The Fairbanks City Council is considering asking for voter approval to help a local water utility fund an addition to the city-owned wastewater treatment facility.

An ordinance sponsored by Mayor Jerry Cleworth would place a question on the October ballot asking voters to authorize the mayor to apply for and accept a loan of up to $4.6 million from the Alaska Clean Water Fund. Golden Heart Utilities would then use this pass-through loan to replace the sludge dewatering system at the Peger Road Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The ordinance will likely be voted on at the August meeting.

The city sold its utility system to a consortium of buyers in 1997 and Golden Heart Utilities eventually purchased the water supply system. The utility chooses to lease the wastewater treatment portion of the system from the city for $33,075 per month because it believes it’s more advantageous to continue leasing, even though it costs $400,000 per year, according to Cleworth. Over the course of the utility’s arrangement with the city it has paid $5.6 million in lease payments, $4 million of which has gone into the city’s permanent fund, according to Cleworth.

If the question is put on the ballot and voters approve the loan it will benefit ratepayers, according to Cleworth. The ordinance also would ask voters to approve an additional loan of $650,623 for a clarifier project and to ratify a previous loan with a current balance of $637,830 for prior improvements at the wastewater treatment facility.

The current dewatering facility is nearing the end of its useful life and a new facility would increase the amount of water removed from the sludge and reduce the total sludge volume and the plant’s operating expenses, according to the ordinance.

A city of Dover environmental consultant says he is pleased to hear the EPA is considering a more lenient restriction for nitrogen discharge stemming from local wastewater treatment plants.

Rather than the 3 milligram per liter limit for nitrogen discharge that most Great Bay watershed communities are facing, Portsmouth has been told to expect a less severe 8 milligrams per liter limit.

Dean Peschel, an environmental consultant for Dover and a representative of those affiliated with the Great Bay Municipal Coalition, recently said he was "cautiously encouraged" to hear the city of Portsmouth received correspondence from the EPA detailing a less strict nitrogen discharge permit than what has been proposed for other communities.

In December of last year, Dover received a drafted version of a permit for its wastewater treatment facility indicating that significant reductions in the amount of nitrogen being discharged from the plant into Great Bay Estuary would be included in the next permit cycle.

To reduce Dover's discharge levels down to the 3 milligrams per liter limit proposed by the EPA from the city's current operating levels of an average of 20 milligrams per liter, it would require roughly $22 million in technology upgrades to the city's plant.

For the past year, Dover and a coalition of communities including Portsmouth, Exeter, Newmarket and Rochester have argued with EPA representatives that such a strict limit will not appropriately address the degrading health of Great Bay, citing nitrogen as only a small fraction of the overall problem. These cities and towns stressed meeting the EPA's proposed 3 milligram per liter limit would be extremely costly and ultimately unsustainable for communities.

Still dedicated to addressing the declining health of Great Bay Estuary, coalition communities developed an adaptive management plan that suggested a reduction in nitrogen discharge to a level of 8 milligrams per liter and continuous studies of the bay to determine what other actions towns and cities could take to strengthen the bay's health.

To meet the 8 milligrams per liter limit, the city of Dover would be faced with making roughly $10 million in upgrades as opposed to $22 million to meet the 3 milligrams per liter limit proposed by the EPA.

Despite countless meetings with EPA and Department of Environmental Services officials, it seemed as if the coalition's request to meet a less strict nitrogen discharge limit of 8 milligrams per liter continued to fall on deaf ears. However, correspondence delivered just this past week to one of the coalition communities indicates otherwise.

Portsmouth received a letter on July 31 from a regional EPA administrator indicating the agency expects to draft a permit for the Port City that will require nitrogen to be discharged at no more than 8 milligrams per liter. This proposal would spare the city from having to reach the more strict 3 milligram per liter limit the EPA has proposed for communities such as Dover, Exeter and Newmarket.

As a result, Portsmouth could be spared from having to spend millions of dollars in upgrades for its wastewater treatment plant.

Peschel noted Dover has not been told by the EPA to expect a revised version of the draft permit the city received last year. However, he stressed the environmental agency still has the opportunity to do so.

Peschel noted he will meet with representatives of the EPA to talk about the potential of revising Dover's draft permit.

Although it is unclear which nitrogen discharge limit Dover will ultimately have to adhere to, the city is taking a proactive approach to addressing the health of Great Bay.

