Section R18-9-1001. Definitions

In addition to the definitions in A.R.S. § 49-255 and R18-9-A901, the following terms apply to this Article:

1.        “Aerobic digestion” means the biochemical decomposi- tion of organic matter in biosolids into carbon dioxide and water by microorganisms in the presence of air.

2.        “Agronomic rate” means the whole biosolids application rate on a dry-weight basis that meets the following condi- tions:

a.         The amount of nitrogen needed by existing vegeta- tion or a planned or actual crop has been provided, and

b.        The amount of nitrogen that passes below the root zone of the crop or vegetation is minimized.

3.        “Anaerobic digestion” means the biochemical decompo- sition of organic matter in biosolids into methane gas and carbon dioxide by microorganisms in the absence of air.

4.        “Annual biosolids application rate” means the maximum amount of biosolids (dry-weight basis) that can be applied to an acre or hectare of land during a 365-day period.

5.        “Annual pollutant loading rate” means the maximum amount of a pollutant that can be applied to an acre or hectare of land during a 365-day period.

6.        “Applicator” means a person who arranges for and con- trols the site-specific land application of biosolids in Ari- zona.

7.        “Biosolids” means sewage sludge, including exceptional quality biosolids, that is placed on, or applied to the land to use the beneficial properties of the material as a soil amendment, conditioner, or fertilizer. Biosolids do not include any of the following:

a.         Sludge determined to be hazardous under A.R.S. Title 49, Chapter 5, Article 2 and 40 CFR 261;

b.        Sludge with a concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) equal to or greater than 50 milli- grams per kilogram of total solids (dry-weight basis);

c.         Grit (for example, sand, gravel, cinders, or other materials with a high specific gravity) or screenings generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage by a treatment works;

d.        Sludge generated during the treatment of either sur- face water or groundwater used for drinking water;

e.         Sludge generated at an industrial facility during the treatment of industrial wastewater, including indus- trial wastewater combined with domestic sewage;

f.         Commercial septage, industrial septage, or domestic septage combined with commercial or industrial septage; or

g.        Special  wastes  as  defined  and  controlled  under

A.R.S. Title 49, Chapter 4, Article 9.

8.        “Bulk biosolids” means biosolids that are transported and land-applied in a manner other than in a bag or other con- tainer holding biosolids of 1.102 short tons or 1 metric ton or less.

9.        “Class I sludge management facility” means any POTW identified under 40 CFR 403.8(a) as being required to have an approved pretreatment program (including a POTW for which the Department assumes local program responsibilities under 40 CFR 403.10(e)) and any other treatment works treating domestic sewage classified as a Class I sludge management facility by the regional administrator in conjunction with the Director or by the Director because of the potential for its sludge use or dis- posal practices to adversely affect public health or the environment.

10.     “Clean water act” means the federal water pollution control act amendments of 1972, as amended (P.L. 92-500; 86 Stat. 816; 33 United States Code sections 1251 through 1376). A.R.S. 49-201(6).

11.     “Coarse fragments” means rock particles in the gravel- size range or larger.

12.     “Coarse or medium sands” means a soil mixture of which more than 50% of the sand fraction is retained on a No. 40 (0.425 mm) sieve.

13.     “Cumulative pollutant loading rate” means the maximum amount of a pollutant applied to a land application site.

14.     “Domestic septage” means the liquid or solid material removed from a septic tank, cesspool, portable toilet, marine sanitation device, or similar system or device that receives only domestic sewage. Domestic septage does not include commercial or industrial wastewater or restaurant grease-trap wastes.

15.     “Domestic sewage” means waste or wastewater from humans or household operations that is discharged to a publicly or privately owned treatment works. Domestic sewage also includes commercial and industrial wastewa- ters that are discharged into a publicly-owned or pri- vately-owned treatment works if the industrial or commercial wastewater combines with human excreta and other household and nonindustrial wastewaters before treatment.

16.     “Dry-weight basis” means the weight of biosolids calcu- lated after the material has been dried at 105° C until reaching a constant mass.

17.     “Exceptional quality biosolids” means biosolids certified under R18-9-1013(A)(6) as meeting the pollutant concen- trations in R18-9-1005 Table 2, Class A pathogen reduc- tion in R18-9-1006, and one of the vector attraction reduction requirements in subsections R18-9-1010(A)(1) through R18-9-1010(A)(8).

18.     “Feed crops” means crops produced for animal consump- tion.

19.     “Fiber crops” means crops grown for their physical char- acteristics. Fiber crops, including flax and cotton, are not produced for human or animal consumption.

20.     “Food crops” means crops produced for human consump- tion.

21.     “Gravel” means soil predominantly composed of rock particles that will pass through a 3-inch (75 mm) sieve and be retained on a No. 4 (4.75 mm) sieve.

22.     “Industrial wastewater” means wastewater that is gener- ated in a commercial or industrial process.

23.     “Land application,” “apply biosolids,” or “biosolids applied to the land” means spraying or spreading biosol- ids on the surface of the land, injecting biosolids below the land’s surface, or incorporating biosolids into the soil to amend, condition, or fertilize the soil.

