Wastewater Treatment - Offaly County Council
Effective wastewater (sewage) treatment is an essential function of any local authority. Municipal sewage, i.e. sewage produced in a town or city, is high in both solids and nutrients, which if left untreated, can cause significant environmental pollution. The purpose of wastewater treatment is to collect and treat municipal sewage to an acceptable standard and to discharge the treated water to a suitable watercourse (e.g. a local river). It is therefore critical that the treated water does not negatively impact on the quality of the receiving waters. Offaly County Council operates 29 Waste Water Treatment Works, as listed below in Table 1. The treatment works are sized based on the population they serve; the smallest is located in Rahan and the largest in Tullamore. Until recently, the required standard for treated wastewater was set out under the Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulations 2001. However, this is now being replaced with a licensing system, which is regulated and enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Each Wastewater plant will now be issued with an individual Discharge Licence, which sets out site-specific treatment and monitoring requirements (please refer below for more detail). The legislation which gave rise to this licensing system is the Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations, 2007 (S.I. 684 of 2007). Two of these licences have been granted to date – please refer to the Granted Licences section.
Granted Licenses:
Two licenses have being granted to date. The full text of these licenses can be viewed on the EPA Website at www.epa.ie or by clicking on the agglomeration name below.
| Agglomeration: | Birr |
| Licence Register Number: | D0109-01 |
| Licensee: | Offaly County Council |
| Date of Grant: | 15th December 2009 |
| Agglomeration: | Tullamore |
| Licence Register Number: | D0039-01 |
| Licensee: | Offaly County Council |
| Date of Grant: | 18th January 2010 |
| Agglomeration: | Edenderry |
| Licence Register Number: | D0110-01 |
| Licensee: | Offaly County Council |
| Date of Grant: | 12th July 2010 |
Wastewater Discharge Licences:
In 2007 the “Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations, 2007 (S.I. 684 of 2007)” were introduced to control and regulate discharges from Waste Water Treatment Works and Agglomerations (Network). These Regulations apply to all discharges from Waste Water Treatment Plants.
Local Authorities are required to apply to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) for a Discharge Licence in respect of a treatment works serving a population of greater than 500 – Offaly County Council has applied to the EPA in respect of fourteen wastewater treatment works which fall under this category. Treatment works serving a population of less than 500 require a Certificate of Authorisation – Offaly County Council has applied to the EPA in respect of fifteen wastewater treatment works which fall under this category. The table below outlines the applications and submission deadlines for the 29 Waste Water Treatment Works and Agglomerations in County Offaly
Table 1– Breakdown of Offaly County Council Wastewater treatment works according to Population Equivalent and relevant submission deadlines
| Agglomerations | Applications required | Submission Date | Submitted on time? |
Agglomerations where PE is greater than 10,000 Tullamore | 1 | 14th Dec 2007 | Yes |
| Agglomerations where PE is between 2,001 - 10,000 Edenderry, Banagher, Birr, Clara and Ferbane | 5 | 22nd Sept 2008 | Yes |
Agglomerations where PE is between 1,001 - 2,000 Rhode, Kilcormac and Daingean | 3 | 28th Feb 2009 | Yes |
Agglomerations where PE is between 501 - 1,000 Shinrone, Mucklagh, Cloghan, Kinnity and Ballinagar | 5 | 22nd June 2009 | Yes |
Agglomerations where PE is less than 500 Clonbulloge, Walsh Island, Shannonbridge, Shannon Harbour, Rahan, Mountbolus, Moneygall, Killeigh, Leamonaghan, Geashill, Coolderry, Cloneygowan, Bracknagh, Belmont and Ballycumber. | 15 | 22nd Dec 2009 | Yes |
Failure to submit an application on time and failure to comply or fulfil conditions of licences may lead to directions or prosecutions from the EPA.
General Outline of a Discharge License
• There are 8 main sections in a discharge licence. These are:
1. Scope
2. Interpretation
3. Discharges
4. Control & Monitoring
5. Programme of improvements
6. Notifications & record keeping
7. Financial Provision
And
8. The Schedules
Items covered in Sections:
1. Scope:
• Overview of what agglomeration & discharge(s) are licensed
2. Interpretation:
• Definitions i.e. ELVs = Emission Limit Values
• Rules about sampling
3. Discharges:
• What, Where, How etc., in relation to discharges
• Emission Limit Values which must not be exceeded
• No deterioration or nuisances allowed
4. Control & Monitoring:
• How samples must be taken and tests required
• How equipment must be calibrated & maintained
• Provision of safe access for EPA monitoring workers
• Monitoring of impacts on habitats
5. Programme of improvements:
• Assessments will have be carried out and Improvements / upgrades may / will be required on Waste Water Treatment Works and discharge points.
6. Notifications & record keeping:
• What and when notifications have to be given to EPA, Fisheries or DAFF
• What records have to be kept and who has access to them.
• Set up of Public Awareness & Communication Programme
• Annual Environment Report (AER).
7. Financial Provision:
• What fees must be paid to the Agency for ongoing monitoring & enforcement
8. The Schedules:
• Emission Limit Values, Monitoring Required etc.