1. (a)

   1. (1) The disposal of sewage or septage by any method that violates any state or federal law or regulation is strictly prohibited.
   2. (2) The wastes from holding tanks, portable toilets, and marine sanitation devices shall not be land applied.
   3. (3) These wastes shall be disposed of in a permitted and properly operated sewage treatment facility.

2. (b) Land application disposal sites.

   1. (1) The land application of septage at any site not previously inspected, approved, and on file with the Department of Health shall be a violation of this part.
   2. (2) To obtain approval for land application of septage, each site shall be inspected by an authorized agent prior to licensing.
   3. (3) A notarized statement from the landowner granting permission for the land application of septage shall be obtained for each disposal site.
   4. (4) The licensee shall furnish a legal description, topographical map, and vicinity map for each disposal site.
   5. (5) The maps shall reflect pertinent information pertaining to the number of acres, GPS coordinates, the location and distance to property lines, nearby homes, roads, ditches, wells, utilities, gullies, streams and land use (cropland, pastures, etc.) relevant to septage disposal.
   6. (6) Every five (5) years, the department will assess approved land application sites and obtain soil samples to verify compliance with this part.

3. (c) Proper septage disposal at land application sites.

   1. (1)

      1. (A) Septage shall be evenly distributed across the site in a manner that prevents surface runoff, ponding, or the accumulation of septage more than one inch (1”) in depth.
      2. (B) To achieve even distribution, the vehicle applying the septage shall:

4. (i) Remain in motion; and

   1. (ii) Utilize a splash plate or other approved method of dispersal.

   2. (2) There shall be no disposal within:

      1. (A) One thousand feet (1000’) of any place of habitation;
      2. (B) Five hundred feet (500’) of any public road;
      3. (C) One hundred feet (100’) of any rock outcrops or sinkholes;
      4. (D) Fifty feet (50’) of property lines; and

      5. (E) One hundred feet (100’) of:

         1. (i) Streams;
         2. (ii) Lakes;
         3. (iii) Ponds;
         4. (iv) Springs;
         5. (v) Wells; or
         6. (vi) Water supplies.

   3. (3) Options for the land application of septage include:

      1. (A) The pH of the septage shall be raised to a minimum of twelve (12) or higher by the addition of an alkali such as hydrated lime or quick lime, and without adding more alkali, the septage shall remain at a pH of twelve (12) or higher for not less than thirty (30) minutes prior to being land applied;

      2. (B)

         1. (i) Septage shall be injected below the surface of the soil.
         2. (ii) When septage is injected below the surface of the soil, no significant amount of septage shall be present on the surface of that soil after one (1) hour; or

      3. (C)

         1. (i) Septage shall be evenly spread over the surface of the soil and incorporated into the surface of that soil within six (6) hours of application.
         2. (ii) Septage shall not be applied in excess of the below described annual application rates for nitrogen and phosphorus.

   4. (4) During any three hundred sixty-five-day period, the amount of domestic septage applied to a land application site shall not exceed the annual application rate calculated using the equation AAR = N ÷ 0.0026, where:

      1. (A) “AAR” means the annual application rate in gallons per acre per three hundred sixty-five-day period; and
      2. (B) “N” means the amount of nitrogen in pounds per acre per three hundred sixty-five-day period needed by the crop or vegetation grown.

   5. (5) Annual septage land application shall not:

      1. (A) Exceed the phosphorus rates for the crop or vegetation grown; and
      2. (B) Be applied in rates that result in phytotoxicity.

   6. (6) The septage being land applied shall:

      1. (A) Be screened; and
      2. (B) Contain no paper, plastic, or other solid material measuring more than one-half inch (1/2”) in any dimension.
   7. (7) Grease and/or the contents of grease traps shall not be disposed of at any land application site approved under this part.
   8. (8) Sites demonstrating a slope of fifteen percent (15%) or greater are not suitable for land application.

   9. (9) Land application shall be avoided when:

      1. (A) The soil is saturated, frozen, covered with snow, during rainy weather; or
      2. (B) Precipitation is in the immediate forecast.
   10. (10) Licensees utilizing land application sites only for the disposal of septage must have available a storage tank sufficient to store the septage collected during periods when climatic conditions preclude land application.
   11. (11) These tanks shall be provided with a spill containment berm.

   12. (12)

       1. (A) Food crops with harvested parts above the ground surface shall not be harvested for fourteen (14) months after the last application of septage.
       2. (B) Food crops with harvested parts that are at or below the ground surface shall not be harvested for thirty-eight (38) months after the last application of septage.

       3. (C) At approved application sites:

          1. (i) Human contact shall be restricted for thirty (30) days after application; and
          2. (ii) No grazing or harvesting of hay, silage, or grain shall commence for sixty (60) days.

   13. (13)

       1. (A) For each land application site, the licensee shall maintain a permanent, bound site application record indicating:

          1. (i) Each application of septage;
          2. (ii) The volume of septage applied;
          3. (iii) The date it was applied;
          4. (iv) The crop to which it was applied;
          5. (v) A description of the vector and pathogen reduction method used;
          6. (vi) The method of land application used; and
          7. (vii) The name of the person applying the septage.

       2. (B) These records shall be:

          1. (i) Kept for a minimum of five (5) years; and
          2. (ii) Made available to both state and federal regulators on request.
          3. (d) Disposal into sewage treatment systems.
   14. (1) A current contract with each sewer improvement district and/or sewage treatment facility where the licensee disposes of sewage and/or septage shall be on file with the department.
   15. (2) The disposal of sewage or septage at a site or facility not on file with the department is a violation of this part.

5. (e) Disposal of holding tank, marine sanitation device, and portable toilet contents.

   1. (1) The contents of holding tanks, marine sanitation devices, and portable toilets:

      1. (A) Is considered untreated sewage; and
      2. (B) Shall not be land applied under any circumstances.
   2. (2) The only acceptable means of disposal for these wastes is into a public sewer system with which the licensee has a contract.

Codification Notes: "GPS" means Global Positioning System.