Conn. Agencies Regs. § 22a-482-3 - Technical program elements
(a)
Engineering Report Requirements.
(1) General. Engineering reports consist of
those necessary plans and studies which directly relate to the development of
pollution abatement strategies and the construction of pollution abatement
facilities necessary to comply with an Order to Abate Pollution as defined in
section
22a-423
of the General Statutes. The engineering report will demonstrate the need for
the proposed pollution abatement facility through an evaluation of all feasible
alternatives and shall demonstrate that the selected alternative is
cost-effective, i.e. is the most economical means of meeting effluent and water
quality goals while recognizing environmental considerations.
(2) Content of Engineering Reports. The
content of the engineering report shall be determined by the Commissioner based
on a pre-report conference with the municipality and its engineering consultant
regarding the precise plan of study (engineering report outline) and resulting
scope of services to be performed. Engineering reports shall address at a
minimum each of the following as determined appropriate by the Commissioner:
(A) A detailed evaluation of the existing and
potential wastewater treatment and disposal problems in the study
area;
(B) a cost-effective analysis
of alternatives available to correct the pollution problems identified. The
final selection of alternative(s) to correct the problems noted shall be based
on the results of the cost-effective analysis, including the present worth or
equivalent annual value of all capital costs, and operation, maintenance and
replacement costs. The interest rate used for this analysis shall be the rate
established by the Federal Water Resources Council for use in federally funded
projects. The population forecasting in the analysis shall be consistent with
current projections of the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management. A
cost-effective analysis shall include:
(i) the
relationship of the size and capacity of the recommended facilities to the
needs to be served, including any reserve capacity;
(ii) an evaluation of alternative flow and
waste reduction measures, including nonstructural methods;
(iii) an evaluation of improved effluent
quality attainable by upgrading the operation, maintenance and efficiency of
existing facilities as an alternative or supplement to construction of new
pollution abatement facilities;
(iv) an evaluation of the capability of each
alternative to meet applicable effluent limitations and water quality
standards;
(v) various treatment
techniques including: conventional biological or physical-chemical treatment
and discharge systems; land application techniques and other innovative and
alternative techniques which may result in recycling of water and pollutants;
onsite and nonconventional systems, both community and individual;
(vi) an evaluation of the alternative methods
for the ultimate disposal of treated wastewater and sludge materials resulting
from the treatment process and a justification for the method(s) chosen;
and
(vii) an adequate assessment of
the expected environmental impact of alternatives (including sites) under the
requirements of sections
22a-1a
to
22a-1h,
inclusive, of the General Statutes;
(C) if applicable, a demonstration of the
non-existence or possible existence of excessive infiltration/inflow in the
affected sewerage system;
(D) an
identification of proposed effluent discharge limits, if appropriate, and a
description of how the proposed project will result in compliance with any
pollution abatement order issued by the Commissioner;
(E) a summary of public participation in the
development of the engineering report;
(F) a brief statement demonstrating that the
local authorities who will be implementing the plan have the necessary legal,
financial, institutional, and managerial resources available to insure the
construction, operation and maintenance of the proposed pollution abatement
facilities;
(G) a brief description
of potential opportunities for recreation, open space, and access to bodies of
water afforded by the recommended project; and
(H) for the selected alternative, a concise
description of at least the following;
(i)
estimated capital construction, and operation and maintenance costs;
(ii) estimated cost of future expansion and
long term needs for reconstruction of pollution abatement facilities following
their useful life;
(iii) cost
impacts on pollution abatement facility users; and
(iv) a statement concerning the availability
and estimated cost of any proposed treatment sites.
(3) Public Participation.
(A) The scope and level of detail of the
public participation program shall be determined during the development of the
plan of study. The program shall be comprised of public forums such as
workshops, meetings and hearing(s) as necessary to promote public awareness and
input into the planning process.
(B) At a minimum, prior to adoption of the
engineering report, the municipality must hold a public hearing to describe the
proposed program and action(s) and to assure that the public's concerns are
fully considered.
(C) The time and
place of the public hearing shall be conspicuously and adequately announced at
least 10 days in advance, or for such longer period as may be required by local
ordinance or charter. Copies of the engineering report must be made available
for inspection by the public at least 10 days prior to the hearing.
