Sewage Sludge and Biosolids
VPDES permitting of sewage sludge
While certain legislative changes will cause changes in the requirements for VPDES permits that include land application of biosolids, these permits issued to dischargers may still be used to authorize land application and surface disposal of sewage sludge after January 1, 2008.
In 1996, DEQ amended the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Regulation that incorporated the Federal technical standards for land application and surface disposal of sewage sludge (40 CFR Part 503). The amended regulation requires the owner of treatment works submit the sewage sludge management information with the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit application. Depending upon the use or disposal options the owner may have chosen, pertinent sections of the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Sewage Sludge Permit Application Form must be filled out. The Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Sewage Sludge Permit Application Form may be downloaded in either Adobe® PDF or Microsoft® Word format. The Application Instructions are available in Adobe® PDF format.
A complete sewage sludge permit application form constitutes a sludge management plan. DEQ approves the sludge management plan through the issuance of the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit to the owner of the treatment works. If land application option is chosen, the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit will include sludge limitations and monitoring, record keeping and reporting requirements, etc. The owner may include specific sites for land application of biosolids within the sludge management plan, and additional soil monitoring and site management requirements may be included in the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued to the treatment works. When an owner assigns responsibility for off-site biosolids use operations (land application, marketing, and distribution) to a private contractor, a Virginia Department of Health permit is issued to the contractor in accordance with the Biosolids Use Regulations.
As DEQ has not sought EPA's delegation of the sewage sludge program, it is important to note that compliance with the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Regulation requirements on sewage sludge does not relieve the owners' responsibility to comply with the federal requirements set in 40 CFR Part 503. If you have any questions regarding the federal requirements, contact Ann Carkhuff of EPA Region III at (215) 814-5735.