ENB - REGION 4 NOTICES

Completed Applications
Consolidated SPDES Renewals

Public Notice

Department-Initiated Modifications of SPDES Permits in the New York City Watershed

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) proposes to modify State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permits located in the New York City Watershed. These changes are in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between NYSDEC and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP). A list of these follow this notice.

Currently, these SPDES discharges contain conditions and effluent limitations based on water quality requirements in the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) and 6NYCRR Parts700-706. The proposed modifications will bring these discharges into compliance with the NYC Watershed Rules and Regulations (NYCWR&R) which require additional levels and types of final treatment in the form of filtration, disinfection, phosphorus removal, microfiltration, or equivalent technology.

As required under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1986, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) in 1989. The SWTR specifies criteria under which filtration is required as a treatment for public water supply systems supplied by a surface water source. The purpose of the rule is to reduce the contamination of drinking water by microbial pathogens, including Giardia lamblia cysts, and viruses. Public water systems supplied by unfiltered surface water sources must meet a series of water quality, operational, and watershed control criteria. If at any time a public water supply system fails to meet the avoidance criteria, it may be required to provide filtration within 18 months of such failure.

The NYCWR&R were approved as part of an acceptable filtration avoidance program with the issuance of EPA’s Filtration Avoidance Determination (FAD) in May 1997. The FAD is applicable until a further determination, is made by EPA.

The NYCWR&R require that all existing discharges in the watershed meet the following requirements:

1. wastewater treatment plants with surface discharges shall be capable of achieving 99.9 percent removal or inactivation of Giardia lamblia cysts and 99.99% removal or inactivation of enteric viruses
2. wastewater treatment plants with surface or subsurface discharges shall provide phosphorus removal using the best available treatment technology so that the facility is designed to be operated and maintained to meet:
• 1.0 mg/1 total phosphorus @ < 50,000 gpd permitted flow
• 0.5 mg/1 total phosphorus @ > 50,000-500,000 gpd permitted flow
• 0.2 mg/1 total phosphorus @ > 500,000 gpd SPDES permitted flow
3. wastewater treatment plants with surface discharges to intermittent streams shall be operated and maintained to meet the intermittent stream effluent limits while maintaining water quality in the first downstream perennial stream.
4. a 10 mg/1 effluent limit for suspended solids based on a sand filtration technology requirement.
5. Each modified permit contains interim and final effluent limits, monitoring requirements, and a schedule for a Final Upgrade Plan.

Certain discharges in the Region 4 Delaware and Catskill watersheds have been further modified to adjust chlorine residual limits, small system technology-based effluent limits, compliance schedules, and other specific individual discharge permitting requirements.

System improvements designed to bring these facilities into compliance with these WR&R’s are scheduled to be financed by the NYCDEP through compliance grants administered by the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) as contained in the NYC Watershed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). The NYCDEP and EFC watershed staffs will be contacting permittees individually to make arrangements for participation in this program.

Each permit will retain its individual effective and expiration dates. These dates are administratively renewed every five years in accordance with federal and state regulations. The administrative renewals will apply to the permit, and any modifications made thereto (such as this modification), in effect on the date of renewal. This will have no bearing or impact on the permit modification requirements currently being public noticed. These new requirements will become effective on the effective date of the modification.

Pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, a negative declaration has been prepared and is on file.

To get more information on any of these permits or to provide comments, please contact: John Feltman, NYSDEC - Region 4, Stamford Field Office, Route 10, Stamford, NY 12167, phone: (607) 652-7741

Written comments must be provided no later than March 1, 2003