An industrial by-product (IBP) is a residual material from an industrial, commercial, mining, or agricultural operation that is not a primary product and not produced separately in the process. IBPs that originate from food, beverage, and agricultural operations are regulated through industrial water-quality permitting. Examples include:
- vegetable, dairy, and meat processing wastes.
- solids/residuals from the pretreatment of wastewater.
- ethanol production wastes and co-products.
- livestock truckwash solids and washwater.
Biosolids generated from the treatment of municipal wastewater are regulated separately from IBPs in Minnesota. In addition, eggshells, beet solids, lime residuals, wood ash, and some other IBPs are regulated separately for beneficial use.
Minnesota rules define IBPs as solid waste, but IBPs from food, beverage, and agricultural operations typically contain nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and other nutrients and are good candidates for land application. Land applying IBP reduces the use of water and commercial fertilizer and replenishes the soil. Nutrients and salts in IBPs, however, mean their storage and land application can affect the environment. IBP can become harmful if too much is applied and excess runs off into nearby lakes and streams or impacts groundwater. People applying IBP to land must follow best management practices and permit requirements, such as using proper application rates and monitoring soil and runoff, to protect water from contamination.
Review these guidelines and the IBP general permit for details on management standards, including when a permit is required and mandated sampling and analysis for most IBPs suitable for land application:
Do I need a permit?
Typically, a permit is required for:
- land application of more than 50,000 gallons or 10 dry tons of IBP per year.
- IBP storage at a volume that could create environmental concerns.
Review the decision process for determining whether a permit is required, and what type of permit would likely be issued:
Some IBP-related activities do not require an MPCA permit. For example, an SDS permit is not required if the IBP is:
- used for fuel or animal feed.
- managed at a solid waste facility.
- managed under the Solid Waste Utilization rules (Minn. R. 7035).
- land applied in very small quantities, in accordance with best management practices.
- generated by small-scale crop producers and managed on-site.
The MPCA may require an individual permit if an IBP is not from a food, beverage or agricultural process. Submit permit application forms at least 180 days before land application will begin. Contact the MPCA to discuss whether a permit is needed for your IBP activities. Find permit forms and information on the Wastewater permit forms page.
Sampling and analysis requirements
Before land applying an IBP or submitting a permit application, you must collect and analyze a representative portion of IBP for the nine analytes listed below. If the IBP does not contain fats, oils, or grease, the oil and grease analysis is not necessary. Sweet corn silage doesn't require analysis.
- chloride
- nitrogen, ammonia
- nitrogen, Kjeldahl
- pH, sludge
- phosphorus
- sodium
- solids, total
- solids, total volatile
- oil and grease, total recoverable
Depending on the nature of the IBP, additional analytes may be needed. Analyze the IBP for all pollutants with a "reasonable likelihood" of being present, based on your knowledge of the waste generation process. MPCA staff may also request additional analysis when you submit a notification or permit application. If it's possible that your IBP contains polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or dioxin/furan compounds, these must also be analyzed for and the test results discussed with the MPCA. The IBP is also subject to ongoing monitoring; the number of samples is determined by IBP generated and land applied during a cropping year.
General permit
The general permit can usually cover land application of IBPs from food, beverage, and agricultural industries. IBPs not covered by the general permit include:
- hazardous waste
- eggshells
- sugar processing residues
- animal wastes regulated under feedlot rules (Minn. Rule 7020)
- dead animals
- residue from drinking-water treatment or industrial process-water conditioning
If the IBP did not come from a food, beverage, or agricultural process and may contain minerals, metals, or other contaminants of concern, additional waste stream analysis is necessary and loading restrictions must be followed. See the guidelines document above.
Annual reporting
Use the annual reporting form for land application activities. If more than one page is needed for reporting, use the individual supplemental pages and append to the annual report.
When a land application site requires more than one soil sample, i.e., for sites greater than 40 acres in size, use the soil data attachment form to report results for additional samples in the annual report.
Land application not requiring a permit
If an IBP is eligible for a general permit and less than 50,000 gallons or 10 dry tons per year will be land applied, a permit may not be necessary. Complete a notification form for land application projects that don't require an MPCA permit and that the Solid Waste Utilization program doesn't cover:
Submit the form at least 30 days before starting land application. The MPCA will respond within 30 days of receipt with an approval, denial, or determination that a permit or additional information is required. You must follow best management practices for IBP land application. Allowing the storage of IBP without a permit is rare.
