This fact sheet contains guidance and instructions for completing the attached Form - Proposal to Land Apply Soil from Agricultural Chemical Incidents.
Completion of the land application form or selected portions may not be required for an emergency cleanup of spills, for small quantities of soil, or for other unusual circumstances. Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) staff will determine when completion of the land application form will be required.
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR PROPOSAL FORM
- Answers that cannot be completed in the space provided on the form may be continued on a separate page.
- Attach all of the items listed in Land Application Note #10 to your application form.
- Submittal Timing: To expedite the review and approval of your proposal form, MDA staff recommend the following procedure:
- Prior to submitting the complete proposal form, submit page 2 of the form (Item 8 - Contaminant Quantity and Application Rate Calculations) to the MDA for preliminary screening as outlined in Item 9 of the Instructions for Completion of Proposal to Land Apply Soil, and
- Submit the Form – Proposal to Land Apply Soil from Agricultural Chemical Incidents in the summer or winter, rather than during the spring or fall land application season, to allow sufficient time for MDA review and approval and/or modifications as needed.
- Liquids and Rinsates: For land applying liquids or rinsates from agricultural incidents, fill out and follow all instructions as if the liquid or rinsate was pesticide-contaminated soil (except that the quantity of pesticide must be based on the total weight of the liquid or rinsate).
- Questions for MDA Staff: If you have questions regarding this form, please contact the MDA staff familiar with your site.
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR EXCAVATION AND LAND APPLICATION OF SOIL
- Soil Consolidation: Do not consolidate soil excavated from different areas of a facility unless prior approval to do so is obtained from MDA staff.
- Individual Soil Piles: Proposals to land apply individual soil piles should be prepared and evaluated separately (see Land Application Note item 8 and Instructions item 8 of this fact sheet).
- Same-Season Applications: The pounds of pesticides in the land-applied soil must be accounted for when calculating additional routine pesticide applications in the same season. Specifically, the sum of the pesticides in the land-applied soil plus the subsequent routine applications in the same season (or the following season, in the case of fall land-spreading) shall not exceed label rate restrictions for any pesticide applied. For instances involving nitrogen spills or high soil-nitrogen content, the applied nitrogen must be considered when calculating nitrogen credits for the receiving field(s). The owner of the proposed application property must be informed of the amount and type of pesticide and/or the pounds of nitrogen in the land-applied soil.
- Safety Factor for Soil Pile Hot Spots: A safety factor must be built into the proposed spreading rate to account for “hot spots” in the soil pile or the effects of pesticide mixtures. There are several ways to create a safety factor; these are described in Instructions 8a, 8c, and 8f of this fact sheet.
- Apply to Labeled Crop: Pesticide-contaminated soil must be spread on a currently labeled site or crop in a manner consistent with the label directions. For annual crops, the crop must be present on the application area during the current season. If land-spreading takes place in the fall, the crop must be present on the application area the following season.
- Comply with Label Requirements: As part of the land application approval, you must comply with all label requirements for the pesticides involved and listed on the signed application summary. These include, but are not limited to, the Worker Protection Standards, the Federal Record Keeping Requirements, posting requirements, and notification requirements. If you need additional information on any of these requirements, contact the MDA project staff or the Minnesota Extension Service.
- Vulnerable Groundwater Area Map Restrictions: Prior to completing the proposal form, check the Vulnerable Groundwater Area Map | Minnesota Department of Agriculture (state.mn.us) to identify any restrictions to fall land application of nitrogen for your specific application site. Fall applications of nitrogen-contaminated soil can still be made in restricted areas with MDA approval.
LAND APPLICATION NOTES
- Additivity: Certain pesticides share similar biological activity, and therefore, must be summed for application calculations to prevent crop damage. This policy is based upon information from pesticide manufacturers and pesticide labels. For example, the product label for Prowl (pendimethalin) states that it is additive with trifluralin. The product compounds that must be summed are those not usually used together in the same crop year.
