Permit application for vermicompost flush toilet (worm septic, solviva vermifilter)

I am working on getting approval for a permitted vermicomposting septic system on our rural property in New Mexico. If anyone has any research papers, data, or information that can help I would appreciate it!  I will share everything I have found as well.  I hope we can come up with a pool of resources to use in efforts to get systems approved by our local or state governments.

I have found other related threads here on Permies, especially lots of great information by and about Wendy Howard's work in Portugal, and about Anna Ebey's work in Massachusetts. Most of the posts are from 6-8 years ago. I would love more concrete references to the kinds of docs that building / environmental departments want to see before they will be convinced.

Here are some of the links and information I will be using in my application.  

Commercial systems available (to show acceptance elsewhere)
Naturalflow - a manufacturer in New Zealand selling vermifiltration septic systems https://naturalflow.co.nz/
Worm Farm Waste Systems - an Australian company providing vermifiltration septic systems https://www.wormfarm.com.au/
Waterflow - a wastewater treatment company in New Zealand comparing various types of treatment, including vermifiltration https://waterflow.co.nz/products/wastewater/
BioFiltro - a manufacturer which makes large-scale vermifiltration wastewater systems (for, e.g., dairy farms). BioFiltro was founded in Chile but also has a U.S. office and American clients such as wineries and dairies. https://biofiltro.com/

Wendy Howard's great resources
http://www.vermicompostingtoilets.net/why-worms/ lists several research papers -- especially useful if you have access to a university subscription or somesuch
http://www.vermicompostingtoilets.net/design-construction/ I will be using Wendy's open source design as reference material in my application, along with our specific drawings of what we intend to build based on her work, tailored to our site
http://www.vermicompostingtoilets.net/function-maintenance/ I will similarly use Wendy's maintenance information as reference material

If you know of any other resources I (or others) could include in our application packets, please add them to this thread!  Thanks so much.

(And HUGE gratitude to Wendy Howard for all of the great open source materials!)

I hope you are able to get it permitted. Maybe they will require that you call in a company to pump the "tank" after you plug the outlet pipe.

If you still can't get it permitted. Maybe you can have a IBC sized lift station that you then pump to your regular septic tank. It will just so happen that your lift station has woodchip in it.

S Bengi wrote:I hope you are able to get it permitted. Maybe they will require that you call in a company to pump the "tank" after you plug the outlet pipe.

If you still can't get it permitted. Maybe you can have a IBC sized lift station that you then pump to your regular septic tank. It will just so happen that your lift station has woodchip in it.

If worse comes to worst, I think they will let me have the worm bin but send the effluent needlessly into a septic tank. They won't make me dump the contents of the worm bin into the septic, because we are allowed to compost humanure here.

I have seen a worm system as mentioned from Australia working well.
The owners report it does the job well as far as they are concerned.
BUT they went away and the watchkeeper turned the power off to the system, killing the worms.
 The power point or switch should have had a lock, but nobody thought of it at the time.
That of course could happen with any system.

John C Daley wrote:I have seen a worm system as mentioned from Australia working well.
The owners report it does the job well as far as they are concerned.

Cool!  Great to hear!

John C Daley wrote: BUT they went away and the watchkeeper turned the power off to the system, killing the worms.
 The power point or switch should have had a lock, but nobody thought of it at the time.
That of course could happen with any system.

Thankfully the Solviva version does not use any power, so won't have that particular problem... On the other hand, being above ground, it might have other problems like freezing, etc.

Thanks for the info!

Looking at the Solviva plans, Anna Edey uses effluent pumps, so it does require power. Is there a way to ensure the effluent runs through the beds without a pump?

Amy Knutson wrote:Looking at the Solviva plans, Anna Edey uses effluent pumps, so it does require power. Is there a way to ensure the effluent runs through the beds without a pump?

Look at the links provided in the initial post, such as http://www.vermicompostingtoilets.net/

Kimi, I'm working on a permit for a vermicomposting system as well.  I've collected numerous technical papers and other information on the subject over the last couple of years as I've been putting together my application.  Are you after just resources on the effectiveness of blackwater treatment using worm composting vs distribution methods, build materials, etc.?  Or anything supporting the basic overall solviiva vermifilter type system end-to-end?

