6101_PenlandCompost_RenewApplic_20181016

October 10, 2018
Ms. Donna Wilson
Environmental Engineer- Solid Waste Section
NCDENR
1646 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1646
Subject: Solid Waste Compost Permit Renewal/Permit Amendment Application
Penland School of Craft
P.O.Box 37
Penland, North Carolina 28765
Dear Ms. Wilson,
RECEIVED
SOLM WASTE SFCT'ON
Attached is the paper work for our Small Type III Solid Waste Compost Facility Permit renewal. This information
pertains to the five-year renewal for Penland School of Crafts Permit to Operate (Permit No. 6101-COMPOST). I
acknowledge that this request for review and submittal of facility plans is late and I apologize for my oversight. Our
operation and facility plans have remained the same since our initial application in 2012, with the only changes
made being an increase in efficiency.
I do hope all of the information provided completes the application for renewal. If you have any questions or
concerns, feel free to contact me at [phone].
Thank you for your time and patience in regards to this permit renewal process.
Sincerely,
Casara Logan
Assistant Operator of Solid Waste Management Facility
Gardener/Groundskeeper
David C. Sommer, P.E.
Permit Owner and Operator of Solid Waste Management Facility
Director of Facilities and Grounds

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section
Request for Permit Amendment
An application for the five-year renewal of a Permit to Operate
Penland School of Crafts
Small Type III Solid Waste Compost Facility
Permit No. 6101-COMPOST
October 10, 2018

Compost Facility Permit Renewal Request
Penland School of Craft
October 10, 2018
Section 1- General Information
Penland School of Craft is a not -for -profit institution located on approximately 420-acres located within Mitchell
County in Western North Carolina. We operate a Small Type 3 facility (Permit No. 6101-COMPOST) in accordance
with the North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (NCDENR). Located at 67 Doras Trail,
Bakersville, NC 28705, the school produces pre- and post- consumer food scraps and yard waste in which we
redirect/ convert into compost for use in our landscaping operations.
David Sommer is the Director of Facilities and Grounds for Penland School of Crafts and is the original applicant
and owner of the Permit to Operate, originally applied for and obtained in March of 2013. His address is P.O. Box
37, Penland, North Carolina, 28765 and his phone number is [phone]. His email address is
[e-mail].
Additionally, Penlands Gardener and Groundskeeper, Casara Logan, assists in the composting operations by
depositing feed stocks, maintaining the composting site, monitoring temperature, noting necessary data,
performing biannual testing of the finished product in accordance with 15A NCAC 13B.1408, and submitting
Annual Reports to the Division of Solid Waste. Casara's mailing address is P.O. Box 37, Penland, North Carolina,
28765 and she can be reached at [phone]. Her email address is groundskeepers7a penland.org.
Section 2- Siting Requirements
Information contained in the original permit application is complete and has not changed.
Section 3- Design Plan
The waste stream at our institution is produced on -site from existing operating processes, which include pre- and
post- consumer food scraps from the school kitchen and dining hall, as well as the adjoining Coffee Shop. In
addition, we incorporate wood chips, leaves, yard and garden waste, sawdust, and hay; all of which are
accumulated from campus landscaping operations. The waste used for our facilities composting process is all
arrived at internally, therefore we accept no residuals from the public, and the finished compost product is not
offered to the public. The compost produced is directly applied to our landscape.
Some characteristics of the waste types include:
• The amount of food waste produced at the dining hall, though it can change drastically
throughout the year based on student enrollment, often averages about 1000 pounds (.5 ton) a
week.
• The leaves are collected in the fall and are moved to/ accumulated at the site so as to be
integrated with the food waste to assist in achieving the proper carbon to nitrogen ratio.
Approximately 300 pounds of leaves are added to the compost a week when the operation is
active.

