SECTION 312.44. Management Practices

(a) Land application of bulk biosolids and/or domestic septage must not cause or contribute to the harm of a threatened or endangered species of plant, fish, or wildlife or result in the destruction or adverse modification of the critical habitat of a threatened or endangered species.

(b) Bulk biosolids and/or domestic septage must not be applied to agricultural land, forest, a public contact site, or a reclamation site that is flooded, frozen, or snow-covered so that the bulk biosolids and/or domestic septage enters a wetland or other water in the state, except as provided in a permit issued under Chapter 305 of this title (relating to Consolidated Permits) or federal Clean Water Act, §404.

(c) When bulk biosolids that do not meet Class A pathogen requirements or domestic septage is land applied to agricultural land, forest, or a reclamation site, buffer zones listed under paragraph (1)(A) and (B) and paragraph (2)(A) - (C), (E) and (F) of this subsection must be established at the time of issuance of a permit or registration and maintained at all times for each land application unit as noted in this section unless otherwise specified by the commission. In addition, the buffer zone listed under paragraph (2)(D) of this subsection must be established at the time of issuance of a permit or registration for each land application unit unless otherwise specified by the commission. The buffer zone listed under paragraph (2)(D) of this subsection shall be re-evaluated and maintained as needed, upon renewal or major amendment of a permit or registration.

(1) Surface water:

(A) 200-foot buffer zone, if the biosolids and/or domestic septage are not incorporated; for land application units located in a major sole-source impairment zone this buffer zone must maintain a vegetative cover; or

(B) 33-foot vegetative buffer zone, if the biosolids and/or domestic septage are incorporated.

(2) Other buffer zones:

(A) 150 feet, private water supply well;

(B) 500 feet, public water supply well, intake, spring or similar source, public water supply treatment plant, or public water supply elevated or ground storage tank;

(C) 200 feet, solution channel, sinkhole, or other conduit to groundwater;

(D) 750 feet, established school, institution, business, or occupied residential structure;

(E) 50 feet, public right-of-way and property boundaries; and

(F) 10 feet, irrigation conveyance canal.

(d) Any of the buffers established in subsection (c)(2)(D) and (E) of this section may be reduced or eliminated if an agreement to that effect is signed by the owners of the established school, institution, business, occupied residential structure, or adjacent property and this documentation is provided to the executive director prior to issuance of a permit or registration. Reductions or elimination of buffer zones in an existing permit or registration by agreement of the affected landowner will be considered a minor amendment of the permit or registration.

(e) Bulk biosolids and/or domestic septage must be applied to agricultural land, forest, or a public contact site at an annual whole application rate that is equal to or less than the agronomic rate for the agricultural land, forest, or public contact site on which the bulk biosolids and/or domestic septage are applied.

(f) Bulk biosolids and/or domestic septage must be applied to a reclamation site at an annual whole application rate that is equal to or less than the agronomic rate for the reclamation site on which the bulk biosolids and/or domestic septage are applied, unless otherwise specified by the executive director or commission. On a case-by-case basis, an annual whole application rate may exceed the agronomic rate for a specific time period.

(g) Groundwater protection measures.

(1) A seasonal high groundwater table must be not less than three feet below the treatment zone for soils with moderate or slower permeability (less than two inches per hour).

(2) A seasonal high groundwater table must be not less than four feet below the treatment zone for soils with moderately rapid or rapid permeability (greater than two inches per hour and less than 20 inches per hour).

(3) Seasonal generally refers to a groundwater table that may be perched on a less permeable soil or geologic unit and fluctuates with seasonal climatic variation or that occurs in a soil or geologic unit as a variation in saturation due to seasonal climatic conditions and is identified as such in a published soil survey report or similar document.

(4) Application of biosolids and/or domestic septage to land having soils with greater permeability and with higher groundwater tables will be considered on a case-by-case basis, after consideration of soil pH, metal loadings onto the soil, soil buffering capacity, or other protective measures to prevent groundwater contamination.

(h) Biosolids and/or domestic septage must be land applied by a method and under conditions that prevent runoff beyond the land application unit and protect the quality of the surface water and the soils in the unsaturated zone.

(1) Biosolids and/or domestic septage must be land applied uniformly over the surface of the land.

(2) Biosolids and/or domestic septage may not be land applied to areas where permeable surface soils are less than two feet thick. The executive director will consider sites with thinner permeable surface soils, on a case-by-case basis.