Burton Sparks wrote:Kimi, I'm working on a permit for a vermicomposting system as well.  I've collected numerous technical papers and other information on the subject over the last couple of years as I've been putting together my application.  Are you after just resources on the effectiveness of blackwater treatment using worm composting vs distribution methods, build materials, etc.?  Or anything supporting the basic overall solviiva vermifilter type system end-to-end?

Hi Burton,

Thank you for this post! Where are you applying for a permit? (what jurisdiction?)

Anything and everything could be helpful, although my last phone call with the NM environmental department made it sound like they had no interest in making it happen, and no deadline for responding to my application... but at least they haven't sent a rejection! I have also started looking into the possibility of working with area colleges/extension and/or Soil Water Conservation District folk to see if we could do some sort of pilot research project...

I would love to get everything you have if you are willing, and I am happy to share my full application with you as well if that would be helpful.  I would share my full application on Permies except that some of the resources required a signature that I would not share them on a public forum, and others are heavily plagiarized -- I used much of Wendy Howard's design doc in my own required "manual" and while I credited her fully and think this is appropriate use of the open source info, I wouldn't want to publish it on the forum as if its my work. I think sharing it with another individual working on their own application is OK though, and I am happy to do that! I will PM you with my email address.

Thanks again!

Technical papers:

Arora, Sudipti & Kazmi, A.A.. (2015). The effect of seasonal temperature on pathogen removal efficacy of vermifilter for wastewater treatment. Water Research. 74C. 10.1016/j.watres.2015.02.001.

Arora, Sudipti & Rajpal, Ankur & Kumar, Tarun & Bhargava, Renu & Kazmi, A.. (2014). Pathogen removal during wastewater treatment by vermifiltration. Environmental Technology. 10.1080/09593330.2014.911358.

Arora, Sudipti & Rajpal, Ankur & Kumar, Tarun & Bhargava, Renu & Kazmi, A.. (2014). A comparative study for pathogen removal using different filter media during vermifiltration. Water Science & Technology. 70. 10.2166/wst.2014.318.

Eastman, Bruce & Kane, Philip & Edwards, Clive & Trytek, Linda & Gunadi, Bintoro & Stermer, Andrea & Mobley, Jacquelyn. (2001). The Effectiveness of Vermiculture in Human Pathogen Reduction for USEPA Biosolids Stabilization. Compost Science & Utilization. 9. 10.1080/1065657X.2001.10702015.

Furlong, Claire & Patankar, Rohit & Thakar, Gouri. (2015). The development of an onsite sanitation system based on vermifiltration: the ‘tiger toilet’. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development. 10.2166/washdev.2015.167.

Furlong, Claire & Templeton, M. & Gibson, W.. (2014). Processing of human faeces by wet vermifiltration for improved on-site sanitation. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development. 4. 231. 10.2166/washdev.2014.107.

Guruprasad, Anaokar. (2015). Design and Suitability of Modular Vermifilter for Domestic Sewage Treatment. 3. 44-51.

Longmian Wang, Feihong Guo, Zheng Zheng, Xingzhang Luo, Jibiao Zhang, Enhancement of rural domestic sewage treatment performance, and assessment of microbial community diversity and structure using tower vermifiltration, Bioresource Technology, Volume 102, Issue 20, 2011, Pages 9462-9470, ISSN 0960-8524

Lourenço, Nelson & Nunes, Luis. (2017). Optimization of a vermifiltration process for treating urban wastewater. Ecological Engineering. 100. 138-146. 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.11.074.

Rajneesh Singh, Kundan Samal, Rajesh Roshan Dash, Puspendu Bhunia, Vermifiltration as a sustainable natural treatment technology for the treatment and reuse of wastewater: A review, Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 247, 2019, Pages 140-151, ISSN 0301-4797

Additional helpful resources:

Edey, Anna. “Green Light at the End of the Tunnel.” Trailblazer Press, 2014

Edey, Anna.  “Solviva: How to Grow $500,000 on One Acre & Peace on Earth.” Trailblazer Press, 2008.

www.susana.org

www.vermicompostingtoilets.net

www.vermifilter.com

World Health Organization, WHO Guidelines for the Safe use of Wastewater, Excreta and Greywater, Volume 1, Policy and Regulatory Aspects

Interestingly, it looks like Hawaii wants to explore the use of vermifilters.  See the latest slide deck from the Wastewater Alternatives & Innovations group here.

