PERMANENT RULES
Date of Adoption: September 6, 2000.
Purpose: Allows for the exemption of biosolids from fertilizer regulation if they meet the requirements for biosolids in ecology's biosolids rules. However, if a biosolid product does not meet the exemption requirements the biosolids may be registered as a fertilizer.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 16-200-705; and amending WAC 16-200-695.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 15.54.270(4) and 15.54.800.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 00-15-065 on July 18, 2000.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
September 18, 2000
Jim Jesernig
Director
OTS-4205.1
NEW SECTION
WAC 16-200-600
Purpose.
The following sections concerning the protection of ground water, labeling requirements and examination of fertilizer minerals and limes (WAC 16-200-708 through 16-200-742) are established in this chapter under the authority of the Commercial Fertilizer Act, chapter 15.54 RCW.
This chapter also describes the requirements for registration of commercial fertilizers, including the information which must be submitted as part of the registration application, the sample preparation and analysis methods which must be used, the maximum application rates the department will use to determine whether a commercial fertilizer may be registered, the Washington standards for metals (in pounds per acre per year), and the acts which are unlawful under this chapter.
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The definitions set forth in this section shall apply throughout this chapter unless context otherwise requires:
(1) "Organic" means a material containing carbon and one or more elements (other than hydrogen and oxygen) essential for plant growth. When the term "organic" is utilized in the label or labeling of any commercial fertilizer, it shall be qualified as either "synthetic organic" or "natural organic," with the percentage of each specified.
(2) "Natural organic" means a material derived from either plant or animal products containing carbon and one or more elements (other than hydrogen and oxygen) essential for plant growth.
(3) "Synthetic organic" means a material that is manufactured chemically (by synthesis) from its elements and other chemicals, containing carbon and one or more elements (other than hydrogen and oxygen) essential for plant growth.
(4) "Unit" means one percent (by weight) of a ton.
(5) "AOAC" means the association of official analytical chemists.
(6) "Commercial fertilizer" means a substance containing one or more recognized plant nutrients and that is used for its plant nutrient content or that is designated for use or claimed to have value in promoting plant growth, and shall include limes, gypsum, and manipulated animal and vegetable manures. It does not include unmanipulated animal and vegetable manures, organic waste-derived material, and other products exempted by the department by rule.
(7) "Fertigation" means a method of applying commercial fertilizers with irrigation water to fertilize land or plants.
(8) "Fertilizer component" means a commercial fertilizer ingredient containing one or more recognized plant nutrients which is incorporated in the commercial fertilizer for its plant nutrient value.
(9) "Maximum acceptable cumulative metals additions to soil" means the amount of total metals that can be added to soil over a forty-five-year period of time without exceeding the Canadian standards which have been adopted in RCW 15.54.800(3) as Washington standards for metals.
(10) "Organic waste-derived material" means grass clippings, leaves, weeds, bark, plantings, prunings, and other vegetative wastes, uncontaminated wood waste from logging and milling operations, food wastes, food processing wastes, and materials derived from these wastes through composting. "Organic waste-derived material" does not include products that include biosolids.
(11) "Maximum application rate" means the maximum amount of commercial fertilizer expressed by weight (such as: pounds, ounces, kilograms, or milligrams) or volume (such as: gallons, quarts, fluid ounces, liters, or milliliters) to be applied to an area of a specified size (such as: acres, square feet, hectares, or square meters) in a period of time stated in years.
(12) "Biosolids" means municipal sewage sludge that is a primarily organic, semisolid product resulting from the wastewater treatment process that can be beneficially recycled, including material derived from biosolids, and septic tank sludge, also known as septage. For the purposes of this rule, semisolid products include biosolids or products derived from biosolids ranging in character from mostly liquid to fully dried solids.
(13) "Unpackaged biosolids" means biosolids distributed in a loose, unpackaged form such as, but not limited to, tote bags, tote tanks, bins, tanks, trailers, spreader trucks, railcars, and pick-up truckloads or other containers provided by the final user solely for transport of the material.
(14) "Packaged biosolids" means biosolids distributed in a container provided by the distributor of the material.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 15.54.325 and 15.54.800. 99-08-037, § 16-200-695, filed 3/31/99, effective 5/1/99. Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.54 RCW. 99-02-035, § 16-200-695, filed 12/30/98, effective 1/30/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 15.54.800. 91-01-015 (Order 2066), § 16-200-695, filed 12/7/90, effective 1/7/91. Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.54 RCW. 87-19-097 (Order 1952), § 16-200-695, filed 9/17/87.]
In addition to unmanipulated animal and vegetable manures and organic waste-derived materials, the following materials are exempt from the definition of commercial fertilizer:
(1) Unpackaged biosolids if they comply with biosolids regulation under chapter 173-308 WAC, and they do not use the term "fertilizer" in the labeling of the biosolids, except to disclaim them as commercial fertilizer;
(2) Packaged biosolids if they do not meet the definition for commercial fertilizer, do not use the term "fertilizer" in the labeling of the biosolids, except to disclaim them as commercial fertilizer, and comply with biosolids regulation under chapter 173-308 WAC.
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(1) Unpackaged biosolids and packaged biosolids that do not meet the definition for commercial fertilizer must include a legible and conspicuous disclaimer on their labeling. The disclaimer must specifically state that the product is not a commercial fertilizer, and that any nutrient claims are estimates or averages and are not guaranteed.
(2) Packaged biosolids that meet the definition for commercial fertilizer must be registered as commercial fertilizer.
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The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed:
| WAC 16-200-705 | Purpose. |