On July 25, the City Council authorized spending roughly $500,000 to draft a design plan for upgrades to the city's wastewater treatment plant that will immediately bring Dover's nitrogen discharge levels to an 8 milligrams per liter limit. Wright Pierce Engineers of Portsmouth was selected to draft an upgrade plan for the more than 20-year-old facility.

City officials asked that Wright Pierce include in the plan ways Dover's plant could be additionally upgraded in the future to meet the EPA's suggested 3 milligrams per liter limit if it is found to be necessary.

Tidewater Environmental Services is negotiating to acquire and upgrade an ailing wastewater treatment system in Sussex County, Delaware’s natural resources secretary said.

The aerial-spray wastewater system at The Plantations, a residential development near Lewes, apparently had a leak in the treatment lagoon’s liner.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) fined the facility’s owner, YMG Corp., about $300,000 for violating the Clean Water Act.

DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara said he was concerned that the lack of maintenance, and the company’s lack of money to perform the repairs needed, had the potential to affect local drinking water wells if not addressed. YMG has made a short-term fix, but much more work is needed, O’Mara said. That includes replanting the spray fields and repairing flow meters, as well as routinely checking the integrity of the lagoons, and tracking nitrates in the groundwater, according to a DNREC document.

Tidewater is negotiating with YMG to acquire the facility and the rights to serve the territory, O’Mara said. The transfer of YMG’s territorial rights would need to go through the Public Service Commission.

O’Mara said that if Tidewater invests the amount of the penalty into upgrading the system, DNREC is willing to waive the penalty.

O’Mara said his department is looking at all of the community-owned systems across the state to see which are failing.

Islamorada is waiving the competitive bidding process for a portion of its centralized, village-wide wastewater treatment system to ensure it meets the deadline to qualify for $20 million from the state.

Islamorada officials ended negotiations with the two international firms chosen in June to design and build the system. They made the decision because the contract’s language was changed after the village mayor signed it. Ending negotiations with Veolia Water North America and AECOM was a unanimous decision by the council, but it put in jeopardy $20 million the state Legislature set aside for sewer work earlier this year. The village must have a construction contract signed by Sept. 1 to receive the grant money.

Reynolds Inc., the Indiana firm that was beat out by Veolia/AECOM, is now back in negotiations with the village to design and build the project. Reynolds was acquired by Layne Christensen, a Kansas-based engineering firm, in 2005, and is now operating under that company’s name.

Veolia/AECOM officials said they could build the system — a pipeline to the Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District’s mile marker 100.5 plant — for about $94 million. Layne Christensen representative Wesley Self said his company could do it for about $90 million.

But negotiations with Layne Christensen could take longer than the Sept. 1 deadline, said Nina Boniske, the village’s contracted attorney. She said in the meantime, the grant money could still be available if the village secures a construction contract for the middle Plantation Key collection system. That project has already been designed by Islamorada’s contracted engineering firm, Wade Trim.

Boniske said the collection-system project was included in the scope of the request for proposals submitted by both Veolia/AECOM and Layne Christensen. Based on their submissions, the project would cost between $8 million and $11 million to build.

Under state law, the village must publicly advertise 30 days for bidders for a project that size. But a municipality can receive a waiver "in the event that the funding source for the project will be diminished or lost because that time required to competitively award the project after the funds become available exceeds the time within which the funding source must be spent."

Which company the village is leaning toward to construct the project is not clear.

Recently, the Dallas City Council reviewed a contract with Stevenson & Palmer for the design of a new 1.5-million-gallon wastewater treatment plant.

Design and construction of the new plant and decommission of the current plant is estimated to cost $15.5 million.

Recently the Perry City Council voted to allow engineers to design upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

The council chose Constantine Engineering to design the first phase of upgrades at the plant. The City Council has discussed the plant upgrades since about 2007.

The council’s decision moves the project into the first phase of the design process, which requires state approval before the groundbreaking. The first of an undetermined number of phases is expected to cost about $3.88 million. Bonds issued in 2007 will be used for funding.

Franklin County is moving forward with plans for the construction of water and sewer lines and a wastewater treatment plant.

For the past two years, the county has been working on the design of the new system and on securing funding for it, but found out earlier this year that it had little chance of getting any federal money to pay for the original $9 million project.

At a recent county commissioners meeting, the board heard from the engineers hired to create and submit the project for funding.

Wes Hulsey and Tom Bowman of Hulsey McCormick & Wallace Inc. in Greenville, SC, presented an overview of where the project stands now and their recommendations for securing funding.

