Ch. NR 204 Note
Note: Chapter NR 204 as it existed on December 31, 1995 was repealed and a new chapter was created effective January 1, 1996.
NR 204.01
NR 204.01 Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to establish discharge standards, monitoring, record keeping and reporting requirements for the use and disposal of sewage sludge and grit and screenings. Section
283.31, Stats., requires a permit for the lawful discharge of any pollutant into the waters of the state and for the disposal of sludge. Section
283.01 (20), Stats., defines“waters of the state" to include groundwater. The land application of sludge is considered a potential discharge to waters of the state. It is the intent of the department, through this chapter, to protect public health and to restore, protect and maintain the physical, chemical and biological integrity of the soil, air, surface water and groundwater of the state and to allow no detrimental effects to these resources, and the natural environment. The beneficial use of sewage sludge and its recycling to the land as a fertilizer or soil conditioner is encouraged, rather than disposing of sludge through incineration or landfilling.
NR 204.01 Note
Note: The department has promulgated this chapter pursuant to state statutory authority. Local governments should not enact ordinances which are inconsistent with this chapter or which infringe upon the spirit and general policies of the state's sludge program.
NR 204.01 History
History: Cr.
Register, December, 1995, No. 480, eff. 1-1-96; corrections made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats.,
Register, November, 1996, No. 491.
NR 204.02(1)
(1)
Applicability. Any person who treats or generates sludge, applies sludge to land or places sludge in a landfill shall comply with the requirements in this chapter.
NR 204.02(1)(a)1.
1. The use and disposal of sludge and grit and screenings generated by any domestic wastewater treatment works.
NR 204.02(1)(a)2.
2. The quantity and quality of sludge that is applied to land or landfilled. This includes sludge which is combined with another material. The other material may include industrial sludge, other municipal sludge, septage, manure, any material used for mixing or other wastes with which the sludge forms a composted material.
NR 204.02 Note
Note: Note: Chs.
NR 502 and
518 may also apply to processing and use of solid waste and sludge mixtures.
NR 204.02(1)(a)3.
3. The land on which sludge is applied and any landfill which receives the sludge.
NR 204.02(1)(b)2.
2. Septage as defined in
ch. NR 113. This does not exempt centralized septage treatment facilities which are required to obtain a WPDES permit.
NR 204.02(1)(b)4.
4. Bulk or bagged material which is derived from exceptional quality sludge. This is material which is derived after the generator distributes exceptional quality sludge. It does not include a bulk material which becomes exceptional quality after mixing or treatment with non-exceptional sludge.
NR 204.02(1)(b)5.
5. Industrial sludge, including sewage sludge generated during the treatment of industrial wastewater that is combined with domestic sewage originating at that industrial facility.
NR 204.02(1)(b)6.
6. Sludge with PCB concentrations greater than 50 mg/kg on a dry weight basis, unless this sludge is applied under a management plan approved by U.S. environmental protection agency (EPA) region V pursuant to
40 CFR part 761.
NR 204.02 Note
Note: The regulation of the incineration of sludge under
40 CFR part 503 will be administered by the U.S. environmental protection agency.
NR 204.02(2)
(2) Responsibility. A facility that generates sludge is ultimately responsible for the handling, transporting, storage and land application or disposal of the sludge and grit and screenings. A generator is responsible for compliance with its WPDES permit and all applicable provisions of this chapter. In the event a generator sends its sludge to another person for final land application or disposal and that person alters the characteristics of the sludge by mixing it with other wastes or substances or by treating it in some other manner, then the person who receives the sludge shall also be considered a generator and shall assume primary responsibility for compliance with this chapter. If a generator gives the sludge to another person to land apply, but that person does not alter the characteristics of the sludge, then that person is also responsible for complying with applicable provisions in this chapter, such as the land management practices specified in
s. NR 204.07.
NR 204.02(3)
(3) Forms. All forms required in this chapter may be obtained from the Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Wastewater Management, 101 S. Webster Street, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, Wisconsin 53707.
NR 204.02 History
History: Cr.
Register, December, 1995, No. 480, eff. 1-1-96; correction in (1) (b) 1. made under s.
13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats.,
Register February 2010 No. 650.
NR 204.03
NR 204.03 Definitions. The following definitions are applicable to terms used in this chapter. Definitions of other terms and the meaning of abbreviations are in
ch. NR 205.
NR 204.03(1)
(1) “Aerobic digestion" means the biochemical decomposition of organic matter in sewage sludge into carbon dioxide and water by microorganisms in the presence of air.
NR 204.03(2)
(2) “Agricultural land" means land on which a food crop, a feed crop or fiber crop will be grown within 12 months following sludge application. This includes range land and land used as pasture.
NR 204.03(3)
(3) “Agronomic rate" means the whole sludge application rate, on a dry weight basis, designed to provide the amount of nitrogen needed by the food crop, feed crop, fiber crop, cover crop or vegetation grown on the land, and designed to minimize the amount of nitrogen in the sewage sludge that passes below the root zone of the crop or vegetation grown on the land to the groundwater.
