(a) Biosolids shall not be applied to any land within the unincorporated territory of the County without the prior issuance of a permit from the County Public Health Department, Environmental Health Division, nor shall biosolids be applied or used on land except in strict compliance with the provisions of this chapter and all applicable laws and regulations pertaining thereto.
(b) Biosolids shall not be applied to any land between November 15 and April 15.
(c) Biosolids shall not be applied to any land that is within the Delta Primary Zone.
(d) All water coming into contact with the land which has received any biosolid material, shall, for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of any application of biosolid material, be captured and disposed of on the site of the biosolid application and the water shall not be allowed to leave the site. It shall be the responsibility of any party applying biosolids to land to construct such berms or other temporary measures as may reasonably be necessary to capture storm or irrigation runoff from the site receiving the biosolids application.
(e) Biosolids shall not be applied to any land within any designated floodway or flowage easements designated by the Reclamation Board of the State of California, or on land within floodways as shown on maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or on any land designated as a special flood hazard area by the County’s Flood Ordinance.
(f) The wastewater treatment plant generating the biosolids to be applied to land in Yolo County must have a current waste discharge permit from a Regional Water Quality Control Board or the equivalent permit meeting Federal and State requirements applicable in the jurisdiction of the wastewater treatment plan. Each truck load of biosolids must be from an identified wastewater treatment plant and no mixed loads of biosolids (where the biosolid material is from more than a single plant) will be allowed to be applied to land within Yolo County. Biosolids to be applied within the County must meet the following standards:
(1) Class A or Class B pathogen requirements in 40 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 503.
(2) One of the vector attraction reduction requirements identified in 40 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 503.
(3) The pollutant limits in 40 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 503, Section 503.13 and State standards established by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
(g) Biosolids application rates shall not exceed agronomic rates, or any rates which cause specific constituents to exceed single, annual, or lifetime application limits, based on all of the following:
(1) 40 Code of Federal Regulations 503, Criteria for Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Biosolids or its revisions.
(2) Regional Water Quality Control Board laws and regulations.
(3) Nitrogen demand of the crop.
(h) Biosolids shall be landspread within forty-eight (48) hours of arrival at the site and shall be incorporated into the soil by disc or other acceptable method within twenty-four (24) hours after spreading; provided however, biosolids may be applied to land without incorporation if plant residue levels exceed 1000 pounds per acre with twenty (20%) percent having a vertical height no less than four (4”) inches. Total nitrogen additions shall not exceed seventy (70) pounds per acre, unless approved by the Department.
(i) If biosolids are applied on ground surfaces having an Erodibility Index (EI) of eight (8) or above as classified by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a report and plan for application shall be prepared by a Certified Agronomist, Soil Scientist, or Certified Professional Erosion and Sediment control Specialist (CPESC). The application shall not exceed erosion levels as specified in any existing NRCS plans and achieve erosion reduction levels that do not exceed the soil loss level specified in the plan.
(1) Biosolids applied to any land classified as
Highly Erodible Land (HEL) by NRCS shall comply with all aspects of the NRCS Conservation Compliance Plans for erosion control.
(2) There shall be no incorporation of biosolids on HEL land.
(j) Staging areas and biosolids application shall be at least:
(1) Twenty-five (25’) feet from property lines; and
(2) 500 feet from domestic or public water supply wells (wellhead protection area); occupied dwellings; schools; hospitals or similar facilities unless approved by Department; and
(3) 200 feet from nondomestic water supply wells; and
(4) Fifty (50’) feet from public roads; and
(5) 100 feet from surface waters, including, but not limited to creeks, ponds, lakes, vernal pools, marshes, wetlands or floodways; and
(6) Ten (10’) feet from any agricultural structures.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Department shall have the authority to decrease any required setback where the Department finds that the reduction will not compromise the public health and safety nor the purposes of this chapter; and the Department shall also have the authority to increase any setback required as a condition to the issuance of a permit, where the Department finds that such action is appropriate to protect the public health and safety and/or to further the purposes of this chapter.
(k) Unless approved by the Department, biosolids shall not be applied to soils where depth to groundwater is less than five (5’) feet at historic seasonal high from the soil surface.
(l) Biosolids shall not be applied or incorporated into the soil or to water-saturated ground, during periods of rainfall or, in order to prevent the biosolids material and/or soil from creating dust during the application and/or incorporation process, when wind speeds at the site exceed five (5) m.p.h. The five (5) m.p.h. windspeed requirement for application and incorporation may be waived by the Department if the biosolids or soil has a moisture content of not less than twenty-five (25%) percent. In addition, the application and incorporation of biosolids shall comply with the local air district regulations including, but not limited to, PM-10 and fugitive dust rules, if applicable.
(m) Neither the distribution nor application of biosolids shall cause a nuisance.
(o) The applicator must comply with all requirements of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board and any other regulations adopted by any agency of the State or Federal government.
(p) The applicator shall obtain, and submit to the Department, a written statement showing that the grower and landowner are desirous of, and consent to receiving biosolids.
(q) The applicator shall notify the Department in writing, by facsimile transmission of its proposed delivery schedule of biosolids to the site at least two (2) working days in advance.
(r) The areas at the site to receive biosolids application, shall be clearly marked with stakes or other prominent markers before the biosolids application.
(s) Maintenance yard in Yolo County.
(1) Biosolids transportation vehicle parking or parking/service yards in Yolo County shall be maintained in a clean and safe condition.
(2) Vehicle washing facilities in Yolo County shall drain to an approved drainage system. The entire area shall be adequately sloped for drainage control.
(t) Biosolids staging areas shall be restricted to sites approved for biosolids application. Staging areas may not be located in buffer zones. All biosolids within a staging area must be land applied within forty-eight (48) hours from the time of delivery to the staging area. The staging area shall be sufficiently cleaned of biosolids so that application rate within the staging area is equivalent to the approved application rate for the site.
(u) After the application of Class B biosolids in each field, the applicator shall ensure the following:
(1) For at least thirty (30) days:
(i) Public access to the application sites is prohibited.
(ii) Feed and fiber crops are not harvested.
(iii) Animals do not graze on land.
(2) For at least twelve (12) months: Any turf that is harvested may not be used on land that will be used by the public.
(3) For at least fourteen (14) months: Food crops with harvested parts that touch the biosolids/soil mixture, and are totally above the land surface are not harvested.
(4) For at least thirty-eight (38) months: Food crops with harvested parts below the surface are not harvested. (§ 1, Ord. 1204, eff. January 16, 1997)