Sec. 14B-1. - Purpose and intent.
Sec. 14B-1. - Purpose and intent.
It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to regulate the agricultural land application of sewage sludge in the unincorporated territory of Kings County in a manner that is consistent with agronomic rates, which protects public health, ground and surface waters, agricultural markets, and sensitive wetland and habitat areas. To protect critical ground water basins and food production areas, this chapter provides local control and assures that safe landspreading practices of sewage sludge will be observed. This chapter is not intended to take the place of standards imposed upon the land application of sewage sludge by state law and by the applicable rules, regulations, orders and requirements of the state water resources control board and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.
It is not the intent of this chapter to regulate the land application of EQ-compost.
(Ord. No. 592, § 2, 1-9-01)
Whenever in this chapter the following terms are used, they shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section:
Active compost means compost feedstock that is in the process of being rapidly decomposed and is unstable. Active compost is generating temperatures of at least 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) during decomposition, and is releasing carbon dioxide at a rate of at least 15 milligrams per gram of compost per day, or the equivalent of oxygen uptake.
Agronomic rate is the sewage sludge application rate calculated to provide additional Nitrogen needed for the crop or vegetation grown on the land which is not provided by background soil Nitrogen and Nitrogen to be applied through mineral fertilizers. This application rate shall be designed to minimize the amount of Nitrate Nitrogen that passes below the rootzone of the crop or vegetation into groundwater. The appropriate agronomic rate for a particular field and crop may be determined as cited in professional publications for California or as recommended by a certified agronomist or certified soil scientist.
Applicator means any person, company, organization, or other legal entity engaged, or about to become engaged, in the use of sewage sludge as a soil amendment or as a fertilizer.
Class A sewage sludge means sewage sludge meeting the pathogen reduction standards set forth in 40 CFR Part 503, Section 503.32(a), one of the vector attraction reduction standards set forth in 40 CFR Part 503, Section 503.33, and the ceiling concentration limits contained in 40 CFR Part 503, Section 503.13, Table 1.
Class B sewage sludge means sewage sludge meeting the pathogen reduction standards set forth in 40 CFR Part 503, Section 503.32(b), one of the vector attraction reduction standards set forth in 40 CFR Part 503, Section 503.33, and the ceiling concentration limits contained in 40 CFR Part 503, Section 503.13, Table 1.
County means the County of Kings, State of California.
Department means the Agricultural Commissioner of the County of Kings.
EQ-compost means an organic, composted material containing sewage sludge which meets the ceiling concentration standards set forth in 40 CFR Section 503.13(b)(1), the pollutant concentration standards set forth in 40 CFR Section 503.13(b)(3), one of the Class A pathogen reduction alternatives set forth in 40 CFR Section 503.32(a), and one of the vector attraction reduction options set forth in 40 CFR Section 503.33(b)(1)—(8), and which has undergone the process to further reduce pathogens, as described in Section 17868.3 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, and has reached a stage of reduced biological activity as indicated by reduced temperature and rate of respiration below that of active compost, as defined herein.
Exceptional quality sewage sludge means sewage sludge which meets the ceiling concentration standards set forth in 40 CFR Section 503.13(b)(1), the pollutant concentration standards set forth in 40 CFR Section 503.13(b)(3), one of the Class A pathogen reduction alternatives set forth in 40 CFR Section 503.32(a), and one of the vector attraction reduction options set forth in 40 CFR Section 503.33(b)(1)—(8).
Existing operator means a person who on the effective date of this chapter has a current waste discharge permit from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board ("CVRWQCB") or the state water resources control board ("SWRCB") for the land application of sewage Sludge, or who has been approved by the CVRWQCB or the SWRCB to operate under either site-specific waste discharge requirements for land application or under the general order applicable to sewage sludge land applications operations.
Feed crops are crops produced primarily for consumption by animals.
Fiber crops are crops such as flax and cotton.
