Wastewater Branch

Wastewater treatment works or operations will sometimes choose to treat domestic wastewater sludge to produce Biosolids that can be applied to land to condition the soil, or fertilize crops or vegetation grown in the soil. There are a variety of approved and safe ways that the domestic wastewater sludge can be treated to produce Biosolids, and they all include strict requirements, monitoring, and controls to ensure pathogen reduction, vector reduction, and pollutant limits are met.

Wastewater treatment works and/or operations that treat domestic sludge will need to obtain a wastewater management registration and/or individual permit from the State of Hawaii’s Department of Health Wastewater Branch for their Biosolids reuse operation if they meet the criteria set forth in the Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) Chapter 11-62-50. It should be noted that this registration and/or permit are separate and distinct from the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, which has different notification/reporting requirements. When relevant, the NPDES permit mentions the requirements written in 40 CFR Part 503, but the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implements the federal Biosolids Program in Hawaii. The NPDES permit program is implemented in the Hawaii by the State of Hawaii’s Department of Health Clean Water Branch.

Should you have any questions, please contact the Wastewater Branch’s Oahu Office and ask to speak to a Biosolids Program engineer.

Biosolids Reuse

• Guidelines for the Individual Management Permit Application
• Individual Management Application Form