SLUDGE DISPOSAL UNDER PARTS 257 -- 258 -- 503
Sludge which could not be disposed of under the land application section of the original
RCRA sludge regulation part 257 or the CWA disposal regulation 258 or the surface disposal
section of 503, may be sold or given away as a fertilizer for farms, parks, home lawns and
gardens.
The regulations do not recognize exceptional quality sludge or biosolids. Are EPA leaders and
lawmakers fools or pawns of bio-terrorist?
§ 257.1 Scope and purpose.
(a) Unless otherwise provided, the criteria in §§257.1 through 257.4 are adopted for determining
which solid waste disposal facilities and practices pose a reasonable probability of adverse effects on
health or the environment under sections 1008(a)(3) and 4004(a) of the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (The Act).
§ 257.2 Definitions.
The definitions set forth in section 1004 of the Act apply to this part.
§ 257.3-4 Ground water.
(a) A facility or practice shall not contaminate an underground drinking water source beyond the solid
waste boundary or beyond an alternative boundary specified in accordance with paragraph (b) of this
section
§ 257.3-5 Application to land used for the production of food-chain crops (interim final). (a)
Cadmium. A facility or practice concerning application of solid waste to within one meter
(three feet) of the surface of land used for the production of food-chain crops shall not
exist or occur, unless in compliance with all requirements of paragraphs (a)(1) (i) through
(iii) of this section or all requirements of paragraphs (a)(2) (i) through (iv) of this section.
258.1 These minimum national criteria ensure the protection of human health and the environment.
§ 258.2 Definitions.
§ 258.3 Consideration of other Federal laws.
The owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill unit must comply with any other applicable
Federal rules, laws, regulations, or other requirements
258.40 The design must ensure that the concentration values listed in Table 1 of this section will not
be exceeded in the uppermost aquifer at the relevant point of compliance, as specified by the Director
of an approved State under paragraph (d) of this section, or
Appendix I to Part 258—Constituents for Detection Monitoring
Appendix II to Part 258—List of Hazardous Inorganic and Organic Constituents
§ 503.1 Purpose and applicability.
(a) Purpose. (1) This part establishes standards, which consist of general requirements, pollutant
limits, management practices, and operational standards, for the final use or disposal of sewage
sludge generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works.
§ 503.4 Relationship to other regulations.
Disposal of sewage sludge in a municipal solid waste landfill unit, as defined in 40 CFR 258.2, that
complies with the requirements in 40 CFR part 258 constitutes compliance with section 405(d) of the
CWA. Any person who prepares sewage sludge that is disposed in a municipal solid waste landfill unit
shall ensure that the sewage sludge meets the requirements in 40 CFR part 258 concerning the
quality of materials disposed in a municipal solid waste landfill unit
§ 503.9 General definitions.
(g) Domestic sewage is waste and wastewater from humans or household operations that is
discharged to or otherwise enters a treatment works.
(w) Sewage sludge is solid, semi-solid, or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic
sewage in a treatment works
(t) Pollutant is 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, cause death,
disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions (including
malfunction in reproduction), or physical deformations in either organisms or offspring of the
organisms.
§ 503.13 Pollutant limits. (as fertilizer) mg/kg
Arsenic.................................................. 75
Cadmium.................................................. 85
Nickel................................................... 420
Annual pollutant loading rate
Cadmium................................................... 1.9 kg/ha
§ 503.23 Pollutant limits (other than domestic septage). (disposal)
(a) Active sewage sludge unit without a liner and leachate collection system.
Unit boundary to property line Pollutant concentration 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arsenic Chromium Nickel
Distance (meters) (mg/kg) (mg/kg) (mg/kg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 to less than 25........................ 30 200 210
25 to less than 50....................... 34 220 240
50 to less than 75....................... 39 260 270
75 to less than 100...................... 46 300 320
100 to less than 125..................... 53 360 390
125 to less than 150..................... 62 450 420
§ 503.32 Pathogens.
(5) Site restrictions.
(iv) Food crops, feed crops, and fiber crops shall not be harvested for 30 days after application of
sewage sludge.
(l) Food crops are crops consumed by humans. These include, but are not limited to, fruits,
vegetables, and tobacco (503.9)
(vi) Turf grown on land where sewage sludge is applied shall not be harvested for one year after
application of the sewage sludge when the harvested turf is placed on either land with a high potential
for public exposure or a lawn, unless otherwise specified by the permitting authority