Unless otherwise required pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, a permit for the use and/or application of biosolids to any land within Yolo County (referred to herein as a “biosolids permit” or “permit”) may be issued by the County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division, in accordance with the following permit procedures. Any permit issued under the provisions of this chapter shall be conditioned on and shall require strict compliance with the provisions of this chapter and any applicable laws or regulations, otherwise the permit shall be deemed to be null and void. In the processing and review of any permit application, the Department shall be authorized to call upon and to receive assistance from such other County Departments or Officials as the Department may deem appropriate.
Any permit issued under the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed to be issued jointly to the property owner, any lessee thereof, and the applicator and each of these parties shall jointly be responsible for compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit and compliance with this chapter. Upon issuance of a permit, the permit shall be recorded in the official records maintained by the County Recorder.
(a) Ministerial permits.
A ministerial permit may be issued only to the property owner together with any lessee and to the applicator where it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Department, compliance with all of the following:
(1) No part of the site has a slope in excess of three (3%) percent; and
(2) The site has previously been intensively cultivated (leveled, tilled and irrigated) or grazed. (It is the purpose of this provision to require a detailed evaluation (through the discretionary permit review process) of a proposal to apply biosolids to land that has not previously been intensively cultivated or grazed); and
(3) The site is not designated for future residential use or development under the County’s General Plan; and
(4) The applicants have submitted a plan for application demonstrating to the satisfaction of the Department that the application complies with all of the regulatory provisions of this chapter.
A lessee of property shall not be issued a permit since the application of biosolids may affect the property beyond the lease. A lessee and property owner may jointly be granted a ministerial permit or a discretionary permit as provided for herein.
Notwithstanding compliance with the foregoing, a ministerial permit shall not be issued where the applicator and/or the property owner or lessee has failed to comply with the provisions of any other biosolids permit issued in Yolo County or in any other jurisdiction or has generally demonstrated a failure to comply with any local, State or Federal laws or regulations pertaining to the use and development of property or the use of biosolids or any other regulated material. Any party who is denied a ministerial permit under this provision shall have a right to appeal same by seeking the issuance of a discretionary permit in accordance with the procedures and provisions below. In addition to any other matter that is to be determined by the Department with regard to such discretionary permit, the Department shall hear such evidence as the County staff, the applicator and/or the property owner and any other interested party may reasonably provide regarding the issue of the compliance or noncompliance by the applicator and/or property owner with the law.
(b) Discretionary permits. A permit may be issued to the property owner together with any lessee and to the applicator in accordance with the following procedures and compliance with the provisions of this chapter. The County reserves the right to exercise its judgement and discretion in determining whether to issue a permit under the provisions of this subsection, and nothing contained herein shall be deemed to create a right in any person or entity to obtain a permit for which the exercise of discretion is hereby reserved.
Any application for issuance of a discretionary permit shall require that an appropriate environmental analysis be prepared and certified by the County in accordance with the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). The applicant for the permit shall be responsible for the payment of all fees and costs associated with the preparation and review of the environmental document. The application and the preparation of the environmental document shall be prepared by or with the concurrence of the Yolo County Community Development Agency, consistent with the procedures followed for other discretionary land use applications and shall include a right of appeal to the Board of Supervisors on the part of the applicant and any interested person. Any such appeal shall be conducted in the same manner as provided for appeals of land use permits under the jurisdiction of the County Planning Agency.
Upon preparation of the environmental document, the Director of the Department or his or her designated subordinate (collectively referred to as the “Director”) shall conduct at least one public hearing which shall be noticed in the same manner as required for other discretionary land use applications. The Director shall, based upon the information contained in the application (or the lack thereof), the environmental document and such other information as may be provided at the hearing and from any interested party or agency, determine whether the use of biosolids in accordance with the application poses any threat to the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community (including but not limited to impacts on human health, ground or surface water, wildlife, wildlife habitat or sensitive plants) or to any specific property owner or interested party. In making this determination the Director shall be guided by the purpose and intent of this chapter.
It shall be sufficient for the purpose of denying any application for a discretionary permit for the Director to find that there is insufficient information upon which to make an affirmative finding that the use of biosolids as proposed will not create a threat to the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community or to any specific property owner or interested party. The party or parties seeking approval of the use of biosolids shall have an affirmative obligation to provide such conclusive information as the Director may require to reach his or her decision.
(c) Permit application procedure. The application for a biosolid permit shall be submitted to the County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division. The application shall be signed by the property owner and any lessees, and the party actually proposing to apply the biosolid material to the !and. The application shall be accompanied by such fees as the Board of Supervisors may from time to time establish pursuant to resolution or other official action and shall include the following information and/or documents:
(1) Name, address and phone number for each of the following: the applicant, landowner, any lessee, and applicator and a local emergency contact person.
