I heard back from the state pollution control agency on my "Mycotoilet" composting aerobic digestion design to create Biosolids Class A. This was rejected and any composting toilet in a structure is considered a "toilet waste treatment device"
For primitive dwellings using toilet waste treatment devices...Septage also includes solids and liquids that are removed from portable, incinerating, composting, holding, or other toilets.... material that has come into contact with untreated sewage within the past 12 months is also considered septage.... Food crops with harvested parts below the surface of the land shall not be harvested for 20 months after application of domestic septage..."Holding tank" means a tank for storage of sewage until it can be transported to a point of treatment and dispersal.
So that requires a privy permit if it is in any kind of structure. I spent a couple thousand dollars on two fancy aerobic digesting urine diverting dry composting toilets but I don't want to deal with some septic permit dude not understanding composting. hahahha. So I will keep those in "shelters" (i.e. tents) and NOT "structures" (i.e. requiring a permit). Then I will NOT REMOVE anything for 12 months...actually a few years. That will ensure composting but the mycelium will actually do the real composting.
So that leaves something more basic for my camping composting that might occur in a structure. Something that is not a toilet waste treatment device. A $7 bucket fitting toilet lid.
Actually most places sell this "bucket fitting lid" for $20 or more!! Dang. Luckily I ordered it direct from China instead of a middle man. As Qigong Master Chunyi Lin says, "the simplest is the most powerful."
I discovered this new https://harvestquest.com/inoculants/ for composting biosolids - they use ... mycelium fungi as one of their inoculants. They explain a white fuzz covers the compost and there's no smell. Indeed!! hahaha.
Technically anything "removed" from any kind of holding container is by definition "septage" - even though technically after one year it is no longer septage!! I tried to present this information to the control agency. The first person I talked to said I did NOT need a permit if there is no discharge. By discharge they meant no pipe with no sewage. But discharge also means any kind of emptying of septage from a container. So I just will NOT empty the container at all. I have ten buckets and I will use oyster mycelium to compost for three years per bucket. This will work fine.
The toilet bucket lid design I ordered is not even on Jeff Bezos' website! hahahah. It's a Chinese style design.
That's a hilarious idea to use the bucket handle as a TP holder....
Buckets at the other DIY store are on sale for $4 each. So I should probably just get some more to go with my new portable camping bucket toilet lid. hahahaha.
Wow a report on a composting toilet with drip irrigation!
Portage, before I got my Natures Head I used a bucket with peat moss for a few years. Big thing is you cannot pee and crap in the same container or it really stinks and is a mess.
Northern Minnesotan cabin owners talking composting toilets
https://www.leg.mn.gov/docs/2022/Other/221824.pdf
Water Foundation · Map · 9121 County Road 23. Brainerd, MN
Permanently closed
https://www.lrl.mn.gov/docs/pre2003/other/830938.pdf
https://mbbnet.ahc.umn.edu/labs/bae.html
https://fishingminnesota.com/forums/topic/107188-composting-toilets/
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2018-11/documents/domestic-septage-regulatory-guidance.pdf
Fascinating.
The MPCA does not directly regulate land application of septage but, through the SSTS licensing program, requires that any applicable state and local government requirements be followed. Licensed maintainers are responsible for checking local ordinances before applying septage.
https://www.pca.state.mn.us/business-with-us/ssts-service-and-maintenance
Aerobic bacteria typically require a minimum of 5% oxygen to effectively decompose organic material in a compost pile, with optimal levels considered to be between 5% and 15% oxygen concentration
So if I leave the buckets 80% full and have air spaces in the bucket then it will achieve composting with the lid closed and nothing "removed" - but contained.
a bucket can be considered a "holding toilet" when used as a basic toilet to collect human waste, essentially acting as a temporary storage container
right - that's the difference. I'm not going to do "temporary storage" but rather store it for three years.
Holding tanks may also be considered on a permanent basis on previously developed seasonal sites where occupancy is no more than 180 days per year,right - so I would be doing a seasonal work campsite - no permit required.
So back in 1995 privies were not the same thing but now they are lumped together.
So again "septage disposal guidelines" means after a year - it's no longer septage if it has had no contact with new sewage!!
AGain "disposed of" - but if I am not disposing or removing it for one year then it's no longer septage.