Based on this information, you must add the following compounds:
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- Acetanilide Herbicides (acetochlor, alachlor, propachlor, metolachlor and dimethenamid)
- 2,4-D & 2,4-DB, MCPA
- All Triazine herbicides (atrazine, cyanazine, metribuzin, prometon, propazine, simazine, bromoxynil); triazines and nitrile herbicides (bromoxynil) both act as Photosystem II Inhibitors
- EPTC, butylate, diallate, and triallate
- All nitroaniline herbicides (trifluralin, pendimethalin, ethalfluralin, etc.)
- Chlorpyrifos, terbufos and fonofos
- Carboxylic acid insecticides (clopyralid, picloram, triclopyr)
- Fomesafen and sulfentrazone
- Mesotrione and tembotrione
- Flumetsulam and imazethapyr
- Bifenthrin and lambda-cyhalothrin
- Glyphosate and AMPA
- Total nitrogen = nitrate nitrogen + Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN)
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The application credit on each additive compound is based on the total pounds of combined compounds divided by the application acreage. The total pounds value is credited to each individual compound of the additivity calculation. For example, for a summed total of 10 pounds of alachlor + metolachlor applied to 5 acres would result in a 2 pounds per acre for application credit for alachlor and 2 pounds per acre application credit for metolachlor, which is listed on item 15j of the form. Item 15j lists the application credit in pounds per acre for each contaminant for the field receiving the contaminated soil.
- Post-Emergent Applications: For post-emergence applications, application credits must include any pre-plant or pre-emergence applications of the same active ingredient.
- Incorporation Timing: Except in cases where incorporation is prohibited by the label (example: Prowl label prohibits pre-plant incorporation on corn) or in cases where a crop is present, land-applied soil must be incorporated as soon as possible after application.
- Atrazine: Generally, fall applications of contaminated soil piles containing atrazine will not be approved. Exceptions may be made, such as in cases where the atrazine contamination is very low in comparison to the other contaminants or where extenuating circumstances prevent spring application. MDA staff should be contacted for approval prior to proposing fall application of soils containing atrazine.
- Incompatible or Canceled Products: Land-spreading incompatible products may be approved in cases where the application rate will not result in crop injury or illegal crop residues. Contact the MDA staff familiar with your site for assistance with piles containing canceled products or products which are incompatible with the crop selected.
- Trifluralin: Trifluralin application to corn is only labeled for post-emergent applications. Pre-emergent applications of trifluralin to corn may be approved by MDA staff in cases where trifluralin is not the limiting pesticide, as long as the application rate will not exceed 0.18#/acre which is ½ of the phytotoxic level for a pre-emergent application on corn.
- Dicamba: Land applications containing dicamba should be made to corn or dicamba-resistant soybeans. All applications must be made in accordance with label rates and cropping restrictions. Review specific label restrictions and discuss with MDA staff.
- Field Maps: The field(s) to be used for land application must be clearly marked (without obscuring map details) on all maps submitted to the MDA for review. If you are not using the entire field, only mark the portion of the field(s) which you plan to use for spreading.
- Multiple Fields: You must have a separate, signed application summary for each field which will have different application credits (see Instructions for Items 15a through 15h).
- Items to be Submitted with a Form: All of the following items are required before MDA staff will review your land spread application (unless prior approval for changes is received from MDA staff):
- Completed Form – Proposal to Land Apply Soil from Agricultural Chemical Incidents with all questions answered.
- Signatures on Item 15 of Form – Proposal to Land Apply Soil from Agricultural Chemical Incidents as required.
- Legible copies of all maps (topographic, plat, and soil maps are required) with the application site(s) clearly marked (see Land Application Note #8).
- Copies of all analytical data and application rate calculations; and,
- Copies of required documentation for notification of local units of government (Item 13).
