Mich. Admin. Code R. 287.657 - Anaerobic digestion
Rule 7.
(1) Unless
otherwise approved by the director, anaerobic digestion methods shall
accommodate either of the following:
(a)
Normal daily natural mortality under common ownership.
(b) Dead animals under the management of
licensed dead animal dealers.
(2) Anaerobic digestion technologies suitable
for mortalities include plug flow and complete mix digester operating in the
mesophilic and thermophilic temperature ranges.
(3) Anaerobic digestion systems shall consist
of all of the following:
(a) Controlled input
of organic digester feedstock.
(b)
Controlled heating of digester feedstock, also known as digester
contents.
(c) Control of digester
vessel atmosphere. The headspace shall contain less than 5% oxygen.
(d) Biogas and digestate
production.
(e) Biogas
destruction.
(f) Digestate
management in accordance with federal and state regulations.
(4) Digester feedstock is commonly
referred to as influent or substrate. Acceptable digester feedstocks for
anaerobic digesters in this state include the following:
(a) Livestock manure.
(b) Waste animal feed.
(c) Dead animals.
(d) Yard waste or grass clippings.
(e) Organic food processing waste.
(f) Waste grease/trap grease.
(g) Food waste intended for human
consumption.
(h) By-products from
ethanol, biodiesel, and algal production.
(i) Other digester feedstocks may be approved
by the director of the Michigan department of environmental quality operating
under a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit.
(5) Facilities operating under a
national pollutant discharge elimination system permit shall comply with the
terms and conditions of the permit when utilizing non-farm digester feedstocks
for anaerobic digestion.
(6) A
person shall manage an anaerobic digestion system treating dead animals in
compliance with the guidelines described in the Michigan on-farm anaerobic
digester operational handbook, as adopted by reference in
R
287.651a, and in accordance with MCL
287.665.
(7) A qualified anaerobic
digester operator. The operator of an anaerobic digester shall meet all of the
following requirements:
(a) Possess the
skills necessary to start, maintain, and troubleshoot an anaerobic
digester.
(b) Complete the
Michigan-on-farm anaerobic digester operator certification course.
(c) Obtain certification by the Michigan
department of agriculture and rural development as an anaerobic digester
operator. The Michigan on-farm anaerobic digester operator certification course
provides instruction for persons seeking to obtain the skills and knowledge
necessary to meet the Michigan department of agriculture and rural
development's requirements for qualified digester operator certification.
Information on course enrollment may be obtained from Michigan State University
extension, (https://researchgroups.msu.edu/adrec)
or the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, P.O. Box
30017, Lansing, Michigan 48909.
(8) One or both of the following methods of
anaerobic digestion shall be used:
(a) Plug
flow anaerobic digester. A plug flow anaerobic digester is a long, narrow tank
with a rigid or flexible cover. The tank is heated and often built partially
underground to reduce heat loss. Use of plug-flow digesters is limited to
higher solids feedstocks. Plug flow digesters are generally not mixed, however,
in some cases mixing is used to facilitate the process.
(b) Complete mix anaerobic digester. A
complete mix anaerobic digester is an enclosed heated tank with a mechanical,
hydraulic, or gas mixing system. Complete anaerobic mix digesters are intended
for slurry or liquid feedstocks. Mixing ranges from intermittent to
continuous.
(9)
Anaerobic digestion systems processing dead animals shall operate within the
following parameters:
(a) Temperature: 95
degrees Fahrenheit to 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
(b) Hydraulic retention time: greater than 20
days.
(c) pH: 6.8 to 7.5.
(d) Volatile solids loading: in the range of
0.02 to 0.25 pounds of volatile solids per cubic foot.
(e) Total solids of the digester contents:
not to exceed 20% (200,000 ppm).
(f) Modifications to the operating parameters
require approval from the director and may occur when the director has
sufficient evidence that the modifications will allow the process to work
effectively without causing harm to humans or the environment.
(g) Processing is recommended to reduce dead
animals prior to introduction into the anaerobic digesters. Particle size
reduction to less than 2 inches in size improves heat transfer and exposes
additional surface area for biological activity.
(h) All water used for or generated during
particle size reduction must be put directly into digester or stored according
to state regulations.
(i) Dead
animals shall be added to the anaerobic digester within 24 hours following
death.
(j) Afterbirth may be stored
in closed impervious containers and shall be added to the anaerobic digester
within 3 days of initiating container use.
(k) The anaerobic digestion systems site
shall maintain the following minimum isolation distances:
(i) Two hundred feet from waters of the state
as defined in
R 287.651(1)(u)(i) to
(viii).
(ii) Two feet above the seasonal high water
table, as defined by NRCS 313 Waste Storage Facility Conservation Practice
Standard, and adopted by reference in
R
287.651a.
(iii) Not within a 10-year time-of-travel
zone designated as a wellhead protection area as recognized by the Michigan
department of environmental quality, pursuant to the program established under
the Michigan safe drinking water act, PA 399 of 1976, MCL 325.1001 to 325.1023,
unless approved by the local unit of government administering the wellhead
protection program. Where no designated wellhead protection area has been
established, construction shall not be closer than the minimum isolation
distance as stated on the well permit for a Type I or Type IIa public water
supply. Facilities shall not be constructed closer than 800 feet to a Type IIb
or Type III public water supply unless the structure is located in accordance
with Table 1 of the Natural Resources Conservation Service Technical Guide
Waste Storage Facility (No) 313.
(iv) Two hundred feet from nearest non-farm
residence.
(l) The
disposition of digestate may be by direct application to soils, sale, or other
transfer of ownership. Application to soils shall be done in accordance with
the recommendations within the Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management
Practices for Nutrient Utilization, January 2010, as specified in 1981 PA 93,
MCL 286.471, and published at
http://michigan.gov/mda/0,1607,7-125-1567_1599_1605-70361--,00.html.
(m) In the interest of public
health or animal health, the director may require that any digestate be tested
at a laboratory approved by the director for certain pathogenic organisms or
any contaminant at any time before the digestate is land applied.
(n) The owner or operator of the anaerobic
digester shall keep records for 5 years containing the following information
and shall make the records available to the director immediately upon request:
(i) The approximate weight, maturity, and
species of dead animals or afterbirth added each time an addition is made and
the dates the tissue is added to new batches.
(ii) The daily input mass or volume of all
digester feedstocks.
(iii) The
daily temperature digester contents.
(iv) Daily biogas production
information.
(v) Quarterly biogas
composition information.
(vi)
System maintenance and operation logs.
(vii) Design and construction documents
showing the as-built capacity of the anaerobic digester
(viii) The final disposition of digestate,
including the method, destination, date, and volume for the batch.
(ix) A contingency plan to remedy problems
and ensure the proper disposal of dead animals by anaerobic digestion. The
contingency plan shall include all of the following information:
(A) A contingency plan shall be prepared to
describe how digester contents will be managed in the event of a biological
failure. The contingency plan shall identify at a minimum how to restart the
digester, and how state regulations will be followed in the event that the
digester cannot be restarted. The plan shall include management of dead animals
and digester contents if operation of anaerobic digestion is interrupted or
terminated.
(B) A list of both of
the following:
(1) The location of telephone
numbers for and emergency numbers for the police, the fire department, and
medical aid.
(2) The person or
persons responsible for operation of the anaerobic digester.
(C) An action plan for all of the
following emergencies:
(1) Fire.
(2) Wind.
(3) Flood.
(4) Other mechanical failures.
Notes
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