Regulation

Contents:

Goals
Nutrient Pollution
Overview of Rules Around the Cycle
► Collection
► Treatment
► Application
National Efforts
State Level Precedents

Goals

The goal of regulations that are encountered in the course of implementing resource recovery are to protect human and environmental health from harm. Source separation systems like urine diversion share this goal, protecting sensitive aquatic ecosystems from nutrient pollution and keeping nutrient-rich human wastes separated from industrial contaminants.

A patchy landscape of regulations comes into play for urine diversion infrastructure, with different rules governing the various steps from collection to treatment to application. Some regulations create challenges for urine diversion, while others create incentives for its adoption—for example, regulations that limit the discharge of nutrient pollution (in order to protect waterways) create an economic rationale for urine diversion.

Defining Urine

While many rules pertain to urine reclamation, this is largely through the interpretation of how broader categories apply to urine. One of the biggest challenges with regulation is the lack of a legal distinction between source-separated human waste and the residues of wastewater treatment (e.g. biosolids), which can have a greater variety of contaminants at higher concentrations and greater safety concerns.

Get Involved

The Rich Earth Institute and Mathew Lippincott host the US EcoSan Permitting Group to facilitate peer-peer knowledge exchange about state-level strategies for navigating & securing permitting pathways. 
To connect with others, join the US EcoSan Permitting Group.

For support permitting a project, Rich Earth and our partners (Mathew Lippincott, Nutrient Networks, and Point of Shift) offer regulatory consulting services as a collaborative group. Inquire about our consulting services by contacting .

Nutrient Pollution 

Regulations that protect watersheds from nutrient pollution can create economic incentives and sometimes legal requirements for the use of nutrient removal technologies in sensitive watersheds. In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency sets limits (known as Total Maximum Daily Loads, or TMDLs) for the total amount of nutrient pollution that is allowed to enter impaired watersheds. States are then required to develop plans to meet these limits through coordination with their municipalities.   

Common strategies for reducing the pollution from wastewater streams include expanding or creating new sewer systems or adding advanced treatment systems to septic systems. In addition to these strategies, urine diversion can be a complementary approach–and is both cheaper and quicker to implement. Making urine diversion count as a tool in the toolbox for watershed management plans is key to unlocking a core economic driver for urine reclamation systems in the US.

Overview of Rules Around the Cycle 

Human waste is regulated differently around the world. Our experience, and this document, are focused on regulations in the United States. Within the United States, regulations vary significantly by state, and even county, and continue to evolve. As people initiate urine reclamation programs across the U.S., they are working with regulators to establish permitting pathways and set new precedents for the regulation of the various aspects of urine diversion in each jurisdiction.

Collection

Permitting tanks can be a challenge. Urine can be collected in tanks either inside or outside of the building, and the exterior walls of a building delineate a jurisdictional boundary. Inside the building, plumbing and building codes govern toilets, pipes, and tanks. Plumbing codes frown on the installation of tanks, as they are a likely point of failure and overflow, often requiring a special permitting process or variance for their use. Outside the building, municipal sewer or onsite wastewater rules govern sewer pipes or septic and storage tanks. Much like the plumbing code, sewer and onsite codes usually frown on collection tanks. Additionally, coordinating these two jurisdictions to permit one system can be difficult.

Plumbing Permit

Urine diversion plumbing may require a permit from the local plumbing inspector, either through compliance with local plumbing codes or through a variance at the discretion of the inspector. No local plumbing codes include urine diversion; however, the optional ANSI/IAPMO Water Efficiency Standard (WE Stand) has included urine diversion since 2017, and the IPC committee recently supported the addition of a urine diversion appendix to the 2027 IPC. Code appendices and efficiency standards are optional and rarely adopted by jurisdictions. However, the official imprimatur of these optional codes improves the chances of receiving a variance.

Toilet Fixture Certification

To comply with plumbing codes, urine diverting toilet fixtures must be certified to a commercial product standard that guarantees their function and load bearing capacity. No urine-diverting toilet is currently certified to the current US toilet standard, ASME A112.19.2-2018. A variance will therefore be required for a toilet fixture. Proof that the toilet has met some standard (for example, EU standard EN 997) will be helpful in obtaining a variance.

