§ 18-36 Wastewater Treatment Plants.
RCNY § 18-36
(a)Minimum requirements.
(1)Unless otherwise permitted by these rules and regulations, the design, construction, or operation of a wastewater treatment plant is prohibited where such design, construction, or operation causes a discharge, or storage which is reasonably likely to lead to a discharge, of sewage or sewage effluent into the environment (including into groundwater), and which is reasonably likely to cause degradation of surface water quality or of the water supply. It shall be an affirmative defense under this subsection that such discharge, or storage likely to lead to a discharge, is either permitted or not prohibited under federal law, and is either permitted or not prohibited under state law.
(2)The design of new wastewater treatment plants, and the plans and specifications resulting from that design, require the review and approval of the Department. New wastewater treatment plants must be constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications approved by the Department.
(3)The design for an expansion or an alteration or modification of wastewater treatment plants, and the plans and specifications resulting from that design, require the review and approval of the Department. Any expansion or alteration or modification of a wastewater treatment plant must be constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications approved by the Department.
(4)The owner or operator of a wastewater treatment plant shall operate and maintain the wastewater treatment plant in accordance with the operations and maintenance manual for the plant. Such manual shall be prepared by the owner and approved by the Department. Such manual shall be prepared or revised, and submitted to the Department for approval, within ninety (90) days after construction, expansion, alteration or modification of a wastewater treatment plant is completed.
(5)No new wastewater treatment plants with a surface discharge, or expansion or alteration or modification of wastewater treatment plants, shall cause a contravention of the water quality standards set forth in Subchapter D of these rules and regulations or the phosphorus water quality values set forth in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Technical and Operational Guidance Series (TOGS) 1.1.1, Ambient Water Quality Standards and Guidance Values and Groundwater Effluent Limitations (October 22, 1993, Reissue Date June 1998, as modified and supplemented by the January 1999 Errata Sheet and the April 2000 and June 2004 Addenda).
(6)No part of any seepage unit or absorption area for a subsurface discharge from a wastewater treatment plant shall be located within the limiting distance of 100 feet of a watercourse or wetland or within the limiting distance of 500 feet of a reservoir, reservoir stem, or controlled lake.
(7)Wastewater treatment plants with surface discharges into the watershed shall be capable of achieving 99.9 percent removal and/or inactivation of Giardia lamblia cysts and 99.99 percent removal and/or inactivation of enteric viruses.
(8)Wastewater treatment plants with either surface or subsurface discharges within the watershed shall provide phosphorus removal using the best treatment technology so that the wastewater treatment plant is designed to be operated and maintained to meet the following requirements: SPDES Permitted Total Flow(Gallons/day)Total Phosphorus Limit(mg/l)≤ 50,0001.0> 50,000 and < 500,0000.5≥ 500,0000.2 (9) Wastewater treatment plants with surface discharges to intermittent streams in the watershed shall be operated and maintained to meet the intermittent stream effluent limits set forth in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Technical and Operational Guidance Series (TOGS) 1.3.1, Total Maximum Daily Loads and Water Quality-Based Effluent Limits (July 8, 1996, Revised February 1998), including Amendments A through E (July 8, 1996), and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Technical and Operational Guidance Series (TOGS) 1.3.1B, Total Maximum Daily Loads and Water Quality-Based Effluent Limits, Amendments-Low and Intermittent Stream Standards (July 8, 1996), provided however, that the effluent limit for a discharge of a pollutant to an intermittent stream shall in no case be less stringent than the effluent limit which would apply to the same discharge of the pollutant to the first downstream perennial stream.
(10)Within one year of the effective date of these rules and regulations, the owners of all existing wastewater treatment plants shall submit to the Department for review and approval an operations and maintenance plan and a schedule setting forth a plan for bringing the wastewater treatment plant into compliance with all of the requirements of this section. Any such plan that is disapproved by the Department shall be revised and resubmitted to the Department for review and approval within ninety (90) days after the initial disapproval. Owners of existing wastewater treatment plants must secure final Department approval of such operation and maintenance plans and such a schedule setting forth a plan for bringing the plant into compliance by no later than eighteen (18) months from the effective date of these rules and regulations, and must complete all work in order for such plants to be brought into compliance with the requirements of this section by no later than five (5) years from the effective date of these rules and regulations or any extended period of time approved by the Department upon good cause shown.
(11)Existing wastewater treatment plants with surface discharges are prohibited from expanding if they are located in an area where new wastewater treatment plants with surface discharges are prohibited by these rules and regulations. This paragraph shall not apply to existing wastewater treatment plants which discharge subsurface or the expansion of existing wastewater treatment plants where the expanded portion discharges subsurface.
(12)Existing wastewater treatment plants with surface discharges may expand if they are located in an area where new wastewater treatment plants with surface discharges are allowed by these rules and regulations. The plans submitted to expand the wastewater treatment plant shall meet all of the requirements of this section.
(13)Existing wastewater treatment plants with subsurface discharges may expand. The expanded portion of such wastewater treatment plants shall meet all of the design standards and other requirements of this section.
(14)Any approval of a new or expanded wastewater treatment plant issued by the Department shall expire and thereafter be null and void unless construction is completed within five (5) years of the date of issuance of such approval or any extended period of time approved by the Department upon good cause shown. Following expiration of the approval, the plans for the wastewater treatment plants may be resubmitted to the Department for consideration for a new approval.
(b)Requirements for wastewater treatment plants located within phosphorus restricted basins. No new wastewater treatment plants with surface discharges, or expansions of existing wastewater treatment plants with surface discharges, shall be allowed in a phosphorus restricted basin. A variance from this provision may be sought in accordance with the requirements set forth in 15 RCNY § 18-61(d).
(c)Requirements for wastewater treatment plants located in coliform restricted basins. No new wastewater treatment plants with surface discharges, or expansions of existing wastewater treatment plants with surface discharges, shall be allowed in a coliform restricted basin. A variance from this provision may be sought in accordance with the requirements set forth in 15 RCNY § 18-61(d)(1).
(d)Treatment requirements for wastewater treatment plants located within the 60 day travel time to intake.
(e)Treatment requirements for wastewater treatment plants located in the watershed and beyond the 60 day travel time to intake.
(f)Design, operation and maintenance requirements.
(ii)All vital plant structures, mechanical and electrical equipment of wastewater treatment plants located or designed within the 100-year flood plain shall be protected from damage from a 100-year flood that may affect or disrupt its function or general performance. Such structures and equipment shall remain fully operational in a 25-year flood.
(iii)The disinfection system shall be provided with backup units, an alarm and equipment that will insure processing of the plant flow without interruption and the backup electrical and/or mechanical equipment shall be equipped with automatic start-up capability.
(iv)Sand filtration or a Department-approved alternative technology to sand filtration shall be implemented in units of sufficient number and size to ensure that the flow they are designed to accommodate, consistent with the "New York State Design Standards for Intermediate Sized Wastewater Treatment Systems," New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (2014) and/or the "Recommended Standards for Wastewater Facilities," Great Lakes-Upper Mississippi River Board of State and Provincial Public Health and Environmental Managers (2014), can be processed in the event that the largest such unit is off line; (v) All wastewater treatment plants must be equipped with a flow meter that includes a recording device; and (vi) All alarm systems shall require telemetering to a central location with around the clock operator presence or, in the alternative, to an operator's residence so that a response shall be initiated immediately.
(g)Application requirements.
