Pennsylvania Code
Title 25 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Part I - Department of Environmental Protection
Subpart D - Environmental Health and Safety
Article VIII - Municipal Waste
Chapter 271 - MUNICIPAL WASTE MANAGEMENT-GENERAL PROVISIONS
Subchapter J - BENEFICIAL USE OF SEWAGE SLUDGE BY LAND APPLICATION
OPERATING REQUIREMENTS
Section 271.913 - General requirements

Universal Citation: 25 PA Code ยง 271.913

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024

(a) A person may not apply sewage sludge to the land except in accordance with this subchapter.

(b) A person may not apply sewage sludge subject to the cumulative pollutant loading rates in § 271.914(b)(2) (relating to pollutant limits) to agricultural land, forest, a public contact site or a reclamation site if any of the cumulative pollutant loading rates in § 271.914(b)(2) have been reached.

(c) A person may not apply residential septage to agricultural land, forest or a reclamation site during a 365-day period if the annual application rate in § 271.914(c) has been reached during that period.

(d) A person may not apply sewage sludge to a reclamation site unless the reclamation activity is permitted or otherwise approved by the Department.

(e) A person who operates under a land application of sewage sludge permit issued under this subchapter shall obtain written consent of the owner of the land upon which the sewage sludge will be land applied, on a form prepared by the Department, prior to land applying the sewage sludge.

(f) A person who operates under a land application of sewage sludge permit issued under this subchapter shall, at least 7 days prior to land applying sewage sludge for the first time at a location, provide the occupant of the land with a user instruction sheet prepared by the person operating under the permit that describes the acceptable uses and limitations of the sewage sludge.

(g) Notification requirements are as follows:

(1) A person who prepares sewage sludge that is land applied at a location and a person who land applies residential septage at a location for agricultural, forest or land reclamation purposes shall send or otherwise provide written notification to the adjacent landowner, the county conservation district and the Department at least 30 days prior to the first application of the sewage sludge at that location. The notification shall:
(i) Include a brief description of the operation, any site restrictions, the name of the person land applying the sewage sludge and the applicable permit number.

(ii) Be sent by personal delivery or first class mail and, for an adjacent landowner, shall also be given by posting at the property line in a manner sufficient to notify the adjacent landowner of the items in subparagraph (i).

(iii) For the county conservation district and the Department, include the location of the fields on a United States Geological Survey map and on a Natural Resources Conservation Service Soils Map.

(iv) For the Department, be sent to the Department's regional office that has jurisdiction for the location where the sewage sludge will be applied.

(2) The Department may modify these requirements for purposes of land reclamation where the activity is part of another permit or approval issued by the Department and public notice has been provided as part of the permit or approval.

(h) Prior to the first time a site is used for land application, the first person who prepares sewage sludge or the first person who land applies residential septage shall obtain, at a minimum, one representative soil chemical analysis for each field on which sewage sludge is land applied, for pH and those constituents listed in the tables in § 271.914(b).

(i) The person who prepares sewage sludge that is applied to agricultural land, forest, a public contact site or a reclamation site shall provide the person who applies the sewage sludge written notification of the concentration of total nitrogen (as nitrogen on a dry weight basis) in the sewage sludge.

(j) Land application information requirements are as follows:

(1) The person who applies sewage sludge to the land shall obtain information needed to comply with the requirements in this subchapter.

(2) Before sewage sludge subject to the cumulative pollutant loading rates in § 271.914(b)(2) is applied to the land, the person who proposes to apply the sewage sludge shall contact the Department's regional office that has jurisdiction for the site where the sewage sludge will be applied to determine, based on existing and readily available information, whether sewage sludge subject to the cumulative pollutant loading rates in § 271.914(b)(2) has been applied to the site. The information will result in the following:
(i) If sewage sludge subject to the cumulative pollutant loading rates in § 271.914(b)(2) has not been applied to the site, the cumulative amount for each pollutant listed in Table 2 of § 271.914 may be applied to the site in accordance with § 271.914(a)(2).

(ii) If sewage sludge subject to the cumulative pollutant loading rates in § 271.914(b)(2) has been applied to the site, and the cumulative amount of each pollutant applied to the site in the sewage sludge is known, the cumulative amount of each pollutant applied to the site shall be used to determine the additional amount of each pollutant that can be applied to the site under § 271.914(a)(2).

(iii) If sewage sludge subject to the cumulative pollutant loading rates in § 271.914(b)(2) has been applied to the site, and the cumulative amount of each pollutant applied to the site in the sewage sludge is not known, an additional amount of each pollutant may not be applied to the site in accordance with § 271.914(a)(2).

(k) When a person who prepares sewage sludge provides the sewage sludge to a person who applies the sewage sludge to the land, the person who prepares the sewage sludge shall provide the person who applies the sewage sludge notice and necessary information to comply with this subchapter.

(l) When a person who prepares sewage sludge provides the sewage sludge to another person who prepares the sewage sludge, the person who provides the sewage sludge shall provide the person who receives the sewage sludge notice and necessary information to comply with this subchapter.

(m) The person who applies sewage sludge to the land shall provide the legal or equitable owner, or lease holder, of the land on which the sewage sludge is applied notice and necessary information to comply with this subchapter.

This section cited in 25 Pa. Code §271.281 (relating to application for general permit); 25 Pa. Code § 271.911 (relating to special requirements); 25 Pa. Code § 271.915 (relating to management practices); and 25 Pa. Code § 271.918 (relating to recordkeeping).

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