Nebraska Administrative Code
Topic - ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Title 131 - RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES AND DRINKING WATER CONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Chapter 3 - GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CWSRF and DWSRF PROJECTS
Section 131-3-002 - General Requirements for Wastewater Treatment Works Projects
Universal Citation: 131 NE Admin Rules and Regs ch 3 ยง 002
Current through September 17, 2024
002.01 Facility Planning Requirement. Loan applicants will conduct facility planning using the following procedures:
002.01A That projects apply best practicable
waste treatment technology, which is the cost-effective technology that can
transport and treat wastewater, separate combined sewers, and remove excessive
infiltration and inflow in publicly owned Wastewater Treatment Works.
002.01B General Facility Planning
Requirements. Facility planning will demonstrate the need for proposed
facilities. Through a systematic evaluation of alternatives that are feasible
in light of the unique demographic, topographic, hydrologic, and institutional
characteristics of the area, the facility plan will demonstrate that the
selected alternative is cost-effective (i.e., is the most economical means of
meeting the applicable effluent, water quality, and public health requirements
over the design life of the facility while recognizing environmental and other
nonmonetary considerations). The facility plan will also demonstrate that the
selected alternative is implementable from legal, institutional, financial, and
management standpoints. All facility planning requirements may not be
applicable to all types of projects. Comprehensive plans or engineering reports
or studies may fulfill certain facility planning requirements.
002.01C Facility plan contents. A completed
facility plan is to include:
002.01C1 A
description of both the proposed Wastewater Treatment Works, and the complete
Wastewater Treatment Works of which it is a part.
002.01C2 A cost-effectiveness analysis of the
feasible conventional, innovative, and alternative Wastewater Treatment Works,
processes and techniques capable of meeting the applicable effluent, water
quality, and public health requirements over the design life of the facility
while recognizing environmental and other nonmonetary considerations. The
planning period for the cost-effectiveness analysis will be at least 20 years.
The monetary costs to be considered must include the present worth or
equivalent annual value of all capital costs and operation and maintenance
costs. A cost-effectiveness analysis shall is to include:
002.01C2.a An evaluation of alternative flow
reduction methods.
002.01C2.b A
description of the relationship between the capacity of alternatives and the
needs to be served, including capacity for future growth expected after the
Wastewater Treatment Works become operational. This includes estimated flows
from significant industrial users.
002.01C2.c Cost information on total capital
costs and annual operation and maintenance costs, including estimated annual or
monthly costs to residential and industrial users.
002.01C3 A demonstration of the nonexistence
or possible existence of excessive infiltration/inflow in the sewer system. see
Chapter 3. 002.01 E.
002.01C4 An
evaluation of the environmental impacts including ground water and surface
water impacts of alternatives.
002.01C5 For the selected alternative, a
concise description at an appropriate level of detail of at least the
following:
002.01C5.a Relevant design
parameters;
002.01C5.b Estimated
capital construction and operation and maintenance costs, and a description of
the manner in which costs will be financed;
002.01C5.c Cost impacts on Wastewater
Treatment Works users; and
002.01C5.d Institutional and management
arrangements necessary for successful implementation.
002.01D Submission and review of a
facility plan. Each facility plan shall is to be submitted to the Department
for review.
002.01E
Infiltration/Inflow.
002.01E1 General. The
loan applicant is to satisfactorily demonstrate to the Department that each
sewer system discharging into the proposed Wastewater Treatment Works project
is not or will not be subject to excessive infiltration/inflow. As an
alternative loan applicants may propose long term program measures to limit
infiltration and inflow. For previously existing combined sewers, inflow is not
considered excessive in any event.
002.01E2 Inflow. If the rainfall induced peak
inflow rate results or will result in chronic operational problems during storm
events, or the rainfall induced total flow rate exceeds 275 gpcd (1040 Ipcd)
during storm events, the loan applicant may 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.
002.01E3 Infiltration.
002.01E3.a If the flow rate at the existing
Wastewater Treatment Works is 120 gpcd (450 Ipcd) or less during periods of
high groundwater, the loan applicant may build the project including sufficient
capacity to transport and treat any existing infiltration. However, if the loan
applicant finds any specific portion of its sewer system is subject to
excessive infiltration, the loan applicant may document its finding in a
cost-effectiveness analysis and propose a sewer rehabilitation program to
eliminate that specific excessive infiltration.
002.01E3.b If the flow rate at the existing
treatment facility is more than 120 gpcd (450 Ipcd) during periods of high
groundwater, the loan applicant may perform a study of the sewer system to
determine the quantity of excessive infiltration and propose a sewer
rehabilitation program to eliminate the excessive
infiltration.
002.02 Design requirements will include, but not be limited to, the following:
002.02A A
requirement that the design of Wastewater Treatment Works be by professional
engineers registered in Nebraska and follow current design standards as
required by the Department. The design engineer will complete the Department's
design information forms and submit them to the Department with the
construction contract plans and specifications.
002.02B Capacity for twenty years domestic
and industrial growth or reasonable capacity as approved by the
Department.