Treatment

Treatment Rules in the US

At the time of writing, we are not aware of any rules specifically written to regulate the treatment of source-separated human urine for use in agriculture in the US. Regulators therefore have to interpret rules written for other purposes and apply them to urine.  In the US, the rules pertaining to sewage sludge (the residual solids from centralized wastewater treatment plants) and beneficial use of industrial wastes are the primary rules that explicitly relate to the use of human waste in agriculture. 

At the federal level, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Biosolids rules (as detailed by 40 CFR 503, commonly known as the “Part 503 rules”) are the framework that currently regulates how sewage sludge (biosolids) from wastewater treatment plants are managed and land applied. This framework is designed for a very different substance than source separated urine. Urine is a translucent liquid rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and with low disease risks and few opportunities for industrial contamination. Biosolids are a solid or semisolid residue of wastewater treatment that are mostly organic carbon, carries a high disease risk, and contains contaminants from a wide variety of domestic and industrial sources. While urine could be regulated as biosolid due to lack of precedent, this is not ideal, and is something to avoid if possible. 

Another possible framework for regulating urine is through state “secondary product” and “beneficial use” programs that seek to find valuable secondary uses for non-hazardous domestic and industrial waste products. These products are wide ranging, from coal ash and metal casting sands to and the dirt washed off of vegetables at food processing plants. While the EPA keeps a database of such programs,  each state has different requirements for product safety, testing, and oversight. Rich Earth permits in Vermont are through the Vermont Department of Conservation’s Waste Management and Prevention Division, who created a special category for urine, applying relevant biosolids treatment and testing requirements while waving others (see State Level Precedents: Vermont).

Yet another possible framework for regulating urine is through state-level water reuse programs. Many states have  water reuse programs for irrigating with treated industrial and municipal wastewater. Some urine recycling practitioners in the EcoSan Permitting Group are pursuing this pathway; however, most states have strict nutrient limits for reused water that would prohibit categorizing urine as reclaimed water.

Treating Urine for Reuse

Urine is typically very low in pathogens (though not truly sterile). The primary pathogen risk in working with diverted urine is from fecal cross-contamination.

For home-scale urine fertilization, World Health Organization guidelines clarify that treatment is not necessary prior to application, though certain handling and use guidelines are recommended, as detailed in our Guide to Urine Fertilizer in Home Gardens.

Beyond the scale of a single home, it is important to implement a pathogen management strategy. The following are two commonly used treatment methods: 

Storage

The simplest treatment method available today for pathogen reduction is storage in a sealed container at 68°F or higher for one to six months, depending on what kind of crop the fertilizer will be used for. This allows time for pathogens to be destroyed by the high pH and high ammonia levels found in stored urine. This method is recommended by the World Health Organization, but is not recognized by the EPA as a standard method for treatment. After applying for special permission from the VT DEC, we have received short-term permits (now expired) to use this method for treating urine for fertilizing hay.

Heat

Pasteurization kills pathogens with heat. The primary advantages of pasteurization over long-term storage are speed, ability to operate in cool weather, and official recognition by the US EPA and state environmental departments as an approved method for destroying pathogens in food products and  human waste. This is the method the Rich Earth Institute currently uses for treating all of our urine under a long-term permit from VT DEC. Rich Earth Institute’s spin-off company, Brightwater Tools, sells a patented urine pasteurizer that heats urine to over 176°F degrees and meets the EPA 503 standards for the use or disposal of sewage sludge. 

Thermophilic composting where temperatures above 55°C (131°F) are maintained in the pile for several days, is another method to achieve sufficient heat to kill pathogens, and is recognized by the EPA Part 503 standards.

Precedent: Compost for Good’s Human Urine Research and Demonstration project has an official registration from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and employs a unique composting process that uses diverted urine as a nitrogen source in a high-temperature composting regimen.  