Separation technology is another concept in alternative treatment for individual homes. The idea of separating the solid wastes from the toilet and delivering them to a composting unit reduces household water use up to 40 percent and removes many of the pathogens and nutrients from the system. Some systems use worms, while others use bacteria and aeration to accomplish the composting process. Homeowners are sometimes reluctant to have a bin of composting wastes and even worms in their basements. The composted materials must be removed periodically.
https://septic.umn.edu/all-about-septics
the separation of solid wastes into a composting system. Current research and trial systems are evaluating the effectiveness of these units.
The first part is the toilet, which instead of a flush toilet is a composting, incinerating or chemical toilet. By removing the toilet waste from the system the soil treatment system can be downsized by 40%. The separation removes a lot of the organic material and nitrogen.
Composting toilets are more appropriately called biological toilets and have two basic principles of operation: liquid is evaporated, and solid wastes are biologically decomposed into compost. The biological toilet uses no water and requires no connection to house plumbing. Every biological toilet has a capacity limit, which depends on its ability to evaporate moisture.
All biological toilets designed for year-round use must have electricity to run the fan and the heating element.
Large-volume biological toilets may be used in seasonal residences without having electricity available, but care must be taken that excess liquid is not discharged into them. All biological toilets must have the compost removed periodically. The frequency, which depends upon the type of toilet and the number of people using it, might vary from every three weeks to once per year. A biological toilet requires frequent examination and care so that it will continue to function in a satisfactory manner. Care and maintenance requirements vary with the different brands of toilets.
https://www.andovermn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4487/2020-7080
Guidelines for co-mixing domestic sewage with animal manure
oh yeah!
https://deq.nd.gov/publications/wq/2_NDPDES/SepticPumper/503_Septage_Doc_20111103.pdf
https://www.andovermn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4487/2020-7080
generates sewage that discharges!
That's why the MPCA sewage regulator asked me if the composting toilet had discharge.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/7081.0020/
Subp. 2.Treatment required. All sewage discharged from a dwelling or other establishment not served by a system issued a permit containing effluent and discharge limits or specific monitoring requirements by the agency must be treated according to local ordinances that comply with this chapter, chapter 7082, and Minnesota Statutes, section 115.55.
minn. R. agency 167, ch. 7081, pt. 7081.0080
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/7081.0080/
OK so short-term storage of "dewatered" means less than 7 months.
https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/wq-bios2-00.pdf
But if it was never sewage in the first place?
Long-term storage. "Long-term storage" means the storage of dewatered bulk sewage
sludge for a period greater than 30 days but not exceeding seven months at a land
application site.
RECEIVES DOMESTIC SEWAGE!!! Right there in the Biosolids rules. Sewage is NOT septage - no sewage means no discharge!!
So after the sewage is removed it is called septage but if there is no sewage there's no discharge. The REMOVAL is as sewage and the removed is septage.
persons who prepare the sewage sludge from septic tanks which is referred to in this part as septage.
So no domestic sewage, no discharge
MPCA: Minnesota Administrative Rules
Septage. "Septage" means solids and liquids removed from an SSTS and includes solids and liquids from cesspools, seepage pits, other pits, or similar systems or devices that receive sewage. Septage also includes solids and liquids that are removed from portable, incinerating, composting, holding, or other toilet
If no ordinance exists, the septage must not be discharged
A license is not required for:
A. an individual who is a qualified employee performing work as directed by a state or local government employer;
B. an individual who, after obtaining a signed site evaluation and design report from a licensed design business, constructs an
ISTS to serve a dwelling that is owned by the individual and functions solely as a dwelling or seasonal dwelling for that
individual. Any assistance provided to the system owner in construction of a system under this item must be performed
by a licensed installation business. In addition, a property owner who wishes to construct a SSTS, which is to treat wastewater solely from their own dwelling or a seasonal dwelling, may install their own system providing the following
conditions are followed:
1. Homeowner exemption will be limited to Type I and Type II systems only.
2. The system must be designed by an individual licensed in accordance with Minnesota Rules, Chapter 7083.0700, Subp. B,
3. The property owner must schedule a pre-construction inspection with the Department prior to installation, and
4. The property owner must comply with all other provisions of this Ordinance.
C. an individual who performs supervised labor or services as an employee of a licensed SSTS business;
D. a farmer who pumps septage f
Certified maintainers are responsible for conducting or supervising: the removal of septage;
https://www3.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/septage.pdf
For this reason, it is preferable to dewater septage before composting.
