Rule 3745-40-07 | Requirements for the field storage of biosolids and regional facility storage.
(A) General requirements.
(1) Biosolids shall be stored in a manner that is protective of human health and the environment, prevents impacts to waters of the state and conduits and minimizes the creation of odors to prevent nuisance odors.
(2) Generally accepted storage procedures and best management practices shall be used to store class B and bulk exceptional quality biosolids at beneficial use sites.
[Comment: One example of a set of generally accepted storage standards and methodologies is U.S. EPA's "Guide to Field Storage of Biosolids."]
(B) Prohibitions. If injection (VAR-9) or immediate incorporation (VAR-10) are required to meet vector attraction reduction, field storage and regional storage of class B biosolids are prohibited.
(C) Field storage of class B and bulk exceptional quality biosolids.
(1) Field storage of class B biosolids may only be utilized at an authorized beneficial use site. Field storage of bulk exceptional quality biosolids may only be utilized at the beneficial use site where the bulk exceptional quality biosolids will be beneficially used.
(2) Field storage duration.
(a) The field storage of class B or bulk exceptional quality biosolids shall not exceed either of the following at any beneficial use site or contiguous site:
(i) One hundred eighty days per calendar year at any beneficial use site.
(ii) One hundred eighty consecutive days, regardless of calendar dates.
(b) Field storage begins on the day any biosolids are delivered to a beneficial use site and includes all days biosolids are stored at the beneficial use site or contiguous site.
(c) For biosolids stored more than one hundred twenty consecutive days, sufficient inspections shall be conducted, documented, and submitted by the beneficial user to ensure that best management practices are still in place and effective. This includes at least one inspection that is performed within ten days of the one hundred twentieth day of storage with the documentation submitted to Ohio EPA within five days of the inspection.
(d) For class B or bulk exceptional quality biosolids stored at a beneficial use site, the following information shall be recorded on forms approved by the director or authorized representative:
(i) The first date and subsequent dates of delivery of the biosolids to the beneficial use site and dry tons delivered on each date.
(ii) Each date of beneficial use and the dry tons beneficially used each day.
(iii) Each date biosolids are removed from the beneficial use site or contiguous site and the dry tons removed each day in accordance with paragraph (C)(2)(f) of this rule.
(iv) For field storage greater than one hundred twenty days, the date of any inspections, condition of the best management practices in place, and documentation of any corrective actions needed.
(e) The director or authorized representative may request submittal of notification of field storage prior to the first date of delivery to the beneficial use site.
(f) If biosolids cannot be beneficially used within one hundred eighty days after delivery to the beneficial use site and contiguous beneficial use site, the biosolids shall be managed in accordance with any of the following:
(i) Returned to the treatment works at which the biosolids were generated.
(ii) Taken to a licensed landfill for disposal.
(iii) Taken to another NPDES permitted treatment works.
(iv) Taken to a regional storage facility permitted by an NPDES permit or a biosolids management permit.
(v) Taken to another beneficial use site where the biosolids are beneficially used the same day that the biosolids were removed from the previous beneficial use site.
(3) Isolation distance requirements.
(a) The isolation distances listed in table C-1 of this rule shall be maintained for the field storage of class B and bulk exceptional quality biosolids.
| Isolation distance requirement: | To be maintained from: | For biosolids classification: |
| Three feet | Bedrock | Class B and bulk exceptional quality |
| One hundred feet | Surface waters of the state and conduits to surface waters of the state | Class B and bulk exceptional quality |
| One hundred feet | Property lines | Class B and bulk exceptional quality |
| Three hundred feet | A sinkhole or a UIC class V drainage well | Class B and bulk exceptional quality |
| Three hundred feet | An occupied structure or school | Class B |
| Three hundred feet | A private, potable water source | Class B and bulk exceptional quality |
| One thousand feet | A medical care facility | Class B |
(b) The director or an authorized representative may allow a reduction in isolation distance for an occupied structure that is located adjacent to a field storage area at an authorized beneficial use site, provided such a request is made by both the structure owner and, if applicable, the resident of the occupied structure on forms approved by the director.
(c) In addition to the isolation distance requirements in table C-1 of this rule, no person shall store class B or bulk exceptional quality biosolids in any of the following locations:
(i) Within either of the following areas pertaining to public water systems:
(a) The sanitary isolation distance a public water system maintains for a drinking water supply well as established in rule 3745-9-04 of the Administrative Code.