In rural Wyoming we're under the Department of Environmental Quality, Chapter 25: Septic Tanks, Soil Absorption Systems, and Other Small Wastewater Systems (link).  Fortunately, Section 6 was included "to encourage new technology and equipment".  That section requires the application to include:

Engineering design report, detailed construction, and technical specs for all piping, tanks, and equipment, signed off by a licensed engineer

Data from at least one of these: a comparable full scale, pilot run, theoretical evaluation, design flexibility for corrective actions

Other considerations might include:

Comparison against the criteria for a standard installation

Comparison of performance against a typical approved installation (e.g. septic tank and leach field)

Operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting

A slide presentation on the topic

I also appreciate the advice given in this post here about how to go about getting it approved

Fortunately, as you're aware, Wendy Howard has already put together some installation instructions, an operation and troubleshooting manual, and compiled some reference material at www.vermicompostingtoilets.net.  I'm tailoring the Conventional Septic System Application Package linked here.  I've compiled field data from several sources, but I'll save that for another post.
Since your codes appear particularly restrictive, you could consider proposing a design as closely aligned with approved septic and leach field standards as possible.  For example, I spoke with one plastic septic tank company who was willing to work with me to install a vermifilter crate inside one of their clamshell type septic tanks prior to closing and shipping (see www.infiltratorwater.com), and then install an outlet on the bottom.  Note, the crate was proposed at www.vermifilter.com to add aeration and double as the emergency bypass in case of clogging similar to the perforated pipe Wendy mentiond under Tank Drainage here.  For a leach field you could use a low profile infiltrator chamber (8 inch height) to keep the distribution as close to the surface as allowed.  Similar to the Hawaii project I referened yesterday, Anna Edey's intermediate "greenfilters" could be included in a large pot, tank, or IBC tote that was built with approved septic tank materials such as thermoplastic, concrete, or fiberglass.

Burton Sparks wrote:Technical papers:

Arora, Sudipti & Kazmi, A.A.. (2015). The effect of seasonal temperature on pathogen removal efficacy of vermifilter for wastewater treatment. Water Research. 74C. 10.1016/j.watres.2015.02.001.

Arora, Sudipti & Rajpal, Ankur & Kumar, Tarun & Bhargava, Renu & Kazmi, A.. (2014). Pathogen removal during wastewater treatment by vermifiltration. Environmental Technology. 10.1080/09593330.2014.911358.

Arora, Sudipti & Rajpal, Ankur & Kumar, Tarun & Bhargava, Renu & Kazmi, A.. (2014). A comparative study for pathogen removal using different filter media during vermifiltration. Water Science & Technology. 70. 10.2166/wst.2014.318.

Eastman, Bruce & Kane, Philip & Edwards, Clive & Trytek, Linda & Gunadi, Bintoro & Stermer, Andrea & Mobley, Jacquelyn. (2001). The Effectiveness of Vermiculture in Human Pathogen Reduction for USEPA Biosolids Stabilization. Compost Science & Utilization. 9. 10.1080/1065657X.2001.10702015.

Furlong, Claire & Patankar, Rohit & Thakar, Gouri. (2015). The development of an onsite sanitation system based on vermifiltration: the ‘tiger toilet’. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development. 10.2166/washdev.2015.167.

Furlong, Claire & Templeton, M. & Gibson, W.. (2014). Processing of human faeces by wet vermifiltration for improved on-site sanitation. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development. 4. 231. 10.2166/washdev.2014.107.

Guruprasad, Anaokar. (2015). Design and Suitability of Modular Vermifilter for Domestic Sewage Treatment. 3. 44-51.

Longmian Wang, Feihong Guo, Zheng Zheng, Xingzhang Luo, Jibiao Zhang, Enhancement of rural domestic sewage treatment performance, and assessment of microbial community diversity and structure using tower vermifiltration, Bioresource Technology, Volume 102, Issue 20, 2011, Pages 9462-9470, ISSN 0960-8524

Lourenço, Nelson & Nunes, Luis. (2017). Optimization of a vermifiltration process for treating urban wastewater. Ecological Engineering. 100. 138-146. 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.11.074.

