62-640.200. Definitions  


Effective on Monday, June 21, 2021
  • 1Terms used in this chapter shall have the meaning specified below. The meaning of any term not defined below may be taken from definitions in other rules of the Department.

    31(1) “Aerosol” means suspension of ultramicroscopic solid or liquid particles in air.

    43(2) “Agricultural site” means a biosolids application site consisting of land on which a food crop, a feed crop, or a fiber crop is grown, forest land, or land on which turf or ornamental plants are grown. This includes range land and land used as pasture.

    89(3) “Application site” means a property (such as a farm, a ranch or a mining property) where biosolids or septage are applied to land. Application sites are identified as either agricultural sites or reclamation sites.

    124(4) “Application zone” means a parcel of land (e.g., a field) within an application site to which biosolids are applied.

    144(5) “Average daily flow (ADF)” means the total volume of wastewater flowing into a wastewater facility during some defined period of time, divided by the number of days in that period of time, expressed in units of million gallons per day (mgd).

    186(6) “Biosolids” means the solid, semisolid, or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic wastewater in a domestic wastewater treatment facility, formerly known as “domestic wastewater residuals” or “residuals.” Not included is the treated effluent or reclaimed water from a domestic wastewater treatment plant. Also not included are solids removed from pump stations and lift stations, screenings and grit removed from the preliminary treatment components of domestic wastewater treatment facilities, other solids as defined in subsection 26362-640.200(30), 264F.A.C., and ash generated during the incineration of biosolids. Biosolids include products and treated material from biosolids treatment facilities and septage management facilities regulated by the Department.

    291(7) “Biosolids management facility” means a biosolids treatment facility, a septage management facility regulated by the Department, or an application site.

    312(8) “Biosolids treatment facility” means a facility that treats biosolids from other facilities for the purpose of meeting the requirements of this chapter, before use or land application. Biosolids treatment facilities can also treat domestic septage and combinations of biosolids, domestic septage, food establishment sludges, wastes removed from portable toilets, and wastes removed from holding tanks associated with boats, marinas, and onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems, before use or land application.

    384(9) “Capacity Index” means a measure of the capacity of soil to store phosphorus which is determined using soil test Mehlich-3 extraction results for phosphorus, iron, and aluminum in the following equation (units for the capacity index (CI) and for soil test results are mg/kg).

    429(10) “Class A biosolids” means biosolids that meet the Class A pathogen reduction requirements of paragraph 44562-640.600(1)(a), 446F.A.C., 447the vector attraction reduction requirements of paragraph 45462-640.600(2)(a), 455F.A.C., and the parameter concentrations of paragraph 46262-640.700(5)(a), 463F.A.C.

    464(11) “Class AA biosolids” means biosolids that meet the Class AA pathogen reduction requirements of paragraph 48062-640.600(1)(a), 481F.A.C., the vector attraction reduction requirements of paragraph 48962-640.600(2)(b), 490F.A.C., and the parameter concentrations of paragraphs 49762-640.700(5)(a) 498and (b), F.A.C.

    501(12) “Class B biosolids” means biosolids that meet the Class B pathogen reduction requirements of paragraph 51762-640.600(1)(b), 518F.A.C., the vector attraction reduction requirements of paragraph 52662-640.600(2)(a), 527F.A.C., and the parameter concentrations of paragraph 53462-640.700(5)(a), 535F.A.C.

    536(13) “Composting facility” means a facility, as defined in subsection 54662-640.200(19), 547F.A.C., that uses composting technology for treatment of biosolids. Processing can include physical turning, windrowing, aeration, or other mechanical handling of biosolids.

    569(14) “Delegated local program” means any county, municipality, or combination thereof that has established and administers a pollution control program approved by the Department in compliance with Section 597403.182, F.S599.

    600(15) “Department” means the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

    609(16) “Design capacity” shall be as defined in Chapter 62-600, F.A.C. The design capacity for biosolids treatment facilities shall be expressed in units of dry tons per day.

    637(17) “Distribution and Marketing” is the giveaway or sale of biosolids meeting the criteria of Rule 65362-640.850, 654F.A.C., or a product derived from such biosolids, either packaged or in bulk form, by owners or operators of treatment works or by a person who receives biosolids or biosolids products from treatment works.

    688(18) “Dry weight basis” means calculated on the basis of having been dried at 105 degrees Celsius until reaching a constant mass (i.e., essentially 100 percent solids content).

    716(19) “Facility” means a domestic wastewater treatment facility, a biosolids management facility, or a septage management facility.

    733(20) “Feed crops” means crops produced primarily for consumption by animals.

    744(21) “Fertilizer” means a material regulated as a fertilizer under Chapter 576, F.S., and Chapter 5E-1, F.A.C.

    761(22) “Fiber crops” mean crops such as flax and cotton which are produced primarily for the manufacture of products and are not consumed by humans or animals.

    788(23) “Food crops” means crops consumed by humans.

    796(24) “Food establishment sludge” means oils, fats, greases, food scraps, and other grease interceptor contents generated by a food operation or institutional food preparation facility.

    821(25) “Incorporation” means the mixing of biosolids with topsoil by such means as discing, plowing, tilling, or equivalent means to reduce exposure to the biosolids.

    846(26) “Industrial sludges” means all sludges that are primarily composed of materials generated through an industrial process or from an industrial wastewater activity.

    869(27) “Injection” means the subsurface placement of liquid biosolids to reduce exposure to the biosolids.

    884(28) “Liquid biosolids” means any biosolids that are less than 12% solids by weight, or that are determined to contain free liquids as defined by Method 9095B (Paint Filter Liquids Test), November 2004, as described in “Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Wastes, Physical/Chemical Methods” (EPA Pub. No. SW-846), January 3, 2008, 73 FR 486, which is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference, and available at 949http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-13249, 951and from the Wastewater Management Program, M.S. 3545, 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400.