NR 204.03(4)
(4) “Anaerobic digestion" means the biochemical decomposition of organic matter in sewage sludge into methane gas and carbon dioxide by microorganisms in the absence of air.
NR 204.03(5)
(5) “Annual pollutant loading rate" means the maximum amount of a pollutant that can be applied to a unit area of land during a 365-day period.
NR 204.03(6)
(6) “Application rate" means the loading limits placed on a landspreading site, as established by the agronomic needs of the crop and the characteristics of the sludge, normally expressed as dry tons/acre, gallons/acre or cu yd/acre.
NR 204.03(7)
(7) “Available nitrogen" means the nitrogen which is present in the sludge in the NH
3-N form and the nitrogen that is mineralized from the organic nitrogen in the sludge; both of which can then be absorbed and assimilated by growing plants in the cropping year.
NR 204.03(8)
(8) “Bag or other container" or “bagged" or “bag" means either a bag or an open or closed receptacle that has a capacity of one metric ton or less. This includes a bucket, a box, a carton and a vehicle or trailer.
NR 204.03(9)
(9) “Bedrock" means the rocks that underlie soil material. Bedrock may be present at the earth's surface when the weathered in-place consolidated material, larger than 2 mm in size, is greater than 50% by volume.
NR 204.03(10)
(10) “Bulk sewage sludge" means sewage sludge which will be applied to the land but is not bagged.
NR 204.03(11)
(11) “Centralized septage treatment facility" means a treatment facility which accepts septage from multiple sources and treats the septage prior to discharge or disposal.
NR 204.03(12)
(12) “Community well" means a public well which serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25 year- round residents. Any well serving 7 or more homes, 10 or more mobile homes, 10 or more apartment units or 10 or more condominium units shall be considered a community well unless information is available to indicate that 25 year- round residents will not be served.
NR 204.03(13)
(13) “Cumulative metals loading rate" means the maximum amount of an inorganic metal that can be applied to a unit area of land.
NR 204.03(14)
(14) “Density of microorganisms" means the number of microorganisms per unit mass of total solids, on a dry weight basis, in the sewage sludge.
NR 204.03(15)
(15) “Department" means the department of natural resources.
NR 204.03(16)
(16) “Detrimental effects" means contamination of the lands or waters of the state or making the same injurious to public health, harmful for commercial or agricultural use, or deleterious to animal or plant life.
NR 204.03(17)
(17) “Domestic sewage" means waste and wastewater from humans or household operations that is discharged to or otherwise enters a treatment works.
NR 204.03(18)
(18) “Dry run" means a drainage pathway, either natural or artificial, with definable banks, which contains confined flow during periods of natural runoff.
NR 204.03(19)
(19) “Exceptional quality sludge" means sludge that meets the class A requirements for pathogens, as specified in
s. NR 204.07 (6) (a), the high quality pollutant concentrations, as specified in
s. NR 204.07 (5) (c), and one of the pre-land application processes to reduce vector attraction, as specified in
s. NR 204.07 (7) (a) to
(i).
NR 204.03(20)
(20) “Feed crops" means crops produced primarily for consumption for animals.
NR 204.03(22)
(22) “Floodplain" means the land which has been or may be covered by flood water during the regional flood as specified under
s. NR 116.03 (16) and
(41).
NR 204.03(23)
(23) “Food crops" means tobacco and crops grown for human consumption.
NR 204.03(24)
(24) “Generator" means either the person who generates or prepares sludge during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works or the person who derives a material from sludge or the person who changes the sludge characteristics either through treatment, mixing or any other process.
NR 204.03(25)
(25) “Geometric mean" means the average of the log values of the colony density and taking the antilog of that value, or by taking the nth root of the products of the n values, i.e., (Y
1○Y
2○Y
3○.....Y
n) to the 1/nth power.
NR 204.03(26)
(26) “Grit" means the heavy solid materials such as sand, gravel and cinders collected from the headwork of a treatment system.
NR 204.03(27)
(27) “Groundwater" means any of the waters of the state, as defined in ss.
281.01 (18) and
283.01 (20), Stats., occurring in a saturated subsurface geological formation of permeable rock or soil.
NR 204.03(28)
(28) “High groundwater level" means the higher of either the elevation to which the soil is saturated as observed as a free water surface in an unlined hole or the elevation to which the soil has been seasonally or periodically saturated as indicated by soil color patterns throughout the soil profile.
NR 204.03(29)
(29) “High quality sludge" means sludge that meets the monthly average pollutant concentration limits which are shown, as Table 3, in
s. NR 204.07 (5) (c).
NR 204.03(31)
(31) “Incorporation" means the mixing of sludge with topsoil to a minimum depth of 4 inches by such means as discing, mold-board plowing, chisel plowing, rototilling or other tillage methods.
NR 204.03(32)
(32) “Injection" means the subsurface placement of liquid sludge to a depth of 4 to 12 inches.
NR 204.03(33)
(33) “Land application" means the spraying or spreading of sludge onto the land surface, the injection of sludge below the land surface, or the incorporation of sludge into the soil. Sludge can either condition the soil or fertilize crops or vegetation grown in the soil.