(D) A request to waive the public hearing on
an engineering report may be submitted in writing to the Commissioner when the
municipality determines a public hearing is not necessary and would not serve
the public interest.
(4)
Environmental Review. Prior to the award of a project funding agreement for
design or construction, the requirements of the Connecticut Environmental
Policy Act (sections
22a-1 to
22a-1h,
inclusive, of the General Statutes) shall have been met. The municipality must
prepare an adequate environmental assessment of expected environmental impacts
consistent with the requirements of sections
22a-1a
to
22a-1h,
inclusive, of the General Statutes as part of facility planning. Projects
receiving financial assistance shall comply with the following:
(A) for any project not required in the
department's Environmental Classification Document to undergo an environmental
impact evaluation or finding of no significant impact, the Commissioner shall
publish a notice in a newspaper of community-wide circulation indicating the
determination that a Finding of No Significant Impact is not necessary and that
supporting documentation for this determination is available for
inspection.
(B) when the
Commissioner determines that significant changes in the project or
environmental conditions have occurred, an amendment to the Environmental
Impact Evaluation or the Finding of No Significant Impact or the determination
that a Finding of No Significant Impact is not necessary will be issued in
accordance with sections
22a-1a
to
22a-1h,
inclusive, of the General Statutes.
(C) for Environmental Impact Evaluations,
Findings of No Significant Impact, or determinations that a Finding of No
Significant Impact is not necessary which are five or more years old for
projects seeking a construction project funding agreement, the Commissioner
shall re-evaluate the project, environmental conditions and public comments and
prior to financial award shall either:
(i)
issue a public notice in a newspaper of community-wide circulation reaffirming
the decision to proceed with the project without revising the Finding of No
Significant Impact or Environmental Impact Evaluation or reaffirming that a
Finding of No Significant Impact is not necessary; or
(ii) update information and prepare or amend
the Environmenta1 Impact Evaluation or Finding of No Significant Impact in
accordance with sections
22a-1a
to
22a-1h,
inclusive, of the General Statutes;
(iii) withdraw the Finding of No Significant
Impact and prepare an Environmental Impact Evaluation in accordance with the
sections
22a-1a
to
22a-1h,
inclusive, of the General Statutes.
(D) in the development of the Finding of No
Significant Impact, the Commissioner shall include a description and analysis
of the reasonable alternatives to the proposed action, including no
action.
(b)
Small Community Systems. Projects proposed to be funded from the
Reserve for Small Communities shall be for improvements to existing wastewater
treatment systems or new collector sewers, interceptor sewers and treatment
works serving small communities. Routine interceptor sewer extensions within
municipalities that do not meet the definition of a small community are not
eligible for funding from this reserve. Categories of projects eligible for
assistance under this reserve are:
(1)
projects involving improvements to or construction of collector sewers,
interceptor sewers and treatment works for which the entire proposed service
area within the municipality meets the definitions of a small community; and
(2) projects for interceptor
sewers connecting a service area meeting the definition of a small community to
a wastewater treatment facility in another municipality. In order to be
eligible for funding under this reserve, the applicant must demonstrate to the
satisfaction of the Commissioner that the only alternative to the proposed
project would be the construction of new treatment works which would involve a
discharge of treated wastewater which would result in violation of, or require
a revision to, the State's Water Quality Standards and Criteria as adopted
pursuant to section
22a-426
of the General Statutes.
(c)
Privately Owned Individual
Systems.
(1) A municipality may apply
for funding assistance to construct privately owned pollution abatement
facilities serving one or more principal residences or small commercial
establishments.
(2) In addition to
the engineering report requirements set forth in subsection (a) of this section
the municipality shall:
(A) demonstrate that
the total present worth cost and environmental impact of building the
individual systems will be less than the present worth cost of a larger
municipally owned pollution abatement facility;
(B) demonstrate to the satisfaction of the
Commissioner that the individual systems proposed are part of a technically
feasible and implementable program which will successfully address all existing
and potential wastewater treatment needs within the planning area;
(C) certify that each principal residence or
small commercial establishment was constructed before July 1, 1983, and
inhabited or in use on or before that date;
(D) apply on behalf of a number of individual
units to be served in the planning area;
(E) certify that, where public ownership of
such works is not feasible, the municipality will have unlimited right of
access to the site and to the system for the purpose of necessary inspection,
maintenance, and repair;
(F)
certify that such treatment works will be properly operated and maintained and
will comply with all other requirements of sections
22a-482-1
to
22a-482-4
of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, applicable state statutes and
regulations; and
(G) certify that a
user charge system, established in compliance with section (e) of this
subsection, will be developed and implemented to ensure the availability of
financial resources sufficient to ensure the proper operation, maintenance, and
eventual repair or replacement of funded facilities and those individual
systems which are within the service area identified in subparagraph (B) of
this subsection but which are not required and replaced with the assistance
funds.
