Rule 3745-560-300 | Class III composting facility establishment.
(A) No person shall establish or operate a class III composting facility without first obtaining a registration in accordance with this rule.
(B) Registration of class III composting facility. The owner or operator shall ensure that the registration application includes the following:
(1) A registration form prescribed by the director that contains sufficient detail to allow clear understanding for technical review of the application and to provide assurance the facility can be operated in accordance with this chapter and that includes but is not limited to the business name, contact person including the operator and property owner, contact information, location of the proposed composting facility, and a statement certifying compliance with the siting criteria specified in paragraph (C) of this rule.
(2) Plan view drawing, using a scale of one inch equals no greater than one hundred feet, showing the following information inside the facility boundaries and within five hundred feet beyond the facility boundaries:
(a) The property lines of land owned or leased for the composting facility.
(b) The boundary lines for the composting facility.
(c) Public roads, railroads, and structures.
(d) Existing topography showing contours, streams, wetlands, lakes, springs, and other surface waters of the state.
(e) The north arrow.
(f) Boundary lines for the materials placement area based on the design capacity, that includes the areas for each of the following:
(i) Composting and materials processing.
(ii) Receiving and storage of feedstocks, bulking agents, or additives.
(iii) Storage of alternative materials authorized pursuant to rule 3745-560-305 of the Administrative Code and the composting processing area dedicated to these materials.
(iv) Storage of compost product.
(g) Existing occupied dwellings.
(h) Any leachate management structure.
(i) The limits of the one hundred year floodplain.
(j) National park or national recreation areas, candidate areas for potential inclusion into the national park system, and any state park or established state park purchase areas.
(k) Any state or Ohio history connection nature preserves, state wildlife areas and national wildlife refuges, national and state wild scenic and recreational rivers, special interest areas and research natural areas in the Wayne national forest, state resource waters, coldwater habitats, and exceptional warmwater habitats.
[Comment: Both the Ohio department of natural resources and the Ohio history connection, formerly the Ohio historical society, designate state nature preserves in Ohio.]
(l) Existing public water supply wells, developed springs, or private potable water supply wells.
(m) Existing drainage sinkholes or agricultural drainage wells.
(n) The direction of the downward slopes and drainage for the materials placement area.
(3) Calculation of the design capacity of the composting facility, including the maximum capacity for alternative materials.
(4) Copies of consent letters pursuant to paragraph (C) of this rule.
(5) Copies of the letters of intent pursuant to paragraph (D) of this rule.
(C) On the date the registration application is received by Ohio EPA, the limits of materials placement and leachate management structures shall meet the following siting criteria:
(1) Unless located in an enclosed building, the materials placement area and leachate management structures are not located within the following:
(a) Two hundred feet from any surface waters of the state.
(b) Three hundred feet from a known sinkhole or agricultural drainage well.
(c) The sanitary isolation radius of public water system drinking water supply wells as calculated using the formulas specified in rule 3745-9-04 of the Administrative Code.
(d) Three hundred feet from a private water system drinking water supply well that is not controlled by the facility.
(e) Fifty feet from a private water system drinking water supply well that is controlled by the facility owner.
(f) Three hundred feet from a transient non-community public water system drinking water supply well.
(g) Two hundred fifty feet from an occupied dwelling, unless the occupied dwelling is owned or leased by the owner or operator or the owner or operator has received written consent from the owner of the occupied dwelling.
(h) Five hundred feet from the following:
(i) An area designated by the Ohio department of natural resources as either a state nature preserve, a state wildlife area, or a state scenic river.
(ii) An area designated, owned, and managed by the Ohio history connection as a nature preserve.
(iii) An area designated by the United States department of the interior as either a national wildlife refuge or a national scenic river.
(iv) An area designated by the United States forest service as either a special interest area or a research natural area in the Wayne national forest.
(v) Surface waters of the state designated by Ohio EPA as either a state resource water, an outstanding national resource water, a superior high quality water, a coldwater habitat, or an exceptional warmwater habitat.
(i) A one hundred year floodplain, unless the owner or operator demonstrates in the registration application that the facility will be designed, constructed, operated, and maintained to prevent washout of any waste materials by a one-hundred-year flood.
(j) The inner management zone (one year time of travel) of a drinking water source protection area for a community or non-transient non-community public water system using ground water.
(2) The portions of the materials placement area and leachate management structures located within an enclosed building comply with paragraphs (C)(1)(g) to (C)(1)(j) of this rule. For the purposes of this rule, an "enclosed building" means a structure with a low-permeability floor, walls, doors, and a roof that is capable of enclosing all waste handling areas, preventing rain from reaching the enclosed waste handling areas, and containing and collecting leachate within the enclosed waste handling areas.
(3) Except for facilities that exclusively compost wastes generated within state parks or national parks, or national recreation areas, as of the date the initial registration application was submitted, the materials placement areas and leachate management system of the composting facility is not located in any one or combination of the following:
(a) A national park or national recreation area.
(b) A state park or an established state park purchase area.
(c) A candidate area for potential inclusion in the national park system.
(d) A property that lies within the boundaries of a national park or national recreation area but that has not been acquired or is not administered by the secretary of the United States department of the interior.
(4) The materials placement area does not exceed one hundred thirty-five thousand square feet of total area on any one premises.
(D) The owner or operator of a composting facility registered prior to the effective date of this rule shall comply with siting criteria in effect on the date of initial registration.
(E) Concurrent to submittal of the registration application, letters of intent to establish a composting facility that include a description of property and facility boundaries shall be sent by certified mail or any other form of mail accompanied by a receipt to the following:
(1) The governments of the general purpose political subdivisions where the facility is proposed to be located including but not limited to local health departments, county commissioners, the legislative authority of a municipal corporation, or the board of township trustees.
(2) The single or joint county solid waste management district or districts or regional solid waste management authority or authorities where the facility is proposed to be located.
(3) The owner or lessee of any easement or right of way bordering or within the proposed facility boundaries that may be affected by the proposed solid waste facility.
(4) The local zoning authority having jurisdiction.
(5) The park system administrator, if any part of the proposed facility is to be located within or will share the park boundary.
(6) The conservancy district, if any part of the proposed facility is to be located within or will share the conservancy district boundary.
(7) The fire department having responsibility for providing fire control services where the proposed facility is to be located.
(F) Upon written notification by Ohio EPA that the registration application is incomplete, the applicant shall correct noted deficiencies and resubmit the registration application not later than thirty days after receipt of the notification.
(G) The owner or operator shall ensure that any proposed changes to the composting facility are in compliance with applicable regulations and all information contained in the registration is current by submitting an amended registration application in accordance with paragraphs (B)(1) to (B)(4) and (B)(7) of this rule, as applicable, and receiving an amended registration from Ohio EPA prior to any changes.
Last updated December 3, 2025 at 12:48 AM
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