- Note: if requesting the MDA provide a preliminary review of the proposal to land apply, you only need to submit Item 8 – Contaminant Quantity and Application Rate Calculations of the form.
| Item | Instructions |
|---|---|
| 3 | Land application is prohibited on the following areas (use USDA soil map and USGS topographic map for reference): Soils with slopes greater than 6 percent; floodplains (soils mapped occasionally or more frequently flooded); within 200 feet of a well, abandoned well or sinkhole; within 200 feet of a perennial or intermittent stream, river, lake, pond, reservoir or wetland; and soil types specifically prohibited for application on the label of the limiting pesticide. |
| 4 | If the site has been used for waste disposal activities or land application of pesticide-contaminated soil in the past 36 months, another site must be selected. |
| 5 | Soil from agricultural chemical incidents may not be land applied after the excavated soil pile is frozen. Excavated soil may be land applied to a frozen ground surface only if the applied soil can be incorporated and if there are no label restrictions against incorporation for the limiting product (see Land Application Note #3). |
| 8 | In most cases, soil samples must be collected from the excavated soil pile and analyzed for a list of parameters which is approved by MDA staff. The resultant concentrations are used to calculate the quantity of pesticide and/or nutrients present. The pile must be sampled in a manner that represents the entire pile, including the suspected area of highest concentration (see MDA Guidance Document 11 Soil Sampling Guidance for information on sampling contaminated soil piles). An alternative to sampling the soil pile is to use in-situ analytical data (see item 8C) obtained during the remedial investigation (prior MDA approval is needed to use in-situ data and is usually only given if you have recent sampling and analysis). |
| 8A | List all contaminants detected in the soil individually, unless the products are to be combined due to additivity (see Land Application Note #1). Additive compounds must be listed together on the same line. |
| 8B | For pesticides, consult current EPA product labels for completion of this column. The label selected for each pesticide must be for the product spilled if known. If the product is not known, select the label for the product most commonly handled at the spill site. In cases where pesticides are additive, you must choose the label for the contaminant which was detected at the highest level. |
| 8C |
In cases where pesticides are additive: average or maximum concentrations of additive compounds must be added together (not averaged). For completion of the rest of this table, the total will be treated as a single detected compound.
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| 8D |
Calculate the total quantity (in pounds) for each contaminant, using the concentration from column C (as described below). This calculation assumes a soil density of 2400 lb/yd3; alternatively, the site-specific soil density may be used. |
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| 8E | If the pesticide is not labeled for corn or soybeans, cross out the unlabeled crop and write in the labeled crop(s) selected. |
| 8F | Using the label from column 8B, enter ½ of the lowest application rate listed for the soil texture and soil organic matter content (listed in item 7) and selected crop(s) at the proposed application site. If a pesticide is not labeled for a listed crop, fill in "N/A". The use of ½ of the lowest application rate builds in a safety factor. Prior MDA approval must be obtained for higher application rates. For nitrogen assume an application rate of 100 pounds per acre. Alternatively, consult "Fertilizer Recommendations for Agronomic Crops In Minnesota," 1990 Minnesota Extension Service Bulletin AG-MI-3901 (or current version), for crop-specific application rates. |
| 8G | For each crop listed and contaminant present, calculate the area required (in acres) to land apply the excavated soil using the total quantity (item 8D) from the excavated soil pile and the application rate (item 8F). |
| To calculate the minimum area required to land apply soil: divide: (total quantity)/(application rate in pounds per acre) = minimum acreage required | |
| 9 | At this point, you may stop and mail or fax a completed copy of page 2 (item 8) of this form to the MDA for preliminary screening. MDA staff highly recommend this approach because the most common reason for application rejections or changes involves the selection of the appropriate crop and the proposed application acreage. (See Land Application Note #5) |
| 9a | Using the information in item 8, select the crop to be planted at the identified site. The selected crop should be the one that all of the contaminants are labeled for. If all contaminants are not labeled for the same crop, select the crop which will result in the best fit for the products detected, the total quantity of pesticides, and the label application rates. Note: if the application site initially identified in item 3 will not be planted to the crop you select, a new site must be selected, and the information contained in item 3 of this form must be changed to reflect the newly selected site. |
