The operation of the facility must comply with all of the following
operational requirements.
(1) Protection of surface water. The facility must
be constructed, maintained, and operated to manage run-on and run-off
during a 25-year, 24-hour rainfall event and must prevent discharge
into waters in the state of feedstock material, including, but not
limited to, in-process and/or processed materials. Any waters coming
into contact with feedstock, in-process, and processed materials must
be considered leachate. Leachate must be contained in retention facilities
until reapplied on piles of feedstock, in-process, or unprocessed
materials. The retention facilities must be lined and the liner must
be constructed in compliance with paragraph (2) of this section. Leachate
may be treated and processed at an authorized facility or as authorized
by a Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The use
of leachate in any processing must be conducted in a manner that does
not contaminate the final product.
(2) Protection of groundwater. The facility must be
designed, constructed, maintained, and operated to protect groundwater.
Facilities that compost municipal sewage sludge, disposable diapers,
and/or the sludge byproduct of paper mill production must install
and maintain a liner system complying with the provisions of subparagraph
(A), (B), or (C) of this paragraph. The liner system must be provided
where receiving, mixing, composting, post-processing, screening, or
storage areas would be in contact with the ground or in areas where
leachate, contaminated materials, contaminated product, or contaminated
water is stored or retained. The application must demonstrate the
facility is designed to prevent contamination or degradation of the
groundwater. For the purposes of these sections, protection of the
groundwater includes the protection of perched water or shallow surface
infiltration. The lined surface must be covered with a material designed
to withstand normal traffic from the composting operations. At a minimum,
the lined surface must consist of soil, synthetic, or an alternative
material that is equivalent to two feet of compacted clay with a hydraulic
conductivity of 1 x 10-7 centimeters
per second or less.
(A) Soil liners shall have more than 30% passing a
number 200 sieve, have a liquid limit greater than 30%, and a plasticity
index greater than 15.
(B) Synthetic liners shall be a membrane with a minimum
thickness of 20 mils.
(C) Alternative designs shall utilize an impermeable
liner (such as concrete).
(3) Unauthorized and prohibited materials. The operator
shall operate the facility in a manner that will preclude the entry
of any unauthorized or prohibited materials from entering the composting
process.
(4) Access. Access to the facility shall be controlled
to prevent unauthorized disposal of unauthorized or prohibited material
and scavenging. The facility shall be completely fenced with a gate
that is locked when the facility is closed.
(5) Nuisance conditions. The facility shall be sited
and operated in such a manner as to prevent the potential of nuisance
conditions and fire hazards. Where nuisance conditions or fire hazards
exist, the operator will immediately take action to abate such nuisances.
(6) Aerobic composting required. The facility shall
utilize functionally aerobic composting methods, although an anaerobic
composting phase may be utilized in the early stages of processing,
if it is followed by a period of functionally aerobic composting.
(7) Site sign. The facility shall have a sign at the
entrance indicating the type of facility, the registration number,
hours of operation, and the allowable feedstocks.
(8) Access road. The facility access road shall be
an all-weather road.
(9) Authorization required for significant changes.
The operator shall obtain written permission from the commission before
changing the processing method or other significant changes to the
original registration application.
(10) Prohibited substances. Fungicides, herbicides,
insecticides, or other pesticides that contain constituents listed
in 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 261, Appendix VIII-Hazardous
Constituents or on the Hazardous Substance List as defined in the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act of 1980 shall not be applied to or incorporated into feedstocks,
in-process materials, or processed materials.
(11) End-product standards.
(A) Facilities that compost municipal sewage sludge.
For facilities that compost only municipal sewage sludge or compost
municipal sewage sludge with any source-separated materials, the operator
shall comply with the provisions of Chapter 312 of this title (relating
to Sludge Use, Disposal, and Transportation) and shall not exceed
the foreign matter criteria contained in §332.72(d)(2)(A) and
(C) of this title (relating to Final Product Grades).
(B) All other registered facilities. The operator shall
meet compost testing requirements set forth in §332.71 of this
title (relating to Sampling and Analysis Requirements for Final Product),
final product grades set forth in §332.72 of this title, and
label all materials that are sold or distributed as set forth in §332.74
of this title (relating to Compost Labelling Requirements).
(12) Licensed municipal solid waste facility supervisor.
The operator shall employ at least one licensed municipal solid waste
supervisor who has completed a TCEQ-recognized or approved specialized
compost training course. Supervisors of existing facilities who do
not already hold a municipal solid waste facility supervisor license
must obtain a license. A licensed municipal solid waste facility supervisor
who has completed a TCEQ-recognized or approved specialized compost
training course shall be on-site during the hours of operation.
(13) Chemical release. The operator of a compost facility
shall address the release of a chemical of concern from a compost
facility to any environmental media under the requirements of Chapter
350 of this title (relating to Texas Risk Reduction Program) to perform
the corrective action.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §332.37 adopted to be effective November 29, 1995, 20 TexReg 9717; amended to be effective September 23, 1999, 24 TexReg 7417; amended to be effective January 8, 2004, 29 TexReg 140; amended to be effective February 3, 2022, 47 TexReg 303 |