002.02C Cost and
Effectiveness Analysis. Beginning October 1, 2015, loan recipients who submit
an application will certify to the Department that the loan recipient:
002.02C1 Has studied and evaluated the cost
and effectiveness of the processes, materials, techniques, and technologies for
carrying out the proposed project or activity for which assistance is sought
under this title; and
002.02C2 Has
selected, to the maximum extent practicable, a project or activity that
maximizes the potential for efficient water use, reuse, recapture, and
conservation, and energy conservation, taking into account:
002.02C2.a The cost of constructing the
project or activity;
002.02C2.b The
cost of operating and maintaining the project or activity over the life of the
project or activity; and
002.02C2.c
The cost of replacing the project or activity.
002.03 Fiscal Sustainability Plan. Beginning October 1, 2014, loan recipients who submit an application whose projects involve the repair, replacement, or expansion of a publicly owned treatment work will Develop, certify, and implement a fiscal sustainability plan that will include:
002.03A An inventory
of critical assets that are a part of the treatment works;
002.03B An evaluation of the condition and
performance of inventoried assets or asset groupings;
002.03C A certification that the recipient
has evaluated and will be implementing water and energy conservation efforts as
part of the plan; and
002.03D A
plan for maintaining, repairing, and, as necessary, replacing the treatment
works and a plan for funding such activities; or
002.03E Certify that the recipient has
developed and implemented a plan that meets the requirements under Chapter 4,
006.06A.
002.04 Effect of Approval or Certification of Documents. Review or approval of facility plans, design drawings and specifications, or other documents by the Department does not relieve the loan recipient of its responsibility to properly plan, design, build, and effectively operate and maintain the Wastewater Treatment Works described in the loan in accordance with the Clean Water Act, regulations, permits, and good management practices.
002.05 Access to Individual On-Site Systems. Loan recipients receiving loans for alternatives including individual on-site systems on private property are to provide assurance of access to the systems at all reasonable times for such purposes as inspection, monitoring, building, operation, rehabilitation, and replacement.
002.06 Sewer Use Ordinances/User Charge Systems. The loan recipient is to include the following ordinance provisions for its sewer use ordinance/user charge system. These legally binding documents are to be submitted to the Department for review and be adopted and implemented by the loan recipient before the Wastewater Treatment Works is placed in operation. The loan recipient will also implement the user charge system and sewer use ordinance for the useful life of the Wastewater Treatment Works.
002.06A Sewer Use Ordinance. This legally
binding ordinance will prohibit any new connections from inflow sources into
the Wastewater Treatment Works and require that new sewers and connections to
the Wastewater Treatment Works are properly designed and constructed. This
ordinance will also require that all wastewater introduced into the Wastewater
Treatment Works not contain toxics or other pollutants in amounts or
concentrations that endanger public safety and physical integrity of the
Wastewater Treatment Works; cause violation of effluent or water quality
limitations; or preclude the selection of the most cost-effective alternative
for wastewater treatment and sludge disposal.
002.06B User Charge System. The user charge
system is to be designed to produce adequate revenues required for operation
and maintenance (including replacement) and also to retire debt incurred due to
construction of Wastewater Treatment Works if the user charge system was
utilized as the dedicated revenue source. These revenues are to be maintained
in at least two separate accounts, one for the operation and maintenance costs
(including replacement) and the other for debt retirement costs. The
requirements for the debt retirement account will be defined in the loan.
Additional accounts may be provided to meet other requirements of the loan
recipient.
002.06B1 The loan recipient's user
charge system, based on actual or estimated use of wastewater treatment
services, is to provide that each user or user class pay its proportionate
share of operation and maintenance (including replacement) costs of Wastewater
Treatment Works within the Municipality's or County's service area, based on
the user's proportionate contribution to the total wastewater loading from all
users or user classes.
002.06B2
Each user charge system is to 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
Wastewater Treatment Works, based on an adequate budget identifying the basis
for determining the annual operation and maintenance costs and the costs of
personnel, material, energy, and administration.
002.06B3 The user charge system is to 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:
002.06B3.a In the same manner that it
distributes the costs for their actual use, or
002.06B3.b Under a system which uses one or
any combination of the following factors on a reasonable basis: flow volume of
the users, land area of the users, or number of hookups or discharges of the
users.
002.06B4 After
completion of building a project, revenue from the project (e.g. sale of a
treatment-related by product) is to be used to offset the costs of operation
and maintenance. The loan recipient is to proportionately reduce all user
charges.
002.06B5 One or more
municipal legislative enactments or other appropriate authority is to
incorporate the user charge system. If the loan recipient accepts wastewater
from other wastewater generators, the subscribers receiving waste treatment
services from the loan recipient is to adopt user charge systems in accordance
with this section. Acceptable user charge systems are also to be incorporated
in appropriate municipal legislative enactments or other appropriate authority
of all loan recipients contributing wastes to the Wastewater Treatment
Works.
002.06B6 The user charge
system will take precedence over any terms or conditions of agreements or
contracts which are inconsistent with the requirements of this
section.
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