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Sewage Sludge: Am I Regulated?

Lists activities involved in the disposal or use of sewage sludge, water treatment plant sludge, and domestic septage that require permitting from, registration with, or notification of the TCEQ. Links to pages with more complete information on requirements for each activity.

Before dealing with sludge in Texas, consider whether you need to contact the TCEQ:

  • To process or dispose of sewage sludge or apply it to the land, you must first obtain an individual permit. Class B sewage sludge is a classification of sewage sludge based on the levels of disease-causing organisms (pathogens). For a complete legal definition of Class B sewage sludge, see Title 30, Texas Administrative Code (30 TAC), Section 312.8Exit the TCEQ

  • To apply domestic septage to the land, you must first register with the TCEQ. Domestic septage is the material pumped from septic tanks and similar wastes—but not chemical toilet waste. For a complete legal definition of domestic septage, see Title 30, Texas Administrative Code (30 TAC), Section 312.8Exit the TCEQ .

  • To apply water treatment sludge to the land, you must first register with the TCEQ. Water treatment sludge is generated during the treatment of surface water or groundwater for potable use. For a complete legal definition of water treatment sludge, see Title 30, Texas Administrative Code (30 TAC), Section 312.8Exit the TCEQ .

  • To apply Class A or Class AB sewage sludge to the land, you must first notify the TCEQ. Class A or Class AB sewage sludge has been treated to reduce pathogens and its attractiveness to vectors to a greater extent than is achieved in Class B sewage sludge. For a complete legal definition of Class A or Class AB sewage sludge, see Title 30, Texas Administrative Code (30 TAC), Section 312.8Exit the TCEQ

Contact us if you have questions about any of these requirements.

30 TAC Chapter 312 Biosolids - Stakeholder Meeting Activity

On October 30, 2017, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) hosted a public stakeholder meeting to discuss rule changes to the 30 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 312 rules. The rulemaking will clarify the intent of existing requirements, remove inconsistencies, and improve readability. All stakeholder comments are listed below.

View Stakeholders Comments

BEN CAMACHO BEN CAMACHO Adobe Acrobat PDF Document
BRANDT KLUTTS BRANDT KLUTTS Adobe Acrobat PDF Document
CECIL BELL CECIL BELL Adobe Acrobat PDF Document
CHAD SLEDGE CHAD SLEDGE Adobe Acrobat PDF Document
CHRISTOPHER BYRD CHRISTOPHER BYRDAdobe Acrobat PDF Document
ERIC ALLMON ERIC ALLMONAdobe Acrobat PDF Document
ERICH BIRCH ERICH BIRCHAdobe Acrobat PDF Document
REPRESENTATIVE GEANIE MORRISON REPRESENTATIVE GEANIE MORRISONAdobe Acrobat PDF Document
THE HONORABLE KYLE KUTSCHER THE HONORABLE KYLE KUTSCHERAdobe Acrobat PDF Document
HELEN GILBERT HELEN GILBERTAdobe Acrobat PDF Document
JAMES THOMAS JAMES THOMASAdobe Acrobat PDF Document
REPRESENTATIVE JOHN KUEMPEL REPRESENTATIVE JOHN KUEMPELAdobe Acrobat PDF Document
JOY SCHULTZ JOY SCHULTZAdobe Acrobat PDF Document
MACY BEAUCHAMP MACY BEAUCHAMPAdobe Acrobat PDF Document
TODD MUELLER TODD MUELLERAdobe Acrobat PDF Document
WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS WATER ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION OF TEXASAdobe Acrobat PDF Document
WEAT COMMENTS APPENDIX A WEAT COMMENTS APPENDIX AAdobe Acrobat PDF Document
WEAT COMMENTS ON SUBCHAPTER B WEAT COMMENTS ON SUBCHAPTER BAdobe Acrobat PDF Document

 

The TCEQ is currently evaluating these comments and a timeline for the rule proposal will be posted on this webpage in the future.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES RELATING TO CHAPTER 312:

Date Notification Agenda/Attendees Summary Webcast Handouts (PDF) Handouts (PPT)
10/30/2017 Notification Adobe Acrobat PDF Document Agenda Adobe Acrobat PDF Document Meeting Summary Adobe Acrobat PDF Document WebcastExit the TCEQ Chap 312 Handout Adobe Acrobat PDF Document Chap 312 presentation Adobe Acrobat PDF Document

*The Webcast video of the stakeholder meeting which took place on October 30, 2017 is available at http://www.texasadmin.com/tx/tceq/water_quality_advisory
If the information you need is not in this table, check our archive of information from all past WQAWG meetings. (Free webcasts provided by TexasAdmin.com.)

FUTURE PROPOSED RULEMAKING DATES (updated: September 20, 2019)

Key points in the proposal rulemaking schedule:

Commission Agenda proposal date: October 9, 2019
Anticipated Texas Register publication date: October 25, 2019
Anticipated public hearing date: November 19, 2019
Anticipated public comment period: October 25, 2019 – November 26, 2019
Anticipated adoption date: March 2020

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Mr. Brian Sierant of the TCEQ Water Quality Division at P.O. Box 13087, MC-150, Austin, Texas 78711-3087, or electronically at Brian.Sierant@tceq.texas.gov. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Mr. Sierant at the email address above or by phone at (512) 239-1375.