The original design called for building a new sewage plant in Carnesville and extending the sewer and water lines. However, Bowman pointed out that plan called for doing an archeological survey and disturbing wetlands at a cost of some $3 million. Bowman recommended using the existing Carnesville treatment plant site instead.

"Since we already have a site that has a wastewater treatment facility in Carnesville, we can basically take the existing footprint offline and we can build a new facility," Bowman said. "That eliminates the need to do an archeological and historical evaluations that we had to do up front before we could even see if funding was available." That brings the newly revised project price down to $6.4 million, which is within the USDA's funding parameters.

The new sewer design will also allow for growth and will be able to handle up to 1 MGD of wastewater over the next 10 to 20 years.

The commission voted to adopt the new plan and pay the engineers $5,000 to cover the cost of submitting a new funding application for $6.4 million from the USDA. The application should be ready to submit in September with funding expected in the next fiscal year.

Marengo residents and businesses will continue to pay higher wastewater rates that took effect in October to pay for a $12 million in upgrade to its aging wastewater treatment plant.

Last year, the council nearly doubled wastewater rates for residents and businesses to secure and repay a $12 million loan from the state that will cover the bulk of the city's upgrades to its decades-old treatment plant.

Construction should start next month, with loan repayment starting in May 2014.

Huntertown’s request to build a new $11.2 million wastewater treatment plant has been tentatively denied by the state.

In addition to citing pollution concerns with the proposed plant, officials from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) also said the town has an adequate, working system already in place with the city of Fort Wayne.

The permit denial Tuesday states, "The activity that would cause the lowering of water quality is not necessary because cost-effective measures that would prevent the proposed lowering of water quality are reasonably available by continuing to send their sanitary wastewater to the city of Fort Wayne."

Huntertown officials, in response to rapid growth and substantial rate hikes from Fort Wayne City Utilities, are hoping to build and operate their own plant. They plan to break ties with Fort Wayne City Utilities, which has provided the town with sewer service since 1988. Huntertown contracts with City Utilities, paying $952,139 annually to process its waste. That contract will expire in April.

A statement issued today by City Utilities officials said they believe IDEM has taken appropriate action with the conditional denial as it will give residents yet another opportunity to comment on the proposal.

The conditional denial reiterates what Huntertown residents have been saying – that a continued relationship with City Utilities is an affordable option and that further environmental degradation that would result from a Huntertown sewage treatment plant is not necessary, said officials at City Utilities.

They recently sent letters to Huntertown suggesting a meeting to discuss the issue, and said they have yet to receive a reply, according to the statement.

Huntertown has 30 days to appeal the conditional denial.

West Lafayette is looking into the feasibility of new storage tanks at its wastewater treatment plant. The city currently uses lagoons to hold the liquid biosolids.

Utility Director Dave Henderson says a small leak in the current structure made him think it was time to plan for a replacement. He says the trickle stopped on its own and was likely caused by a small burrowing animal. "If you're building a new plant, you'd be doing storage tanks. There are still many lagoons throughout the state. However, the storage tanks seem to be the alternative choice to replace lagoons."

The Board of Works approved a no-cost feasibility study on using storage tanks in the future to hold the liquid biosolids.

Henderson says it could be five to ten years before any tanks are needed, but getting ready for such a change takes time.

"There is space [at the treatment plant], but part of that would have to be space utilized in what is currently the lagoon. We'd have to go through the proper closure procedures and fill that or build the tanks in that area, because we're pretty tight on space up there."

Results of the study, including an estimated cost, are expected in mid to late September.

The Worth County Board of Supervisors have approved plans and specifications for construction of a new $3.9 million wastewater treatment plant.

Bids will be opened Sept. 13, with a public hearing to award bids on Sept. 17, during the supervisors’ regular meeting. Nathan Casey, engineering consultant with McClure Engineering in Clive, told the supervisors he is already hearing from contractors interested in bidding on the project.

The new facility will double the capacity of the existing wastewater treatment plant to accommodate future commercial development.

Funding will be through a combination of general obligation bonds and Tax Increment Financing.

The plant is targeted for completion in September 2013.

Work on the new wastewater treatment plant in Le Mars will likely begin this fall.

The plant, part of a $16 million wastewater project, will initially serve two major Le Mars industries: ice cream and frozen novelty maker Wells Enterprises and dairy producer Dean Foods.

"We need to proceed such that by the end of 2013 or early in 2014 we have a new treatment plant that's ready to come online," City Administrator Scott Langel told the Le Mars City Council. "Up to four additional processing lines will be added at Wells alone, not to mention some of the growth that is currently occurring at Dean Foods," he explained. Langel said the wastewater facility plan showed roughly 63 percent growth in wastewater usage from Wells and 43 percent growth from Dean Foods.

