This page provides landowners, local enforcement agencies (EA) and other interested parties with information regarding the requirements for land application activities.
What is a Land Application Activity?
What is the regulatory tier placement for Land Application Activities?
What are the operating and recordkeeping standards?
What is the inspection schedule?
Regulations Summary
Resources
What is a Land Application Activity?
A “land application activity” is a solid waste operation where a landowner accepts any combination of compostable material or digestate for land application onto their own parcel of land as defined in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (14 CCR) section 17852(a)(24.5.1).
List of applicable definitions include:
“Land application” is the final deposition of compostable material and/or digestate spread on a parcel of land, including land zoned only for agricultural uses as provided in 14 CCR section 17862.4.
“Compostable Material” means any organic material that when accumulated will become active compost as defined in 14 CCR section 17852(a)(1).
“Digestate” means the solid and/or liquid residual material remaining after organic material has been processed in an in-vessel digester, as defined in 14 CCR section 17896.2(a)(6).
What is the regulatory tier placement for land application activities?
A land application activity that intends to receive greater than 4,040 cubic yards of compostable material or digestate during a 12-month period shall comply with the EA notification requirements commencing with 14 CCR section 18100. The EA notification requirements are summarized at the Notification Tier webpage.
What are the operating and recordkeeping standards?
Operating Standards
Compostable material and/or digestate must meet the physical contamination limits, maximum metal concentrations, pathogen density limits, application frequency, and depth limits as described in 14 CCR section 17862.4, at the time of land application. Mixing compostable material or digestate with non-organic materials on-site is not allowed.
1. Physical Contamination
| Type | Percentage Limit on dry weight basis |
|---|---|
| Physical Contaminants (glass, metal, plastic, etc.) | ≤ 0.5% |
| Plastic film | ≤ 0.1% |
2. Maximum Metal Concentrations
| Constituent | Maximum Concentration on dry weight basis (mg/kg) |
|---|---|
| Arsenic (As) | 41 |
| Cadmium (Cd) | 39 |
| Chromium (Cr) | See note below |
| Copper (Cu) | 1,500 |
| Lead (Pb) | 300 |
| Mercury (Hg) | 17 |
| Nickel (Ni) | 420 |
| Selenium (Se) | 100 |
3. Pathogen Density limits
| Pathogen | Density Limit-Most Probable Number per gram(s) of total solids on a dry weight basis (MPN/GTS) |
|---|---|
| Fecal coliform | < 1,000 MPN/GTS |
| Salmonella sp. | < 3 MPN/4GTS |
4. Depth and Frequency
| Zoning | Frequency | Depth | Alternatives With EA Approval in Consultation With RWQCB | Alternatives With EA Approval in Consultation With CDFA & RWQCB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parcel not zoned for agricultural use | < 1 per 12-month period | < 6 inches accumulated on surface | X | |
| Parcel zoned only for agricultural use | < 3 per 12-month period | < 6 inches accumulated on surface | X | X |
The landowner is required to provide evidence to the EA that the material meets the land application requirements prior to the receipt of the material. Material produced at compostable material handling facilities and operations that is sent for land application must provide evidence to the landowner that the material meets the physical contamination limits, maximum metal concentrations, and pathogen density limits as described in the Operating Standards section.
Handling Timelines
Material shall be land applied or removed from the site within 48 hours of receipt. The EA may approve an alternative timeline if it does not pose a risk to public health and safety and the environment or does not cause a nuisance.
No additional material can be delivered to the site until the previous application has been incorporated into the soil, unless otherwise approved by the EA. Any material delivered to the site that is not incorporated into the soil within 30 days shall be deemed disposed.
Recordkeeping
The landowner shall maintain a record of the following:
- Date material was received.
- Date material was applied to the land.
- Date the material was incorporated into the soil, or date the EA authorized an alternative.
- Business name and address of who produced the material.
- Volume of material received in cubic yards.
- Evidence of compliance with conditions described in 14 CCR section 17862.4.
The landowner shall provide these records to the EA upon request.
What is the inspection schedule?
The EA is required to inspect the land application activity within 90 days of receipt of evidence that the material received meets the requirements for physical contamination limits, maximum metal concentrations, and pathogen density limits. The EA may perform additional inspections as necessary to ensure compliance and to protect public health and safety and the environment.
Regulations Summary
| Regulations Pertaining to Land Application Activities | |
|---|---|
| Definitions | 14 CCR section 17852 |
| Land Application requirements | 14 CCR section 17862.4 |
| EA Notification requirements | 14 CCR section 17862.3(a) |
| Operating standards | 14 CCR section 17862.3(b), (c), (e) |
| Handling timelines | 14 CCR section 17862.3(c) and 17862.4(d) |
| Recordkeeping | 14 CCR section 17862.3(d) |
| EA Inspection Schedule | 14 CCR section 17862.3(f) |