Field means a discrete, discernable, and identifiable individual piece of land used for crop production, designated or under consideration for sewage sludge application. It is the smallest unit of land for which monitoring, record keeping and reporting requirements apply.
Floodway means a channel for floodwater as designated by the reclamation board of the state of california or as shown on maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Food crops means those crops grown for direct human consumption. These include, but are not limited to, fruits, vegetables, and tobacco.
Generator means a person who generates sewage sludge during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works or a person who derives a material from sewage sludge.
Grower means the person or entity primarily responsible for planting, maintaining and harvesting agricultural products from land or allowing the use of cropland and/or range land for domestic animal or human use.
Irrigation tail water means the excess water applied to a field that does not infiltrate the soil, but collects or runs off at the lower end of a field.
Land application means the placement of sewage sludge on agricultural land intended to support vegetative growth either as a soil amendment or as fertilizer.
Land owner means the owner or owners of the land upon which the sewage sludge is proposed to be applied or is being applied.
Pasture means land on which animals feed directly on feed crops such as legumes, grasses, grain stubble, or stover.
Pending applicant means a person who is not an existing operator but who has filed no later than December 11, 2000 a notice of intent to land apply sewage sludge with the CVRWQCB to operate under either site specific waste discharge requirements or under the general order applicable to sewage sludge land application operations.
Person means any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, trust, association, or corporation whether for profit or non-profit, or any city, district, municipality, or other local government agency, or the state, or an agent or employee thereof.
PFRP means a process to further reduce pathogens as defined by 40 CFR Part 503.
PSRP means a process to significantly reduce pathogens as defined by 40 CFR Part 503.
Range land is open land with indigenous vegetation.
Septage means liquid or solid material removed from septic tanks, cesspools, portable toilets, type III marine sanitation devices, seepage pits or grease removed from grease traps.
Sewage sludge means the solid, semisolid or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works. Sewage sludge includes, but is not limited to, domestic septage, scum or solids removed or used during primary, secondary or advanced wastewater treatment processes, and any material derived from sewage sludge. Sewage sludge does not include grit or screening material generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage at a municipal wastewater treatment facility or ash generated by the firing of sewage sludge in an incinerator, and it does not include treated liquid effluent which is discharged to land for disposal or for beneficial reuse from a privately or publicly owned treatment works under the authority of, and pursuant to the terms of, waste discharge requirements adopted by the regional water quality control board for that treatment works, or under the authority of a waiver of said requirements. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "sewage sludge" does not include EQ-compost, as defined herein.
Sewage sludge staging area means the location on a site, where sewage sludge is deposited on the ground (not to exceed 48 hours) for loading onto a vehicle, for application, on the same or nearby sites in connection with an approved sewage sludge management plan and site permit.
Site means a single parcel or contiguous parcels of land with a single owner or operator upon which sewage sludge are being applied or for which an application to apply sewage sludge has been submitted. The operator may be the landowner, a lessee, or a group of persons acting as one lessee. For the purpose of this definition, contiguous parcels include those which touch at only one point.
Treatment means the preparation of sewage sludge for final use or disposal. This includes, but is not limited to, thickening, stabilization, and dewatering of sewage sludge. This does not include storage of sewage sludge.
Treatment works is either a federally owned, publicly owned, or privately owned device or system used to treat either domestic sewage or a combination of domestic sewage and industrial waste of a liquid nature.
Useable groundwater means water which is contained in an underground aquifer which meets standards generally applicable to water used for domestic, commercial or agricultural irrigation purposes.
Useable groundwater would not include water which is suitable for stock watering purposes but which is not suitable for irrigation purposes.
Vehicle means any motorized or non-motorized conveyance used to transport sewage sludge on public roadways. The term "vehicle" would not include "implements of husbandry" as defined in California Vehicle Code section 36000 and 36005.
Wastewater treatment plant means a facility designed and constructed to receive, treat, or store sewage combined with waterborne waste.
(Ord. No. 592, § 2, 1-9-01)