Document R823J0bn4RXgRzvoE0evxBOk

EPA REGION 10 Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division INSPECTION REPORT Inspection Entry Date/Time Inspection Exit Date/Time Weather Media Statute(s)/Program(s) Type of Inspection 06/24/2024 09:00 AM (PT) Announced: Yes 06/24/2024 01:30 PM (PT) Access: Granted 55F, Overcast Water Clean Water Act, NPDES, WWTP Compliance Evaluation Inspection Permittee Name Facility or Site Name Facility Physical Address City, State, Zip Code Borough Facility GPS Coordinates Facility Mailing Address City, State, Zip Code City of Wrangell Wrangell WWTP Zimovia Highway, Mile Marker 1.7 Wrangell, Alaska 99929 Wrangell 56.453082, -132.380233 P.O. Box 531 Wrangell, Alaska 99929 FRS ID Permit Number SIC 110064637898 AK0021466 4952 (Sewerage Systems) Lead Inspector: RAYMOND ANDREWS Date: 2024.08.01 14:21:05 -07'00' Digitally signed by RAYMOND ANDREWS Raymond Andrews EPA Region 10 andrews.raymond@epa.gov (206) 553-4252 Supervisor Review: PETER CONTRERAS Date: 2024.08.02 09:17:04 -07'00' Digitally signed by PETER CONTRERAS Peter Contreras EPA Region 10 contreras.peter@epa.gov (206) 553-6708 Wrangell WWTP NPDES Permit # AK0021466 SECTION I - Opening Conference I arrived at the Wrangell WWTP (the "Site" or "Facility"), located at Zimovia Hwy, Mile Marker 1.7 in Wrangell, Alaska, at 09:00 AM (PT) on 06/24/2024 for an announced inspection. I presented my credentials to Tom Wetor and informed him I was there to determine compliance with the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the facility's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, permit # AK0021466. This report is based on information supplied by facility representatives, direct observations made by me, and records and reports maintained by the facility. In addition, information gathered prior to, or after, the Inspection from a review of EPA, State, and/or public records may be included in this report. Attendees Organization Attendee Name Title Present in Present in Opening Conf. Closing Conf. EPA REGION 10 Raymond Andrews Lead Inspector Yes Yes City of Wrangell Tom Wetor Public Works Director Yes Yes City of Wrangell Jeff Davidson Wastewater Lead Yes Yes Operator City of Wrangell Wade Jack Wastewater Operator Yes Yes Apprentice Facility/Site Information Responsible official? Mr. Tom Wetor; twetor@wrangell.com, cc Jeff Davidson What is the facility's The facility has a year-round resident service population of approximately 1600. service population? The service population swells to approximately 2100 in Summer. How many employees The facility has four operators, two operators are full time and two are on-call. does the facility have? Jeff Davidson, Lead Operator, has a Level 2 Certification in both Collections and What are the Treatment. Among the other three operators, there are a Level 1 in both employees' Treatment and Collections, as well as a Provisional in both Treatment and certifications? Collections. What is the facility's The facility is fully staffed Monday through Friday from 6am until 3:30pm. There is operation schedule? an operator on-call on weekends and holidays. What is the facility's design capacity and average daily flow? The facility was "overbuilt" and has a design capacity of 3.6 million gallons per day (MGD). The facility has a monthly average flow of 0.6mgd. What is the facility's primary flow measuring device? The facility uses an in-line ultrasonic flow measuring device. How often is measuring device calibrated? Per the manufacturer, the flow measuring device does not require calibration. Does the facility have The facility does not have a secondary flow measuring device. a secondary flow measuring device? Page 2 of 5 Wrangell WWTP NPDES Permit # AK0021466 Does the facility accept waste from septage haulers? If so, what problems have you experienced, if any? The facility approximately 40,000 gallons of waste from septage haulers annually. The waste is dumped into a collection approximately three miles from the facility. Per facility staff, by the time the waste reaches the treatment facility it is well mixed and has no negative effects on the facility's operation. Are there any industrial users? The facility has not identified any industrial users in its service area. Describe the facility's flow path. The influent goes through a screening system. After passing through the screens, the waste stream goes to the aeration basin where it spends five to seven days. The aeration basin has three blowers installed. One blower is always running. The second and third blowers are activated as needed to increase or decrease dissolved oxygen in the water. After aeration, the wastewater goes to the settling basin where it spends three to four days to allow solids to settle out. piped under road to outfall. From the settling basin, the effluent is piped under the road to the outfall where it is discharged. How are biosolids managed? The facility manages biosolids by removing sludge from the lagoons as needed. The facility has not had to have sludge removed in the last five years. Where do you sample The influent is sampled just before screening. The effluent is sampled at the weir. influent? Effluent? How many outfalls The facility has a single outfall. The outfall is submerged so there is no direct does the facility have? inspection of the outfall. On a monthly basis, the area of the outfall is visually inspected for foam, debris, and sheen. What is the facility's The facility discharges into Zimovia Straight. receiving water? Which parameters are The facility analyzes pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), settleable solids and turbidity inanalyzed in-house? house. Which parameters are analyzed by the contract laboratory? Fecal coliform, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total settleable and ammonia are analyzed by a contract lab. The contract used is: Admiralty Environmental 641 W. Willoughby Avenue Suite 301 Juneau, Alaska 99801 (907) 463-4415 solids (TSS), Has the facility had The facility has not had any bypasses or hydraulic overloads in the last five years. any bypasses or hydraulic overloads in the past 5-years? Does the facility have The facility does not have overflow or emergency capacity. overflow capacity? Does the facility have The facility has a back-up generator. The generator is manually activated in the back-up power? event of power failure. What part of the facility is on back-up power? All parts of the treatment facility are powered by the generator. Page 3 of 5 Wrangell WWTP NPDES Permit # AK0021466 Are there shared or contributing jurisdictions? The facility does not have any shared jurisdictions. Does the facility have The facility has a failure alarm through a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition a failure alarm? How (SCADA) system. If the SCADA detects a problem, an automated phone call is is an alarm made to the operators. addressed? Has the facility been renovated or upgraded in the last 5-years? There have been no changes to the facility in the last five years. Are there any plans to Have initiated a study to add disinfection. The facility is expecting to have to add renovate or upgrade disinfection when the new permit comes out. the facility? SECTION II - Observations I did not observe anything that would constitute an area of concern. SECTION III - Records Review Records may not be in sequential order. Record: Other - Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Plan AOC: No Ref #: RA1-RR-005 Reviewed By: Raymond Andrews Reviewed Date: 06/24/2024 At the time of the inspection, I reviewed the facility's O&M Plan, dated November 2002. I did not note any Areas of Concern. Record: Other - EPA's Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS) Database AOC: Yes Ref #: RA1-RR-004 Reviewed By: Raymond Andrews Reviewed Date: 06/24/2024 At the time of inspection, I reviewed information in EPA's ICIS database from June 2019 through May 2024. The database indicated the facility exceeded its "BOD, 5-day, percent removal" limit in November 2019. The BOD exceedance was previously noted in an Offsite Compliance Monitoring Report submitted in September 2020 by EPA Inspector Jon Klemesrud. Since the BOD exceedance was noted in a previous inspection report. , I have not included it in my areas of concern. In January 2022, the facility exceeded its "Flow" limit of 0.6 million gallons per day (MGD) by 0.016 mgd. Record: DMR Reports AOC: No Ref #: RA1-RR-003 Reviewed By: Raymond Andrews Reviewed Date: 06/24/2024 At the time of the inspection, I reviewed the facility's Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) and Chain of Custody (CoC) documents from January 2021 through May 2024. I did not note any Areas of Concern. Record: Other - Annual Reports AOC: No Ref #: RA1-RR-002 Reviewed By: Raymond Andrews Reviewed Date: 06/24/2024 At the time of inspection, I reviewed the facility's annual reports for 2021, 2022, and 2023. The 2023 Annual Report cover letter contained a couple of typo errors that resulted in a couple of incorrect dates. However, I do not consider these minor errors as rising to level of an Area of Concern. Page 4 of 5 Wrangell WWTP NPDES Permit # AK0021466 Record: Other - Quality Assurance Project Plan Ref #: RA1-RR-001 Reviewed By: Raymond Andrews AOC: No Reviewed Date: 06/24/2024 At the time of inspection, I reviewed the facility's Quality Assurance Plan (QAP), dated January 10, 2011. I found no areas of concern. SECTION IV - Sampling Activities No sampling was conducted. SECTION V - Areas of Concern Areas of Concern may not be in sequential order. The presentation of Area(s) of Concern does not constitute a formal compliance determination or violation. AOC Reference #: RA1-RR-004 Records Review: Other - EPA's Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS) Database Permit Requirement Part I.A, Table 1 shows the facility flow should not exceed a monthly average of 0.6mgd or a maximum daily flow of 3.6mgd. AOC: In January 2022, the facility exceeded its "Flow" limit of 0.6 million gallons per day (MGD) by 0.016 mgd. SECTION VI - Closing Conference I held a closing conference with facility personnel at 01:30 PM (PT) on 06/24/2024 for the inspection. During the closing conference, I discussed observations and Areas of Concern I identified during the inspection. Observations and Areas of Concern have not yet been evaluated for a formal compliance determination. SECTION VII - List of Appendices 1. Photo Log Page 5 of 5 APPENDIX 1: Photo Log All photos were taken by Lead EPA Inspector, Ray Andrews, during the inspection. Photos were not manipulated beyond minor cropping for sizing and labels or callouts to draw attention to the subject of the photo. All photos taken during the inspection are included in the Photo Log; however, only photos that support an Observation or Area of Concern are included in the inspection report. P1010976 - Auto-sampler, photo 1 P1010977 - Auto-sampler, photo 2 P1010978 - Auto-sampler, photo 3 P1010979 - Aeration Basin P1010980 - Effluent Sampling Point P1010981 - Mixing Zone Sign, photo 1 P1010982 - Mixing Zone Sign, photo 2