Compost Facility Permit Renewal Request
Penland School of Craft
October 10, 2018
• The wood chips come from tree trimming on campus. These limbs are mulched and then mixed
in with the compost at an average of approximately 300 pounds a week.
• Yard and garden waste comes from our lawns and flower, herb, and vegetable gardens. The
amount varies per week, but can be quantified- more or less- as an additional 75-100lbs per
week.
• The sawdust we incorporate is collected from the wood studio on campus and is incorporated
into the active bin at an average of 2 pounds a week.
• We periodically use hay from our fields and residual straw from garden beds at an average rate
of 6 pounds a week.
As reflected in our original application, the design capacity of our facility is approximately 50 tons. Our operation is
seasonal, reflecting when classes are in session. Therefore, all food waste collection and composting is done from
March through November.
The facility is located to conform to the requirements outlined in accordance with 15A NCAC 1313.1404, and to
minimize noise, vectors, air borne particulates, and odors produced by the process. The general area of the facility,
including stockpiles, windrows, turning/operating area, and compost bin is approximately 100' by 100'. That area is
at the top of a gently contoured meadow, so surface water run-on is extremely limited. The surrounding pasture
controls run-off. Leachate is controlled by absorbent feedstock material on the bottom of the compost bin,
collected and mitigated by absorbent sawdust and other feedstock's, and later incorporated back into the
compost.
Some important site characteristics are:
• The site is not within a designated floodplain
• There is greater than 100 feet of buffer to any property lines
• There is greater than 500 feet of buffer between the compost and any dwellings
• The site meets all surface water and groundwater requirements
• The site meets the requirements of the Sedimentation Pollution Control Law and the Air
Pollution Control Requirements
• The site location does not allow uncontrolled public access and minimizes odors at the property
boundary
Compost method, method for time and temperature monitoring, and process duration:
We receive the food waste in 20 gal. food grade plastic trash cans from the dining hall, collecting Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday morning while classes are in session, and weigh them to get an average weight of material
to be composted. We then fill the cans with yard waste and leaves to double the proportion of brown,
carbonaceous material to "green" food scraps. In addition, we add a bin of sawdust and/or wood chips to aid in
absorption and to insure the proper rations are met. All of this data is recorded.
Upon receiving the food waste, the scraps (layered with the appropriate ratio of leaves, sawdust, woodchips, and
yard waste) will sit in the pallet bin for approximately six to eight weeks in the Spring and Fall and for up to two

Compost Facility Permit Renewal Request
Penland School of Craft
October 10, 2018
weeks in the Summer. This reflects our seasonality of the school, which determines the quantity and rate of food
waste produced in our facilities.
Once our bin is full, we begin initiating the composting process. In this time, specific monitoring of the compost is
completed and records maintained such that proper reporting may be completed and to ensure that we produce
the highest quality product. The temperatures of the active and curing piles are tested, Monday through Friday,
with a 36" composting thermometer at various depths. Active piles will further reduce pathogens by the windrow
composting method and will remain at or above 131 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 days and will be turned, at a
minimum, of five times during that time period. That aeration is accomplished by a front end loader with a one ton
capacity.
Once this 2 week period of aeration and monitoring is complete, the pile is added to a windrow where it is turned
several more times and cured for at least 45 days. There it will sit for roughly a year. The following year, the pile is
passed through a quarter inch screen to reduce particle size of the final product and to determine the dry weight
percentage of foreign matter content, which is more often than not less than 1%, revealing that the larger particles
are organic materials, which are then added to the new compost bin as feedstock.
Once the product is screened, it is then applied directly to our garden and grounds as needed.
A process flow diagram of our facility is provided on the following page.
3

Compost Facility Permit Renewal Request
Penland School of Craft
October 10, 2018
Composting Process Flow Diagram
Food Scraps Yard waste Leaves/saw dust/woodchips
(+/-10001bs or .5 ton (+/-1001bs per week) (+/-6001bs or .3 tons a week)
A week)
Compost Bin
Screening
Campus use

