Regulatory

Wastewater Management is committed to practicing environmental stewardship and maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements. We are collaborating with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to satisfy waste load allocations and new water quality standards associated with the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal rivers. Specifically, the county has initiated projects at its wastewater treatment facilities to meet nutrient reduction regulations and is participating in the development of a regional nutrient credit reduction program.

Water Quality Standards

Virginia and the other Chesapeake Bay states have until 2010 to meet new water quality standards aimed at cleaning up the Bay and its tributaries. From a December 2003 statement by the Governor of Virginia, stricter, permit-specific, total nutrient discharge limits will likely be set in the future for area wastewater treatment facilities. To meet more stringent requirements, Wastewater Management is planning to upgrade the existing treatment facilities.

In fiscal year 2004, new biological nitrogen removal facilities became operational at the following four plants: Alexandria Sanitation Authority treatment plant, Arlington County treatment plant, Noman M. Cole, Jr., Pollution Control Plant, and the Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority. The Blue Plains biological nitrogen removal facility became operational in April 2000. These treatment plants meet water quality permit requirements for ammonia nitrogen discharges and voluntarily discharge treated wastewater.

All Virginia wastewater treatment plants operate under a Virginia Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit, which is issued by the Department of Environmental Quality. Treated water from the Noman M. Cole, Jr., Pollution Control Plant is discharged to Pohick Creek, which is a tributary to the Potomac River, and eventually, to the Chesapeake Bay.

Waste Load Allocation Regulations

In August 2004, the Department of Environmental Quality proposed revised nutrient waste load allocations for wastewater treatment facilities. The agency also indicated that new technologically based nutrient concentrations would be proposed as amendments to the Regulation for Nutrient Enriched Waters and Discharges within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The Virginia Water Control Board approved total phosphorus and total nitrogen waste load allocations at design flow levels for area treatment plants. The Department of Environmental Quality will issue, re-issue, or modify wastewater treatment plant discharge permits in conformance with waste load allocations and provisions of new water quality standards regulations.