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Permit Requirements for Composting - Operations in Alaska

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

18 AAC 60.005 APPLICABILITY. c. A treatment works designed to treat less than five tons of waste daily or 10 tons in a single batch is exempt from the requirements of this chapter unless it causes or contributes to a threat to public health or the environment or unless the works is operated in a manner that causes or contributes to a nuisance. 

18 AAC 60.010 ACCUMULATION, STORAGE AND TREATMENT. (a) A person may not store accumulated solid waste in a manner that causes 

1. a litter violation;
2. the attraction or access of domestic animals, wildlife or disease vectors;
3. a health hazard; or
4. polluted runoff water.

 (H) If the department finds that a facility used to store more than 50 tons of materials is causing or contributing to a nuisance or poses a risk to public health or safety or to the environment, the department will require the operator to meet one or more of the following requirements:

1. provide proof to the department that the landowner has consented to the waste storage activity, unless the operator owns the property;
2. remove the materials from the facility or store materials at the facility for no more than one year;
3. use containers with covers, fencing or another department-approved method to prevent litter;
4. pick up litter as necessary to prevent a violation;
5. manage the facility so that the standards for disease vectors and animal control are met;
6. prevent fire at the facility;
7. promptly extinguish any fire that occurs;
8. prevent or control runoff;
9. control odors and dust as necessary to prevent a public nuisance;
10. provide safe public access to the facility as necessary;
11. manage hazardous waste abandoned by others at the facility;
12. monitor the temperature of waste piles to detect combustion; and
13. take other appropriate action.

(I) The owner or operator of a solid waste treatment works that is designed to treat more than five tons of waste daily, or 10 tons in a single batch, and that is not located within the boundaries of a permitted landfill shall:

1. use containers with covers, fencing or any other short-term department approved storage method to prevent wind and animals from scattering the waste;
2. pick up litter as necessary to prevent a violation;
3. manage the treatment works so that the standards for disease vectors and animal control are met;
4. control odors as necessary to prevent a public nuisance;
5. prevent or control runoff;
6. prevent fire at the treatment works;
7. promptly extinguish any fire that occurs;
8. provide safe public access to the site as necessary;
9. control dust;
10. manage hazardous waste abandoned by others at the treatment works; and
11. take other appropriate action.

18 AAC 60.200. PERMIT REQUIREMENT. (a) A person may treat or dispose of a solid waste, or construct, modify, operate or close a solid waste facility only in accordance with a waste disposal permit issued by the department. However, a permit under this chapter is not required for (9) a reuse, recycling or resource recovery facility.

From the Environmental Protection Agency federal register 40 CFR Part 257. Standards for the use of sewage sludge, final rules.

503.15 Operational standards - pathogens and vector reduction. (3) (1) One of the vector attraction reduction requirements in 503.33 (b) (1) through (b) (10) shall be met when bulk sewage sludge is applied to agricultural land, forest, a public contact site or a reclamation site.

503.33 Vector attraction reduction (3) One of the vector attraction reduction requirements in 503.33 (b) (1) through (b) (8) shall be met when sewage sludge is sold or given away in a bag or other container for application to the land.

1. The mass of volatile solids in the sewage sludge shall be reduced by a minimum of 38%.
2. When the 38% volatile solids reduction requirement in 1 cannot be met for an anaerobically digested sewage sludge, vector attraction reduction can be demonstrated by digesting a portion of the previously digested sewage sludge anaerobically in the laboratory in a bench-scale unit for 40 additional days at a temperature between 30 and 37 degrees Celsius. When at the end of the 40 days, the volatile solids in the sewage sludge at the beginning of that period is reduced by less than 17 percent, vector attraction reduction is achieved.
3. When the 38% volatile solids reduction requirement cannot be met for an aerobically digested sewage sludge, vector attraction reduction can be demonstrated by digesting a portion of the previously digested sewage sludge that has a percent solids of two percent or less aerobically in the laboratory in a bench-scale unit for 30 additional days at 20 degrees Celsius. When at the end of the 30 days, the volatile solids in the sewage sludge at the beginning of that period is reduced by less than 15 percent, vector attraction reduction is achieved.
4. The specific oxygen uptake rates (SOUR) for sewage sludge treated in an aerobic process shall be equal to or less than 1.5 milligrams of oxygen per hour per gram of total solids (dry weight basis) at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius.
5. Sewage sludge shall be treated in an aerobic process for 14 days or longer. During that time, the temperature of the sewage sludge shall be higher than 40 degrees Celsius and the average temperature of the sewage sludge shall be higher than 45 degrees Celsius.
6. The pH of sewage sludge shall be raised to 12 or higher by alkali addition, and without the addition of more alkali, shall remain at 12 or higher for two hours and then at 11.5 or higher for an additional 22 hours.
7. The percent solids of sewage sludge that does not contain unstablilized solids generated in a primary wastewater treatment process shall be equal to or greater than 75% based on the moisture content and total solids prior to mixing with other materials.
8. The percent solids of sewage sludge that contains unstabilized solids generated in a primary wastewater treatment process shall be equal to or greater than 90% based on the moisture content and total solids prior to mixing with other materials.
9. Sewage sludge injected below the surface of the land.
10. (Deals with raw sewage applied to land surface - not composted)
11. Sewage sludge placed on an active sewage sludge unit shall be covered with soil or other material at the end of each operating day.
12. The pH of domestic septage shall be raised to 12 or higher by alkali addition and, without the addition of more alkali, shall remain at 12 or higher for 30 minutes.