{"data":{"id":"us-va/9vac25-32-356","jurisdiction":"us-va","citation":"9VAC25-32-356","heading":"Pollutant monitoring and limits","body":"Article 2\n\nOperational and Monitoring Requirements\n\nA. Bulk biosolids or biosolids sold or given away in a bag or other container shall be monitored for the parameters identified in Table 1 of this section:\n\nTABLE 1\n\nPARAMETERS for BIOSOLIDS ANALYSIS(1)\n\nPollutant\n\nPercent solids (%)\n\nVolatile solids (%)\n\npH (standard units)\n\nTotal Kjeldahl nitrogen (%)\n\nAmmonia nitrogen (%)\n\nNitrates (mg/kg)\n\nTotal phosphorus (%)\n\nTotal potassium (%)\n\nAlkalinity as CaCO3 (mg/kg)(2)\n\nArsenic (mg/kg)\n\nCadmium (mg/kg)\n\nCopper (mg/kg)\n\nLead (mg/kg)\n\nMercury (mg/kg)\n\nMolybdenum (mg/kg)\n\nNickel (mg/kg)\n\nSelenium (mg/kg)\n\nZinc (mg/kg)\n\n(1)Values reported on a dry weight basis  unless indicated.\n\n(2)Lime treated biosolids (10% or more lime by  weight) shall be analyzed for percent CaCO3.\n\nB. Biosolids pollutant limits.\n\n1. Bulk biosolids or biosolids sold or given away in a bag or other container shall not be applied to the land if the concentration of any pollutant in the biosolids exceeds the ceiling concentration for the pollutant in  Table 2 of this section.\n\n2. If bulk biosolids is applied to agricultural land, forest, a public contact site, or a reclamation site, either:\n\na. The cumulative loading rate for each pollutant shall not exceed the cumulative pollutant loading rate for the pollutant in  Table 3 of this section; or\n\nb. The concentration of each pollutant in the biosolids shall not exceed the concentration for the pollutant in  Table 4 of this section.\n\n3. If bulk biosolids is applied to a lawn or a home garden, the concentration of each pollutant in the biosolids shall not exceed the concentration for the pollutant in  Table 4 of this section.\n\n4. If biosolids is sold or given away in a bag or other container for application to the land, either:\n\na. The concentration of each pollutant in the biosolids shall not exceed the concentration for the pollutant in  Table 4 of this section; or\n\nb. The product of the concentration of each pollutant in the biosolids and the annual whole sludge application rate for the biosolids shall not cause the annual pollutant loading rate for the pollutant in  Table 5 of this section to be exceeded. The procedure used to determine the annual whole sludge application rate is presented in subsection D of this section.\n\nC. Pollutant concentrations and loading rates - biosolids.\n\nTABLE 2\n\nCEILING CONCENTRATIONS\n\nPollutant\n\nCeiling Concentration\n\n(milligrams per kilogram)*\n\nArsenic\n\n75\n\nCadmium\n\n85\n\nCopper\n\n4,300\n\nLead\n\n840\n\nMercury\n\n57\n\nMolybdenum\n\n75\n\nNickel\n\n420\n\nSelenium\n\n100\n\nZinc\n\n7,500\n\n*Dry weight basis\n\nTABLE 3\n\nCUMULATIVE POLLUTANT LOADING RATES(1)\n\nCumulative Pollutant Loading Rate\n\nPollutant\n\n(kilograms per hectare)\n\n(pounds per acre)\n\nArsenic(2)\n\n41\n\n36\n\nCadmium\n\n39\n\n35\n\nCopper\n\n1,500\n\n1,340\n\nLead\n\n300\n\n270\n\nMercury\n\n17\n\n16\n\nMolybdenum(2)\n\nNickel\n\n420\n\n375\n\nSelenium\n\n100\n\n89\n\nZinc\n\n2,800\n\n2,500\n\nNotes:(1)Such total applications to be made on  soils with the biosolids/soil mixture pH adjusted to 6.0 or greater if the  biosolids cadmium content is greater than or equal to 21 mg/kg.\n\nThe maximum cumulative application rate is limited for  all ranges of cation exchange capacity due to soil background pH in Virginia  of less than 6.5 and lack of regulatory controls of soil pH adjustment after  biosolids application ceases.\n\n(2)The maximum cumulative application is  currently under study by USEPA. Research suggests that for  Molybdenum a cumulative pollutant loading rate below 40 kg/hectare may be  appropriate to reduce the risk of copper deficiency in grazing animals.