At the meeting the Le Mars City Council unanimously approved an engineering agreement for about $1.6 million with Bolton & Menk, Inc., of Ames, for the plant, which will be built about 2 miles west of the existing wastewater plant.

Part of the city's wastewater project involves replacing parts of the existing plant that "have exhausted their useful life," Langel noted. This part of the $16 million project is separate from the rest, he explained.

The Thibodaux City Council has delayed action on a proposal to raise city sewer fees to finance a new $7.2 million wastewater treatment facility on the north side of town.

While there is nothing wrong with the city's wastewater treatment facility, the infrastructure used to move sewage from the north of the city to the facility south of the city is often overburdened. The city's sewer account also incurs an annual loss, which was about $200,000 last year, according to the city's most recent audit.

To solve these issues, Mayor Tommy Eschete has proposed a sewer fee increase to be phased in incrementally across three years. The total increase will raise residents' monthly sewer fee by $1.01 per 1,000 gallons of water used when fully implemented. This increase would both shore up the sewer finances and provide increased capacity for the city through the new facility.

The council decided unanimously to postpone action until the Sept. 4 meeting. Eschete said he plans to get more details on an alternate financing plan through the state Department of Environmental Quality. That plan may necessitate a smaller increase, he said.

Bids are due August 17, 2012 for work at the Unity Utilities District Wastewater Treatment Plant.

For more information go to:

http://me.mypublicnotices.com/PublicNotice.asp?Page=PublicNotice&AdId=2857844

Bids are due September 5, 2012 for solids handling upgrade at the wastewater treatment plant.

For more information go to:

http://ma.mypublicnotices.com/PublicNotice.asp?Page=PublicNotice&AdId=2868471

Bourne selectmen, voted to generally endorse a $225,000 two-year action plan that could lead to construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Buzzards Bay.

The Bourne Wastewater Advisory Committee and a re-set team from the Cape Cod Commission propose the action plan that would work toward a public/private partnership in which a developer would build a treatment plant and the town would be responsible for a sub-surface disposal site – likely beneath Queen Sewell Park - and the connections between the two facilities.

The wastewater panel will now continue to examine and evaluate various financial aspects of the action plan, present them to both the finance and capital outlay committees for recommendations and report back to sewer commissioners.

A funding recommendation may result and go before voters at the fall town meeting.

The wastewater panel emphasized that it would seek grants to help pay for part of the action plan.

A wastewater committee chairman said it would cost about $8.5 million to build a treatment plant with Bourne paying about $2.5 million of that total. She said annual operating costs of a system – should it be funded, designed and built – would be about $670,000 per year; to be borne by system users.

The U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the implementation of long-delayed more stringent limits on nitrogen and phosphorus pollution discharges from the Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District sewage treatment plant in Millbury.

The court has lifted a stay of enforcement that had been in place since April 2011, after court-sponsored mediation efforts between the Upper Blackstone District and the U.S. EPA failed to break the impasse between two parties over the new pollution limits.

The 56-page decision could lead to much higher sewer rates for local water users, according to city officials. They have estimated the cost of compliance with the new permit for the Upper Blackstone plant at $200 million — on top of the $180 million already spent on upgrading the plant. In addition, the annual operational costs of the plant would increase by $5 million. All of which could translate into an additional $225 in sewer fees annually for city water users, according to city officials.

Worcester is one of several communities that send sewage to the Upper Blackstone plant. Based on its flow volume to the plant, the city pays about 85 percent of the plant costs.

Other members of the district include Auburn, Cherry Valley Sewer District, Holden, Millbury, Rutland and West Boylston. The plant also serves portions of Oxford, Paxton, Shrewsbury and Sutton.

"We are reviewing the decision and all options available to us at this juncture," City Manager Michael V. O’Brien said. "We stand firm that the EPA’s science and projected Blackstone River models are hopelessly flawed. We have proven this with our unbiased science."

But in lifting the stay of enforcement, the three-judge panel said the EPA’s decision to set those new discharge limits for the treatment plant was supported by scientific record and was not premature. It also said cost considerations for meeting the new discharge limits may not be considered by the EPA in the setting of permit limits to assure compliance with state water quality standards.

The EPA contends the Blackstone River is one of the most polluted in the state, mainly because of too much phosphorous. The agency says Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island is stressed by declining oxygen, leading to fish kills, because there is too much nitrogen in the water.

