&EPA
United States Office of Water
Environmental Protection WH-556
Agency Washington, DC 20460
EPA-822-F-92-002
November 1992
Sewage Sludgeuse ana Disposal Huie
(40 CFR Part 503) - Fact Sheet
The Sewage Sludge Use and Disposal Regulation (40 CFR
Part 503) sets national standards for pathogens and 10
heavy metals in sewage sludge. It also defines standards
(or management practices) for the safe handling and use of
sewage sludge. This rule is designed to protect human
health and the environment when sewage sludge is
beneficially applied to the land, placed in a surface
disposal site, or incinerated. The rule was developed in
accordance with the 1987 Amendments to the Clean Water
Act.
The rule is also the product of EPA's most comprehensive
risk assessment to date, in that it considers the full range
of potential impacts sewage sludge could have on public
health and the environment. It is based on the most
current scientific information and is the first rule
published by EPA that considers potential ecological
effects. Although developed by EPA's Office of Water
under the authority of the Clean Water Act, this rule is
multi-media in nature and seeks to protect surface water,
ground water, air, and land.
The scientific research used to develop this rule shows that
most sewage sludge can be safely and beneficially used in
a wide variety of ways. It can be applied safely to
agricultural land, lawns and gardens, golf courses, forests
and parks, and is a valuable resource for land reclamation
projects. This rule is designed to protect human health and
the environment at an equal margin of safety for any of
the regulated use or disposal practices. It sets, standards
for pathogens and limits for 12 pollutants which have the
potential for adverse effects, and explains why limits are
not needed for 61 other pollutants that were considered.
Additionally, it contains a comprehensive set of
management practices to ensure that sewage sludge is
beneficially used or disposed of properly.
Where Does Sewage Sludge Come From?
• Sewage sludge is a by-product of treating wastewater
from homes, businesses and some industries. In some
older cities where sanitary sewers are connected to
storm sewers, sewage treatment facilities may also
receive runoff from streets, parking lots, and yards.
• Wastewater treatment facilities are designed to
separate solids from water to allow the water to be
safely discharged. They are also designed to treat the
solids to reduce the level of disease-causing bacteria,
viruses, and parasites so that the remaining solids can
be safely and beneficially used.
• Sewage sludge is a slurry that is 80% to 99% water. The
rest is a mixture of organic and inorganic solids and
dissolved substances. Sewage sludge contains nutrients
(e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus) and pathogens (e.g.,
bacteria, viruses, and parasites). Some sludges may
also contain small amounts of organic chemicals (such
as chloroform) and inorganic chemicals (such as iron).
• Sewage sludge must be treated to improve its quality
before it can be used or disposed. This treatment
involves biological, chemical, physical and/or thermal
processes primarily designed to remove water, reduce
the level of pathogens, stabilize volatile solids, and
make it less attractive to rodents, insects, and other
animals.
How Much Sewage Sludge Is There?
• A typical family of four generates up to 400 gallons of
wastewater per day. After this wastewater has been
treated, about one pound of sludge on a dry weight
basis is produced.
• There are approximately 13,000 to 15,000 publicly
owned treatment works in the United States which
generate 110-150 million wet metric tons of sewage
sludge, annually.
How is Sewage Sludge Beneficially Used or Disposed
of?
• Sewage sludge has been used with great success on
agricultural lands throughout the world for decades.
Today, approximately 36% of the United States' sewage
sludge is beneficially applied to land, 38% is land filled
at municipal sites, 10% is surface disposed, and 16% is
incinerated.
Incineration
16%
Surface
Disposal
10%
Landfilled
38%
Beneficial
Land
Application
36%
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• The numbers are changing, however, .The 48% of
sludge that is being disposed in landfills or sludge-only
disposal sites is decreasing as landfill space has
tightened. More and more communities are turning to
beneficial applications. New and innovative uses of
sewage sludge have been developed in recent years
and the science behind established practices has greatly
improved.
How Can Sewage Sludge Be Used?
Sewage sludge can be used in many ways. The organic
nutrient content as well as its soil enhancing properties
make it a practical choice for farmers, landscapers,
foresters, and homeowners.
• Farmland—Sewage sludge has been beneficially used
on farmland for many years. It typically contains $30 -
$60 worth of nitrogen per ton and is an excellent soil
amendment. While it is not a complete replacement for
chemical fertilizers, it does do some things chemical
fertilizers cannot do. It promotes necessary bacterial
activity and improves the structure of soil allowing it to
absorb more water, thus reducing dangerous runoff. It
is also less expensive than chemcial fertilizers.
• Homes and Gardens—High quality sludge can be
processed (usually composted) into a dry granular
substance that is easily handled by landscapers and
homeowners. It is also less expensive than
commercially available peat moss or top soil.
Homeowners and landscapers across the United States
- from Philadelphia to Milwaukee to Seattle - have been
using sludge derived products for many years. Treated
sludge has also been widely used on municipal golf
courses and national, historic landmarks such as the
grounds of the White House and Mount Vernon.
• Forests—Sewage sludge has been used successfully for
many years on forested areas to reduce runoff and
enhance tree growth. There have been many studies
documenting two to three-fold growth increases where
trees have been grown with treated sludge.
• Land Reclamation—Sewage sludge has also been used
with dramatic success to reclaim lands destroyed by
strip mining, erosion, and construction. In
Pennsylvania, sewage sludge has been used to help
reclaim thousands of acres of land at abandoned strip
mine sites. Sewage sludge is also being applied to
revegetate the side of a severely eroded mountain that
was highly contaminated by a zinc smelting operation
in Palmerton, PA.
How Safe Is Sewage Sludge?
• The research conducted for this rule validates the long-
standing use of sewage sludge on the land as both safe
and beneficial. Sewage sludge is a valuable resource
that can be safely recycled back into the land. It has, in
fact, been used on farmland for many years with no
documented adverse affect on human health.
• The rule contains incentives for communities to
produce cleaner sludge and to consider changing from
wasteful disposal practices such as landfilling to
beneficial projects. The regulation also prescribes how
communities may incinerate or otherwise dispose of
sludge safely.
Who Is Affected and How?
• The rule includes standards that apply to publicly,
privately, and Federally owned facilities that generate
or treat sewage sludge, as well an any person who uses
or disposes of sewage sludge or septage. These
standards consist of pollutant limits, management
practices, and operational standards. The regulation
establishes pollutant limits for sewage sludge that is
applied to the land or disposed of by either placing it in
a a surface disposal site or by firing it in an incinerator.
The regulation also includes requirements for reducing
pathogens in sewage sludge that may cause disease.
The other requirements of the regulation address the
frequency of monitoring, record keeping, and
reporting.
• This rule is designed, for the most part, to be self-
implementing, meaning that anyone who uses or
disposes of sewage sludge must comply with all of the
provisions of the regulation whether or not they have a
permit. The rule requires compliance with monitoring
and record keeping requirements 150 days after the
rule is published in the Federal Register. The rule also
requires compliance with other standards as soon as
possible but no later than 12 months from the date of
publication (or 24 months if construction is required).
• EPA intends to include the requirements of this rule in
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit applications. Permit application
deadlines are being phased in; the first applications
being due six months after this rule is published and
the rest becoming due over the next several years.
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