24.     “Monthly average” means the arithmetic mean of all measurements taken during a calendar month.

25.     “Municipality” means a city, town, county, district, asso- ciation, or other public body, including an intergovern- mental agency of two or more of the foregoing entities created by or under state law. The term includes special districts such as a water district, sewer district, sanitary district, utility district, drainage district, or similar entity that has as one of its principal responsibilities, the treat- ment, transport, use, or disposal of biosolids.

26.     “Navigable waters” means the waters of the United States as defined by section 502(7) of the clean water act (33 United States Code section 1362(7)). A.R.S. § 49- 201(21).

27.     “Other container” means a bucket, bin, box, carton, trailer, pickup truck bed, or a tanker vehicle or an open or closed receptacle with a load capacity of 1.102 short tons or one metric ton or less.

28.     “Pathogen” means a disease-causing organism.

29.     “Person” means an individual, employee, officer, manag- ing body, trust, firm, joint stock company, consortium, public or private corporation, including a government corporation, partnership, association or state, a political subdivision of this state, a commission, the United States government or a federal facility, interstate body or other entity. A.R.S. § 49-201(26).

30.     “Person who prepares biosolids” means a person who generates biosolids during the treatment of domestic sew- age in a treatment works, packages biosolids, or derives a new product from biosolids either through processing or by combining it with another material, including blending several biosolids together.

31.     “pH” means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydro- gen ion concentration.

32.     “Pollutant” means an organic substance, an inorganic substance, a combination of organic and inorganic sub- stances, or a pathogenic organism that, after release into the environment and upon exposure, ingestion, inhala- tion, or assimilation into an organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through the food chain, could cause death, disease, behavioral abnor- malities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological mal- functions (including malfunction in reproduction), or physical deformities in either organisms or reproduced offspring.

33.     “Pollutant limit” means:

a.         A numerical value that describes the quantity of a pollutant allowed in a unit of biosolids such as milli- grams per kilogram of total solids,

b.        The quantity of a pollutant that can be applied to a unit area of land such as kilograms per hectare, or

c.         The volume of biosolids that can be applied to a unit area of land such as gallons per acre.

34.     “Privately owned treatment works” means a device or system owned by a non-governmental entity used to treat, recycle, or reclaim, either domestic sewage or a combina- tion of domestic sewage and industrial waste that is gen- erated off-site.

35.     “Public contact site” means a park, sports field, cemetery, golf course, plant nursery, or other land with a high potential for public exposure to biosolids.

36.     “Reclamation” means the use of biosolids to restore or repair construction sites, active or closed mining sites, landfill caps, or other drastically disturbed land.

37.     “Responsible official” means a principal corporate offi- cer, general partner, proprietor, or, in the case of a munic- ipality, a principal executive official or any duly authorized agent.

38.     “Runoff” means rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that drains over any part of a land surface and runs off of the land surface.

39.     “Sand” means soil that contains more than 85% grains in the size range that will pass through a No. 4 (4.75 mm) sieve and be retained on a No. 200 (0.075 mm) sieve.

40.     “Sewage sludge”:

(a)     Means solid, semisolid or liquid residue that is gen- erated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works.

(b)     Includes domestic septage, scum or solids that are removed in primary, secondary or advanced waste- water treatment processes, and any material derived from sewage sludge.

(c)      Does not include ash that is generated during the firing of sewage sludge in a sewage sludge incinera-

tor or grit and screenings that are generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage in a treat- ment works. A.R.S. § 49-255(6)

41.     “Sewage sludge unit” means land on which only sewage sludge is placed for final disposal. This does not include land on which sewage sludge is either stored or treated. Land does not include navigable waters.

42.     “Specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR)” means the mass of oxygen consumed per unit time per unit mass of total sol- ids (dry-weight basis) in biosolids.

43.     “Store biosolids” or “storage of biosolids” means the temporary holding or placement of biosolids on land before land application.

44.     “Surface disposal site” means an area of land that con- tains one or more active sewage sludge units.

45.     “Ton” means a net weight of 2000 pounds and is known as a short ton.

46.     “Total solids” means the biosolids material that remains when sewage sludge is dried at 103° C to 105° C.

47.     “Treatment of biosolids” means the thickening, stabiliza- tion, dewatering, and other preparation of biosolids for land application. Storage is not a treatment of biosolids.

48.     “Unstabilized solids” means the organic matter in biosol- ids that has not been treated or reduced through an aero- bic or anaerobic process.

49.     “Vectors” means rodents, flies, mosquitoes, or other organisms capable of transporting pathogens.

50.     “Volatile solids” means the amount of total solids lost when biosolids are combusted at 550° C in the presence of excess air.

51.     “Wetlands” means those areas that are inundated or satu- rated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration to support, and do under normal circumstances support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, cienegas, tinajas, and similar areas.

Historical Note

New Section recodified from R18-13-1502 at 7 A.A.R. 2522, effective May 24, 2001 (Supp. 01-2). Amended by

final rulemaking at 7 A.A.R. 5879, effective December 7,

2001 (Supp. 01-4). Amended by final rulemaking at 8

A.A.R. 4923, effective January 5, 2003 (Supp. 02-4).