In 1998, the EPA issued a permit for the treatment plant that imposed new limits on the discharge of phosphorus and nitrogen. In 2001, the Upper Blackstone district embarked on a $180 million upgrade to the treatment plant so it could meet the new discharge limits. Before that work could be completed, however, the EPA issued a new permit for the plant in 2008 that imposed further, more stringent limits on nutrients. But city officials contended that permit was not based on sound science and would do little to improve water quality.

Ware Selectmen will convene two public forums in an attempt to convince residents that Town Meeting should spend $1 million to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant.

The town’s money request is part of a partnership with Kanzaki Specialty Papers that officials say would allow Ware to apply for a state grant to pay for the bulk of the improvements – up to $3 million – with the company contributing $1 million.

Ware’s department of public works director, Thom Martens, estimates $5 million will be needed within five years to address the problems at the aging facility. He said the cost sharing idea would allow the town to upgrade the sewer system at 1/5 of the cost. Martens said new environmental regulations will require the sewer upgrades within five years.

The parties said state grants could pay 60 percent of the treatment plant improvements, about $3 million. The town and Kanzaki would pay the rest. With 227 employees, Kanzaki is the largest employer in Ware.

A public forum is scheduled on Aug. 14 and the Town Meeting is Aug. 21.

Approval of the $1 million is contingent on the town obtaining the state grants.

Environmental officials said Kanzaki Paper must pre-treat the sludge and heavy-metal wastewater they send to the Ware plant. Although the company had agreed to construct a $2.5 million pre-treatment facility to solve the problem, Stephen P. Hefner Chief Executive Officer and President of Kanzaki Specialty Papers, Inc. told selectmen in June sharing the costs to upgrade the wastewater plant would fix the problem and enable the town to attract new industry.

Bids are due August 13, 2012 for development of a gas well at the Belton Wastewater Treatment Plant.

For more information go to:

http://www.belton.org/bids.aspx?bidID=26

An economic feasibility study on a potential collaboration between Exeter and Stratham on water and wastewater has been released, showing mutual financial benefit to both towns if infrastructure and services were shared.

The Rockingham Planning Commission will be hosting a public presentation of the draft report on, Aug. 21.

The study was prepared by the consulting engineering firm Kleinfelder for the Rockingham Planning Commission to assist the towns of Stratham and Exeter with their discussions regarding water and wastewater systems.

The town of Exeter is facing up to $60 million in water and wastewater infrastructure improvements to meet mandated requirements under the Clean Water Act. The EPA has expressed concerns about wastewater treatment plants in the Great Bay watershed releasing too much nitrogen into its tributaries.

If the suggested EPA limit of 3 milligrams of nitrogen per liter of water is imposed, the town of Exeter is looking at $52 million in wastewater treatment upgrades. The cost would be about $36 million if a limit of 8 milligrams of nitrogen per liter is allowed.

It has been assessed that Exeter's water systems have sufficient capacity to meet the needs of both communities for the foreseeable future.

The town of Stratham has no municipal water or wastewater systems and is feeling a pressing need to develop both. This lack of infrastructure has impeded several development projects along this corridor and would accommodate the fire suppression systems and higher density redevelopment envisioned for the area.

Installing a new water system would cost the town of Stratham more than $30 million.

The report considered three approaches:

• An independent option, which means Stratham builds its own water and wastewater system while Exeter makes upgrades to its current system.
• A collaborative/capital investment option with shared water and/or wastewater infrastructure. Under this option, each town would pay a percentage based on their individual community's use.
• A district or "cooperative" option, which would develop a jointly owned water and/or wastewater district.

Regardless of the level of treatment at the Exeter wastewater treatment plant, the report concludes that both towns would benefit financially by pursuing either the collaborative or district option.

To connect the two towns' potable water, two 24-inch steel pipes would run along the east and west shoulders of Portsmouth Avenue where it goes under Route 101. Stratham would need to build a 1-million-gallon storage tank to provide fire suppression for peak flows, and Exeter would be able to provide 1.4 MGD to Stratham. A potable water distribution system from the Exeter town line to Bunker Hill in Stratham would need to be constructed.

To connect the wastewater system with a capacity of 1,830 gallons per minute, a main would need to be drilled under Route 101 and the Exeter River pumping directly to the Exeter treatment plant.

The report recommends that "given the apparent mutual benefit" of the shared approach, that the towns should continue discussion towards making it a reality. They recommend that a committee be formed to determine the consensus among the towns regarding the district or collaborative options, confirm cost sharing, and start the framework for an inter-municipal agreement.

