Mich. Admin. Code R. 323.2402 - Definitions

Rule 2402.

(1) As used in these rules:

(a) "Act" means Act No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, as amended, being §324.101 et seq. of the Michigan Compiled Laws.

(b) "Aerobic digestion" means the biochemical decomposition of organic matter in biosolids into carbon dioxide and water by microorganisms in the presence of air.

(c) "Agricultural land" means land on which a food crop, a feed crop, or a fiber crop is grown. The term includes range land and land used as pasture.

(d) "Agronomic rate" means the calculated biosolids application rate (dry weight basis) which provides the amount of plant-available nitrogen (PAN) needed by the crop or vegetation grown on the land; which minimizes the amount of nitrogen that passes below the root zone of the crop or vegetation grown; and which considers the amounts of phosphate (P2O5) and potash (K2O) added by the biosolids as part of the total nutrient management plan.

(e) "Anaerobic digestion" means the biochemical decomposition of organic matter in biosolids into methane gas and carbon dioxide by microorganisms in the absence of air.

(f) "Annual pollutant loading rate" means the maximum amount of a pollutant in biosolids that can be applied to a unit area of land during a 365-day period.

(g) "Annual whole biosolids application rate" means the maximum amount of biosolids (dry weight basis) that can be applied to a unit area of land during a 365-day period.

(h) "Biosolids" means solid, semisolid, or liquid residues generated during the treatment of sanitary sewage or domestic sewage in a treatment works. The term "biosolids" includes, but is not limited to, scum or solids removed in primary, secondary, or advanced wastewater treatment processes and a derivative of the removed scum or solids.

(i) "Bulk biosolids" means biosolids that are not sold or given away in a bag or other container for application to a lawn or home garden.

(j) "Class A" means biosolids that meet the requirement in R 323.2414(2)(b) and the requirements in R 323.2414(2)(c), (d), (e), (f), (g), or (h) with respect to pathogens.

(k) "Class B" means biosolids that meet the requirements in R 323.2414(3)(c), (d), or (e) with respect to pathogens.

(l) "Cumulative pollutant loading rate" means the maximum amount of an inorganic pollutant that can be applied to an area of land.

(m) "Department" means the director of the department of environmental quality or his or her designee.

(n) "Derivative" means a product for land application derived from biosolids that does not include solid waste or other waste regulated under the act. A derivative does not include materials or treatment chemicals, that is, lime or ferric chloride, integral to wastewater treatment and biosolids unit processes.

(o) "Detroit consumer price index" means the most comprehensive index of consumer prices available for the Detroit area from the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics.

(p) "Distributor" means a person who applies, markets, or distributes, except at retail, a derivative.

(q) "Domestic sewage" means waste and wastewater from humans or household operations that is discharged to, or otherwise enters, a treatment works.

(r) "Dry weight basis" means calculated on the basis of having been dried at 105 degrees Celsius until reaching a constant mass that is essentially 100% solids content.

(s) "EPA" means the United States environmental protection agency.

(t) "Exceptional quality" or "EQ" means biosolids or a derivative that meets all of the following criteria:

(i) Pollutant ceiling concentrations in R 323.2409(5)(a).

(ii) Pollutant concentrations in R 323.2409(5)(c).

(iii) One of the vector attraction reduction options in R 323.2415(4)(a) to (h) and 1 of the class A pathogen reduction alternatives in R 323.2414(2)(a).

(u) "Feed crops" means crops produced primarily for consumption by animals.

(v) "Fiber crops" means crops such as flax and cotton.

(w) "Food crops" means crops consumed by humans. The term includes, but is not limited to, fruits, vegetables, and tobacco.

(x) "Forest" means a tract of land that is thick with trees and underbrush.

(y) "Generator" means a person who generates biosolids that are applied to land.

(z) "Groundwater" means water below the land surface in the saturated zone.

(aa) "Incorporation" means the blending of surface-applied biosolids into the soil so that a significant amount of the biosolids is not present on the land surface within 1 hour after blending.

(bb) "Injection" means the placement of biosolids below the land surface so that a significant amount of the biosolids is not present on the land surface within 1 hour after land application.

(cc) "Land application" means spraying or spreading biosolids onto the land surface, injecting biosolids below the land surface, or incorporating biosolids into the soil so that the biosolids can either condition the soil or fertilize crops or vegetation grown in the soil.

(dd) "Land application plan" means the process a generator uses to identify and select land application sites that are not included in a land application site list. At a minimum a plan shall include all of the following:

(i) A description of the geographical area covered by the plan.

(ii) Identification of the criteria used for site selection.

(iii) A description of how the sites are managed.

(ee) "Land with a low potential for public exposure means land that the public uses infrequently. The term includes, but is not limited to, agricultural land, a forest, and a reclamation site located in an unpopulated area, for example, a strip mine located in a rural area.

(ff) "Land with a high potential for public exposure" means land that the public uses frequently. The term includes, but is not limited to, a public contact site and a reclamation site located in a populated area, for example, a construction site located in a city.

(gg) "Listed land application site" means a site which has been approved by the department and is used for biosolids land application by a generator.

(hh) "Local unit" means a county, city, village, or township or an agency or instrumentality of these entities.

