20.50.460 LP-01 – Land application standards

20.50.460 LP-01 – Land application standards.

This land application standards (LP) section applies to the following zoning districts:
A1 A2 A3

The following standards shall apply:

A. Project Applicability. The following standards apply to any land on which sludge, solid waste, waste products, or wastewater is intended to be applied for dissipation, disposal, or fertilizing purposes.

B. General. Land application shall only be permitted as a special exception and when evidence clearly shows that the land application operation is not detrimental to agricultural uses. In addition, land application operations shall be periodically overseen so as to prevent potential detrimental effects upon agriculture, human and animal health, and the environment. The provisions herein are not intended to preclude an operation in Jasper County in which sludge, solid waste, waste products and/or wastewater are generated by industrial, municipal or semi-public facilities. Any person, including the owner of the farmland or cropland designated as an application site, who has an ongoing land application operation in Jasper County on or before December 2, 1991, may continue such operation if the requirements of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management were met as of that date.

C. Land Development Plan and Citizens Advisory Committee on Land Application. In addition to the procedures for a special exception, a land application plan shall also be required. The Zoning Administrator shall immediately convey the land application plan to the citizens advisory committee on land application, which the Plan Commission has established by Resolution No. 5-2-94 RES in accordance with IC 34-7-4-407. The citizens advisory committee on land application shall study the land application plan, shall make inquiries of the applicants for further clarification or explanation of proposed land application operations as necessary, and shall report to the Board of Zoning Appeals in writing on the results of their study and inquiry. The report of the citizens advisory committee on land application shall be submitted to the Board of Zoning Appeals within thirty (30) days of the date the application is received by the citizens advisory committee on land application.

D. Representation of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Land Application. A representative of the citizens advisory committee on land application shall attend the Board of Zoning Appeals hearing to provide testimonial and to answer questions of the Board of Zoning Appeals.

E. Land Application Operation Standards. Additional requirements reasonably necessary to protect human health and the environment, including, but not limited to, reporting and monitoring requirements, cleanup and containment of spills or leaks of potentially hazardous or noxious materials, management practices for land application operations, or other measures necessary to contain or prevent pollution of soil or water, to prevent the creation of a nuisance, or to prevent detrimental effects upon agriculture. The following regulations apply:

1. State Approval Required. All applicants for land application operations shall demonstrate that the operation will be conducted in accordance with applicable minimum standards set forth by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management permit requirements and regulations at 327 IAC 6 or 327 IAC 7. Indiana Department of Environmental Management regulations shall be regarded as minimum standards, and compliance with such regulations shall not automatically constitute compliance with the County’s regulations herein, or any conditions or commitments imposed by the Board of Zoning Appeals during the special exception approval process.

2. Demonstration of Agricultural Impact Required. All applicants for land application operations shall demonstrate, in writing, that the proposed operation will not be detrimental to agriculture. Such demonstration may be made by submitting data from land application operations similar to the operation proposed for the County (provided the material applied and the soil conditions are similar to the proposed operation), or by other means deemed sufficient by the citizens advisory committee on land application and the Board of Zoning Appeals. Such demonstration may be made in the land application plan.

3. Prevention of Soil Erosion. All land application operations shall be conducted in a manner that does not interfere with techniques to prevent soil erosion being practiced by the owners or farmers of land upon which land application is to take place, including but not limited to no-till agriculture.

4. Written Agreements with Landowners. For each land application site, the land application operator shall obtain, in writing, the landowner’s agreement for the land application, including a statement that clearly permits the land application operator to apply for a special exception on their behalf. The written agreement shall state that the permit holder has provided the landowner with a copy of the land application plan required herein, that the landowner has read the land application plan, has been informed of all restrictions and conditions on land application or on land use arising from land application in the land application plan, or contained in the Unified Development Code, and that the landowner has the right to halt the land application operation at any time. The agreement shall be signed and dated by both the landowner and the permit holder or the permit holder’s legally designated representative.