Discussions with the EPA and state Department of Environmental Services should be held and avenues for funding, including grants, should be explored.

Representatives from Amigos Bravos said they are satisfied with a newly issued discharge permit from the U.S. EPA for the Taos Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Taos nonprofit Amigos Bravos, which aims to improve water quality throughout the state, solicited comments from its supporters and submitted comments of its own, as well as requesting an extension of the comment period.

Amigos Bravos was in favor of more frequent monitoring for E. coli and ammonia. The group also called for Taos Pueblo water standards to be taken into account, and for requirements to fall in line with the more-stringent standards, whether they come from the Pueblo or the state.

"The permit incorporates federal, state and Taos Pueblo water quality standards to protect water quality in the Río Pueblo de Taos watershed, which is an essential source of water for recreation, irrigation and wildlife," said an EPA spokesman.

The final permit lists several "substantial changes" from the draft, including establishing effluent monitoring, limitations and compliance schedules for total mercury and ammonia and establishing monitoring requirements for potential contaminants including uranium, total nitrogen and phosphorus.

The town of Amherst will pay a $20,000 fine for problems surrounding its sewage treatment plant. The fine issued by the state is for illegal discharges of ammonia over a 15-month period from the Wastewater Treatment Plant into Tonawanda Creek.

The Wastewater Treatment Plant has outlived its projected shelf life by about 10 years, and it is the need for repair or replacement of aging equipment that has led to these illegal discharges.

"A lot of the equipment has a 20-to-25-year life expectancy. The minute you go beyond that you are really starting to push the envelope as to when these systems are going to fail," explained town engineer Thomas Ketchum.

The DEC has issued a consent order requiring the town to get the treatment plant up to code and hire an engineering consultant, which could cost as much as $150,000. Other towns and cities are having similar problems and Amherst is working on a project with Buffalo to cut costs.

Recently, the Davidson County Board of Commissioners approved a "class A" special use zoning permit to construct phase III of High Point's Westside Wastewater Treatment Plant project. The property in question, in Thomasville contains about 42 acres of land and was previously zoned rural agricultural, according to county records.

The re-zoning has been a controversial topic with some residents who live in the area, who say that nothing good will come of the plant expansion and that it will detrimentally affect water quality downstream.

The approved zoning was not quite what High Point hoped for. The city originally sought to expand its facility, which has a current capacity of 6.2 MGD, to handle about 10 MGD. However, after High Point Public Services Director Chris Thompson told commissioners that the city only averages about 4.14 MGD currently, commissioners only approved an expansion up to 8.2 MGD.

According to state's "80/90 rule," treatment facilities must be evaluated for needs by the time they reach 80 percent capacity and must have planning completed for a new facility by the time they reach 90 percent. At an average of about 4 MGD each year, High Point's Westside Treatment Plant is at about 67 percent capacity most days.

High Point officials requested zoning for the expansion to address flow capacity issues now and in the future and said they still would have liked 10 MGD.

Richmond County will be receiving federal from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program for $459,400 to expand its wastewater treatment plant, according to an announcement made recently by U.S. Representative Larry Kissell.

The project will include the construction of a three-story addition to the existing control building, two new sedimentation basins, three flocculation basins, filters with media, clarifier, flash mixer, air scour in all plant filters, air condition filter system, various new electrical and mechanical controls, piping, yard lighting, and necessary appurtenances.

It is part of an overall project totaling more than $5.8 million, paid for by a mix of grants and a loan.

Upgrading Evansville's sewer system to curb harmful stormwater and wastewater overflows is expected to cost at least $227 million over 20 years, city officials said recently.

Evansville has a consent decree with two U.S. government agencies to deal with the overflows, which contain pollutants harmful to the environment and to people. The city's volume in a typical year is about 3.4 billion gallons of waste.

A draft version of Evansville's fix was submitted Tuesday, under terms of the legal agreement. There will be back-and-forth with federal authorities about the plan's specifics and costs until November, when the final version is in place.

Public input will be solicited sometime before the plan is final, but "we're going to talk with the EPA first," said Allen Mounts, manager of the Evansville Water & Sewer Utility.

According to the draft plan, the utility operates about 800 miles of sewer lines that serve about 60,000 customers and more than 160,000 people in Evansville and areas outside the city limits. The network includes both sanitary sewer lines and combined sewers that carry both wastewater and stormwater. A summary of the city's draft plan states that it will control overflows from the sewer system into Pigeon Creek, Bee Slough and the Ohio River, meeting state and federal environmental standards. Addressing public health issues in Bee Slough is considered a top priority and also is the most expensive item. That alone is expected to cost $127 million or more.

