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HomeMy WebLinkAbout14 Chapter 10 ReportingLa Pine National Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Demonstration Project Reporting Page 10-1 Chapter 10: Reporting The La Pine Project, as a requirement of the US Environmental Protection Agency, expended a great deal of time and effort on reporting the activities and results of the project as it progressed. There were several foci to the reporting process, including information sharing on the national scale, state or regional onsite professional education/information sharing, and outreach and education of homeowners, elected officials and realtors, mortgage brokers and land developers. The following is a list of the basic reporting activities undertaken as a result of the La Pine Project. Project inception - March 2001 • Presentation to EPA oversight committee • Seminar presentation at Oregon State University • Presentation to Steering Committee of National Decentralized Water Resources Capacity Development Project. • Presentation at USGS Regional technical meeting • Report on progress and planned activities for the overall project to the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission • Report on progress and findings to date on the denitrifying systems portion of the project to a meeting of State and County regulators, installers and consultants in Oregon. • Report on progress and planned activities for the overall project to the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners • Public meeting on the progress and status of the overall project including the denitrifying systems field test program, the groundwater study and three-dimensional groundwater and nutrient fate and transport model. Participation included about seventy-five people at the public meeting with an additional thirty-five individuals or families requesting information in writing because they were unable to attend. • Two presentations to participants in the Oregon Onsite Wastewater Association’s annual meeting and conference entitled, “Initial results of the La Pine research project.” April – June 2001 • Project report mailed to the property owners in the study area via a newsletter. • Presentation on the project to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality – Eastern Region staff. • Presentation on the project to the Deschutes County Community Development Department staff including the planning, building and environmental health divisions. July - September 2001 • Led a tour of the innovative systems installed for the project for Deschutes County Environmental Health Division staff and the La Pine Project Operation and Maintenance Advisory Committee. • Led a tour of the innovative systems installed for the project for Michael Daly, Deschutes County Board of Commissioners • USGS project web page published (http://oregon.usgs.gov/projs_dir/or186/index.html) October – December 2001 • Several newspaper articles and one television spot on the project. The newspaper are available on the web page below. This has been a more effective method of reaching the public than the public meetings or newsletters. The project team has decided to minimize the use of public meetings for reporting purposes because of their limited effectiveness. • Presentations on the project to attendees at the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association annual conference in Virginia Beach, Virginia entitled, “La Pine National Decentralized Wastewater La Pine National Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Demonstration Project Page 10-2 Reporting Demonstration Project” and “Analysis and Simulation of Flow and Transport Processes Affecting Nitrate in a Shallow Alluvial Aquifer near La Pine, Oregon.” • Presentation on the project to Oregon DEQ staff at the Water Quality All Staff meeting. January – February 2002 • Presentation to attendees at the Oregon DEQ’s annual meeting of on-site regulators, installers and other onsite professionals on the denitrifying system field test program. March – May 2002 • Draft report preparation initiated. Report graphics, including representative hydrologic unit cross-sections, geologic map, well location map and other pertinent maps, figures and tables are in preparation. • First draft of the geochemistry and nitrogen dynamics report completed and under revision prior to colleague review. • First draft of the hydrogeology and modeling report in preparation. • Project report provided at the annual DEQ on-site meeting of state and county onsite staff, installers, and consultants. Field visits to innovative system installations by DEQ and county on-site staff. • Published a newsletter in cooperation with the Deschutes County Planning Division targeting the south Deschutes County area and providing a progress report on the project’s work to date. • Information sharing during visits by representatives of the Table Rock Lake Water Quality Group (Missouri), University of Arkansas, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. June – August 2002 • Draft report preparation has been initiated. Report graphics, including site plans for the field test installation sites and onsite wastewater treatment system schematics are in preparation. September – December 2002 • The onsite system field test report development initiated. Began development of a web application to make the field test data available to the public via the Internet. • Presentation of 3-D model preliminary scenarios to Deschutes County Planning Division and project staff. • Poster presentations of the groundwater study and 3-D model at the Fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, California. • Report on the Operation and Maintenance Advisory Committee recommendations to the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners • Report on the Operation and Maintenance Advisory Committee recommendations to the DEQ Onsite Program Improvement Advisory Committee • Report on the performance of the