In this subchapter, the following terms apply:

(1) "Active compost" means organic material that is undergoing rapid decomposition in a controlled process.

(2) "Aerated static pile" means a forced aeration method of composting in which a free-standing compost pile is aerated by a blower moving air through perforated pipes located beneath the pile.

(3) "Aerobic" has the meaning provided in ARM 17.50.403.

(4) "Agricultural operations" means the production of plant and animal commodities, including livestock, poultry, or other animals.

(5) "Animal mortality composting" means the composting of wild animals, livestock, or poultry carcasses, including but not limited to: cattle (Bovinae); chicken and turkeys (Phasianidae); goats, sheep, and bison (Bovidae); moose, elk, and deer (Cervidae); and horses (Equidae).

(6) "Barn waste" has the meaning provided in ARM 17.50.403.

(7) "Biogas" is a mixture of carbon dioxide and methane produced during the composting process.

(8) "Biosolids" are nutrient-rich organic materials resulting from the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment facility.

(9) "Community garden compost operation" means a compost operation located at a community garden or in a neighborhood setting that: has less than one-half acre of working area; accepts less than 40 cubic yards annually; and accepts only yard and landscape compostable materials, clean and untreated wood chips, or vegetable food wastes.

(10) "Composting" has the meaning provided in ARM 17.50.403.

(11) "Composting amendment" means an ingredient added to raw materials included to improve the overall characteristics of the compost.

(12) "Composting process" means:

(a) static pile composting process;

(b) aerated static pile windrow composting process;

(d) vermicomposting;

(e) in-vessel compost process; or

(f) other processes approved by the department on a case-by-case basis for the controlled biologic decomposition of organic solid waste.

(13) "Curing" means the final stage of composting in which stabilization of the compost continues, but the rate of decomposition has slowed sufficiently to a point where turning or forced aeration is no longer necessary.

(14) "Facility" has the meaning specified in ARM 17.50.502.

(15) "Farm waste" has the meaning specified in ARM 17.50.403.

(16) "Feedstock" has the meaning provided in ARM 17.50.403.

(17) "Finished compost" is organic material produced by composting to the extent that the material will not reheat due to action of microorganisms when subject to optimum oxygen, moisture, nutrients, and temperature.

(18) "Floodplain" has the meaning provided in ARM 17.50.403.

(19) "Food waste" means food intended for human consumption that is discarded or uneaten.

(20) "Food waste residuals" means waste derived from households, commercial, or industrial facilities, including raw or cooked fruits and vegetables, grain, dairy products, meats, and compostable food service packaging that may be commingled. The term does not include offal from butchering and animal processing facilities.

(21) "Forced aeration" means supplying air to a compost pile or vessel by using blowers to move air through the material being composted.

(22) "Infectious waste" has the meaning specified in 75-10-1003, MCA.

(23) "In-vessel composting process" means a process in which compostable material is enclosed in a drum, silo, bin, or similar container under controlled conditions.

(24) "Leachate" has the meaning specified in ARM 17.50.502.

(25) "Major compost facility" has the meaning specified in ARM 17.50.403.

(26) "Minor compost facility" has the meaning specified in ARM 17.50.403.

(27) "On-site household composting" means the process of converting a family's yard, landscape, or residential food waste into compost within the family's private property.

(28) "Pathogen" means any organism capable of producing disease or infection, including, but not limited to, bacterium, protozoan cyst, parasite, virus, fungus, nematode, or helminth ovum.

(29) "Sewage sludge" or "septage" has the meaning specified in ARM 17.50.802.

(30) "Solid waste management system" has the meaning specified in ARM 17.50.403.

(31) "Vermicomposting" means the process by which worms convert organic waste into a nutrient-rich soil amendment.

(32) "Windrow composting process" means the process in which compostable material is placed in long, narrow, low piles, and aerated mechanically or by a forced aeration system.

(33) "Yard waste" has the meaning specified in ARM 17.50.403.

History: 75-10-204, MCA; IMP, 75-10-204, MCA; NEW, 2017 MAR p. 285, Eff. 3/11/17.