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limitations and requirements in the NPDES permit (see next paragraph), and revise the capital <br />improvement projects to meet the needs for adequate operational facilities. Having a formally approved <br />Facilities Plans will also make MWMC eligible for public loans and grants. <br /> <br />As stated, the 2004 MWMC Facilities Plan will help to ensure continued compliance with regulatory <br />requirements that govern the quality of effluent discharged from the treatment works as well as <br />conditions for the collection and transmission ofwastewater to the treatment plant. These regulations <br />present legal requirements for the provision ofwastewater services to the community and form the <br />foundation for the design criteria used in formulating the 2004 MWMC Facilities Plan and associated <br />20-Year Project List. The DEQ reissued MWMC's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System <br />(NPDES) permit in May 2002, which prompted the commission to pursue a thorough, updated Facilities <br />Plan to include the new ammonia and thermal load limits of the renewed permit, as well as the new <br />requirements to implement a Temperature Management Plan (TMP) and the WWFMP. Furthermore, a <br />comprehensive analysis of the treatment plant's processes and hydraulic capacities has led the <br />commission to include an evaluation and recommendation of alternative disinfection systems to mitigate <br />worker safety and community risk concerns in the 2004 MWMC Facilities Plan. <br /> <br />The treatment plant also currently faces a significant peak flow capacity deficit, which was projected in <br />the earlier WWFMP and has been validated and updated to the year 2025 based on an updated modeling <br />using more recent 2003-04 data. The present facility effort is prompted by the original <br />intergovernmental agreement which specified that when the sewage loading into the treatment plant <br />reached 85% of the initial design capacity, the commission would institute a program to expand and/or <br />upgrade the treatment system beyond the initial design capacity. This trigger point is now being reached <br />for several of the unit process capacities. <br /> <br />In the mid-1990s, the regional wastewater treatment facilities were modified to improve their <br />performance, and the commission recognized that the facilities were experiencing capacity limitations <br />relative to original design specifications. As a result, additional expansions would be needed to <br />actualize the projected 2004 design life. In 1996, the commission responded with a directive to produce <br />a master plan to evaluate short-term and long-range improvements necessary to improve facility <br />operations and meet increasing capacity and evolving performance demands. The MWMC Master Plan <br />was completed in 1997. Although it is not as comprehensive as the 2004 MWMC Facilities Plan, it did <br />provide analysis of historic flows, pollutant loads, and reporting data to identify capital improvements <br />needed to resolve shortfalls in the capacity for biosolids processing and peak flow management. <br /> <br />Later in 1997, the commission adopted the Biosolids Management Plan, which was derived from a <br />Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) and engineering evaluation processes. This plan reflects the <br />commission' s adoption of strategy to resolve shortfalls in biosolids processing capacity and is based <br />upon an evaluation of available technologies, cost effectiveness, reliability, and public acceptance. The <br />biosolids dewatering facility (completed in 2001), the ongoing maintenance of drying beds, the <br />composting operation, the cooperative land application on private farms, and the development of the <br />Biocycle Farm are the beneficial results of the commission's adopted biosolids management strategy. <br /> <br />To address the peak flow capacity issues, the commission, the City of Eugene, and the City of <br />Springfield adopted the WWFMP in 2001. The objectives of this plan were to eliminate overflows and <br />basement flooding and provide the most cost-effective means to mitigate flows in excess of system <br />capacity. The plan developed a sophisticated hydraulic model that was calibrated and refined with <br />actual system performance over several years of the study. The Wet Weather CAC reviewed a wide mix <br /> <br /> L:\CMO\2004 Council Agendas\M040614\S0406143.doc <br /> <br /> <br />