1. (a) Permits. Except where in conflict with other chapters in this title, a permit shall be required before any storage, processing, incineration, or disposal of sewage sludge, except for storage allowed under this section, §312.50 of this title (relating to the Storage and Staging of Sludge at Beneficial Use Sites), §312.61(c) of this title (relating to Applicability), §312.147 of this title (relating to Temporary Storage), and §312.148 of this title (relating to Secondary Transportation of Waste). Any permit authorizing disposal of sewage sludge shall be in accordance with any applicable standards of Subchapter C of this chapter (relating to Surface Disposal) or §312.101 of this title (relating to Incineration). No permit will be required under this chapter if issued pursuant to other requirements of the commission, as specified in §312.5 of this title (relating to Relationship to Other Requirements).

   1. (1) Effective September 1, 2003 a permit is required for the beneficial land application of Class B sewage sludge. All provisions for this activity in any registration are void after August 31, 2003.
   2. (2) The effective date of a permit is the date that the executive director signs the permit.
   3. (3) Site permit information on file with the commission shall be confirmed or updated, in writing, whenever the mailing address, telephone number of the owner or operator is changed, or whenever requested by the commission.
   4. (4) If a permit is required under this chapter, all activities at the site under this chapter, except transportation, shall be incorporated in the permit.

2. (b) Notification of certain Class A sewage sludge land application activities.

   1. (1) If sewage sludge meets the metal concentration limits in §312.43(b)(3) (Table 3) of this title (relating to Metal Limits), the Class A pathogen reduction requirements in §312.82(a) of this title (relating to Pathogen Reduction), and one of the requirements in §312.83(b)(1) - (8) of this title (relating to Vector Attraction Reduction), it will not be subject to the requirements of §312.10 of this title (relating to Permit and Registration Applications Processing), §312.11 of this title (relating to Permits), §312.12 of this title (relating to Registration of Land Application Activities), and §312.13 of this title (relating to Actions and Notices), except as provided in this subsection.

   2. (2) At least 30 days prior to engaging in such activity for the first time, any generator in Texas or any person who first conveys sewage sludge from out of state into the State of Texas and who proposes to store, land apply, or market and distribute sewage sludge meeting the standards of this subsection shall submit a notification form approved by the executive director. A completed notification shall be submitted to the Agriculture Team of the Water Quality Division by certified mail, return receipt requested. The notification shall contain information detailing:

      1. (A) sewage sludge composition, all points of generation, and wastewater treatment facility identification;
      2. (B) name, address, and telephone number of all persons who are being proposed to receive the sewage sludge directly from the generator;

      3. (C) a description in a marketing and distribution plan which describes any of the following activities:

         1. (i) to sell or give away sewage sludge directly to the public, including a general description of the types of end uses proposed by persons who will be receiving the sewage sludge;
         2. (ii) methods of distribution, marketing, handling, and transportation of the sewage sludge;
         3. (iii) a reasonable estimate of the expected quantity of sewage sludge to be generated or handled by the person making the notification; and
         4. (iv) a description of any proposed storage and the methods which will be employed to prevent surface water runoff of the sewage sludge or contamination of groundwater.
   3. (3) Thirty days after the notification has occurred, the activities regulated by this subsection may commence unless the executive director determines that the activities do not meet the requirements of this subsection or an applicant's permit. After receiving a notification, the executive director may review a generator's activities or the activities of the person conveying the sewage sludge into Texas to determine whether any or all of the requirements of this chapter are necessary. In making this determination, the executive director will consider specific circumstances related to handling procedures, site conditions, or the application rate of the sewage sludge. The executive director may review a proposal for storage of sewage sludge, considering the amount of time and the amount of material described on the notification. Also, in accordance with §312.41 of this title (relating to Applicability), any reasonably anticipated adverse effect that may occur due to a metal pollutant in the sewage sludge may also be considered.
   4. (4) Annually, on September 1, each person subject to notification of certain Class A sewage sludge activities required by this subsection shall provide a report to the commission, which shows in detail all activities described in paragraph (2) of this subsection that occurred in the reporting period. The report shall include an update of new information since the prior report or notification was submitted and all newly proposed activities. The report shall also include a description of the annual amounts of sewage sludge provided to each initial receiver from the in-state generator and for persons who convey out of state sewage sludge into Texas, the amounts provided from this person directly to any initial receivers. This report can be combined with the annual report(s) required under §312.48 of this title (relating to Reporting), §312.68 of this title (relating to Reporting), or §312.123 of this title (relating to Annual Report).