| 9b | After selecting the crop, find the pesticide in item 8 which requires the greatest number of acres (column 8G) for the crop selected. This is the limiting pesticide for the selected crop. If the limiting pesticide is Metribuzin, you cannot land apply the soil to a field with sandy soils that have less than 2% organic matter. |
| 9c | The minimum application acreage required is the highest number of acres in column 8G for the crop selected. When selecting the appropriate acreage for the soil pile, adjustments must be made for incompatible products, canceled products and hot spots in the pile. To make these adjustments, you may need to increase the application acreage (see Land Application Notes 5 & 6). |
| 9d | Circle the anticipated application timing (spring or fall) or list if Other. |
| 10 | It is important to thoroughly mix the soil pile before it is loaded into the spreading equipment. Special attention must be directed at eliminating hot spots (mixing zones of suspected greater contamination within the pile with zones of lesser contamination). Crushing, pulverizing, screening, and/or sorting may be required to remove large debris which is not desirable in the field or may either damage application equipment. |
| 11 |
Application rates below 1 yd3/acre are typically not approved because the spreading equipment generally is incapable of uniformly spreading below this rate. If MDA staff believe that the application rate proposed is not reasonable for the equipment proposed, equipment testing and calibration using clean soil may be required, prior to approval of land spreading for contaminated soil. Equipment such as lime or manure spreaders can adequately spread contaminated soil, turn pulls and scrapers generally cannot. |
| 15a | List the source and volume (ex: area 1, 45 yards) of the soil to be land applied. If you plan to spread soil from more than 1 soil pile on one field, list all sources and volumes and the total volume for all areas listed here (the total will be equal to the volume listed in Item 6 of the application). |
| 15b | Fill in the selected crop from Item 9a of this form. |
| 15c | Fill in the application acreage from Item 9c of this form. If you plan to spread more than 1 pile to the same field, list all soil sources and their required acreages. |
| 15d | Divide total volume of soil to be spread (listed in 15a) by the acres to be used (listed in and enter the result here). |
| 15e | Fill in the application timing from Item 9d of this form. |
| 15f | Circle Yes unless the label of the limiting pesticide prohibits incorporation. All land applied soils must be incorporated as soon as possible after application unless prohibited by the label of the limiting pesticide. |
| 15g | Circle Yes if the soil is to be mixed before application, or circle No if the soil does not require mixing. Examples where mixing is necessary include sites where an average concentration was used or sites where more than one pile are to be mixed together before application. |
| 15h | Fill in the legal description of the proposed application site from Item 3f of this form. If the soil is to be land applied to more than one field, list the locations of all fields receiving soil from the same area or pile (if the fields are owned or operated by more than one individual, use separate application summaries for each field and each owner). |
| 15i | List each contaminant detected in this column, starting with the limiting pesticide, and continuing with pesticides requiring progressively smaller application credits. With the exception of nitrogen, pesticides which were listed together due to additivity must be listed separately (see land application Note #1). You do not need to list contaminants which will result in an application credit less than 0.01 pounds/acre for the number of acres proposed unless the label rates are at or below this level. |
| 15j | For all compounds listed, including those combined in Table 8 due to additivity, the Application Credit = total quantity divided by (item 8D) acres to be used (item 15c). If you plan to spread soil from more than one soil pile on one field, calculate the application credits for each compound using one of the following methods: 1) If you plan to thoroughly mix the soil piles prior to land application, write "Piles will be mixed" on the application summary and calculate the rate using the total quantity of each pesticide in all of the piles to be applied; or 2) If you plan to spread each pile separately, without mixing, list the highest calculated Application Credit from all piles. |
| 15k | The agreement must be signed by all of the “parties”, and the MDA, before land application can begin. |
The form may be submitted for contingent approval, without all the signatures if: the signatures are obtained prior to spreading, and a copy of the form, with all of the signatures, is submitted to the MDA within 10 days after starting the spreading.
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