NITREX, FAST, EnviroServer, RX-30, and Biokreisel systems at the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association conference in Kansas City, Missouri in a paper entitled, “Early Findings of the La Pine National Decentralized Wastewater Demonstration Project.” • Report on the preliminary findings of the GW model and the innovative systems portions of the project to the head of the environmental health program in Klamath County. The northern portion of Klamath County is upstream in terms of both surface and ground water from Deschutes County. • Report on the process used in developing and working with the Operation and Maintenance Advisory Committee at the Decentralized Wastewater Solutions for Communities meeting in Welches, Oregon. The National Decentralized Water Resources Capacity Development Project and the Green Mountain Institute for Environmental Democracy sponsored the meeting to solicit feedback to national organizations that develop tools for communities that are interested in implementing decentralized solutions to their wastewater needs. La Pine National Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Demonstration Project Reporting Page 10-3 January – February 2003 • The web application for getting the field test data available to the public is in the final stages of development. • Information sharing on the performance of the innovative systems and the groundwater issues in a meeting with a representative from Washoe County, Nevada. • Report on the performance of the NITREX, FAST, EnviroServer, RX-30, AX-20, and Biokreisel systems at a California Rural Water Association workshop in Redding, California. • USGS report on the results from the scenario simulations were presented to the Deschutes County Planning Division staff. • Report on the performance of the NITREX, FAST, EnviroServer, RX-30, AX-20, and Biokreisel systems at the Oregon Onsite Wastewater Association meeting and conference in Salem, Oregon. March – May 2003 • The field and laboratory data is now available to the public through a web application. http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/lapine/siterptcriteria.asp. The link at the top of the page goes to a query page where field and lab data and flow and usage information on individual systems or groups of systems can be viewed or downloaded. • “Septic Systems 101” presented to four different realtor associations in Oregon to a total of at least 90 realtors. The training program includes basic septic system information with an emphasis on the need for proper operation and maintenance of the systems. Response to the training has been very positive. • Report on the performance of the NITREX, FAST, EnviroServer, RX-30, AX-20, and Biokreisel systems and the groundwater study and 3-D model presented at a public meeting in South Deschutes County. Over 100 persons attended • Reprised the public meeting presentations at the DEQ sponsored workshop for the registered sanitarians working for DEQ and the contract counties in the onsite program. June – August 2003 • “Septic Systems 101” presented to the realtor association in Salem, Oregon to about 50 realtors. The training program includes basic septic system information with an emphasis on the need for proper operation and maintenance of the systems. Response to the training was very positive. • Two tours of the project area and a selection of the innovative systems. The first tour was for representatives of the International Finance Corporation, the private arm of the World Bank, and a local engineering company. The International Finance Corporation is interested in decentralized options for the projects they finance in developing countries. The second tour was for a member of a small community near Moab, Utah that is working to protect their high quality sole source aquifer. September – December 2003 • Performance results for the best five innovative systems presented at the Northwest Onsite Wastewater Short Course in Seattle, Washington • Poster presentations on the geochemistry and simulation analyses at the annual USGS conference on Science in Oregon and Washington. • The draft geochemistry and nitrogen dynamics report completed and sent to co-authors for review. • Provided a one hour continuing education course on basic information related to onsite systems and the need for their proper operation and maintenance for realtors at the Oregon Association of Realtors annual meeting. Between 60 and 80 realtors participated. • Informational meetings with the Board of County Commissioners and staff in Klamath County, Oregon. La Pine National Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Demonstration Project Page 10-4 Reporting • Presented results of all innovative systems’ performance and the maintenance program development process at the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association annual conference in Franklin, Tennessee. Presentations included: “Developing a Management Program for Onsite Systems in the La Pine National Demonstration Project,” “Denitrifying Onsite Systems Using Forced Aeration and Trickling or Packed Bed Filters,” and “Sequencing Batch Reactor and Rotating Biological Contactor.” • Participated in a meeting on the statewide rule revisions to determine how the state rules will respond to the information and recommendations developed through the La Pine Project. January – March 2004 • Provided one hour training program to onsite regulators in Oregon at the DEQ’s Annual Onsite Meeting. Provided an update on the performance of the top five systems in the project at the annual conference of the Oregon Onsite Wastewater Association in Salem, Oregon. • Provided a one hour course for Redmond realtors with the “Onsite Systems 101” presentation. Provided a two-hour presentation on advanced treatment processes and systems at the annual meeting of the Idaho Environmental Health Association in Boise, Idaho. April- September 2004 • Provided one day’s equivalent training program to onsite regulators in Oregon at the