Document 3JGR26XjgRzqjMB3pxnJqbR20

UNITED STATESUNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY *REGION 1 AGENCY5 POST OFFICE SQUARE, SUITE 100 EN' VPRIOTRECOTINONM ENBOSTON, MA 02109-3912 Drafted Date: 8/24/21 Finalized Date: 9/2/21 Subj: Inspection Report - Pittsfield Wastewater Treatment Plant. Clean Water Act From: Douglas Koopman DOUGLASDigitally sigKnOOePdM ANb y DOUGLAS KOOPMANDate: 2021.09.02 09:27:10 -04'00 ' Thru: Rachel Olugbemi To: File I. Facility Information A. Facility Name: Pittsfield Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) B. Facility Location: 901 Holmes Road, Pittsfield MA, 01201 C. Facility Contacts: Keith Bourassa, Chief Treatment Plant Operator (413)499-9304 kbourassa@cityofpittsfield.org Neil Kulikauskas, PE Kleinfelder (860) 258-7129 nkulikauskas@kleinfelder.com Pamela Westgate, PE Kleinfelder (860) 258-7121 pwestgate@kleinfelder.com Jon McKeon, Senior Superintendent Methuen Construction jmckeon@MethuenConstruction.com D. ID No (s). NPDES Permit No. MA0101681 Permit issued 8/22/2008 expired and was administratively continued New permit was issued 8/10/2021 effective date is 11/1/2021. II. Background Information A. Date(s) of inspection: July 27, 2021 B. Weather Conditions: Sunny warm C. US EPA Representative(s): Douglas Koopman Rachel Olugbemi ED_019088A_00003809-00001 D. State / Local Representative(s): Dan Kurpaska MA DEP Western Regional Office E. Federally Enforceable Requirements Covered During the Inspection: 2008 NPDES Permit F. Previous Enforcement Actions: 2011 Administrative Order (AO) for CMOM - Capacity Management Operation and Maintenance. 2015 AO to upgrade treatment plant to meet phosphorus and aluminum permit limits. III. Type and Purpose of Inspection Compliance Evaluation Inspection - main purpose was to observe operations and get an update on construction projects required by the 2015 Administrative Order IV. Facility Description The WWTP is an advanced secondary treatment plant serving roughly 40,835 from the towns of Pittsfield and Richmond, 7096 in the towns of Dalton and Hinsdale, and 2170 in the towns of Lenox and Lanesborough. The Facility has a design flow of 17.0 MGD. Annual average daily flow is around 7-10 MGD. The Collection system is a separate system with no combined sewers. Wastewater is made up primarily of domestic sewage with some commercial and septage waste. A full description of the Pittsfield treatment plant process can be found on the recently issued permit fact sheet found here https://www3.epa.gov/region1/npdes/permits/2021/finalma0101681permit.pdf V. Inspection The inspection was announced to the Carl Shaw the WWTP superintendent a week before the inspection by inspector Koopman. 2 ED_019088A_00003809-00002 The Inspector(s) arrived at approximately 10:00 am and presented their new PIV identification cards to Mr. Bourassa. Mr. Koopman explained that the purpose of the inspection was to get an update on the construction require by the 2015 AO and to review compliance with the WWTP's NPDES permit. A. Opening Conference Mr. Koopman held an opening conference and explained that he would like to spend some time asking questions and then tour the facility. At the conclusion of the tour he would like to hold a closing meeting to follow - up on any questions he had and to give the facility a chance to ask any questions. The opening conference provided the following information: Flow to the facility is primarily domestic with about 10% industrial waste waters which mostly comes from four industrial dischargers. The plant receives up to 30,000 gallons per day of septage. The water and sewer department is responsible for the collection system piping and the treatment plant is responsible for the inspection and maintenance of the pump stations. All seven pump stations have backup power and SCADA systems. The plant inspects each pump station three times per week. A new pump station is under construction. The City has developed a new template to use for its intermunicipal agreements with its member communities but have not yet negotiated any agreements using this new template. The City does not expect the rate structure to change. I / I-the last report from the City, received in February 2020 projected Infiltration phase 3 and 4 work to be completed. Due to issues related to Covid this work was not completed in 2020 but has been funded for FY 2021. The City plans to do an outreach campaign. The City intends to finish capital improvements in 2023 and then do another round of analysis. The latest CMOM report (2020) had not been received by EPA. Mr. Kulikauskas stated the report was completed and he would submit report to Mr. Koopman. Mr. Kulikauskas stated that the City was spending roughly 1 million per year on CMOM work. The City is considering an Integrated Water Resource Management Plan (IWRMP) to include upcoming nitrogen limits, I / I work, stormwater, and drinking water. The 2015 AO schedule dates were recently modified in a letter to the City from EPA on 4/12/21. The construction completion date is now January 15, 2022 and the achieve permit compliance date is now July 15, 2022. All involved in the construction and operation of the plant felt these dates were still obtainable. Presently the project was around the 90% completion point. Upgrades to the secondary clarifiers and sludge dewatering process are done. Gravity thickeners and belt filter pressers have been replaced by rotating presses. Work on the anoxic tank is 95% done. Only the tertiary building work of installing the new CoMag system remains to be done. 3 ED_019088A_00003809-00003 B. Facility Tour Due to schedules of those involved with the inspection the inspection team began the inspection at the end of the treatment process and worked their way back to the headworks. First stop was the tertiary building which will house the new phosphorus treatment system. It consists of 2 units each capable of handling 20MGD. It was not operational but was nearing completion at the time of inspection. Picture above shows internals of one of the clarifiers for the phosphorus controls. Next was the chlorine contact tanks each tank is 1.5 million gallons with 30 to 45 minutes of contact time. 4 ED_019088A_00003809-00004 After chlorination the flow is dechlorinated and discharged out to the Housatonic River. Next in line are three secondary clarifiers each one is 1 million gallons. 5 ED_019088A_00003809-00005 Followed by 3 fine bubble aeration tanks operating in parallel. Then 3 anoxic tanks which are new to the process and have helped to reduce the nitrogen levels discharged from the plant from roughly 19 mg / l to around 10 mg / l. 6 ED_019088A_00003809-00006 Next in line are the 3 primary clarifiers, one pictured above. fournier ROTARY PRESS New Fournier rotary presses 7 ED_019088A_00003809-00007 New rotary drum presses. The treatment plant has also built a new solids handling building with new rotary drum presses for handling waste activated sludge and new Fournier rotary presses for dewatering other plant sludges. The treatment plant generates roughly 1 truck load of sludge per day. All sludge handling and truck loading is done in the building and not exposed to the elements. The treatment plant has 2 sludge digester tanks used to generate methane gas and reduce sludge volume from the plant. Each tank is 1 million gallons. Finally, the headworks building contains 3 influent pumps, 3 bar racks and grit removal system. The bar racks generate approximately 2 yards per week of trash and the grit system generates roughly 1 dumpster of grit annually. Grit and trash handling are done inside the building and not exposed to the elements. Bar Racks 8 00 ED_019088A_00003809-00008 C. Closing Conference Mr. Koopman requested copies of the 2020 I / I and CMOM reports be sent to him electronically. The Inspector(s) departed at approximately 13:35. Unless otherwise noted, this report describes conditions at the facility / property as observed by EPA inspector(s), and / or through records provided to and / or information reported to EPA inspector(s) by facility representatives and as understood by the inspector(s). This report may not capture all operations or activities ongoing at the time of the inspection. This report does not make final determinations on potential areas of concern. Nothing in this report affects EPA's authorities under federal statutes and regulations to pursue further investigation or action. 9 ED_019088A_00003809-00009