5. Incorporation. Any manure applied shall be incorporated into the soil within twenty-four (24) hours.

6. Stockpiling Prohibited. Stockpiling of material (wet or dry) outdoors at land application sites as part of a land application operation is prohibited. In the event land application is interrupted due to weather or other unforeseeable conditions, excess material may be stored at the site in covered or enclosed transport vehicles.

7. Grazing and Vegetable Crop Restrictions. Grazing shall not be allowed on pastures for ten (10) days following land application, unless sufficient rainfall has occurred to wash land applied material from vegetation. Land application on vegetable crops or any crop intended for human consumption is prohibited.

8. Buildings. Buildings shall not be erected at land application sites by the land application operator. However, land application operators may use existing buildings at land application sites for temporary interior storage of land application equipment or vehicles, and for interior stockpiling of sludge or other solid wastes in connection with a land application operation, with the landowner’s permission, and provided any intent to stockpile sludge or other solid wastes is set forth in and approved as part of the land application development plan.

9. Land Application Development Plan. A proposed land application plan shall be submitted with the application. The land application plan shall include:

a. Name, address and telephone numbers of land application operator and their officials, representatives, and any contractor responsible for operation of the proposed land application operation.

b. Description of type of material to be land applied, including chemical composition, process by which material is generated, name and address of facility where material is generated, material safety data sheets for material (if available), and method by which material is stored at the place of generation.

c. Description of agricultural benefit, if any, expected to result from proposed land application operation.

d. Quantity of material generated monthly and annually that is proposed to be land applied to the identified parcels of land.

e. List of analyses performed on material and copies of most recent analytical results.

f. Description of equipment proposed to be used to transport and land apply material, and description of proposed land application method.

g. Proposed frequency of land applications and proposed times of year when land application operations will take place.

h. Anticipated annual acreage requirements for the proposed land application operation and a list of all counties including Jasper County in which the permit holder proposes to conduct operations.

i. Contingency plan for periods when land application operations must be suspended for long periods due to inclement weather, when land application operations must be suspended because the hydraulic capacity of the soil has been exceeded, or when land application operations must be suspended under this section due to changes in the material to be land applied or changes in Indiana Department of Environmental Management rules or permits. The contingency plan shall describe how the permit holder shall prevent exceedances of normal material storage capacity, at the point of sludge or solid waste generation, and describe alternate disposal methods to be used in the event land application on approved sites is not possible.

j. Proposed Application Rates. If application rates are expected to vary depending upon soil conditions, chemical characteristics of soil, chemical characteristics in a particular load of material, or other parameters, the land application plan shall describe in detail how application rates will be determined. If the determination of application rates requires site soil analysis prior to application, the land application plan shall describe such analyses in detail. Mathematical formulas to be used for calculating application rates shall be included.

k. Site Information. The land application plan shall state that, for each site on which land application is proposed to take place, the land application operator shall determine and maintain a record of, prior to the land application, the following information:

i. Landowner’s name and address.

ii. A copy of the written agreement, signed by the landowner.

iii. Soil map indicating major soil types, drainage and slope class.

iv. Number of acres in site.

v. Name and address of person farming site, if different from owner.

vi. Levels of nutrients or description of soil properties expected to be beneficially affected by the land application operation, if any.

vii. Groundwater level as determined from available data. If no data is available for a particular site, either from the landowner, U.S. Geological Surveyor other sources, the permit holder shall make a reasonable effort to determine the groundwater level.

viii. Depth of soil to bedrock as determined from available data. If no data is available, either from the landowner, U.S. Geological Survey, or other sources, the permit holder shall make a reasonable effort to determine the depth of soil to bedrock.

ix. Location of required buffer zones and number of usable acres in site.

x. Field Application Form. The land application plan shall state that, for each load of material land applied, the permit holder shall record on an appropriate form the following information:

(A) Landowner’s name and address.

(B) Number of usable acres in site.

(D) Dates of applications.

(E) Amounts of material applied.

(F) Names of driver and other personnel involved in the land application operation.

xi. Management Practices. Management practices shall be described in detail and shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(A) Methods of supervision of the land application operations.

(B) Methods of preventing uncontrolled runoff of land applied material.