DEQ’s Alternative Treatment Technology Workshop in Bend, Oregon. The training included advanced wastewater treatment processes, innovative systems participating in the La Pine Project, including presentations by some of the vendors, and field trips to installations of the innovative systems. • The draft hydrogeology and modeling report sent for review. • Provided a two-hour presentation on advanced treatment processes and innovative systems included in the Project at the annual National Environmental Health Association conference in Anchorage, Alaska in a presentation entitled, “Review of Denitrifying Technology Assessment from La Pine (Oregon) Demonstration.” • June 2004: One-hour presentation on the innovative systems in the project with discussion at the Pacific Northwest Precast Concrete Association conference. October – December 2004 • Provided three presentations at the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association annual conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. These presentations are available in the proceedings and are titled: “Residential Waste Strength and Sampling Onsite Systems: The Nuts and Bolts”; “From Public Process to Recommendation to Rule: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly”; and “Lessons Learned with a Non- or Loosely Regulated Maintenance Provider Program and a Homeowner Education Program.” • December 2004: Produced a poster presentation on the La Pine Project for the Oregon DEQ’s Water Quality Division All Staff meeting. • The fate and transport model linked with the Nitrate Loading Management Model, which is a resource optimization module. Preliminary solutions computed using a range of water quality constraints. Each solution shows the minimum reduction in nitrate loading from onsite wastewater treatment systems needed to meet specific water quality protection constraints. This extension of the La Pine Project 3-D model’s capacity for use as a planning and management tool was funded by the National Decentralized Water Resources Capacity Development Project. January – March 2005 • Provided a two hour training session on wastewater treatment processes and results from the innovative systems field test program at the Washington On Site Sewage Association meeting in Bow, Washington. • The geochemical process journal article completed and awaiting final approval for publication. • The hydrogeology and modeling report is in preparation for peer review. La Pine National Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Demonstration Project Reporting Page 10-5 • Provided two training sessions on innovative onsite systems and maintenance and field monitoring information from the project at the Utah Onsite Wastewater Association meeting in Ogden, Utah. • Provided an overview of the innovative systems field test program at the Northeast Onsite Short Course in Groton, Connecticut. April – June 2005 • Provided a tour of the innovative systems installations and a presentation of an overview of their performance at the Oregon Onsite Wastewater Association conference in Redmond, Oregon. Also presented at this meeting, “Geology and Hydrogeology of the La Pine Area, implications for onsite systems.” • Provided a tour of the innovative systems installations for the staff supporting the Willamette (Oregon) Groundwater Management Area steering committee. A significant proportion of the Willamette GWMA is adversely affected by nitrogen discharged from onsite wastewater treatment systems. • A presentation on the La Pine Project and the denitrifying onsite systems field test results to the Willamette GWMA steering committee. • A corollary project funded by the National Decentralized Water Resources Capacity Development Project was reported in a USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2005-5055, “Organic Wastewater Compounds, Pharmaceuticals, and Coliphage in Ground Water Receiving Discharge from Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems near La Pine, Oregon: Occurrence and Implications for Transport.” Beyond the La Pine Project (chronological order) • Presentations at the 13th Northwest On-site Wastewater Treatment Short Course and Equipment Exhibition entitled, “Aquifer-Scale Nitrate Transport of Septic-Tank-Derived Nitrogen in a Sandy Aquifer near La Pine, Oregon” and “Experiences with Denitrifying Onsite Systems in the La Pine Area of Central Oregon.” (September 2005) • Presentations entitled, “Geochemical Framework and a Redox Boundary Approach for an Aquifer-Scale Transport Model of Septic-Tank-Derived Nitrogen in a Sandy Aquifer near La Pine, Oregon.,” “Use of a Transport Simulation Model with Optimization Methods to Manage Nitrate Loading from On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems to a Shallow Aquifer near La Pine, Oregon,” and Application of Three- Dimensional Groundwater and Nutrient Fate and Transport and Optimization Models for Science Based Policy Development to Protect a Drinking Water Aquifer in the La Pine Region of Central Oregon” provided at the Groundwater Under the Pacific Northwest Conference in Stevenson, Washington. (November 2005) • Hinkle, S.R., J.K. Bohlke, J.H. Duff, D.S. Morgan, R.J. Weick, 2007. Aquifer-scale controls on the distribution of nitrate and ammonium in groundwater near La Pine, Oregon, USA. Journal of Hydrology, 333, 486-503. • Morgan, D.S., S.R. Hinkle, R.W. Weick, 2007. Evaluation of Approaches for Managing Nitrate Loading from On-Site Wastewater Systems near La Pine, Oregon. Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5237, 66 p. • Rich, B.J. 2008. Overview of the Field Test of Innovative On-Site Wastewater Treatment Systems during the La Pine National Demonstration Project. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 2008, Vol. 13, No. 8, 752-760. • Hinkle, S.R., J.K. Böhlke, L.H. Fisher, 2008. Mass balance and isotope effects during nitrogen transport through septic tank systems with packed-bed (sand) filters. Science of the Total Environment, 2008, 407, 324-332.