Land application site management
Site selection and use
Regardless of whether you need a permit, you must evaluate proposed land application sites to ensure they have appropriate characteristics and the soils can use the IBP nutrients. Soil suitability can be determined with Natural Resources Conservation Service soil surveys, or characterization by a state-licensed soil scientist or Type IV certified land applicator.
Soil testing
Soil sampling is required both before the site is used for the first time, and once every three years while a site is used. Sites used for IBP land application must be sampled and analyzed for six analytes:
- texture (USDA class)
- organic matter
- phosphorus, extractable in soil
- potassium, exchangeable in soil
- pH (SU)
- salts, water soluble in soil
One composite soil sample is required for each land application site, unless the site is larger than 40 acres. In that case, one sample is required for each 40 acres or portion thereof. For example, a 60-acre site would require two soil samples; a 220-acre site would require six soil samples.
Site notification
For permitted land application, you must submit a notification form at least 30 days before applying IBP at the site. Site notification is not necessary if a permit is not required. Sites must meet all the selection and use criteria outlined in the guidance and/or land application permit.
When a land application site requires more than one soil sample, i.e., for sites greater than 40 acres in size, use the soil data attachment form to report results for additional samples in the site notification form.
Local notification
You must notify local officials — either county planning and zoning or solid waste staff, township clerk, or mayor — in writing at least 30 days before IBP land application begins. In the notification, describe how IBP will be managed during land application, including staging, storage and response actions in the event of a spill. If the IBP management described in the notification changes, you must repeat the notification process.
End-user notification
No later than six weeks after land application, you must provide the end user — the site's owner — with written information to ensure that a site is not receiving too many nutrients. This would include nutrient application rates, any restrictions on IBP use, crop restrictions, etc.
Type IV certified operator
A Type IV-certified land applicator must perform land application that requires a permit. If a permit is not required, the MPCA doesn't require a certified applicator. See the Wastewater operators' training and certification page.
Loading limitations
Accurately calculating how much IBP to apply to a particular site is critical. Over-application (or loading) of nitrogen, sodium, metals, and other pollutants can harm the environment. You must account for all sources of nitrogen when determining how to meet application limits. Use the IBP application rate calculator to determine maximum allowable application rates to meet the nitrogen, sodium, or other permit limits, as well as to determine nutrient and pollutant loading rates based on how much you actually applied.
IBP storage
Storage of IBP without a permit for land application activities is very limited. The following types of storage are allowed if a permit is not needed for land application:
- temporary storage at the land application site
- transfer to manure storage structure
- storage of sweet corn silage used for animal feed
Dewatered IBPs that are being spread concurrent with the unloading of bulk material on the land application site, and will not be stockpiled overnight, are not considered IBP storage. Other IBP storage is not allowed without an MPCA permit, even if a permit would not otherwise be required for land application.
Temporary storage
Storage of dewatered IBP is allowed if:
- storage does not exceed 30 days.
- storage is only on the site where the IBP will be applied, and the quantity does not exceed what can be applied at that site.
- storage is not on land with a more than 2% slope, unless water runon and runoff from the stockpile and/or site are controlled.
Transfer to manure storage structures
Before using a manure storage structure to store IBP, you must get written authorization from the MPCA and the county feedlot officer in delegated counties, or the county solid waste official in non-delegated counties, using the application form below.
Storage of sweet-corn silage
Vegetable processing plants make sweet corn silage available to farmers for use as animal feed. It produces a very acidic waste fluid with a high nutrient content and must be stored in a way to protect the environment. Anyone storing more than 1,000 tons of fresh sweet corn silage must obtain an MPCA permit.
Additional IBP guidance
Livestock truck washes
Livestock truck washes are regulated by either the MPCA’s feedlot or IBP program based on whether the truck wash is a private or public wash and whether it’s located at a feedlot. Use the livestock truck wash decision tree to determine which MPCA program has oversight in your situation and whether a permit is needed.
Vehicle wash and vehicle storage wastewater
Vehicle wash and vehicle storage wastewater may be land applied under certain circumstances as described in the land application of vehicle wash and vehicle storage wastewater guidance. Depending on the volume of wastewater land applied per year, a permit may be required. The IBP permit is used to permit this activity when required. When a permit is not required, submit a notification to land apply without a permit form as described above.