    966(29) “Nutrient Management Plan” (NMP) means a site-specific plan, developed in accordance with Rule 98062-640.500, 981F.A.C., establishing the rate at which all biosolids, soil amendments, and sources of nutrients can be applied to the land for crop production while minimizing the amount of pollutants and nutrients discharged to waters of the state.

    1018(30) “Other solids” means material, primarily sand and inorganic matter, removed from domestic wastewater treatment processes during primary and secondary treatment. Not included are solids removed from pump stations and lift stations, solids from sewer line cleaning operations, and screenings and grit removed from the preliminary treatment components of domestic wastewater treatment facilities.

    1071(31) “Pathogens” or “pathogenic organisms” means disease-causing organisms. These include certain bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and viable helminth ova and any other organisms that cause disease.

    1096(32) “Permitted capacity” shall be as defined in Chapter 62-600, F.A.C. The permitted capacity for biosolids treatment facilities shall be expressed in units of dry tons per day.

    1124(33) “Percent Water Extractable Phosphorus” (PWEP) means the percentage of phosphorus that is water extractable in a biosolids sample. PWEP is equal to the monitoring results of water extractable phosphorus (WEP) divided by total phosphorus (TP), with the values of WEP and TP in the same units, and multiplied by 100.

    1175(34) “Person” is as defined in Section 1182403.031, F.S.

    1184(35) “pH” means as defined in Rule 119162-600.200, 1192F.A.C., except for the purposes of Pathogen Reduction and Vector Attraction Reduction under Rule 120662-640.600, 1207F.A.C., for which “pH” means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration measured at 25 degrees Centigrade (i.e. Celsius) or measured at another temperature and then converted to an equivalent value at 25 degrees Centigrade.

    1245(36) “pH of biosolids-soil mixture” means the pH value obtained by taking a core sample of soil to at least the depth of six inches or to the depth of biosolids placement if deeper than six inches.

    1282(37) “Private drinking water supply well” means a well serving a private or multifamily water system as defined in Rule 130262-532.200, 1303F.A.C.

    1304(38) “Public drinking water supply well” means a well serving a public water system as defined in Rule 132262-550.200, 1323F.A.C.

    1324(39) “Reclaimed water” shall be as defined in Chapter 62-610, F.A.C.

    1335(40) “Reclamation site” means a biosolids application site consisting of drastically disturbed land that is reclaimed using biosolids, such as strip mines and construction sites.

    1360(41) “Restricted public access” means that access to a land application site by the general public is both controlled and infrequent. Restricted public access application sites are accessible to persons authorized by the site owner, site manager, or facility permittee, such as farm personnel, wastewater facility operators, and biosolids or septage haulers 1412provided the authorized persons are informed by the site owner, site manager, or facility permittee regarding the nature of the application site. For informational purposes, the NIOSH manual 1440Guidance for Controlling Potential Risks to Workers Exposed to Class B Biosolids, 1452paragraph 145362-640.210(1)(j), 1454F.A.C., provides guidance regarding potential risks.

    1460(42) “Seasonal high water” means 1465the elevation to which the ground and surface water may be expected to rise due to a normal wet season.

    1485(43) “Septage” means a mixture of sludge, fatty materials, human feces, and wastewater removed during pumping of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system. Excluded from this definition are the contents of portable toilets, holding tanks, and grease interceptors.

    1524(44) “Septage management facility” means a stationary facility that treats only domestic septage or combinations of domestic septage, food establishment sludges, wastes removed from portable toilets, and wastes removed from holding tanks associated with boats, marinas, and onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems, before use or land application.

    1572(45) “Site manager” means the person who operates or manages the application site to ensure biosolids are applied in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.

    1598(46) “Source facility” means a facility that sends biosolids to a biosolids treatment facility for treatment before use or land application.

    1619(47) “Ton” means a short ton (2,000 pounds or 0.90718 metric ton).

    1632(48) “Toxic substances” means either of the following:

    1640(a) Hazardous wastes as defined in Chapter 62-730, F.A.C.

    1649(b) A substance which is present in sufficient concentration to pose a serious danger to the public health, safety, or welfare.

    1670(49) “Treatment” means the process of altering the character or physical or chemical condition of waste to prevent pollution of water, air, or soil, to safeguard the public health, or enable the waste to be beneficially used. Treatment includes blending, dewatering, and any process that alters the quality or quantity of the material for the purpose of meeting the requirements of this chapter. Treatment does not include storage of biosolids.

    1740(50) “Vector attraction” means the characteristic of biosolids that attracts rodents, flies, mosquitoes, or other organisms capable of transporting infectious agents.

    1761(51) “Water table” means the upper surface of the zone of saturation where the body of ground water is not confined by an overlying impermeable zone.

    1787(52) “Waters” means those waters defined in Section 1795403.031, F.S.

    1797(53) “Yard trash” means vegetative matter resulting from landscaping maintenance or land clearing operations and includes materials such as tree and shrub trimmings, grass clippings, palm fronds, trees, and tree stumps.

    1828Rulemaking Authority 1830373.043, 1831403.051, 1832403.061, 1833403.062, 1834403.0855, 1835403.087, 1836403.088, 1837403.704, 1838403.707 FS. 1840Law Implemented 1842373.4595, 1843403.021, 1844403.051, 1845403.061, 1846403.0855, 1847403.087, 1848403.088, 1849403.0881, 1850403.702, 1851403.704, 1852403.707, 1853403.708 FS. 1855History–New 8-12-90, Formerly 17-640.200, Amended 3-30-98, 8-29-10, 6-21-21, per Ch. 2021-153, Laws of Florida.