Rajneesh Singh, Kundan Samal, Rajesh Roshan Dash, Puspendu Bhunia, Vermifiltration as a sustainable natural treatment technology for the treatment and reuse of wastewater: A review, Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 247, 2019, Pages 140-151, ISSN 0301-4797

Additional helpful resources:

Edey, Anna. “Green Light at the End of the Tunnel.” Trailblazer Press, 2014

Edey, Anna.  “Solviva: How to Grow $500,000 on One Acre & Peace on Earth.” Trailblazer Press, 2008.

www.susana.org

www.vermicompostingtoilets.net

www.vermifilter.com

World Health Organization, WHO Guidelines for the Safe use of Wastewater, Excreta and Greywater, Volume 1, Policy and Regulatory Aspects

Thank you so much for this, and for our off-line convesation as well. I thought it would be good to give a quick public update, and will check in with you via email as well.

We still do not have a permit. We have submitted a few versions of applications and a few responses to reviews since I last wrote. Still feeling hopeful!

Looks like we had a good overlap of references. I ended up whittling mine down to a handful for very specific purposes...

Here's what we ended up using in our applications:
References
1. http://www.vermicompostingtoilets.net/design-construction/ (the open-source basis for the design)
2. Sinha, R. K. (2008). Sewage treatment by vermifiltration with synchronous treatment of
sludge by earthworms: A low-cost sustainable technology over conventional systems with
potential for decentralization. The Environmentalist. (general concept & excellent data; peer reviewed research)
3. Arora Sudipti et al (2014). Pathogen removal during wastewater treatment by
vermifiltration. Environmental Technology. (super data, far beyond what is required of our primary treatment unit; peer-reviewed research)
4. Gupta, Himanshu (2015). A review on effectiveness of earthworms for treatment of
wastewater. International Journal of Engineering Development and Research (literature review; gives a good idea of the breadth of research)
5. Taylor, M. et al (2004). Characterizing The Physical And Chemical Properties of a
Vermicompost Filter Bed. Compost Science & Utilization. (gives good info on the structure of the bed and properties that make it so great for wastewater treatment in terms the engineers can understand re: water retention & treatment time in the open flow-through tank; peer-reviewed research)
6. Yadav, K.D. et al (2011). Vermicomposting of source-separated human faeces by Eisenia
fetida: effect of stocking density on feed consumption rate, growth characteristics and
vermicompost production. Waste Management (Link in lieu of article:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0956053X11000754) (Just included this as justification for our estimate of starting density of worms to specify in our system; peer reviewed research)
7. “Happy Worms All Winter Long!” article from NM Healthy Soils website. (to assuage concerns expressed about winter survivability of worms in our environment)
8. Ludwig, Art. Create an Oasis with Greywater. Oasis Design, 1991-2019. (to justify our piping design)

Kimi Iszikala wrote:I am working on getting approval for a permitted vermicomposting septic system on our rural property in New Mexico.

Update: we are now building our system, with a conditional permit from the state for an experimental vermifiltered septic system! We will need to collect water quality data for a year once it's in service before getting final approval. Then we hope to promote the concept and technology in our very rural and water-challenged state.

More info on our blog, brownkawa.com

Yay! I'm so glad you were able 5o get this going ill be moving to NM here in less than 2 months!!! I'm so excited and was hoping this could be an option!!!

My PDC instructor, Gary Williams, also happens to be a water engineer and widely regarded as The Go-to Guy in this country for dealing with rivers and wetlands in a holistic manner. He managed to get council consent to install what might have been the first Wormorator system in NZ several years ago and got the ball rolling for others to follow. His system's output goes to a food forest with a pond basin at the bottom and the water at that point is well within tolerances for human contact (just not drinking quality).

Phil Stevens wrote:My PDC instructor, Gary Williams, also happens to be a water engineer and widely regarded as The Go-to Guy in this country for dealing with rivers and wetlands in a holistic manner. He managed to get council consent to install what might have been the first Wormorator system in NZ several years ago and got the ball rolling for others to follow. His system's output goes to a food forest with a pond basin at the bottom and the water at that point is well within tolerances for human contact (just not drinking quality).

Excellent!! Thank you for sharing!