Despite concerns about the cost to comply, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) approved a General Order for composting operations to protect water quality at new and existing facilities. The General Order exempts agricultural composting, chip and grind facilities and operations, and small home composting and community gardens.
Under the General Order, composting facilities that process at least 5,000 cubic yards of material per year are divided into two tiers, based on the size of the operation and the risk it poses to groundwater or nearby surface water. The General Order sets standards for the construction, operation, and maintenance of composting facilities to protect surface water and groundwater. It provides a number of requirements, including standards for the permeability of the ground underneath the composting piles, drainage, and specifications for leachate collection and containment. The Order also includes requirements for monitoring and reporting.
Some in the industry expect the cost to comply will force a number of smaller operations to go out of business and discourage new operations from being constructed. These regulations could affect the State’s ability to accommodate sufficient capacity to process the mandated organic diversion from landfills and meet the State’s 75 percent recycling and composting goal by 2020.
Composting facilities have previously been regulated by the State’s nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards through Waste Discharge Requirements or waivers of Waste Discharge Requirements. A statewide order for composting operations is intended to streamline the permit process, and will still allow the Regional Water Quality Control Boards the ability to be responsive to the individual operations.
Additional information can be accessed here.