\n\nTABLE 4\n\nPOLLUTANT CONCENTRATIONS\n\nPollutant\n\nMonthly Average Concentration\n\n(milligrams per kilogram)*\n\nArsenic\n\n41\n\nCadmium\n\n39\n\nCopper\n\n1,500\n\nLead\n\n300\n\nMercury\n\n17\n\nMolybdenum(1)\n\nNickel\n\n420\n\nSelenium\n\n100\n\nZinc\n\n2,800\n\n*Dry weight basis\n\nNote: (1) The monthly average concentration is  currently under study by USEPA. Research suggests that a  monthly average Molybdenum concentration below 40 mg/kg may be appropriate to  reduce the risk of copper deficiency in grazing animals.\n\nTABLE 5\n\nANNUAL POLLUTANT LOADING RATES (1)\n\nAnnual Pollutant Loading Rate\n\n(per 365-day period)\n\nPollutant\n\n(kilograms per hectare)\n\n(pounds per acre)\n\nArsenic (2)\n\n2.0\n\n1.8\n\nCadmium\n\n1.9\n\n1.7\n\nCopper\n\n75\n\n67\n\nLead\n\n15\n\n13\n\nMercury\n\n0.85\n\n0.76\n\nMolybdenum(2)\n\nNickel\n\n21\n\n19\n\nSelenium\n\n5.0\n\n4.6\n\nZinc\n\n140\n\n125\n\nNotes:(1)Such total applications to be made on  soils with the biosolids/soil mixture pH adjusted to 6.0 or greater if the  biosolids cadmium content is greater than or equal to 21 mg/kg.\n\nThe maximum cumulative application rate is limited for  all ranges of cation exchange capacity due to soil background pH in Virginia  of less than 6.5 and lack of regulatory controls of soil pH adjustment after  biosolids application ceases.\n\n(2)The maximum cumulative application is  currently under study by USEPA.\n\nD. Procedures to determine the annual whole sludge application rate (AWSAR) for biosolids. Subdivision  B 4 b of this section requires that the product of the concentration for each pollutant listed in Table 4 of this section in biosolids sold or given away in a bag or other container for application to the land and the AWSAR for the biosolids not cause the annual pollutant loading rate for the pollutant in  Table 5 to be exceeded. This subsection contains that procedure used to determine the AWSAR for a biosolids that does not cause the annual pollutant loading rates (APLR) in  Table 5 of this section to be exceeded.\n\n1. The relationship between the APLR for a pollutant and the AWSAR for a biosolids is shown in equation (1):\n\nEQUATION (1)\n\nAPLR = C X AWSAR X 0.001\n\nAPLR = Annual pollutant loading rate in kilograms per  hectare per 365-day period\n\nC = Pollutant concentration in milligrams per kilogram of  total solids (dry weight basis)\n\nAWSAR = Annual whole sludge application rate in metric  tons per hectare per 365-day period (dry weight basis)\n\n0.001 = A conversion factor\n\n2. To determine the AWSAR, equation (1) is rearranged into equation (2):\n\nEQUATION (2)\n\nAWSAR = APLR/(C X 0.001)\n\nAWSAR = Annual whole sludge application rate in metric  tons per hectare per 365-day period (dry weight basis)\n\nAPLR = Annual pollutant loading rate in kilograms per hectare  per 365-day period\n\nC = Pollutant concentration in milligrams per kilogram of  total solids (dry weight basis)\n\n0.001 = A conversion factor\n\n3. The procedure used to determine the AWSAR for a biosolids is presented below:\n\na. Analyze a sample of the biosolids to determine the concentration for each of the pollutants listed in Table 4 of this section in the biosolids.\n\nb. Using the pollutant concentrations from subdivision 3 a of this subsection and the APLRs from  Table 5 of this section, calculate an AWSAR for each pollutant using Equation (2) above.\n\nc. The AWSAR for the biosolids is the lowest AWSAR calculated in subdivision 3 b of this subsection.","path":["Title 9. Environment","Agency 25. State Water Control Board","Chapter 32. Virginia Pollution Abatement (VPA) Permit Regulation","Part IX. Biosolids Program","Article 2. Operational and Monitoring Requirements"],"source_url":"https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title9/agency25/chapter32/section356/","current_through":"2026 Regular Session (effective July 1, 2026)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T04:49:08Z","sha256":"6011108b4e5a4f693e207b36462239862e4e85cdd9c813192edebe6d62ad6963","source_id":"us-va-vac","stale":false,"prev":"us-va/9vac25-32-350","next":"us-va/9vac25-32-357"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}