{"data":{"id":"us/40-cfr-503.13","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"40 CFR 503.13","heading":"Pollutant limits.","body":"(a) Sewage sludge. (1) Bulk sewage sludge or sewage sludge 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 sewage sludge exceeds the ceiling concentration for the pollutant in Table 1 of § 503.13.\n(2) If bulk sewage sludge is applied to agricultural land, forest, a public contact site, or a reclamation site, either:\n(i) The cumulative loading rate for each pollutant shall not exceed the cumulative pollutant loading rate for the pollutant in Table 2 of § 503.13; or\n(ii) The concentration of each pollutant in the sewage sludge shall not exceed the concentration for the pollutant in Table 3 of § 503.13.\n(3) If bulk sewage sludge is applied to a lawn or a home garden, the concentration of each pollutant in the sewage sludge shall not exceed the concentration for the pollutant in Table 3 of § 503.13.\n(4) If sewage sludge is sold or given away in a bag or other container for application to the land, either:\n(i) The concentration of each pollutant in the sewage sludge shall not exceed the concentration for the pollutant in Table 3 of § 503.13; or\n(ii) The product of the concentration of each pollutant in the sewage sludge and the annual whole sludge application rate for the sewage sludge shall not cause the annual pollutant loading rate for the pollutant in Table 4 of § 503.13 to be exceeded. The procedure used to determine the annual whole sludge application rate is presented in appendix A of this part.\n(b) Pollutant concentrations and loading rates—sewage sludge—(1) Ceiling concentrations.\nTable 1 of § 503.13—Ceiling Concentrations\nPollutant Ceiling concentration (milligrams per kilogram) 1\nArsenic 75\nCadmium 85\nCopper 4300\nLead 840\nMercury 57\nMolybdenum 75\nNickel 420\nSelenium 100\nZinc 7500\n1 Dry weight basis.\n(2) Cumulative pollutant loading rates.\nTable 2 of § 503.13—Cumulative Pollutant Loading Rates\nPollutant Cumulative pollutant loading rate (kilograms per hectare)\nArsenic 41\nCadmium 39\nCopper 1500\nLead 300\nMercury 17\nNickel 420\nSelenium 100\nZinc 2800\n(3) Pollutant concentrations.\nTable 3 of § 503.13—Pollutant Concentrations\nPollutant Monthly average concentration (milligrams per kilogram) 1\nArsenic 41\nCadmium 39\nCopper 1500\nLead 300\nMercury 17\nNickel 420\nSelenium 100\nZinc 2800\n1 Dry weight basis.\n(4) Annual pollutant loading rates.\nTable 4 of § 503.13—Annual Pollutant Loading Rates\nPollutant Annual pollutant loading rate (kilograms per hectare per 365 day period)\nArsenic 2.0\nCadmium 1.9\nCopper 75\nLead 15\nMercury 0.85\nNickel 21\nSelenium 5.0\nZinc 140\n(c) Domestic septage. The annual application rate for domestic septage applied to agricultural land, forest, or a reclamation site shall not exceed the annual application rate calculated using equation (1).\nWhere:\nAAR = Annual application rate in gallons per acre per 365 day period.\nN = Amount of nitrogen in pounds per acre per 365 day period needed by the crop or vegetation grown on the land.","path":["Title 40—Protection of Environment","CHAPTER I—ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY","SUBCHAPTER O—SEWAGE SLUDGE","PART 503—STANDARDS FOR THE USE OR DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE SLUDGE","Subpart B—Land Application"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-40.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:26:04Z","sha256":"6d182a2f75bb266bb30b8b25ec4ff9263b59a6f4e24d806e02afd1a83c7204da","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/40-cfr-503.12","next":"us/40-cfr-503.14"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}