Wash. Admin. Code § 173-350-220
(1) Composting facilities - Applicability.
(b) These standards do not apply to:
(2) Composting facilities – Permit exemptions. In accordance with RCW 70.95.305, conditionally exempt facilities composting materials and volumes in Table 220-A must meet the conditions listed in Table 220-A, and (a) through (e) of this subsection to be conditionally exempt from solid waste handling permitting. Feedstocks not listed in Table 220-A must be approved by the department and jurisdictional health department. For the purposes of this subsection, "material on-site at any one time" includes feedstocks, active composting, curing piles, and composted materials. An owner or operator that does not comply with the terms and conditions of Table 220-A and (a) of this subsection is required to obtain a permit from the jurisdictional health department and must comply with all other applicable requirements of this chapter. Violations of the terms and conditions of Table 220-A and (a) of this subsection may be subject to the enforcement provisions of RCW 70.95.315.
Table 220-A
Terms and Conditions for Solid Waste Permit Exemptions
| Organic Materials | Volume | Specific Requirements forActivity or Operation | |
| (1) | All organic feedstocks | No more than 5,000 gallons or 25 cubic yards of material on-site at any one time. | No notification, reporting or testing requirements. |
| (2) | All organic feedstocks | Greater than 25 but no more than 250 cubic yards of material on-site at any one time, not to exceed 1,000 cubic yards in a calendar year. | (a) Thirty days prior to operation, facilities must submit a notification of intent to operate as a conditionally exempt facility to the jurisdictional health department and the department. Notice of intent must be submitted on a form provided by the department; |
| (b) Facilities that distribute composted material off-site must meet the following conditions: | |||
| (i) Manage the operation to reduce pathogens to meet limits set by Table 220-B; | |||
| (ii) Conduct compost analysis according to the requirements of Table 220-B. Compost testing frequency is based on volume of compost produced annually as required by subsection (4)(a)(x)(B) of this section; and | |||
| (iii) Submit annual reports and results of composted material analysis to the department and the jurisdictional health department by April 1st of each calendar year. Annual reports must be submitted on forms provided by the department. | |||
| (3) | Yard debrisCrop residuesManure and beddingBulking agents | Greater than 25 but no more than 500 cubic yards of material on-site at any one time, not to exceed 2,500 cubic yards processed in a calendar year. | (a) Thirty days prior to operation, facilities must submit a notification of intent to operate as a conditionally exempt facility to the jurisdictional health department and the department. Notice of intent must be submitted on a form provided by the department. |
| (b) Facilities that distribute composted materials off-site must meet the following conditions: | |||
| (i) Manage the operation to reduce pathogens to meet limits set by Table 220-B; | |||
| (ii) Conduct compost analysis according to the requirements of Table 220-B. Compost testing frequency is based on volume of compost produced annually as required by subsection (4)(a)(x)(B) of this section; and | |||
| (iii) Submit annual reports and results of composted material analysis to the department and the jurisdictional health department by April 1st of each calendar year. Annual reports must be submitted on forms provided by the department. | |||
| (4) | Agricultural wastesYard debrisBulking agents | Greater than 25 but no more than 1,000 cubic yards of agricultural wastes and bulking agents on-farm at any one time, and up to 50% of organic materials on-farm can be yard debris. | Agricultural farms managing more than 25 cubic yards of imported yard debris on-site at any one time or composting only agricultural wastes but that distribute off-site must meet the following conditions:(a) Thirty days prior to operation, facilities must submit a notification of intent to operate as a conditionally exempt facility to the jurisdictional health department and the department. Notification must be submitted on a form provided by the department; |
| (b) If agricultural farm is only managing agricultural waste and not distributing composted material off farm, then notification in (4)(a) of this table is not required; | |||
| (c) Facilities that distribute composted material off-site must meet the following conditions: | |||
| (i) Manage operation to reduce pathogens to meet limits set by Table 220-B of this section; | |||
| (ii) Conduct compost analysis according to the requirements of Table 220-B. Compost testing frequency is based on volume of compost produced annually as required by subsection (4)(a)(x)(B) of this section; and | |||
