Search
Regulatory - Alert (RA 99-16)

Member Pipeline - Regulatory - Alert (RA 99-16)

To:

Members & Affiliates

From:

National Office

Date:

August 6, 1999

Subject:

Final Round 1, Phase 1 Amendments to Part 503 Sewage Sludge Rule

Reference:

RA 99-16

EPA published in the Federal Register on August 4, 1999 its final Round 1, Phase 1 amendments to the 40 CFR Part 503 sewage sludge rule. The amendments, proposed on October 25, 1995 provided the regulated community with flexibility in meeting certain Part 503 requirements and made technical corrections to the regulation. The amendments also proposed to make the Part 503 incineration requirements self-implementing and proposed changes to the Part 403 General Pretreatment Regulations, adding a concentration for total chromium to the list of pollutants eligible for a removal credit if the sewage sludge is land applied. AMSA submitted comments on the proposal in December 1995. The final rule is effective on September 4, 1999. A copy of the final amendments is attached.

To summarize the final amendments:

  1. Clarify that the land application ceiling concentration limits apply to all sewage sludge that is land applied. This language was unintentionally omitted from the applicability section in the land application Subpart;
  2. Allow the permitting authority to reduce the monitoring frequency after the sewage sludge has been monitored for two years;
  3. Modify the certification language to require the record keeper to certify only that the information verifying compliance has been collected properly. The current certification statements certify that the requirements have been met;
  4. Delete the requirement to record the time that bulk sewage sludge or domestic septage is applied to the land. EPA does not need this information;
  5. Revise the definition of pH to specify that the pH must be reported at the standard temperature of 25 degrees centigrade. Although the technical literature reports pH measurements at 25 degrees centigrade, this was not explicitly stated in the definition;
  6. Clarify the text for the Class B site restriction for grazing animals. EPA's intention is to prohibit intentional, not inadvertent, grazing of animals;
  7. Specify that the fecal coliform density limit for Class B sewage sludge can be met at any time after pathogen reduction, not just at the time of sewage sludge use or disposal;
  8. Specify that vector attraction reduction option 6 can be met at any time after vector attraction reduction, not just at the time of sewage sludge use or disposal. The present rule does not specify the time;
  9. Clarify that the daily concentration limit for metals in sewage sludge that is fired in an incinerator is an average daily concentration for the number of days in the month that an incinerator operates rather than an instantaneous value. This is consistent with the Part 503 risk assessment for the incineration of sewage sludge;
  10. Make the entire incineration Subpart of the Part 503 rule self implementing by specifying parameters for performance tests, air dispersion modeling, and installation, calibration, and operation of continuous emissions monitors of total hydrocarbons or carbon monoxide for sewage sludge incinerators;
  11. Specify that the concentration of total chromium in land-applied sewage sludge that can not be exceeded for total chromium to be eligible for a removal credit was increased from 12,000 mg/kg in the proposal to 100,000 mg/kg (dry weight basis); and,
  12. Correct a number of printing errors.

For additional information on the final amendments, contact Alan Rubin, EPA at 202/260-7589 or Mark Hoeke, AMSA at 202/833-9106.

Attachments:

  • August 4, 1999 Federal Register Notice of EPA's Final Round 1, Phase 1 Ammendments to Part 503 Sewage Sludge Rule
    • For this downloadable file, you must have the Acrobat Reader. If you don't have the Acrobat Reader, click on the icon below to download a copy. After you download and install a copy, return to this page and click on the link above for the downloadable file.