ENB Region 5 Completed Applications 06/08/2005

This draft permit is Department-initiated modification, reopened pursuant to 6NYCRR Part 720-1.18(a)(6) & (7). The following changes have been made to the permit:

Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) - Combined sewers convey both sewage and stormwater. During dry weather the sewers discharge to the local wastewater treatment plant where the effluent is treated to remove pollutants before discharge to the receiving water. During rain events, when storm water enters the sewers, the capacity of the sewer system to convey the combined effluent to the treatment plant is often exceeded and the effluent will discharge directly to the receiving water.

Since CSOs contain mixtures of domestic sewage, storm water runoff, and sometimes, industrial wastewater, they may contain high levels of suspended solids, toxic chemicals, floatable materials and other pollutants that can cause exceedances of water quality standards and use impairments. Such exceedances may pose risks to human and aquatic health and may impair the use and enjoyment of the Nation’s waterbodies.

On April 19, 1994, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responded to the CSO problem by officially noticing  the Combined Sewer Overflow Control Policy (Policy).  The purpose of the Policy was to expedite compliance with the requirements of the Clean Water Act by controlling CSO discharges to the Nation’s waters. Six years later, Congress enacted the Wet Weather Water Quality Act of 2000 requiring SPDES permits or orders for CSO communities/permittees to conform to the Policy.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is authorized to issue NPDES permits in New York State pursuant to a 1975 Memorandum of Agreement with Region II EPA.  NYSDEC issues permits to discharge wastewater  under the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) program.   As part of this program, DEC issues SPDES discharge permits to CSO communities/permittees.

There are 76communities with almost 1000 CSOs  in New York.  New York is estimated to have about ten  percent of the total national problem of combined sewer overflows.  In consideration of the significant work needed to implement the Policy in New York State, EPA and NYSDEC agreed that DEC would  prioritize the implementation of the policy, starting with  CSO communities that had the greatest water quality impact. DEC has completed implementation of CSO requirements in permits and/or consent orders for those communities. DEC has recently entered into an agreement with EPA to expeditiously modify all remaining CSO SPDES permits in New York State in order to be in compliance with the Clean Water Act.

The CSO requirements include implementing Nine Minimum Controls (NMC) and a Long-Term Control Plan (LTCP). The NMCs are inexpensive technology-based controls that can be used to control CSOs without performing extensive studies. DEC has developed15 Best Management Practices (BMPs), which embody the NMCs and require the control of CSO discharges from combined sewer systems.  The applicable BMPs are to be included in all SPDES permits for combined sewer systems. DEC also developed a checklist as guidance for permittees in preparing their annual BMP reports.

The LTCP consists of more extensive characterization and monitoring of both the combined sewer system and the receiving water, as well as selection and implementation of CSO control alternatives, with the intent of minimizing the impacts of CSOs on water quality. The Policy provides consideration for CSO permittees serving populations under 75,000 such that the scope of the Phase I LTCP may be streamlined on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the Department.

LTCP requirements are included in the SPDES permits where implementation of the BMPs alone will not result in compliance with the CWA. The LTCP requirement is broken into two phases. Phase I of the  LTCP is a comprehensive study of the combined sewer system and the effect of CSOs on the receiving water quality. Once it is determined whether water quality standards in the receiving water are impacted by CSO discharges, the permittee will, if necessary, research alternatives for mitigation of the impact of CSO discharges and choose one or more of those alternatives for implementation. The permittee will suggest a schedule of construction or implementation of those alternatives, i.e. Phase II of the LTCP, to DEC.

Phase II of the LTCP is the construction and implementation of the alternatives chosen in the Phase I  LTCP. Once the control measures are in place, the permittee is required to perform post-construction monitoring to ensure that the goals of the LTCP and the appropriate water quality standards are met.

The permittee’s current permit already contained all 15 BMPs, but did not contain the LTCP requirement. The draft permit therefore requires the Town of Ticonderoga to develop a LTCP. The Town has only one CSO that does not currently receive treatment. This outfall discharges infrequently so the permittee may already have satisfied the requirements of the presumptive approach in the Policy. The draft permit therefore requires the permittee to develop a LTCP outlining the steps they’ve already taken to meet the requirements of the Policy, including a public participation plan and consideration of sensitive areas, as well as a schedule for submission of a post-construction monitoring program and updated wet weather operations plan.

Phosphorus - The permittee has agreed to accept their waste load allocation of 8.90 lbs/day for total phosphorous, which is included in Table 8 of the Lake Champlain Phosphorous Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), VT DEC and NYS DEC, September 25, 2002. This water quality based effluent limit, a twelve-month rolling average,  is not currently achievable by the existing treatment technology at the treatment plant. A compliance schedule is included in the permit, giving the permittee some time to design and construct the necessary treatment facilities. In the meantime, an interim limit of 15.6 lbs/day will be the compliance level, but will be measured weekly, as will the final limit when it becomes effective.