(d)
Value Engineering (VE)
(1) Value
Engineering Proposal. All design funding assistance applications for projects
having a projected total building cost of $10 million or more, including the
cost for interceptor and collector sewers, will contain a VE proposal. The VE
proposal must contain sufficient information for the Commissioner to determine
the adequacy of the VE effort and the justification of the proposed VE fee.
Essential information shall include the scope of VE analysis, VE team and VE
coordinator (names and background), level of VE effort, VE cost estimate, and
VE schedule in relation to the project schedule (including completion of VE
analysis and submittal of VE summary reports). The VE coordinator and a
majority of the VE team members shall be employed by a firm (or firms) other
than the design engineering consultant.
(2) Value Engineering Analysis. When the VE
analysis is completed, a preliminary report summarizing the VE findings and a
final report describing implementation of the VE recommendations must be
submitted to the Commissioner.
(3)
Valve Engineering Implementation. For those projects on which a VE analysis has
been performed, VE recommendations shall be implemented to the maximum extent
feasible, as determined by the municipality, subject to the approval of the
Commissioner. Rejection of any recommendations shall be on the basis of
cost-effectiveness, reliability, and other factors that may be critical to the
treatment processes, the environmental impact of the project and the extent of
project delays.
(e) User
Charge System. The user charge system must be designed to produce adequate
revenues required for the operation, maintenance, and replacement of the
pollution abatement facilities. It shall provide that each user which
discharges wastewaters to the system, causing an increase in the cost of
operating and maintaining the pollution abatement facilities, shall pay for
such increased cost. The user charge system shall be based on either actual use
or ad valorem taxes as follows:
(1) User
Charge System Based on Actual Use. A municipality's user charge system based on
actual use (or estimated use) of wastewater treatment services shall provide
that each user (or user class) pays its proportionate share of operation and
maintenance (including replacement) costs of the pollution abatement facilities
within the municipality's service area, based on the user's proportionate
contribution to the total wastewater loading from all users (or user
classes).
(2) User Charge System
Based on Ad Valorem Taxes. A municipality's user charge system which is based
on ad valorem taxes shall provide that:
(A) on
the effective date of sections
22a-482-1
to
22a-482-4,
inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, the municipality
had in existence a system of dedicated ad valorem taxes which collected
revenues to pay the cost of operation and maintenance of the pollution
abatement facilities within the municipality's service area and the
municipality has continued to use that system;
(B) each member of the industrial user and
commercial user class which discharges more than 25,000 gallons per day of
sanitary waste pays its share of the costs of operation and maintenance
(including replacement) of the pollution abatement facilities based upon
charges for actual use; and
(C) the
Commissioner determines that the municipality has historically demonstrated
that the ad valorem system has resulted in proper operation, maintenance and
management of the pollution abatement facilities, including the sewer
system.
(3)
Notification. Each user charge system must provide that each user be notified,
at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill, of the rate and that
portion of the user charges or ad valorem taxes which are attributable to
wastewater treatment services.
(4)
Financial Management System. Each user charge system must include an adequate
financial management system that will accurately account for revenues generated
by the system and expenditures for operation and maintenance (including
replacement) of the treatment system.
(5) Charges for Operation and Maintenance for
Extraneous Flows. The user charge system shall provide that the costs of
operation and maintenance for all flow not directly attributable to users
(i.e., infiltration/inflow) be distributed among all users based upon either of
the following:
(A) in the same manner that it
distributes the costs for their actual use; or
(B) under a system which uses one or any
combination of the following factors on a reasonable basis:
(i) flow volume of the users;
(ii) land area of the users;
(iii) number of hookups or discharges of the
users; or
(iv) property valuation
of the users, if the municipality has an approved user charge system based on
ad valorem taxes.
