Composting has gained real momentum over the past couple of decades, and for anyone looking to build a substantial facility, getting the permit right is a gate you have to pass through. Many states now have compost-specific rules inside their solid waste management regulations, which streamlines the process for everyone involved. In North Carolina, the NCDEQ Division of Waste Management (DWM) oversees most composting permits. The Division of Water Resources handles mainly biosolids composting operations.
To successfully permit a composting facility, you need to know the rules, have a strong business plan, select a good site, and present an excellent application. Here's how each piece works.
Know the rules
NC Compost Rules 15A NCAC 13B .1400 provide the details you need to permit at the state level through NCDEQ DWM. For biosolids composting, refer to 15A NCAC 02T .1100. This page focuses on the DWM rules, but some things are applicable to the other rules in NC and in other states.
What applies to you depends mainly on two things: the size of your facility and the feedstocks you plan to compost. In general, there are three levels: exempt, notification, and permit.
The exemption (Rule .1402 (g)(2)) is aimed mainly at small food waste operations. If you keep no more than 100 cubic yards of material on site at any one time — not counting finished compost — on an operations area of less than 1 acre, and you meet the rule's conditions and Best Management Practices (BMPs), you can operate without a permit and without notifying the state.
A notification covers a Small Type 1 operation: yard waste composting on an operations area of less than 2 acres with no more than 6,000 cubic yards on site at any time. You still have to follow the rules, but instead of a permit application you submit a notification form each year. Everything else falls under the permit level.
The facility types
Within the permit level there are four sub-levels, called "types":
- Type 1: yard and garden waste, land-clearing debris, and untreated, unpainted wood waste.
- Type 2: pre-consumer, meat-free food processing waste, vegetative agricultural waste, source-separated paper, and other source-separated specialty wastes low in pathogens and physical contaminants.
- Type 3: manures, other agricultural wastes, meat, post-consumer source-separated food waste, and other source-separated specialty wastes high in pathogens but low in physical contaminants.
- Type 4: sludge, biosolids, industrial solid waste.
Build a strong business plan
A strong business plan later informs how much space you need, what equipment you need, what products will meet market demand, what your traffic will look like, and the other details that shape your site design. It pays to know your feedstocks intimately — that familiarity is what gives state regulators confidence in how you'll manage the material. Composting business plans vary widely depending on how you plan to operate and the region you're in. And they also inform what is going to happen on the site, what are the stages the material will go through, what equipment you need, where the feedstocks are expected to come from, and what you expect to do with the end product.
Select the right site
Your site must have enough room for every planned activity: material areas, office, maintenance, parking, and anything else you'll need. You also have to account for environmental features that may keep you from developing certain areas — streams, wetlands, rock — and for topography, which can either lower your construction costs or raise them.
The site must be zoned properly, and you need permission from the local jurisdiction for the composting you intend to do (size, feedstocks, method). That local approval is a prerequisite for the state permit. My suggestion is to work through both the local and state rules alongside your business plan and your capital and operating expenses as you pursue the local approval. Many times, the local approvals can be hard to obtain, especially if you have to go through a special permit request. Definitely understand both processes, everything that is required, and how long things will take to develop and to permit. Getting a clear expectation from the beginning can help manage expectations and develop a better plan.
Present an excellent application
NCDEQ DWM publishes solid guidelines to help you build a strong application. You need to clearly articulate how you'll meet each requirement. It helps to cite your sources and to include clear, sound calculations that support a well-defined site plan explaining each area of your composting process.
Alongside that, you'll need an Operational Plan covering your composting method and how you incorporate best practices. It should address screening for contamination, equipment, staff, fire prevention, compliance with time-temperature and pathogen requirements, compost sampling, markets, water and process-waste control features, site safety, contingency plans, and more.
One requirement worth planning for early: a NC-licensed Professional Engineer (PE) must prepare, sign, and seal the permit applications for Type 2, 3, and 4 facilities.
Depending on your proposed operation, there are additional requirements, such as environmental justice review, financial assurance, and stormwater discharge permits.
If you'd like help working through any of this — from reading the rules against your feedstocks to preparing a sealed application — that's the kind of work Wanu does. Get in touch.
Further reading: NCDEQ Composting