3. (c) Registration of land application sites.

   1. (1) If the requirements in Subchapter B of this chapter (relating to Land Application for Beneficial Use) are met and a sewage sludge does not meet the requirements of subsection (b) of this section, a site shall be registered for the land application of sewage sludge for beneficial use, in accordance with the requirements of §312.12 and §312.13 of this title unless a permit is issued under §312.11 of this title.
   2. (2) Registrations for the use of Class B sewage sludge shall expire on or before August 31, 2003. If the registration is scheduled to expire after August 31, 2003, and authorizes the use of Class A sewage sludge, domestic septage or water treatment plant sludge, only the provisions for the use of Class B sewage sludge shall expire on August 31, 2003; the other provisions shall expire on the expiration date of the registration or when a permit is issued for the site.

   3. (3) Upon the effective date of these rules:

      1. (A) the executive director shall not accept registration applications for land application of Class B sewage sludge;
      2. (B) only permit applications will be accepted; and
      3. (C) for pending registration applications, the executive director shall process either the pending registration application or a permit application (if submitted) for the same site, but not both.

   4. (4) The effective date for the registration of a site at which sewage sludge is applied to the land for beneficial use is the date that the executive director signs the registration, in accordance with §312.12(d) of this title. Site registration information on file with the commission shall be confirmed or updated, in writing, whenever:

      1. (A) the mailing address and/or telephone number of the owner or operator is changed; or
      2. (B) requested by the executive director.
4. (d) Term limits. Term Limits for registrations or permits shall not exceed five years.
5. (e) Authorization. No person may cause, suffer, allow, or permit any activity of land application for beneficial use of sewage sludge unless such activity has received the prior written authorization of the commission.

6. (f) Permit application fees for Class B sewage sludge.

   1. (1) Any person who applies for a permit, permit renewal, permit modification, permit amendment, or permit transfer shall pay a permit application fee. The fees in this subsection supercede the fees in §305.53 of this title (relating to Application Fee). The commission shall not consider an application for final decision until such time as the permit application fee is paid. All permit application fees must be made payable to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and paid at the time the application for a permit is submitted.
   2. (2) The executive director shall not process an application until all delinquent annual fees and delinquent administrative penalties owed the commission by the applicant or for the site as delineated in the permit application are paid in full. Any permittee to whom a permit is transferred shall be liable for payment of the annual fees assessed for the permitted entity/site on the same basis as the transferor of the permit, as well as any outstanding fees and associated penalties owed the commission. If the applicant is not the permittee at the time fees become delinquent or against whom administrative penalties are assessed, the executive director may for good cause waive the applicant's liability under this section for payment of delinquent annual fees or delinquent administrative penalties.
   3. (3) An applicant may file a written request for a refund in the amount of 50% of the permit application fee paid if the permit is not issued. No fees shall be refunded after a permit, permit renewal, permit modification, permit amendment, or permit transfer has been issued by the commission. Transfer of a permit shall not entitle the transferor permittee to a refund, in whole or part, of any fee already paid by that permittee.

   4. (4) The permit application fees shall be between $1,000 and $5,000, based on the quantity of sewage sludge to be applied annually under the permit, as shown in the following schedule:

      1. (A) $1,000 if the quantity is 2,000 dry tons or less;
      2. (B) $2,000 if the quantity is greater than 2,000 dry tons but less than or equal to 5,000 dry tons;
      3. (C) $3,000 if the quantity is greater than 5,000 dry tons but less than or equal to 10,000 dry tons;
      4. (D) $4,000 if the quantity is greater than 10,000 dry tons but less than or equal to 20,000 dry tons; or
      5. (E) $5,000 if the quantity is greater than 20,000 dry tons.

Source Note:The provisions of this §312.4 adopted to be effective August 29, 2002, 27 TexReg 7958.