Compost Facility Permit Renewal Request
Penland School of Craft
October 10, 2018
Section 4- Operational Plan
Our operation is a Small Type 3 facility that is not open to the public. The general area of the facility, including
stockpiles, windrows, turning/operating areas, and compost bin, is approximatly 100' by 100' and is accessed via
an approximate 1000-foot long gravel -surfaced all-weather drive off of Conley Ridge Road on the western portion
of the property. This site location does not allow uncontrolled public access and minimizes odors at the property
boundary.
The structures and equipment used at our facility are minimal, but effective. Our compost bin utilizes pallets (a
two -pallet by two -pallet structure). The food waste is collected and relocated from the dining hall/ kitchen in 20-
gallon food -safe trash cans utilizing a truck. The other feedstocks (leaves, yard waste, saw dust, and woodchips)
are collected on grounds manually throughout the year and stored on site to be incorporated into the compost bin
as necessary to achieve the necessary ratios, and we utilize a front end loader with a 1-ton capacity (owned and
maintained by Penland School of Crafts) to aerate and move the material.
Our composting process is equally minimal, being such a small facility, but effective. Food scraps are collected from
the dining hall/ kitchen Mondays, Wednsdays, and Fridays while the Schools Programs are operational (March -
November). The food waste is collected and transported in 20-gallon food grade plastic containers. It is
transported in the back of a school owned and maintained pick-up truck to the composting site where it is
transferred into the pallet constructed compost bin. The floor of this bin is lined with leaves, woodchips, and/ or
sawdust to soak up any excess moisture from food scraps and to prevent leachate. The food scraps are added as
evenly as possible, then mixed with woodchips, yard and garden waste, leaves and other feedstocks amounting to
roughly equal the volume of food scraps. A screen is then placed onto of the compost bin to keep out vermin.
When the compost bin is full, the contents are emptied and put into a stock pile at which time temperature
monitoring begins. We use a 36" composting thermometer at various depths to do so, and observe and record the
temperature every day in this time period to ensure that the internal temperature remains above 131 degrees
fahrenheit. During this time of monitoring, we turn the active pile a minimum of 5 times over a 15-day period.
After the initail 15 days of monitoring, the stock pile is added to a windrow which is turned several more times and
cured for at least 45 days. After this curing process, the windrow sits until the following season. Before the final
compost product is used/applied to grounds, it is passed through a %-inch screen to reduce particle size, and to aid
in determining the dry weight percentage of foreign matter content, which is more often than not less than 1%.
This determining of the percentage of foreign matter is part of the testing of the finished product we perform
before applying any of the finsihed product onto grounds.
The foreign matter testing, along with a metals anaysis and pathogen testing is all done in accordance with rule
.1408(a-d) and submitted to NCDENR Division of Waste Management bi- annually, since we produce less than
20,000 tons of compost annually. Records of the material temperatures, quantity of materials received, quanity of
material processed, date and frequency of aeration, quantity and type of compost produced (by classification),
quanity and type of compost removed, and analytical test results are all maintained for our records after being
submitted to the Division of Solid Waste by August 1 of each year for review.

Compost Facility Permit Renewal Request
Penland School of Craft
October 10, 2018
Contingency Plan
In the event our front end loader breaks down temporarily, the compost piles can be turned by hand. Fires can be
mitigated using a water tank on our pickup truck. Vectors can be trapped. Odors can be reduced by covering
compost with leaves or chips.
Section 5- Signature Pages
The Applicant Signature page will follow the application text; Page 7 of this document.
Section 6- Stormwater Discharge and Sedimentation and Erosion Control Plan
We have no proprosed construction modifications. Therefore the information contained in the original permit
application reflects our current status.
Section 7- Drawings
We have no proprosed modifications that would change the previously submitted drawings. Therefore the
information contained in the original permit application reflects our current status.
11

Signature page of applicant —
Name of facility ?ENLW'D SCROD r QF t-9z1\V-XS
I certify under penalty of law that this document and all attachments were prepared under my
direction or supervision and that the information provided in this application is true, accurate, and
complete to the best of my knowledge.
I understand that North Carolina General Statute 130A-22 provides for administrative penalties of up
to fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000.00) per day per each violation of the Solid Waste Management
Rules. I further understand that the Solid Waste Management Rules may be revised or amended in
the future and that the facility siting and operations of this solid waste management facility will be
required to comply with all such revisions or amendments.
Signature
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Print Name
61V S1toj(
Title
Business or organization name
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Date

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Feedstock of
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Note: Partial edited copy of Aerial Topographic Survey of Penland School of Crafts by Webb A. Morgan
& Associates dated June 23, 1999.
There are no land
Figure 2 Site Map
Penland School of Crafts
Penland, North Carolina
in Mitchell Countv, North Carolina at this time.
Penland School of Crafts
Helping People Live Creative Lives
SOURCE: Topogaphic Contour Map Scale: 1'=50'
Contour Interval: 2'