| (iii) Submit annual reports and results of composted material analysis to the department and the jurisdictional health department by April 1st of each calendar year. Annual reports must be submitted on forms provided by the department. | |||
| (5) | Agricultural wastesManure and bedding from zoosBulking agents | Greater than 25 cubic yards with no upper limits when only agricultural wastes, manure and bedding from zoos, and bulking agents are processed on-farm, or on-site for zoos. | Agricultural farms that distribute composted material off-farm, or off-site for zoos, must meet the following conditions:(a) Thirty days prior to operation, facilities must submit a notification of intent to operate as a conditionally exempt facility to the jurisdictional health department and the department. Notification must be submitted on a form provided by the department; |
| (b) For composting at a dairy, composting must occur as part of an updated dairy nutrient management plan as required by chapter 90.64 RCW, Dairy Nutrient Management Act; | |||
| (c) For composting at a farm other than a dairy, composting must occur as part of an updated farm management plan written in conjunction with a conservation district, a qualified engineer, or other agricultural professional able to certify that the plan meets applicable conservation practice standards in the USDA Washington Field Office Technical Guide, Code 317, produced by the Natural Resources Conservation Service; | |||
| (d) Facilities that distribute composted material off-site must meet the following conditions: | |||
| (i) Manage the operation to reduce pathogens to meet limits set by Table 220-B of this section; | |||
| (ii) Conduct compost analysis according to the requirements of Table 220-B. Compost testing frequency is based on volume of compost produced annually as required by subsection (4)(a)(x)(B) of this section; and | |||
| (iii) Submit annual reports and results of composted material analysis to the department and the jurisdictional health department by April 1st of each calendar year. Annual reports must be submitted on forms provided by the department. |
(3) Composting facilities - Permit requirements - Location. There are no specific location standards for composting facilities subject to this chapter; however, composting facilities must meet the performance standards of WAC 173-350-040.
| Note: | When considering compost facility location, please review the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Advisory Circular. No. 150/5200-33B 2007. |
(4) Composting facilities - Permit requirements - Design. Composting facilities must be designed and constructed to meet the requirements of this subsection.
(a) Composting facilities must be designed and constructed such that:
(b) The owner or operator of a composting facility must prepare and provide to the jurisdictional health department engineering reports, engineering plans, and engineering specifications that address the design standards of this subsection. The engineering documents must be prepared by a professional engineer registered in the state of Washington, and must include:
(e) Composting facilities must minimize the production of leachate and runoff by designing stormwater management features such as run-on prevention systems, which may include covered areas (roofs), diversion swales, ditches, or other features designed to divert stormwater from areas of feedstock preparation, active composting, and curing.
(iii) Leachate storage structures such as ponds or tanks must be of adequate capacity to store the normal maximum volume of leachate generated by the facility. The normal maximum volume will be established based on the following conditions:
(iv) Leachate holding ponds and tanks must be designed according to the following:
(B) Leachate ponds at composting facilities other than registered dairies must be designed to meet the following requirements:
(f) Incoming feedstocks, active composting, and curing materials must be placed on pads that prevent contamination of soil or groundwater underlying or adjacent to the pads. Pads must meet the following requirements:
(6) Composting facilities – Permit requirements – Operating. The owner or operator of a composting facility must:
(a) Operate the facility to:
(vi) Ensure the facility operates under the supervision and control of a properly trained individual(s) during all hours of operation:
(vii) Implement and document pathogen reduction activities. Documentation must include compost pile temperatures representative of the composting materials, and notation of turnings as appropriate, based on the composting method used. Pathogen reduction activities must at a minimum include the following:
(x) Analyze composted material for metals and other testing parameters listed in Table 220-B.
(C) Composted material meeting the conditions of subsection (6)(a)(x) and (g) of this section can be stored off of a pad.