(ii) "Other container" means either an open or closed receptacle. The term includes, but is not limited to, a bucket, a box, a carton, and a vehicle or trailer that has a load capacity of 1 metric ton or less.

(jj) "Pasture" means land on which animals feed directly on feed crops such as legumes, grasses, grain stubble, or stover.

(kk) "Pathogenic organisms" means disease-causing organisms. The term includes, but is not limited to, certain bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and viable helminth ova.

(ll) "Permit" means 1 of the following:

(i) A national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit that is issued by the department under section 3112(1) of the act to control wastewater discharges to the surface waters and to manage biosolids.

(ii) A permit that is issued by the department under section 3112(1) of the act to control wastewater discharges to the groundwaters and to manage biosolids.

(iii) A biosolids permit issued by the department.

(mm) "Permitting authority" means the department.

(nn) "Person" means an individual, association, partnership, corporation, local unit, state or federal agency, or an agent or employee of any of the entities specified in this definition.

(oo) "Person who prepares biosolids" means either the person who generates biosolids during the treatment of domestic sewage or sanitary sewage in a treatment works or the person who derives a material from biosolids.

(pp) "pH" means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration measured at 25 degrees Celsius or measured at another temperature and then converted to an equivalent value at 25 degrees Celsius.

(qq) "Pollutant" means an organic substance, an inorganic substance, a combination of organic and inorganic substances, or a pathogenic organism that, after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation, or assimilation into an organism either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through the food chain, could, on the basis of information available to the administrator of EPA or the department, cause any of the following in either organisms or offspring of the organisms:

(i) Death.

(ii) Disease.

(iii) Behavioral abnormalities.

(iv) Cancer.

(v) Genetic mutations.

(vi) Physiological malfunctions, including malfunction in reproduction.

(vii) Physical deformations.

(rr) "Pollutant limit" means a numerical value that describes the amount of a pollutant allowed per unit amount of biosolids, for example milligrams per kilogram of total solids; the amount of a pollutant that can be applied to a unit area of land, for example, kilograms per hectare or pounds per acre; or the volume of a material that can be applied to a unit area of land, for example, gallons per acre.

(ss) "Public contact site" means land that has a high potential for contact by the public. The term includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:

(i) Public parks.

(ii) Ball fields.

(iii) Cemeteries.

(iv) Plant nurseries.

(v) Turf farms.

(vi) Golf courses.

(tt) "Range land" means open land that has indigenous vegetation.

(uu) "Reclamation site" means drastically disturbed land that is reclaimed using biosolids. The term includes, but is not limited to, strip mines and construction sites.

(vv) "Residuals management program" means a program which is required by a generators permit and which is developed in accordance with R 323.2403(3)(a) to (d).

(ww) "Retail" means EQ biosolids or an EQ derivative sold directly to the consumer or through retail establishments in bags or other containers that have a load capacity of 1 metric ton (2200 pounds) or less of biosolids.

(xx) "Sanitary sewage" means waste and wastewater from humans, households, or industrial or commercial operations that is discharged to, or otherwise enters, a treatment works.

(yy) "Saturated" or "saturated zone" means the soil pores, that is, spaces between the soil particles or rock are completely filled with water.

(zz) "Septage" means either liquid or solid material that is removed from any of the following that receive only domestic sewage.

(i) A septic tank.

(ii) A cesspool.

(iii) A portable toilet.

(iv) A type III marine sanitation device.

(v) A similar treatment works.

(aaa) "Site" means a contiguous tract of land to which biosolids or a derivative is land-applied in accordance with the requirements in these rules.

(bbb) "Specific oxygen uptake rate" or "SOUR" means the mass of oxygen consumed per unit time per unit mass of total solids (dry weight basis) in biosolids.

(ccc) "Surface application" means the spraying or spreading of biosolids or derivatives onto the land surface for use as a soil conditioner or as a nutrient source for plant growth.

(ddd) "Surface disposal" means the placement of biosolids on an area of land for final disposal as defined in 40 C.F.R. part 503, subpart C.

(eee) "Surface water" means any of the following:

(i) Lakes.

(ii) Rivers.

(iii) Streams.

(iv) Wetlands.

(v) All other watercourses.

(vi) Waters within the jurisdiction of this state.

(vii) The Great Lakes bordering this state.

(fff) "Treatment of" or "to treat," with respect to biosolids, means the preparation of biosolids for final use or disposal. The term includes, but is not limited to, the thickening, stabilization, and dewatering of biosolids. The term does not include the storage of biosolids.

(ggg) "Treatment works" means either a federally owned, publicly owned, or privately owned device or system used to treat, including recycling and reclaiming, either domestic sewage or sanitary sewage.

(hhh) "Total solids" means the materials in biosolids that remain as residue when biosolids are dried at 103 to 105 degrees Celsius.

(iii) "Unstabilized solids" means organic materials in biosolids that have not been treated in either an aerobic or anaerobic treatment process.

(jjj) "Vector attraction" means the characteristic of biosolids that attracts rodents, flies, mosquitoes, or other organisms capable of transporting infectious agents.

(kkk) "Volatile solids" means the amount of the total solids in biosolids lost when biosolids are combusted at 550 degrees Celsius in the presence of excess air.

(lll) "Wetlands" means areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.

Notes

Mich. Admin. Code R. 323.2402

1999 AACS