(3) Biosolids and/or domestic septage may not be land applied during any time when precipitation occurs, during periods in which surface soils are water-saturated, or when pooling of water is evident on the land application unit. The operator of a Class B land application unit, a domestic septage land application unit, or a bulk biosolids land application unit that is subject to the notification requirements in §312.4(b) of this title (relating to Required Authorizations or Notifications) shall submit an Adverse Weather and Alternative Plan. This plan shall detail procedures to address times when the biosolids and/or domestic septage cannot be applied to the land application unit due to adverse weather or other conditions such as wind, precipitation, field preparation delays, and access road limitations.

(4) Biosolids and/or domestic septage may not be applied to areas having topographical slopes in excess of 8.0%. On a case-by-case basis, the executive director will consider sites with steeper slopes when runoff controls are proposed and utilized, incorporation of biosolids and/or domestic septage into the soil occurs, or for certain reclamation projects.

(5) Where runoff of biosolids and/or domestic septage from the land application unit is evident, the operator shall cease further land application until the condition is corrected.

(6) Biosolids and/or domestic septage may not be land applied within a designated floodway.

(i) Either a label must be affixed to the bag or other container in which biosolids are sold or given away for land application or an information sheet must be provided to the person who receives biosolids sold or given away in another container for land application. The label or information sheet must contain the following information:

(1) the name and address of the person who prepared the biosolids;

(2) a statement that prohibits the land application of the biosolids except in accordance with the instructions on the label or information sheet; and

(3) the annual whole application rate for the biosolids that do not cause the annual metal loading rates in Table 4 of §312.43(b)(4) of this title (relating to Metal Limits) to be exceeded.

(j) Nuisance controls.

(1) A land application unit location must be selected and the site operated in a manner to prevent public health nuisances.

(2) Debris must be prevented from blowing or running off site boundaries or into surface waters.

(3) To prevent nuisance conditions from occurring, the operator shall:

(A) minimize dust migration from the site and access roadways;

(B) minimize offensive odors through incorporation of biosolids and/or domestic septage into the soil or by taking some other type of corrective action; and

(C) develop and implement best management practices (BMPs) to minimize off-site tracking of biosolids and/or domestic septage and sediment during the transport of biosolids and/or domestic septage to and from the land application unit or storage area; and to include at a minimum, removing tracked material, to the extent practicable, by the end of each day of operation at the site and either returning it to the site or otherwise disposing of it properly. The documented BMPs shall be retained by the operator and made by readily available for review by a TCEQ representative.

(4) Odor Control. Pursuant to the authority vested in the commission or executive director in §312.6 of this title (relating to Additional or More Stringent Requirements), a person who prepares biosolids and/or domestic septage or land applies biosolids and/or domestic septage on agricultural land may be subject to an Odor Control Plan on a case-by-case basis.

(k) A permit or registration must specify the soil testing requirements for each land application unit.

(1) The testing frequency must consider common agricultural methods of determining crop nutrient needs, soil pH, phytotoxicity, and concentrations of metals regulated by this chapter.

(2) No authorization may require soil testing of metals regulated by this chapter, at a frequency greater than once per five years or prior to submittal of a renewal application for a land application unit. Soil testing for metals regulated by this chapter may not be required for portions of the authorized site where biosolids and/or domestic septage have not been applied since the last soil metals testing was performed.

(3) Paragraph (2) of this subsection does not apply if the executive director becomes aware of circumstances warranting increased monitoring of metals regulated by this chapter, to address sites where metal loading into the soil is a threat to human health or environmental quality.

(l) An operator of a Class AB or Class B land application unit shall post a sign that is visible from a publicly accessible road or sidewalk that is adjacent to the premises on which the land application unit is located stating that a biosolids land application unit is located on the premises. The sign shall be posted three days prior to and 14 days after the commencement of land application of biosolids and shall include the operator name, telephone number, the classification of biosolids and the TCEQ authorization number. In the event of reasonably unforeseen circumstances such as weather conditions or equipment failure that necessitate a change in a planned land application unit, the required sign may be posted on the day on which biosolids land application commences. If signs are posted less than three days prior to land application, records shall be maintained documenting the unforeseeable circumstance that necessitated the change in a planned land application unit. Such records shall be retained by the operator and be readily available for review by a TCEQ representative.

(m) All vehicles and equipment used for the transport of bulk biosolids and/or domestic septage for land application or disposal shall be constructed, operated, and maintained to prevent the loss of liquid or solid materials during transport. An operator of a bulk biosolids land application unit may not accept bulk biosolids, unless the biosolids is transported to the land application unit in a covered container with the covering firmly secured at the front and back.

Source Note: The provisions of this §312.44 adopted to be effective October 13, 1995, 20 TexReg 7840; amended to be effective October 20, 2005, 30 TexReg 6743; amended to be effective October 2, 2014, 39 TexReg 7756; amended to be effective April 23, 2020, 45 TexReg 2542