Application

Fertilizer Permits

In some states, urine-derived products can be distributed as soil amendments without the need for a fertilizer license. In this case, no claims can be made on the product label about plant nutrients. For urine to be sold as a fertilizer, it must be accurately labeled in regard to its plant nutrient content, and it must be licensed as a fertilizer at the state level. Canada and the overwhelming majority of US states have adopted the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials (AAPFCO) Uniform Bill, and have fairly consistent fertilizer licensing requirements that follow AAPFCO fertilizer labeling standards. While there are many details to fertilizer rules, the primary requirement is to maintain concentrations of nutrients consistent with the product label. Achieving this consistency may require stabilizing and otherwise processing urine so that nutrients do not break down, volatilize, or precipitate out of solution.

Food Safety Modernization Act

The federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is focused on preventing pathogen contamination of food crops. The Produce Safety (PSR) rule of the FSMA regulates what type of human waste-derived fertilizers may be used on commercial farms to grow produce that is generally eaten raw (like tomatoes or summer squash).

The FSMA/PSR is very clear that it does not apply to non-produce crops like grains or hay, or produce not generally eaten raw, such as sweet corn or potatoes. Furthermore, farms that sell produce that is generally eaten raw, but that sell less than a certain dollar value of produce annually (approximately $31,000 in 2024), are exempt from the FSMA/PSR. Exempt farms must still ensure the safety of their produce (see “Safety section below”), and comply with whatever regional regulations govern use of urine as fertilizer in their locale, but they are not legally required to comply with FSMA-PSR.

Therefore the following activities are exempt from the FSMA/PSR:

In contrast, farms must comply with the FSMA/PSR if both of the following are true: 1) they sell produce that is generally eaten raw, and 2) they sell more than the cut-off dollar-value of produce of any kind. In this case, the only human waste-derived fertilizer that is allowed to be used for growing produce that is generally eaten raw is “sewage sludge biosolids used in accordance with the requirements of 40 CFR part 503, subpart D, or equivalent regulatory requirements.” 

Urine is physically quite different from biosolids, but the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (which enforces the FSMA/PSR in Vermont) has determined that urine is allowed under the FSMA/PSR if it is processed at a certified facility using a pathogen destruction method found in 40 CFR part 503, subpart D, which regulates treatment of biosolids. In the case of the Rich Earth Institute’s program, the method used is pasteurization. FSMA/PSR enforcement bodies in other states may have different interpretations of the rule.

Please note that this section represents our best understanding of the FSMA/PSR, but we are not experts in this area. Online resources such as this tool from the University of Massachusetts can help you understand these regulations in more detail. 

Organic Certification 

Is urine an allowable amendment on organic farms?

As of this writing, urine is neither explicitly allowed, nor explicitly prohibited by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) for use on certified organic farms. Therefore, it is within the purview of each state’s certifying agency to make that determination. 

The NOP does prohibit the use of “sewage sludge” on certified organic farms. However, there is a strong argument that urine diverted from the waste stream is not sewage sludge, because it is not a residue of wastewater treatment. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation classifies the urine that Rich Earth processes as a distinctly different product than “biosolids.” Rich Earth is working with regulators and others to clarify this situation. 

National Efforts

The Recode Model Code, a public domain code for ecological sanitation, continues to advance into the predominant North American plumbing codes. 

The 2015 Recode Model Code was incorporated into the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) Water Efficiency Standard (WE Stand) in 2017 and revised in 2020 and 2023. Rich Earth Institute contributed content and editorial oversight to the WE Stand project, along with several key collaborators. WE Stand is seen as an optional “reach code” beyond the requirements of IAPMO’s Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC).A proposal (P161-24) derived from the 2023 Recode Model Code to add the urine diversion portion into an appendix to the International Plumbing Code (IPC) was approved by the committee with a vote of 10 to 4 in 2024.  Mathew Lippincott (ASSET), Gary Klein (Klein Associates), and Bryan Horsley (MASSTC) testified on behalf of this proposal.

State Level Precedents

Vermont

Rich Earth Institute 

The Rich Earth Institute operates the nation’s first and largest fully permitted community-scale urine collection program. The collection, treatment, and distribution processes are permitted by the State of Vermont as follows:

Collection: The installation of urine-diverting bathroom fixtures and onsite urine storage tanks is regulated by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VT DEC) Onsite Wastewater Division. Our approved VT DEC permits include six different reference designs for plumbed and unplumbed urine diversion systems as Innovative and Alternative Technologies, allowing them to be installed anywhere in the state.  Urine transport is permitted through a Waste Hauler Permit from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.