According to the draft, addressing Bee Slough "will require a phased approach that will ultimately lead to the transformation of the slough, replacing it with an aesthetically pleasing wetland." Drains will be built to allow polluted standing water in Bee Slough to flow to the nearby East Wastewater Treatment Plant. A new pump station will move treated material to the Ohio River during high river levels, as opposed to allowing matter to back up into Bee Slough. Finally, a wetland treatment system will be designed.

Remaining funds will cover eight other repair initiatives in the city's sewer system, including eliminating backups in the sanitary sewer system.

An upgrade to Springfield’s Wastewater Treatment Plant will cost about $58.5 million and is believed to be the largest public works project in the city’s history.

The high-rate clarifier project will help control sewer overflows during heavy rainfall and has been mandated by the EPA. It will cost about $50.1 million. The city has already spent $4.1 million for design work, and will spend another $4.3 million on construction services.

The city hopes to begin construction at the wastewater treatment plant in September and will finish in 2014.

Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Bill Young said it’s the largest project he’s seen in his 32 years with the city.

The plant currently treats 15 MGD of sewage and has the capacity to treat 34 MGD. However, when a large storm hits, the raw sewage overflows into Mad River. The clarifier will catch that overflow and treat it. When construction is complete, the city will be able to treat 134 MGD.

City commissioners agreed to award a $50.1 million contract to Kokosing Corp. of Delaware to build the clarifier behind the treatment plant. It was the lowest of five bids received. They also approved an additional $4.3 million for Black and Veatch Corp for construction services for the project.

The total cost for all of the projects required to meet the EPA’s sewer overflow standards could cost an estimated $160 million.

Several other cities — including Columbus, Cincinnati and Akron — are also dealing with complying with the law.

Union County commissioners and the Union County Engineer's Office are ready to eliminate unsanitary conditions in the unincorporated villages of Raymond and Peoria.

The commissioners held public hearings to discuss the proposed Liberty Regional Treatment Facility and Raymond Peoria Sanitary Sewer Collection System. The unsanitary conditions were caused by failing septic systems in Raymond and Peoria, a condition first noted by the Ohio EPA in the late 1990s.

Under the new proposal, wastewater will be collected in the unincorporated village of Raymond, conveyed by force main to the unincorporated village of Peoria, where it will be combined with wastewater collected there and treated at the wastewater treatment plant in Peoria.

Engineer Jeff Stauch estimates that roughly 185 dwellings will benefit from the $5.14 million project. Groundbreaking is scheduled later in August with the project completion date set for February 2014. Property owners' connection to the system should be completed by August 2014.

Hummelstown residents are already sharing the burden of a more than $2.4 million upgrade at the Swatara Wastewater Treatment Plant.

And beginning in September, the borough will begin facing increased requirements from the state Department of Environmental Protection for its stormwater management program, as the government agency ramps up its efforts to continue eliminating pollutant discharges in the Chesapeake Bay, into which many central Pennsylvania waterways ultimately flow.

According to the DEP, Sept. 14 is the deadline for all municipalities to file a permit renewal application, a process that began in 2003 following an agreement with the EPA, and according to the Clean Water Act.

While the regulations are not changing, additional data must be submitted with these applications, addressing any Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily load issues. The application must include a strategy that demonstrates how a particular municipality is planning, over the five-year permit term, to comply with pollutant reduction expectations.

Actual design and construction details concerning these plans are due one year from permit issuance.

On July 26, Hummelstown Borough Council unanimously approved the payment of $6,000 to K&W Engineers to submit their latest, mandated storm water system report to DEP, known as the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer System report.

The King George County Service Authority faces a state fine for exceeding discharge limits and other violations at a county sewage-treatment plant.

The proposed $5,320 fine is part of a consent order prepared by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. A consent order is a negotiated settlement between the agency and a responsible party.

The State Water Control Board will make a final decision.

 The Dahlgren District Wastewater Treatment Plant discharges treated sewage into Williams Creek, which flows into the Potomac River. Williams Creek is on the state’s list of impaired waters; levels of enterococcal bacteria make it unsafe for recreational swimming. Though not harmful themselves, enterococci indicate the presence of potentially harmful bacteria that can cause waterborne disease.

