250 R.I. Code R. 250-RICR-150-10-4.5

Current through November 21, 2024

Section 250-RICR-150-10-4.5 - Operation and Maintenance Plan Requirements

A. At all times, Wastewater Treatment Facilities shall be maintained in good working order and operated as efficiently as possible. Proper operation and maintenance may include but not be limited to effective performance based on facility design, adequate funding, effective management, adequate operator staffing and training and adequate laboratory and process controls including quality assurance procedures as determined to be appropriate by the Director and backup or auxiliary facilities or similar systems to assure compliance or effective performance. Proper operation and maintenance must include emergency procedures and reporting requirements in case of power outages, natural disaster, labor shortage (whether the result of intentional work stoppages or epidemic) equipment failure, acts of terrorism/vandalism or Sanitary Sewer Overflow. Reporting requirements shall include verbal notification to the Department and, if applicable, the Owner of the host Wastewater Treatment Facility as soon as possible, but not exceeding twenty-four (24) hours of discovery of the event; a written report must be submitted to the Department not more than five (5) business days of the event's ending.

B. The Owner shall submit for review and approval by the Director an Operation and Maintenance Plan prescribing standards and procedures by which the Wastewater Treatment Facility will be staffed, operated and maintained during normal and emergency conditions. Should development of the Plan include the practice of engineering, the Plan must then be prepared and certified by a Registered Professional Engineer registered in the State of Rhode Island.

C. The Owner of a new Wastewater Treatment Facility, or the owner of an existing Wastewater Treatment Facility that is being upgraded shall submit a draft Operations and Maintenance Plan, or draft revisions to an existing approved Plan, to the Director for review and approval at least sixty (60) days prior to commencement of operation of the new or upgraded Wastewater Treatment Facility.

D. The Owner of an existing Wastewater Treatment Facility without an approved Plan must submit for approval a Plan necessary to comply with the requirements herein within one (1) calendar year of the promulgation of these Rules and Regulations, or at some other pre-approved time as determined at the discretion of the Director.

E. The Owner of an existing Wastewater Treatment Facility with an approved Plan must submit for approval all revisions necessary to comply with the requirements herein within one (1) calendar year of the promulgation of these Rules and Regulations, or at some other pre-approved time as determined at the discretion of the Director.

F. The Owner may request an extension in time to complete and submit the required revisions or submission of a Plan, per §§ 4.5(D) and (E) of this Part, but this extension cannot exceed one year in addition to the one year herein.

1. A request for submission extension must be in writing and be received by the Department no later than three (3) months prior to the required submittal date. Any request received later than three months prior to the required submittal date will be denied.

2. The request for extension must include all applicable reasons that would require additional time for the submission of a draft plan.

3. It shall be at the Director's discretion to approve or deny such a request for extensions of submission.

G. The Owner of any existing Wastewater Treatment Facility operating on the effective date of these Rules and Regulations shall continue to operate the Wastewater Treatment Facility in compliance with an existing approved Plan, which shall remain in full force and effect unless suspended or revoked by the Director in accordance with § 4.13 of this Part.

H. The contents of the Plan shall include at a minimum the following:

1. Descriptions and schematics of the entire Wastewater Treatment Facility in either paper or electronic form, and an overall plan with appropriate labels for major components (i.e. collection piping and pumping, headworks, clarifiers, aeration tanks, disinfection, sludge handling, etc.), outfall(s) and compliance sampling locations. This description and schematic must include:

a. Sewer-line maps of the collection system, which will include but not be limited to the overall service area, as well as the locations of incoming wastewater from neighboring communities, pipe diameter, distances between centers of manholes, slope or direction of flow, and the locations of all pump stations, siphons, etc., (noting design capacities) and flow meters. Other required collection system information may include, but not be limited to, the dimensions of easements and property lines. The information stated herein (that is, in § 4.5(H)(1)(a) of this Part will not be submitted to the Department for review, but shall be available for review by the Director at any time during the approval process.

b. A summary of all design criteria, including capacity calculations, for the Wastewater Treatment Facility.

2. Descriptions of, and detailed operating procedures for, all treatment processes and major and essential equipment, including sampling and monitoring equipment.

3. A preventative maintenance plan for the Wastewater Treatment Facility. This must include information stored within an adequate data-management system.

4. A listing of supplies and essential spare parts necessary to be kept on site for normal and emergency use throughout the Wastewater Treatment Facility.

5. A staffing plan, including but not limited to position descriptions, managerial and staffing hierarchy organization chart, minimum qualifications and training, whether the position is full- or part-time, and required Grade of Licensure, as stated by any Rules and Regulations promulgated by the Rhode Island Board of Certification of Operators of Wastewater Treatment Facilities.

6. A description of any provisions to ensure security of the Wastewater Treatment Facility's physical and electronic data-management systems.

7. Emergency procedures and reporting requirements in case of power outages, natural disaster, labor shortage (whether the result of intentional work stoppages or epidemic) equipment failure, acts of terrorism/vandalism or Sanitary Sewer Overflow. Reporting requirements shall include verbal notification to the Department as soon as possible but not exceeding twenty-four (24) hours of discovery of the event; a written report must be submitted not more than five (5) business days of the event's ending.

8. Procedures for records keeping for up to three years of the time of recording.

9. Seasonal operational requirements, where applicable.

10. A schedule for self-monitoring of influent and effluent, treatment processes and operations to be reported on forms (paper or electronic) required by the Director.

11. A copy of the Wastewater Treatment Facility's National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) or Rhode Island Pollution Discharge Elimination System (RIPDES) discharge permit.

12. Laboratory and sample collection procedures.

13. A description of operational funding mechanisms, to be updated at any time said funding mechanism changes.

14. A copy of the sewer use ordinance.

15. Procedures for tracking information regarding legally responsible parties of privately owned Wastewater Treatment Facilities that are physically connected to, and so empty into, an Owner's Wastewater Treatment Facility. Such information must include, at a minimum, the retention of up-to-date and accurate contact information, including names, addresses and emergency communication information for all privately owned Wastewater Treatment Facilities connected to an Owner's Wastewater Treatment Facility.

16. Procedures for informing responsible parties of privately owned Wastewater Treatment Facilities that are physically connected to, and so empty into, an Owner's Wastewater Treatment Facility that, at a minimum, said parties are under the authority of these regulations.

17. Procedures for monitoring that privately owned Wastewater Treatment Facilities that are physically connected to, and so empty into, an Owner's Wastewater Treatment Facility, are operated and maintained in accordance with § 4.5(A) of this Part. These procedures shall include a plan for action by the Owner should it become known that a privately owned Wastewater Treatment Facility has failed.

18. Provisions that the Wastewater Treatment Facility will minimize Sanitary Sewer Overflows by maintaining and planning for proper collection-system capacity. This must include a description of methods for Wastewater Treatment Facility capacity management with details on the selection and enforcement of any and all legal authority necessary for an Owner to ensure system capacity by regulating the volume of flow entering the Wastewater Treatment Facility, including but not limited to residential and commercial customers, neighboring communities and industrial users. Such legal authority may include project approval requirements at the local level, sewer-use ordinances, contracts, service agreements and/or other legally binding documents.

19. A schedule for implementation of §§ 4.5(H)(15) through (18) of this Part above.

250 R.I. Code R. 250-RICR-150-10-4.5