Treatment: Storage and processing of urine at our Research Center, and application of the fertilizer product are permitted through a Solid Waste Management Certification from the Waste Management and Prevention Division of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VT DEC). The VT DEC requires the treatment and testing of urine according to selected provisions from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s 503 biosolids processes, which divides biosolids into “‘Class A’ and ‘Class B’ designations based on treatment methods. The different classes have specified treatment requirements for pollutants, pathogens and vector attraction reduction, as well as general requirements and management practices. Treatment processes for Class A biosolids eliminate pathogens, including viruses.” Our treatment process (the Brightwater Tools urine pasteurizer) treats urine according to these 503 Class A specifications by heating urine to 80°C degrees for 1.5 minutes. Our Vermont regulators have implicitly recognized that urine is distinct from biosolids; the residuals department applied most of the same requirements as for biosolids treatment, but waived some requirements, including vector attraction reduction and PCB testing. The resulting product is categorized as “EQ urine.” The urine is not technically a fertilizer, but rather a “soil amendment.”

Our Solid Waste Management Certification also includes the capability to compost toilet solids onsite, which is the basis for our planned community-scale composting service for local compost toilet owners. 

Fertilizer Certification: The Rich Earth Institute and Brightwater Tools have registered two urine-derived liquid fertilizer products in both Vermont and Massachusetts: a pasteurized urine product called U-Grow Standard, and a freeze concentrated version called U-Grow Concentrate. 

Toilet Composting: Rich Earth is working to create a new program offering community-scale toilet composting. In parallel with our urine collection program, this service will offer Vermonters a legal pathway to turn their compost toilet contents into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. This pathway will offer an alternative to current legal pathways—applying for expensive shallow burial permits, landfilling, or sending to a wastewater treatment plant—while generating a valuable product. Learn more and sign up here.

Wasted*

The portable toilet company Wasted* also operates in Vermont, and has both a Solid Waste Management Certification and Waste Hauler Permit. Wasted* also employs struvite precipitation in their treatment train, and has registered their production of struvite (branded as WeeBloom) as a fertilizer product in both Vermont and Massachusetts.

Massachusetts 

Urine diversion counts as a tool for nutrient pollution prevention in Falmouth’s EPA-mandated watershed management plan, unlocking key municipal funding opportunities. Buildings in nitrogen sensitive areas are required to have nitrogen removal systems unless the jurisdiction has a watershed management plan. In regions with watershed management plans, other strategies can be employed – including urine diversion systems. 

Fertilizer Certification: The Rich Earth Institute and Brightwater Tools have registered two urine-derived liquid fertilizer products in both Vermont and Massachusetts: a pasteurized urine product called U-Grow Standard, and a freeze concentrated version called U-Grow Concentrate. Wasted* also employs struvite precipitation in their treatment train, and has registered their production of struvite (branded as WeeBloom) as a fertilizer product in both Vermont and Massachusetts. 

New York

Compost for Good’s Human Urine Research and Demonstration project has an official registration from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and employs a unique composting process that uses diverted urine as a nitrogen source in a high-temperature composting regimen. 

Michigan

The University of Michigan has a specialty fertilizer certificate for their urine from the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development.

Oregon

The PAE building’s urine diversion sanitation system is operated by Nutrient Recovery Services, who  have approved fertilizer labels for their urine-derived struvite and aqueous ammonia products from the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

The Kailash EcoVillage has compost toilets approved through the City of Portland’s Alternative Technology Advisory Committee as meeting the IAPMO WE-Stand standards for site-built composting and urine-diverting toilet systems, described above under ‘National Efforts’. As described in this article from the International Water Association, Kailash’s “compost and urine pathogen testing met American National Standards Institute and NSF International Standard 41 requirements.”

Arizona 

The Watershed Management Group has pioneered a pathway with the state to disseminate permitted compost toilet kits. Their designs are recognized as non-proprietary “reference designs” by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (AZDEQ).

Get Involved