Update: Key Developments in Biosolids Management Policy

The municipal wastewater industry continues to face a number of challenges with regard to biosolids management, as state and federal regulatory agencies further restrict land application and incineration. A review of the status of biosolids management in the Mid-Atlantic (EPA Region III) supports this conclusion.In Virginia, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the agency responsible for regulating biosolids and overseeing land application, is in the final stages of revising numerous sections of Virginia's biosolids regulations. Although updating the regulations will bring more clarity and consistency, the final regulations will also likely include significant new requirements for land application, such as expanded public notification procedures, enhanced setback requirements, and mandatory financial assurance terms.Likewise, in Maryland, the Department of the Environment (MDE) is working to update its Sewage Sludge Management Regulations. Biosolids were also a hotly debated issue during the 2011 General Assembly session, with a bill introduced that would have effectively barred land application for the entire winter (roughly one-fourth of the calendar year). Although the bill did not survive the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) has picked up the baton. MDA recently proposed regulatory changes to the state's nutrient application guidelines that would impede fall and winter land application immediately and ban winter land application as of 2016.At the federal level, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is embroiled in litigation challenging its decision to change the rules for emissions from sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs). The wastewater industry has appealed EPA’s decision to classify sewage sludge, or biosolids, as a “solid waste,” thereby triggering a requirement for more stringent maximum achievable control technology (MACT) treatment standards. Several publicly-owned treatment works (POTWs) in Maryland and Virginia are impacted by EPA's new rules.Lastly, POTWs in the Mid-Atlantic, and across the United States, continue to monitor significant biosolids lawsuits in an attempt to understand the concerns of private citizens, as played out in state and federal courts. One case that has received national attention because of the scope of the legal issues involved is the lawsuit brought by the City of Los Angeles, County Sanitation District No. 2 of Los Angeles County, and the Orange County Sanitation District against Kern County, California. This ongoing lawsuit regarding Kern County's ban on land application has great significance for the future of land application programs in southern California.This presentation will update attendees on key regulatory processes in Maryland and Virginia and will provide other updates on nationwide issues of interest.