(6) Adoption of System. One or more municipal
legislative enactments or other appropriate authority must incorporate the user
charge system. If the project is a treatment system accepting wastewaters from
other municipalities, the subscribers receiving waste treatment services from
the municipality shall adopt user charge systems in accordance with this
section. These user charge systems shall also be incorporated in appropriate
municipal legislative enactments or other appropriate authority of all
municipalities contributing wastes to the pollution abatement facilities. Grant
payments shall not exceed 90% of the total construction grant award until the
municipality has adopted the approved user charge system.
(7) Implementation of System. The
municipality shall implement its user charge system before the pollution
abatement facility is placed in operation.
(f)
Sewer Use Ordinance.
(1) Each municipality applying for funding
assistance shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that a
sewer use ordinance or other legally binding requirement has been or will be
enacted and will be enforced in each jurisdiction served by the pollution
abatement facility before the completion of construction. The ordinance shall
prohibit any new connections from inflow sources into the sanitary sewer
portions of the pollution abatement facility; shall insure that new sewers and
connections to the pollution abatement facility are properly designed and
constructed; and shall require that all wastewaters introduced into the
pollution abatement facility will not contain toxics or other pollutants in
amounts or concentrations that endanger public safety or the physical integrity
of the pollution abatement facility, cause violation of the conditions of any
permit issued by the Commissioner, or preclude the selection of the most
cost-effective alternative for wastewater treatment and sludge
disposal.
(2) Grant payments shall
not exceed 50% of the total construction grant award until the municipality has
submitted a copy of its sewer use ordinance to the Commissioner for
review.
(3) Grant payments shall
not exceed 90% of the total construction grant award until the municipality's
sewer use ordinance has been approved by the Commissioner and enacted by the
municipality.
(4) The municipality
shall adopt and implement its sewer use ordinance before the pollution
abatement facility is placed in operation.
(g)
Infiltration/Inflow.
(1) General. The municipality shall
demonstrate to the Commissioner's satisfaction that each sewer system
discharging into the proposed pollution abatement facility is not, or will not,
be subject to excessive infiltration/inflow. For combined sewers, inflow is not
considered excessive in any event.
(2) Inflow. If the rainfall induced peak
inflow rate results or will result in chronic operational problems during storm
events, the municipality shall perform a study of the sewer system to determine
the quantity of excessive inflow and to propose a rehabilitation program to
eliminate the excessive inflow. All cases in which pollution abatement
facilities are planned for the specific storage and/or treatment of inflow
shall be subject to a cost-effective analysis.
(3) Infiltration.
(A) If the flow rate at the existing
pollution abatement facility is 150 gallons per capita per day or less during
periods of high groundwater, the municipality shall build the project including
sufficient capacity to transport and treat any existing infiltration. However,
if the municipality believes any specific portion of its sewer system is
subject to excessive infiltration, the municipality may confirm its belief in a
cost-effective analysis and propose a sewer rehabilitation program to eliminate
that specific excessive infiltration.
(B) If the flow rate at the existing
pollution abatement facility is significantly more than 150 gallons per capita
per day during periods of high groundwater, the municipality shall perform a
study of the sewer system to determine the quantity of excessive infiltration
and to propose a sewer rehabilitation program to eliminate the excessive
infiltration.
(C) If the flow rate
at the existing pollution abatement facility is not significantly more than 150
gallons per capita per day, the municipality may request the Commissioner to
determine that the project may proceed without further study.
(D) The Commissioner may authorize the
municipality to perform minor sewer system rehabilitation concurrently with the
sewer system evaluation survey if there is no adverse environmental impact.
Rehabilitation which would be a part of the municipality's normal operation and
maintenance responsibilities shall not be fundable.
(h)
Reserve Capacity.
The Commissioner will limit grant assistance for reserve capacity in pollution
abatement facilities as follows:
(1) no grant
shall be made to provide reserve capacity for a project for secondary or more
stringent treatment or new interceptors and appurtenances. Grants for such
projects shall be based on capacity necessary to serve existing needs as
determined on the date of award of the construction grant and shall be
consistent with the definition for eligible capacity established for the
Federal Construction Grants Program in
40 CFR 35.2123;
and
(2) the Commissioner shall
require the construction of reasonable reserve capacity.
Notes
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