According to the order, signed by authority general manager Christopher Thomas, the plant exceeded the average monthly limit for enterococci concentration in December 2010 and January 2011, nitrogen limits for the 2010 and 2011 calendar years, and phosphorus for 2010.

The DEQ issued warning letters and notices of violation citing the plant for exceeding the limits, and for not filing a quarterly monitoring report on time.

In March of last year the service authority responded, saying enterococci spike was the result of a filtering problem at the plant, and that cold temperatures, along with process and design deficiencies, contributed to other problems in late 2010 and early 2011. The plant submitted a revised discharge monitoring report, which DEQ rejected based on the agency’s interpretation of required analytical methods.

The order requires the Service Authority to submit a plan to meet phosphorus and nitrogen limits, and to follow equipment improvement measures recommended in a consultant’s engineering report.

Last year, the King George authority was fined $12,500 for violations at its Oakland Park and Purkins Corner wastewater treatment plants. Those were cited for discharging larger amounts of treated sewage and nitrogen, copper and phosphorous than the state allows.

The Keyser City Council has approved seeking a design loan for the wastewater treatment plant.

The design loan is similar to the Ohio Valley Bank loans for Phase I and II of the water projects that were approved during the July 27 council meeting. Once a design loan is secured, it will be brought back to the council for final approval.

The wastewater treatment plant is being upgraded to meet the Chesapeake Bay restoration mandates for limits on nitrogen and phosphorus, which must be met by 2015.

The Torrington City Council has approved an agreement between the city and Western Research and Development, LTD. for work on the Torrington wastewater treatment feasibility study. The proposed budget for the study is between $18,000 and $21,000.

City engineer Bob Juve said enlisting the help of Western R&D would help city officials see the scope of the project and find the best approach for the future expansion of the wastewater plant while being in continued compliance with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. EPA. He added he estimates the feasibility study would be complete in December.

An $11 million investment through the Green Municipal Fund™ will enable the town of Picton to build a new wastewater pumping station and wastewater treatment plant.

This new plant will provide a higher level of treatment than the existing plant, improve wastewater quality and allow for more sustainable future development and growth within the Picton area.

In addition, the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario have each invested more than $5 million through the Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund.

Colwood City Council wants to reduce sewage costs for its residents by supporting a wastewater treatment system included in the design of one of the city's largest developments.

League Financial Partners, the company behind the $1-billion Capital City Centre project at the site known as Colwood Corners, plans to reduce water use and energy needs for the massive development by recovering heat and water from sewage and wastewater. The first part of the two-phase plan would recover heat from a nearby sewer line operated by the Capital Regional District (CRD).

The second phase would involve creating an on-site wastewater treatment plant that would recover treated water to use for flushing toilets and irrigation. The overall plan is expected to reduce the site's requirements for water by 40 percent and reduce its energy requirements by 60 percent, according to DEC Engineering, which is working with League.

Considering the scope of the project, the savings would be significant. In the next 20 years, League Financial plans to build 12 residential high rise towers, four office towers, four-storey residential buildings, two-storey town-homes, multi-storey office buildings and a public plaza with various amenities.

The system could also save Colwood residents money when it comes time to pay for the Capital Regional District's portion of the $783-million secondary sewage system. The CRD's portion of the secondary sewage treatment is expected to cost up to $281 million, with estimates for each resident's share ranging between $100 to $800 a year.

Colwood engineering director Michael Baxter said the city and the developer need to work with the CRD to come up with changes to the liquid waste management plan. League Financial Partners is submitting a proposal to the CRD asking permission to recover heat from a main sewage line near the property.

You can track all the water chemical bids in the new database in the report at:

https://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Universal_Water_Chemical/Subscriber/uwcDB/TofC.htm

Here are the titles added since the last update.

Ashland, OR

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Universal_Water_Chemical/Subscriber/uwcDB/totentry.asp?ref=2057

Bradford Water Authority, Bradford, PA

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Universal_Water_Chemical/Subscriber/uwcDB/totentry.asp?ref=2059

Derry, PA

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Universal_Water_Chemical/Subscriber/uwcDB/totentry.asp?ref=2061

Elgin, IL - Fox River Water Reclamation District

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Universal_Water_Chemical/Subscriber/uwcDB/totentry.asp?ref=2062

Syracuse, UT - North Davis Sewer District,

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Universal_Water_Chemical/Subscriber/uwcDB/totentry.asp?ref=2066

Westerville, OH

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Universal_Water_Chemical/Subscriber/uwcDB/totentry.asp?ref=2058

E-mail: editor@mcilvainecompany.com