(b) The inner management zone of the following public water systems:
(i) Community water system.
(ii) Non-transient, non-community water system.
(iii) Transient, non-community water system.
If the drinking water source protection area of these public water systems is underlain by karst or fractured bedrock or has been determined to be highly susceptible to contamination, the setback is extended to include the entire drinking water source protection area.
(c) Within the emergency management zone for a public water system using surface water.
(ii) Within a low-lying wet area, on soils prone to flooding, or in the floodplain.
[Comment: Floodplains can be found by clicking the NFHL button at https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/national-flood-hazard-layer.]
(iii) Where the slope is greater than six per cent.
(iv) For bulk exceptional quality biosolids stored at a site that has not been authorized for class B biosolids, over or within karst terrain, sand and gravel pits, limestone or sandstone quarries, or active mining sites.
(4) For class B or bulk exceptional quality biosolids that are field stored at a beneficial use site, all of the following conditions apply:
(a) A permit to install, in accordance with Chapter 3745-42 of the Administrative Code, shall be obtained from the director prior to field storage of liquid biosolids in a mobile storage tank.
(b) The maximum amount of class B or bulk exceptional quality biosolids to be delivered to a beneficial use site shall conform to both of the following:
(i) For any beneficial use site, the maximum amount stored does not exceed the amount that can be beneficially used at the agronomic rate calculated in accordance with paragraph (A) of rule 3745-40-08 of the Administrative Code for the beneficial use site and any contiguous beneficial use site.
(ii) For any land reclamation site, be in accordance with paragraph (B) of rule 3745-40-03 and paragraph (A) of rule 3745-40-08 of the Administrative Code.
(c) Surface water diversions and other best management practices shall be utilized when there is field storage of class B or bulk exceptional quality biosolids at any beneficial use site. Surface water diversions include, but are not limited to, silt fences installed to catch any solids in runoff, or temporary berms installed to divert runoff away from the biosolids. These measures are not necessary for the temporary transfer of biosolids from a delivery vehicle to a beneficial use vehicle on the same day the biosolids are delivered to the beneficial use site. Use of surface water diversions and other best management practices shall be recorded on forms approved by the director or director's authorized representative.
(D) Regional storage facility requirements. A regional storage facility is required when class B or exceptional quality biosolids will be stored for more than one hundred eighty days at any location other than the generating treatment facility.
(1) A permit to install, in accordance with Chapter 3745-42 of the Administrative Code, shall be obtained from the director prior to the construction of a regional storage facility.
(2) An NPDES permit shall be obtained prior to any treatment of biosolids at a regional storage facility.
(3) No person shall take any of the following actions:
(a) Store biosolids at a regional storage facility for more than two years.
(b) Unless in accordance with an NPDES permit, mix class B biosolids from different treatment works unless owned by the same permittee at a regional storage facility.
(c) Locate a regional storage facility within the isolation distances listed in table D-1 of this rule.
| Isolation distance requirement: | To be maintained from: |
| Three feet | Bedrock |
| One hundred feet | Surface waters of the state and conduits to surface waters of the state |
| One hundred feet | Property lines |
| Three hundred feet | A sinkhole or a UIC class V drainage well |
| Three hundred feet | A private, potable water source |
| Two thousand feet | A medical care facility |
| One thousand feet1 | An occupied structure or school |
1This isolation distance applies to regional storage facilities approved after the effective date of these rules.
(d) Locate a regional storage facility within a drinking water source protection area for the following public water systems using ground water:
(i) Community water system.
(ii) Non-transient, non-community water system.
(iii) Transient, non-community water system.
(e) Locate a regional storage facility within the emergency management zone or corridor management zone for a public water system using surface water.
(f) Locate a regional storage facility where there is a potential for an unpermitted discharge to waters of the state or conduits.
(E) To protect public health or the environment or to minimize the creation of odors to prevent nuisance odors, the director or an authorized representative may do any of the following:
(1) Decrease the maximum time the biosolids may be stored at a beneficial use site or regional storage facility.
(2) Prohibit the storage of biosolids at a beneficial use site or regional storage facility.
(3) Require other measures to protect public health and the environment, or to minimize the creation of odors to prevent nuisance odors.
Last updated March 2, 2026 at 8:28 AM
Supplemental Information