The discharge of phosphorous from the 2 CSO points in the permit will be controlled, in accordance with the TMDL, by implementation of the CSO requirements, i.e. BMPs and the LTCP. Current information shows that implementation of the BMPs has been shown to have reduced the frequency and duration of discharges from the CSOs. Monitoring of phosphorus from Outfall 002 is required in the current permit.

Combined sewers convey both sewage and stormwater. During dry weather the sewers discharge to the local wastewater treatment plant where the effluent is treated to remove pollutants before discharge to the receiving water. During rain events, when storm water enters the sewers, the capacity of the sewer system to convey the combined effluent to the treatment plant is often exceeded and the effluent will discharge directly to the receiving water.

Since CSOs contain mixtures of domestic sewage, storm water runoff, and sometimes, industrial wastewater, they may contain high levels of suspended solids, toxic chemicals, floatable materials and other pollutants that can cause exceedances of water quality standards and use impairments. Such exceedances may pose risks to human and aquatic health and may impair the use and enjoyment of the Nation’s waterbodies.

On April 19, 1994, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responded to the CSO problem by officially noticing  the Combined Sewer Overflow Control Policy (Policy).  The purpose of the Policy was to expedite compliance with the requirements of the Clean Water Act by controlling CSO discharges to the Nation’s waters. Six years later, Congress enacted the Wet Weather Water Quality Act of 2000 requiring SPDES permits or orders for CSO communities/permittees to conform to the Policy.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is authorized to issue NPDES permits in New York State pursuant to a 1975 Memorandum of Agreement with Region II EPA.  NYSDEC issues permits to discharge wastewater  under the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) program.   As part of this program, DEC issues SPDES discharge permits to CSO communities/permittees.

There are 76communities with almost 1000 CSOs  in New York.  New York is estimated to have about ten  percent of the total national problem of combined sewer overflows.  In consideration of the significant work needed to implement the Policy in New York State, EPA and NYSDEC agreed that DEC would  prioritize the implementation of the policy, starting with  CSO communities that had the greatest water quality impact. DEC has completed implementation of CSO requirements in permits and/or consent orders for those communities. DEC has recently entered into an agreement with EPA to expeditiously modify all remaining CSO SPDES permits in New York State in order to be in compliance with the Clean Water Act.

The CSO requirements include implementing Nine Minimum Controls (NMC) and a Long-Term Control Plan (LTCP). The NMCs are inexpensive technology-based controls that can be used to

control CSOs without performing extensive studies. DEC has developed15 Best Management Practices (BMPs), which embody the NMCs and require the control of CSO discharges from combined sewer systems.  The applicable BMPs are to be included in all SPDES permits for combined sewer systems. DEC also developed a checklist as guidance for permittees in preparing their annual BMP reports.

The LTCP consists of more extensive characterization and monitoring of both the combined sewer system and the receiving water, as well as selection and implementation of CSO control alternatives, with the intent of minimizing the impacts of CSOs on water quality. The Policy provides consideration for CSO permittees serving populations under 75,000 such that the scope of the Phase I LTCP may be streamlined on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the Department.

LTCP requirements are included in the SPDES permits where implementation of the BMPs alone will not result in compliance with the CWA. The LTCP requirement is broken into two phases. Phase I of the  LTCP is a comprehensive study of the combined sewer system and the effect of CSOs on the receiving water quality. Once it is determined whether water quality standards in the receiving water are impacted by CSO discharges, the permittee will, if necessary, research alternatives for mitigation of the impact of CSO discharges and choose one or more of those alternatives for implementation. The permittee will suggest a schedule of construction or implementation of those alternatives, i.e. Phase II of the LTCP, to DEC.

Phase II of the LTCP is the construction and implementation of the alternatives chosen in the Phase I  LTCP. Once the control measures are in place, the permittee is required to perform post-construction monitoring to ensure that the goals of the LTCP and the appropriate water quality standards are met.

The Village of Tupper Lake SPDES permit has been modified to include BMP numbers 14 and 15 along with the required LTCP.  BMP number 14 refers to the characterization and monitoring of the Villages CSO system.  BMP number 15 refers to the requirement of an annual report summarizing implementation of the BMP’s.

    The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has received an application to re-issue/re-new  the following pre-existing EPA minor Private/Commercial/Institutional State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (P/C/I SPDES) permit.  DEC has made a tentative determination to re-issue/re-new this pre-existing permit for a five year term maintaining current effluent limitations and monitoring and reporting requirements.  This permit involves the surface discharge through a sand fliter of up to 3,000 gallons per day of treated sanitary waste to a tributary of the Mohawk River.

    Additional information on this permit may be requested from or inspected at the NYSDEC Central Office in Albany.  Substantive comments must be submitted in writing to the contact person.  To be called substantive, 6 NYCRR Part 621.7 requires public comments "explain the basis of opposition"

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