Table 220-B
Testing Parameters
| Metals and other testing parameters | Limit (mg/kg dry weight), unless otherwise specified |
| Arsenic | ≤ 20 ppm |
| Cadmium | ≤ 10 ppm |
| Copper | ≤ 750 ppm |
| Lead | ≤ 150 ppm |
| Mercury | ≤ 8 ppm |
| Molybdenum | ≤ 9 ppm |
| Nickel | ≤ 210 ppm |
| Selenium | ≤ 18 ppm |
| Zinc | ≤ 1400 ppm |
| Physical contaminants1 | ≤ 1 percent by weight total, not to exceed .25 percent film plastic by weight |
| Sharps | 0 |
| pH | 5 - 10 (range) |
| Biological stability2 | Moderately unstable to very stable |
| Fecal coliform3 | < 1,000 Most Probable Number per gram of total solids (dry weight) |
| or | |
| Salmonella | < 3 Most Probable Number per 4 grams of total solids (dry weight) |
| 1 | A label or information sheet must be provided with compost that exceeds .1 percent by weight of film plastic. See WAC 173-350-220 (6)(f)(iii)(D)(I). |
| 2 | Tests for biological stability must be done as outlined in the United States Composting Council Test Methods for the Examination of Composting and Compost unless otherwise approved by the jurisdictional health department. |
| 3 | Test for either fecal coliform or salmonella. |
| Note: | Biosolids composters regulated under this chapter must communicate with the jurisdictional health department to determine if different testing parameters and testing frequencies are required. |
(c) For compost facilities with leachate holding ponds, conduct regular liner inspections at least once every five years, unless an alternate schedule is approved by the jurisdictional health department as part of the permitting process. The frequency of inspections must be specified in the operations plan and must be based on the type of liner, expected service life of the material, and the site-specific service conditions:
(d) Maintain operating records of the following:
(e) Prepare and submit an annual report to the jurisdictional health department and the department by April 1st of each calendar year on forms provided by the department. The annual report must detail the facility's activities during the previous calendar year and must include the following information:
(f) Develop, keep, and follow a plan of operation approved as part of the permitting process. The plan of operation must convey to site personnel the concept of operation intended by the designer. The plan of operation must be kept on-site and be available for inspection at the request of the jurisdictional health department. If necessary, the plan must be modified with the approval, or at the direction of the jurisdictional health department. Each plan of operation must include the following:
(ii) A plan to control air contaminants such as dust and nuisance odors to prevent contaminants from migrating beyond property boundaries in accordance with WAC 173-350-040(3), including:
(iii) A description of how wastes and organic materials including incoming feedstocks, composting, curing, and composted materials are to be handled on-site during the facility's active life, including:
(D) Procedure to reduce physical contaminants in composted material to meet testing parameters in Table 220-B. Grinding to reduce the size of physical contaminants does not meet the requirements of this section;
(g) Manage composted material piles that have met the testing parameters in Table 220-B in the following manner:
(8) Composting facilities - Permit requirements - Closure. The owner or operator of a composting facility must:
(10) Composting facilities - Permit application contents. The owner or operator of a composting facility must obtain a solid waste permit from the jurisdictional health department. All applications for permits must be submitted in accordance with the procedures established in WAC 173-350-710. In addition to the requirements of WAC 173-350-710 and 173-350-715, each application for a permit must contain:
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.95 RCW, and RCW 70.95.060, 70.95.215, 70.95.218, 70.95.260(6), 70.95.300, 70.95.305, 70.95.310, 70.95.440. WSR 18-17-008 (Order 13-08), § 173-350-220, filed 8/1/18, effective 9/1/18. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.95.020(3), 70.95.060(1), 70.95.260(6), 70.95.305, 70.95.330. WSR 13-08-016 (Order 10-06), § 173-350-220, filed 3/25/13, effective 4/25/13. Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.95 RCW. WSR 03-03-043 (Order 99-24), § 173-350-220, filed 1/10/03, effective 2/10/03.]