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2018-11/documents/guide-septage-treatment-disposal.pdf
Septage storage facilities greatly increase the flexibility of land application operations.
Small rural land application operations where little environmental or human health risk is likely to occur may find
For primitive dwellings using toilet waste treatment devices in low dwelling density areas, septage disposal from these devices by the owner must be in accordance with local ordinances.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/7080.2450/
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/pdf/7080/2024-01-30%2009:30:02+00:00
Subp. 62. Privy. "Privy" means an aboveground structure with an underground cavity meeting the requirements of part 7080.2280 that is used for the storage or treatment and dispersal of toilet wastes, excluding water for flushing and gray water. A privy also means a nondwelling structure containing a toilet waste treatment device.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/pdf/7080/2024-01-30%2009:30:02+00:00
Subp. 86. Toilet waste treatment devices. "Toilet waste treatment devices" means other toilet waste apparatuses including incinerating, composting, biological, chemical, recirculating, or holding toilets or portable restrooms.
"holding toilet" is a marine boat term.
recreational camping areas: Privies and other toilets not connected to water-carried systems may be used in recreational camping areas when approved by the commissioner of health.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/4630.0900/
A privy also means a non-dwelling structure containing a toilet waste treatment device.
including vent openings, shall be screened.
Sewage is defined, in Minn. R. 7080.1100 subp. 73, as “waste produced by toilets,
Within Sandec publications, we purposely avoided the use of the word
septage, specifically for these reasons of confusion. Rather we use
terms that more precisely describe what is actually being referred to.
Blackwater (the influent to septic tanks) describes the fresh mix of
urine, faeces and flushwater, and is transported immediately (i.e. it
does not remain as blackwater if it is stored).
Faecal sludge (FS) is a general term which is defined as “comes from onsite sanitation technologies, and has not been transported through a sewer. It is raw or partially digested, a slurry or semisolid, and results from the collection, storage or treatment of combinations of excreta and blackwater, with or without greywater. Examples of onsite technologies include pit latrines, unsewered public ablution blocks, septic tanks, aqua privies, and dry toilets. FSM includes the storage, collection, transport, treatment and safe enduse or disposal of FS. FS is highly variable in consistency, quantity, and concentration."
septic", which implies that the sludge has gone through some time of biological degradation and thus is at least partly stablised. Feacal sludge seems to be used as a a wider term and also includes fresher types of sludge such as from latrines or public toilets.
Sewage is the term mostly used here in rural areas, while urban areas use the term wastewater. In rural areas here, the excreta from toilets is taken as solid waste!!
"Faecal Sludge Management – also known as septage management, FSM concerns the various technologies and mechanisms that can be used to treat and dispose of sludge – the general term for solid matter with highly variable water content produced by septic tanks, latrines, and wastewater treatment plants".
I find no reason why septage should not continued to be used. Septage has specfic charateristics (e.g. more stabilised and better detwatering characteristics, compared to sludge from latrines) and it is useful to have a special term for this.
Looks like I have to stick to tent "shelters" for camp composting. No way around it.
when I see desludging trucks pumping septage it often looks more like concentrated wastewater than sludge...
And when I was with IWA, I was involved in a discussion in relation to the definition of "wastewater" for the SDG target. The UN-Water Wastewater task force accepted the "Sick Water" definition of wastewater which includes faecal sludge and septage... I accepted that there is a need for a term that embraces the different residual wastes from sanitation systems, but calling sludge from pits "wastewater" seems to be stretching it too far.
A distinction can be made between faecal Sludge and
wastewater Sludge. Faecal Sludge comes from onsite
sanitation technologies, i.e., it has not been transported
through a sewer. It can be raw or partially digested, a
slurry or semisolid, and results from the Collection and
Storage/Treatment of Excreta or Blackwater
https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/wq-wwists4-46.pdf
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/7080/date/1989
The liquid residual can be discharged to a privately owned treatment facility or undergo further treatment and then be discharged. Septage solids are then sent to either a landfill, composted, applied to the land, or incinerated.
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