(2) Type of organization such as sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, corporation, business, or trust, including names of all officers.
(3) Identification of the local manager and responsible office personnel.
(4) A complete listing of the crops or other plants that are being grown or will be grown on the property including the numbers of acres that are devoted to each type of crop.
(5) A list of the predominant soils on the site.
(6) An analysis of representative soil samples for each of the significant soil types that exist on the site, prepared in accordance with the provisions of Section 6-12.11. Representative soil samples shall be collected and analyzed by an independent laboratory, from a list approved by the Department, with the results submitted at the time of the application. Testing shall be performed no longer than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the application.
(7) A complete list for each of the following:
(i) Adjoining properties containing the names and address of the owners thereof;
(ii) All contracts for the purchase of the crops or agricultural products to be grown on the property including a statement of the processor where known;
(iii) All lenders holding any mortgages or deeds of trust on the property.
(8) A statement of information regarding the site, including net acreage to be used for the biosolids application, total acreage of the site, depth to groundwater at the historic shallowest known location, annual application rate, lifetime application rate (pursuant to 40 Code of Federal Regulations 503), and buffer zones for occupied dwellings, property line, roads, watercourses, wetlands and wells.
(9) A detailed site plan acceptable to the Department depicting current topography and ground slope, site boundaries, location of any previous biosolid application within the previous five (5) years and proposed biosolid application, drainage courses, homes and other buildings, wetlands, wells (whether in use or not), irrigation structures and dikes within 500 feet of the site.
(10) A statement by a professional certified by the American Registry of Certified Professionals in Agronomy, Crops and Soils (ARCPACS) indicating the recommended agronomic rates for biosolids application to the site. Such recommendation must be based on soil conditions in the area and be applicable to the crops grown or to be grown on the site.
(11) A statement regarding the applicant’s experience and capability in the collection and transportation and application of biosolids.
(12) A statement of the biosolids characteristics prepared in accordance with the provisions of Section 6-12.11.
(i) Describing the characteristics of the biosolids proposed to be applied, including a certification that the biosolids have been treated to Class A or Class B pathogen requirements as set forth in 40 Code of Federal Regulations 503 et seq.
(ii) Source of biosolids (including names of each wastewater treatment plant from which the biosolids will originate).
(13) A statement describing the proposed application rates in dry tons per acre.
(14) A detailed plan of operation which shall include:
(i) Identification of the site, including Assessors Parcel Number;
(ii) Generalized description of biosolids application including location, dimension and area description of land that can be identified in the field;
(iii) Description of equipment to be used;
(iv) Special procedures for equipment breakdown;
(v) Spill prevention and response plans;
(vi) Soil incorporation methods;
(vii) Inclement weather plan;
(viii) Description of soil and plant testing methodology;
(ix) Dust control plans;
(x) Transportation plans including:
(aa) Source and owner of vehicle,
(bb) Proposed delivery truck route(s) to site,
(cc) Proposed frequency and hours of delivery,
(dd) Local traffic conditions,
(ee) Proposed measures to prevent tracking of biosolids on to roadways,
(ff) Nuisance avoidance measures.
(15) Evidence of notification from applicant to the water delivery and/or drainage agency in whose jurisdiction the biosolids is applied.
(16) Evidence of notification to any lenders holding a mortgage or deed of trust on the property and to any food processors or other parties who have contracted to purchase the crops or other agricultural products grown on the property, of the submission of an application to use biosolids on the property.
(17) The permit application shall be accompanied by a site application disclosure statement signed by the property owner and any lessees, acknowledging that the use of the property may be impacted by the application of biosolids.
(18) In addition to the foregoing, the applicant shall be required to provide any other relevant information requested by the Department.
To facilitate the submission of an application for a biosolids permit, any prospective applicant may request a preapplication conference with the Department. The Department shall require the payment of fees for all preapplication conferences consistent with the latest fee schedules as approved by the Board of Supervisors.
(d) Application review procedures and action.
(1) The Department shall notify all appropriate agencies and individuals, including but not limited to adjoining property owners, of the receipt of any application filed for a biosolids permit.
(2) Applicants shall be notified of incomplete or inaccurate applications within thirty (30) working days after the date of the filing of the application. The applicant may make the necessary corrections and additions and resubmit the application within thirty (30) days of notification.
(3) Upon receipt of an application for a biosolids permit which the Department finds to be complete, the Department shall either approve or deny same in days of the date of the mailing of written decision a timely fashion. Written notice of the approval or denial of an application for a biosolids permit shall be given by mail to the applicant at the address shown on the application.
(e) Term of permits. Biosolids permits shall remain valid for the calendar year in which the permit is issued. (§ 1, Ord. 1204, eff. January 16,
1997)