MDEQ Update – Focus on

Sustainability

Detroit River Lighthouse,

photo courtesy of the Friends

of the Detroit River

MWEA – October 18, 2018

Water Resources Division, MDEQ

Water Resources

Protect and Monitor

4 Great Lakes

3,288 miles of Great

Lakes shoreline

11,000 inland lakes

36,000 river miles

5.5 million acres of wetlands

70,000 acres of critical dunes

For swimming, fishing, drinking water and aquatic ecosystems.

Issues Involving System Sustainability

Stormwater Utility legislation

Asset Management Program

Collection system permit

Resiliency (Climate)

Green Infrastructure

Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) – utility of the future

21st Century Infrastructure Report

Completed December 2016

For several sectors (water, transportation,

communication, transportation); calls for coordinated

asset management; pilots completed in SE MI and

Grand Rapids area

Stormwater Utility, system resiliency, green

infrastructure, most effective and cost-effective use of

infrastructure

A program for maintaining a desired level of service for

what you want the assets to provide at the lowest life-

cycle cost. Lowest life-cycle cost refers to the best

appropriate cost for rehabilitating, repairing, or replacing

an asset.

In a wastewater system, an "asset" is a component of a

facility with an independent physical and functional

identity and age (e.g., pump, motor, clarifier, etc.).

Wastewater Asset Management Plans

Five Core Questions of Asset Management

1. What is the current state of my assets?

2. What is my required "sustainable" level of service?

3. Which assets are critical to sustained performance?

4. What are my minimum life-cycle costs?

5. What is my best long-term funding strategy?

Wastewater Asset Management Plans

Wastewater Asset Management Plans

Adding conditions to major WWTP NPDES

permits since 2013

Starting this year to add to minor permits over

0.5 MGD

Will add requirements to the new collection

system general permit

Where is the General Permit

Internal/External stakeholder group started this

June 2017

Delayed over the last 6 months

First draft of the permit should be sent out soon

DEQ’s intention is to get this general permit

issued in Fiscal Year 2019

MWEA members have been important members

and have developed portions of the draft permit

Why do we need the General Permit

Deal with any issues in collection systems under Part 41;

Reactive instead of proactive. SSOs in ACOs

There are high wet weather flows at some Regional

WWTPs. Flows have not been adequately reduced over

time

Collections systems must be maintained

A sanitary sewer system is part of the POTW, and we

believe can be regulated as such

There are roughly 400-500 collection systems in the

state that are not covered by NPDES permits

Capacity Evaluation (testing, inspection, flow

monitoring)

Management (org structure, training, customer

service, legal authority)

Operation (budget, emergency response, mapping,

construction)

Maintenance (budget, maintenance, cleaning

schedules, parts and equipment inventory)

Rehabilitation (SSO elimination, I/I reduction)

CMOM (Capacity Management Operation &

Maintenance)

Collection System General Permit

Working to address issues Proper Operations

Asset management (AM)

Outlet and internal capacity restrictions (CMOM),

address flows to meet excessive I/I definition or

another acceptable regional criteria

Inspection program

SSO prohibition

fiscal sustainability

incentives to participate

Benefits of Coverage

Potentially address SSOs under a NPDES

permit and not an order (ACO)

Address high flows at some regional WWTPs by

reducing flows at contributing collection systems

Ensure important asset management programs,

elimination of capacity restrictions, flexible but

critical inspection frequencies, fiscal

sustainability

Provide for some incentives (still need to be

reviewed by the DAG)

Resiliency (Climate)

Looked at all WRD wet weather programs

(CSO, SSO, Storm water, Non-point

source, CAFO, resource permitting)

Had used Bulletin 71, TP 40, and NOAA

Now will be using NOAA Atlas 14, that

includes recent storm data

Will be messaged to regulated community

over the next year

Green Infrastructure (GI) in Detroit WWTP

Permit

Fits within the opportunities provided in the

Detroit Future City report

Areas of Green Infrastructure

Upper Rouge Area

Near Eastside Area

Develop a required level of stormwater control

for new and redevelopment by 4/1/19

GI - Upper Rouge Area (implementation)

Requires spending $50

million over 20 years

Spending consistent

with GI Plan, once

approved

Targeted reduction of

stormwater of 2.8 MG

by 2017

Detroit Future City Report

GI - Near Eastside (planning)

Removes gray CSO

projects from previous

permit

Allows for planning of GI

potential in an area that

has a relatively high

amount of vacant land

Requires a revised CSO

correction plan

Detroit Future City Report

MDEQ WRRF Initiative

Michigan Governor’s Recycling Council

2012 – DEQ to develop plan to increase recycling

2014 – Statewide plan to increase MSW recycling

WRD – WRRF Initiative

2015 – WRD management recognized similar

goals could be applied to wastewater facilities

Recognize what WW facilities already doing; AND

further promote use of valuable resources

Utility of the Future

WWTP

• Treat water to protect public health and the environment

WRRF• Treat water to protect

public health and the environment

• Recover nutrients

• Optimize energy efficiency

• Produce energy

• Recover heat

• Water reuse

• Green infrastructure

MDEQ-WRD/MWEA Collaboration

• MDEQ-WRD and MWEA workgroup formed

• MWEA proposal

Establish metrics & baselines

Literature review

Michigan WRRF Recycling Summit

Recognition Program

Outreach Program

• MDEQ-WRD Grant awarded

MDEQ WRRF Initiative Updates

• Working closely with MWEA on their grant (through

2018), to be extended

• Working to facilitate Nitrogen and Phosphorus

harvesting, biosolids reuse, and energy reduction

• WRD will discuss how to help educate permittee’s on the

WRRF process in

1. permits

2. DEQ website, conferences

• WRD will participate in Leaders Innovation Forum

Technology (LIFT)

MDEQ WRRF Initiative Updates

Part 41 related efforts might include:

• Developing checklists for design/build

• Review WRD Innovative Technology Review

memo to consider LIFT

• Developing a Part 41 permit condition for

“Ancillary” projects, to the primary function of

treatment

• Developing checklist for BNR and anaerobic

digestion

Case Study - Marquette MI

Marquette MI

• Wastewater Plant was constructed in 1954 and

upgraded in 1979 and 2008.

• Design Flow = 3.85 MGD, Avg Daily Flow = 3.0 MGD

• Activated Sludge Plant with Anaerobic Digesters.

• Biogas is used to heat the Plant and Digesters, excess

is flared off.

• The City entered into a contract with Johnson Controls

for a City Wide Energy savings project in 2017

• From that project the City is going to install 2, 100 KW

Kraft Cogen units. Startup in the fall of 2018.

1. GLWA WRRF (aka Detroit WWTP).

Biosolids drying facility

2. Grand Rapids WRRF. Working to address

sequestering of nutrients and also digestion for

energy production

Other WWTPs that are addressing

Utility of the Future Issues

Summary

At DEQ-WRD we are working in many

programs to help with sustainability

Just starting to better understand and help

regarding WRRF

Questions

Discussion

Contact: Phil Argiroff, P.E.

argiroffp@michigan.gov

517-290-3039

Charlie Hill, P.E.

hillc@michigan.gov

906-228-4527