NR 204.03(34)
(34) “Land with high potential for public exposure" means land that the public uses frequently. This includes sites such as a public contact site, a lawn or home garden, and a reclamation site located in a populated area, e.g., a construction site located in a city.
NR 204.03(35)
(35) “Land with low potential for public exposure" means land that the public uses infrequently. This includes agricultural land, forest and reclamation sites located in an unpopulated area.
NR 204.03(36)
(36) “Monthly average" means the arithmetic mean of all measurements taken during the month using analytical methodologies specified in
ch. NR 219.
NR 204.03(37)
(37) “Municipal solid waste landfill" means a discrete area of land or an excavation that is subject to the requirements in
chs. NR 500 to
538 and is licensed to receive household waste, other wastes such as commercial solid waste, nonhazardous sludge, small quantity generator waste and industrial solid waste. It does not include a land application site, surface disposal unit, surface impoundment, injection well or waste pile.
NR 204.03(38)
(38) “Pathogens" means disease causing organisms. This includes, but is not limited to, certain bacteria, protozoa, viruses and viable helminth ova.
NR 204.03(40)
(40) “Permeability" means the rate of the movement of liquid through the soil expressed in inches per hour.
NR 204.03(41)
(41) “Person" means an individual, owner, operator, association, partnership, corporation, municipality, interstate agency, state agency or federal agency.
NR 204.03(42)
(42) “Person who prepares sludge" means a generator.
NR 204.03(43)
(43) “pH" means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration measured at 25
° C or measured at another temperature and then converted to an equivalent value at 25
° C.
NR 204.03(44)
(44) “POTW" or “publicly owned treatment works" means a treatment works which is owned by a public entity and any sewers that convey wastewater to the treatment works. This definition includes any device or system used by a municipality in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage, sludge or liquid industrial waste.
NR 204.03(45)
(45) “Privately owned domestic wastewater treatment works" means a facility which has a permit under
ch. 283, Stats., and which treats domestic wastewater or sludge and which is owned and operated by non-municipal entity or enterprise such as a mobile home park, restaurant, hotel, motel or country club.
NR 204.03(46)
(46) “Public contact site" means land with a high potential for contact by the public. This includes sites such as public parks, ball fields, plant nurseries, turf farms and golf courses.
NR 204.03(47)
(47) “Recreation area" means a designated area clearly identified for the purpose of providing an opportunity for recreational activity.
NR 204.03(48)
(48) “Reclamation site" means drastically disturbed land that is reclaimed using sewage sludge. This includes sites such as strip mines and construction sites.
NR 204.03(49)
(49) “Recycling" means the beneficial reuse of sludge through land application, composting or other approved method that returns organic matter or nutrients to the soil, or creates a useful product.
NR 204.03(50)
(50) “Research plots" means an area of land approved by the department and designed and operated by a qualified person to investigate questions pertaining to land application and uses of sludge.
NR 204.03(51)
(51) “Restricted public access" means private property or the limiting of entry, for a period of time, by means such as signs or traditional agricultural fencing or other department approved method.
NR 204.03(52)
(52) “School" means a public or private educational facility in which a program of educational instruction is provided to children or adults in any grade or grades from pre-school through the university level.
NR 204.03(53)
(53) “Screenings" means the coarse sewage solids collected from devices such as gratings, wire mesh or perforated plates.
NR 204.03(54)
(54) “Set aside land" or “acreage conservation reserve" means the agricultural land which is taken out of crop production on an annual basis for the purposes of conservation and to reduce the acreage planted of a particular crop.
NR 204.03(55)
(55) “Sewage sludge" or “sludge" or “biosolids" means the solid, semi-solid or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works. Sewage sludge includes scum or solids removed in primary, secondary or advanced wastewater treatment processes and material derived from sewage sludge. Sewage sludge does not include ash generated during the firing of a sewage sludge incinerator or grit and screenings generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works.
NR 204.03 Note
Note: All 3 terms defined here are interchangeable and recognized by the department, as they are all in common use.
NR 204.03(56)
(56) “Site" means any property used for recycling, disposal or storage of sludge and may be divided into fields.
NR 204.03(57)
(57) “Soil" means the unconsolidated material which overlies bedrock.
NR 204.03(58)
(58) “Soil compaction" means the degree of compaction to a soil at which its infiltration capacity, permeability and ability to function as a medium for plant growth is impeded.
NR 204.03(59)
(59) “Soil conservation practice" means a measure used to retain surface water and soil on agricultural fields, including contour strip cropping, terracing, grassed waterways or plant residue management practices.
NR 204.03(60)
(60) “Soil pH" means the pH of the soil in the plow layer as measured in water by a pH meter with a glass electrode or by using another department approved procedure.
NR 204.03(61)
(61) “Specific oxygen uptake rate" or “SOUR" means the mass of oxygen consumed per unit time per unit mass of total solids on a dry weight basis.
NR 204.03(62)
(62) “Stabilization of sludge" means any combination of chemical, physical, thermal or biological treatment processes which result in a significant reduction in the percentage of volatile solids or the specific oxygen uptake rate in the sludge.
