Section 312.3 - Exclusions(a) This chapter does not authorize processes used to treat domestic sewage or for processes used to treat sewage sludge or domestic septage prior to final use or disposal, except as provided in § 312.82 and § 312.83 of this title (relating to Pathogen Reduction and Vector Attraction Reduction).(b) This chapter does not require the selection of a method of use or disposal for sewage sludge, biosolids, or domestic septage. The determination of the way sewage sludge, biosolids, or domestic septage is used or disposed is a local determination.(c) This chapter does not authorize sewage sludge or biosolids co-fired in an incinerator with other wastes or for the incinerator in which sewage sludge or biosolids and other wastes are co-fired. Other wastes do not include auxiliary fuel, as defined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §503.41(b), fired in an incinerator.(d) This chapter does not authorize the use and disposal of sewage sludge generated at an industrial facility, unless the sewage sludge is of a domestic origin and the sewage sludge is generated from the treatment of domestic sewage. If a process at an industrial facility that primarily treats industrial wastewater combines domestic sewage with any type of industrial solid waste, any resulting sewage sludge, process waste, or wastewater generated at the industrial facility will be considered to be industrial solid waste and must be processed, stored, or disposed of in accordance with the applicable requirements of Chapter 335 of this title (relating to Industrial Solid Waste and Municipal Hazardous Waste). If a facility that primarily treats domestic wastewater combines domestic sewage with any type of industrial solid waste, any resulting sewage sludge, process waste, or wastewater generated at the facility will be considered to be domestic sewage sludge and must be processed, stored, or disposed of in accordance with the applicable requirements of this chapter.(e) This chapter does not authorize the use or disposal of sewage sludge or other wastes determined to be a hazardous waste, as defined in § 335.1 of this title (relating to Definitions) or as determined in accordance with 40 CFR Part 261 as amended through February 22, 2019 (84 FR 5816).(f) This chapter does not authorize the use or disposal of sewage sludge, biosolids, or water treatment residuals with a concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls equal to or greater than 50 milligrams per kilogram of total solids (dry weight basis).(g) This chapter does not authorize the use or disposal of ash generated during the firing of sewage sludge or biosolids in an incinerator.(h) This chapter does not authorize the storage of sewage sludge, biosolids, domestic septage, grease trap waste, chemical toilet waste, or grit trap waste, except as provided for in § 312.50 of this title (relating to Storage and Staging of Biosolids and Domestic Septage) and § 312.147 of this title (relating to Temporary Storage).(i) This chapter does not authorize the processing, use, or disposal of grease trap waste, grit trap waste, chemical toilet waste, grit (e.g., sand, gravel, cinders, or other materials with a high specific gravity), screenings (e.g., relatively large materials such as rags), or other wastes generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works.(j) This chapter does not authorize the use or disposal of industrial septage or a mixture of domestic septage and industrial septage.(k) This chapter does not apply to wastes resulting from activities associated with the exploration, development, and production of oil or gas or geothermal resources, as defined in § 335.1 of this title, except for domestic septage or sewage sludge which may be collected at facilities where such activities occur, that is not mixed in any manner with other oil, gas, or geothermal wastes.(l) Experimental use shall be excluded from the requirements of this chapter, provided the following conditions are met at the time the sewage sludge or biosolids are placed on a land application unit or reclamation site: (1) the metal concentrations established in §312.43(b)(3) (Table 3) of this title (relating to Metal Limits) shall be met;(2) one of the vector attraction reduction alternatives in §312.83(b)(1) - (11) of this title shall be met;(3) the pathogen reduction compliance requirements established in § 312.82(a) or (b) of this title shall be met;(4) the applicant shall receive written approval from the executive director prior to commencement of operations for the experimental project; and(5) the applicant shall submit to the executive director the aims and goals of the project and any other additional information the executive director believes necessary to establish the experimental nature of the project.(m) This chapter does not authorize the land application of processed or unprocessed chemical toilet waste, grease trap waste, grit trap waste, milk solids, or similar non-hazardous municipal or industrial solid wastes, or any of the wastes listed combined with biosolids, sewage sludge, domestic septage, or water treatment residuals, unless the grease trap waste is added at a fats, oil, and grease receiving facility as part of an anaerobic digestion process.(n) This chapter does not allow for the registration of sewage sludge, biosolids, or domestic septage processing operations or facilities. Such facilities or operations are required to obtain a permit.(o) This chapter does not authorize sewage sludge, biosolids, or domestic septage processing operations unless the processing occurs at a treatment works. Processing operations that are not located at a treatment works must be authorized under Chapter 330 of this title (relating to Municipal Solid Waste) or Chapter 332 of this title (relating to Composting). The final use and disposal of materials processed at an authorized processing facility may be authorized in accordance with this chapter. Processing permits that were issued on or prior to the effective date of the amendments to this chapter are to continue under the rule requirements as they existed immediately prior to the effective date of the amendments.30 Tex. Admin. Code § 312.3
The provisions of this §312.3 adopted to be effective October 13, 1995, 20 TexReg 7840; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 45, Number 16, April 17, 2020, TexReg 2555, eff. 4/23/2020