New Federal Rule
Solves Longstanding Florida Wastewater Problem
November 21, 2005
Following extensive study, analysis and
development, the Environmental Protection Agency has finalized
an approach to disposal of wastewater that offers greater
protection for underground sources of drinking water and
potential savings for wastewater treatment facilities in
Florida.
The Underground Injection Control (UIC) rule
sharply reduces the possibility of contamination from wastewater
injected into deep wells. Facilities may opt for one of several
approaches as long as their action brings them into compliance
with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Those that use the UIC method must have
industrial pretreatment so that various sources of effluent
remove major contaminants before the water enters the wastewater
treatment plant. Treatment facilities, in turn, add a secondary
level of treatment and then high-level disinfection to
inactivate pathogenic organisms. This results in water that
meets the same standard as is required by the State of Florida
for reuse water applied on lawns, golf courses and similar
applications.
"This rule helps Florida continue to protect
underground sources of drinking water as well as aquatic
ecosystems by strengthening pollution prevention and
disinfection requirements," said assistant administrator of
Water Benjamin H. Grumbles.
The rule is based, in part, on the findings of
a comprehensive study called "Relative Risk Assessment of
Management Options for Treated Wastewater in S. Florida." It
demonstrated the feasibility and cost effectiveness of the
approach. Some treatment facilities have been facing
prohibitively expensive alternative disposal methods or perhaps
even closing their operations.
For more than 20 years, some Florida
municipalities have been using underground injection as an
alternative to surface disposal of treated domestic wastewater.
These high-technology (Class I) wells have been drilled
1,000-3,000 ft deep. However, evidence has accumulated that some
of the wastewater has been migrating into underground sources of
drinking water.
The UIC rule provides wastewater treatment
facilities with a solution that brings them into compliance with
the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act. As a salutary
side effect, treatment facilities may find there is a market for
the treated water, which could reduce the need for injection.
EPA has also found that pretreatment programs
and prohibitions on wastewater from significant industrial users
have prevented contaminants from getting into wastewater in the
first place, and that secondary treatment is a critical step in
wastewater treatment prior to high-level disinfection.
The Florida Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) administers the UIC Program in the state. DEP
will propose regulations that are at least as stringent as this
new federal rule. Facilities in St. Petersburg already meet this
standard and, improvements to meet the standard at Miami-Dade
are underway.
The final rule, "Revision of Federal
Underground Injection Control Requirements for Class I Municipal
Disposal Wells in Florida" will be published in the Federal
Register in the near future.
© 2005 Scranton Gillette Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
Source: EPA November 21, 2005
|