(D) Methods to control excessive noise, dust and odors.

(E) A traffic plan designed to minimize transport traffic through residential areas.

(F) Spill contingency plan describing how spills of material during transport and/or into surface waters will be cleaned up and controlled.

(G) Monitoring, Reporting and Record Keeping. The land application plan shall set forth all proposed monitoring, reporting and record keeping practices. Such practices shall conform, at a minimum, to the standards set forth in this section.

xii. The land application operation shall be conducted in accordance with the land application plan.

xiii. Exceeding Hydraulic Capacity of Soil. Land application of material so as to exceed the hydraulic capacity of soil at the time of application is prohibited.

(A) Material to be land applied shall be tested by a certified lab, at the expense of the permit holder, every month for total metals, inorganic plant nutrients, pesticides, and any pollutants contained or potentially contained therein that are listed as toxic pollutants pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The Board of Zoning Appeals may require more frequent testing and/or testing for additional substances present or potentially present in the material where such substances are “hazardous substances” as defined at 42 USC 9601(14). The analytical sampling methods used shall conform to Federal regulations at 40 CFR Part 136, or such other generally recognized methods as the Board of Zoning Appeals may approve. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an applicant may propose an alternate monitoring program and include it in the land application plan. The applicant shall justify the alternate monitoring program and shall meet the full intent of the monitoring regulations. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall review the alternate monitoring program and shall either approve or disapprove the plan as part of the land application plan. If approved, the permit holder shall abide by the alternate monitoring plan.

(B) Each land application site shall be monitored quarterly by the land application operator for a period of one (1) year following the land application for soil parameters proposed to be affected by the land application operation, if any. A proposed soil sampling methodology shall be set forth in the land application plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an applicant may propose an alternate soil sampling program, including no follow-up soil sampling, and include it in the land application plan. The applicant shall justify the alternate soil sampling program and shall meet the full intent of the monitoring regulations. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall review the alternative monitoring program and shall either approve or disapprove the plan as part of the land application plan. If approved, the permit holder shall abide by the alternative monitoring plan.

(C) In the event of a spill of material to be land applied away from the designated land application site, or of a spill or uncontrolled runoff of material directly into surface waters, the land application operator shall sample the affected soil or surface waters for all parameters required to be monitored herein, within twenty-four (24) hours of the spill or runoff incident.

(D) In the event of the contamination of soils or surface waters following a spill or the uncontrolled runoff of material directly into surface waters, the Board of Zoning Appeals may require the permit holder to perform groundwater monitoring at the spill or land application site.

l. Record Keeping. Records of all monitoring required herein, of all site information required by the land application plan, and all field application forms shall be maintained by the land application operator for a minimum of five (5) years.

m. Reporting.

i. For each land application site, the land application operator shall notify the Board of Zoning Appeals in writing or by telephone that land application is about to take place on the site at least twenty-four (24) hours before the land application is scheduled to take place.

ii. Copies of all monitoring reports and records required herein or by the land application development plan shall be submitted to the Board of Zoning Appeals at the end of each calendar quarter for each incident of land application during that calendar quarter.

n. Changes to Land Application Plan. The land application operator shall notify the Board of Zoning Appeals of any changes in the land application operation or at its facility that render information in the land application plan incorrect, within two (2) weeks after such changes occur. Where such changes involve changes to management practices, changes in the material to be land applied, or changes in the agricultural benefit to be derived from land application, the Board of Zoning Appeals shall immediately submit such changes to the citizens advisory committee on land application for review. Within thirty (30) days, the citizens advisory committee on land application shall determine whether the changes are consistent with the requirements of this section and with the original land application plan, and shall report its findings to the Board of Zoning Appeals. If the citizens advisory committee on land application and the Board of Zoning Appeals find that the changes are an advancement of the operation or that the application operation is no longer in compliance with local, State, or National standards, the Zoning Administrator shall either begin enforcement procedures and/or the Board of Zoning Appeals shall require the operation to begin a new permitting process. [Ord. 9-4-12A § 1; Ord. 12-27-11 § 5.46.]