system. An applicant
must arrange a pre-application meeting with the Department if proposing an
alternative surface under this section.
(2)
Pad: At a facility handling
Type IC residuals, the receiving and mixing pad must be constructed with
asphalt, concrete, or other similar material. At a facility handling any amount
of Type II residuals, or more than 750 cubic yards of Type IC residuals
annually, the entire waste handling area must consist of a pad constructed of
asphalt, concrete, or other similar material for the entire waste handling
area, excluding the storage area for compost meeting the requirements of
section 6(C)(5) of this Chapter.
(3)
Runoff, Storm Water, and Leachate
Control: Surface water drainage must be diverted away from receiving,
processing, composting, curing, and storage areas. The facility must also be
designed to manage runoff and collect all leachate to prevent contamination of
groundwater or surface water. Water falling on the facility during a storm of
an intensity up to a 25-year, 24-hour storm event must infiltrate or be
detained such that the storm water rate of flow from the facility after
construction does not exceed the rate prior to construction. The facility
design must include provisions to contain, collect and treat any leachate and
contaminated stormwater or runoff generated at the facility; and
(4)
Slopes: Surfaces on which
composting takes place must slope between 2% and 6%, and where necessary, be
graded to prevent ponding of water.
C.
Operating Requirements. In
addition to the operating requirements of section
4 of this Chapter, a compost facility
licensed under this section is subject to the following additional operating
requirements. Facilities licensed pursuant to 06-096C.M.R. ch. 409(9) are
subject to the operating requirements of section
4 of this Chapter, and the following
additional operating requirements:
(1)
Pad Inspection: All soil surfaces used for residuals mixing and
composting must annually be graded clean and re-compacted. All concrete and
asphalt pads must annually be scraped clean and inspected for cracks or other
deformities, and repaired as needed. The operator must maintain the minimum two
(2)-foot separation to bedrock, groundwater and sand or gravel
deposits.
(2)
Odor
Control: The facility must be operated to prevent nuisance odors. The
facility must:
(a) Operate and maintain the
odor control system approved by the Department;
(b) Receive incoming putrescible residuals on
a pile of sawdust or other sorbent, high carbon compost amendment;
(c) Contain and treat process air or cover
odorous piles with a layer of finished compost or other suitable compost
amendment;
(d) Properly aerate
piles such that composting is aerobic throughout the pile;
(e) Blend materials to achieve a homogenous
mix throughout the pile; and
(f)
Alter the compost recipe as needed to alleviate odorous emissions.
(3)
Pathogen treatment and
vector attraction reduction: Type IC residuals with the potential to
contain human pathogens and Type II residuals must be composted to achieve a
Class A Pathogen Reduction and Class A Vector Attraction Reduction in
accordance with 06-096C.M.R. ch. 419, Appendix B, unless otherwise approved in
the facility's utilization license issued under 06-096C.M.R. ch. 419. To attain
these standards by composting, all of the following standards must be met:
(a)
Pathogen Reduction: Each
particle of residual is maintained at 55 degrees Celsius or higher for at least
three (3) consecutive days. For windrow systems, this standard is presumed to
be met if the residual is maintained at operating conditions of 55 degrees
Celsius or higher for 15 days or longer, and during the period when the compost
is maintained at 55 degrees or higher, there is a minimum of five turnings of
the compost pile;
(b)
Vector
Attraction Reduction: Residual must be treated by an aerobic composting
process for 14 days or longer. During that time, the temperature of the
residual must be higher than 40 degrees Celsius and the average temperature of
the residual must be higher than 45 degrees Celsius; and
(c)
Analytical Standard: The
density of Salmonella sp. bacteria in the finished compost
must be less than three (3) Most Probable Number per four (4) grams of total
solids (dry weight basis) or the density of fecal coliform in the finished
compost is shown to be less than 1000 Most Probable Number per gram of total
solids (dry weight basis). This analytical standard must be met at the time the
compost is distributed for utilization.
(4)
Static Pile Composting: The
following additional standards apply to composting Type IC or Type II residuals
using the static pile method:
(a) The static
piles must be aerated during the active composting stage;
(b) Detention time in the static aerated pile
must be at least 21 days;
(c) If an
auger, tub grinder hammer mill, or other Department-approved mixer is not used
to mix the initial ingredients for the pile, the pile must be broken down half
way through the active composting process and re-formed; and
(d) To maintain temperatures throughout the
pile and control odors, the pile must be fully covered with an insulating
blanket of at least 12 inches of finished compost, sawdust, or other material
as approved by the Department during the active compost phase.
(5)
Stability/Maturity: Residuals that have completed the active
composting phase and are only destined for bulk distribution for direct
agricultural uses or blending with other residuals must also be cured until the
equivalent of a Dewar's stability class of III or greater is achieved and the
final C:N ratio of the finished compost is less than 25:1. Additionally,
compost that is destined for bagging or high-end horticultural purposes must be
cured until the equivalent of a Dewar's stability class of IV or greater is
achieved, the final C:N ratio is less than 25:1 and the total
NH3-N is less than 800 parts per million.
NOTE: Compost facility operators may opt to use other
industry standard tests to achieve this standard, provided that they receive
written approval from the Department.
(6) An operations log must be kept at the
facility and made available for Department review during normal business hours.
The operations log must contain the following:
(a) Source and volume of residual received on
a daily basis;
(b) Date of
individual pile construction and breakdown;
(c) Pile composition (mixture
recipe);
(d) Date and time of
turning or otherwise aerating;
(e)
Process monitoring data;
(f) Date
the pile is put into curing and the date it is taken out of curing;
(g) Date, time, volume, and type of samples
obtained from the facility; and
(h)
Name of the person collecting samples at the facility.
(7) The facility may not receive more than
the volumes in section 6(A) of this Chapter.
(8) Residuals must be handled on approved
surfaces. Type IC and Type II residuals must be off loaded and mixed on a
receiving pad meeting the standards in section 6(B)(2) of this
Chapter.
D.
Application Requirements. The applicant shall submit to the
Department, on forms developed by the Department, information sufficient to
meet the standards and submissions requirements of 06-096C.M.R. ch. 400(4) and
the application requirements of section
3 of this Chapter. For outdoor compost
facilities, instead of the site investigation information required by section
3(H) of this Chapter,
the applicant may submit a report from a Maine Certified Soil Scientist or
other qualified individual that either:
(1)
Verifies that the waste handling areas for the proposed facility are on soils
that are moderately well-drained to well-drained, as classified by the Natural
Resources Conservation Service, and are at least 24 inches above the water
table, bedrock, and sand or gravel deposits; or
(2) Identifies all major limitations to the
proposed development presented by the soil characteristics and describes the
techniques to be used to overcome the soil limitations identified in the soil
survey.
