MPCA TECHNICAL UPDATE

1-31-2017

Overview ■ Registered Products

■ Bedrooms

■ New Rules

■ Quality of Work

■ pH Correction

■ Redoximorphic Features

■ Others

Registered Products

■ Eljen

■ Premier Tech Aqua

■ Clearstream

■ EZ Treat

■ Orenco

Eljen ■ A42 & B43

■ Treatment Level B2 with 6” of sand

■ Treatment Level B with 12” of sand

– Time Dosed

■ Pressurized

■ NOT registered as a distribution media

Premier Tech Aqua

■ Ecoflo Coco filter

– Closed bottom

■ Treatment levels C, B2, A2, B

■ Replaces the Ecoflo Peat filter

Clearstream

■ Model G

■ All treatment levels

■ Extended Aeration Activated Sludge

E-Z Treat

■ Models 600 and 1200

■ Packed-bed media

■ All treatment levels

■ Total Nitrogen ≤ 20

Orenco

■ Advantex AX100

– 2500 gpd

■ Attached Growth media

■ High-Strength Waste

– Treatment level C

■ Needs Engineer Review by Orenco

Renewed Registered Products ■ Delta Environmental

– ECOPOD

■ EHS

– Smart-Treat MBBR

■ Norweco

– Singulair

– TNT

– Hydro-Kinetic

■ Waterloo

– Biofilter

BEDROOM DEFINITION

Bedroom

Questions frequently arise on what should be counted at a

bedroom.

We have an online factsheet that helps explain this: https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/wq-wwists4-02.pdf

Bedroom

7080.1100 subpart 9:

"Bedroom" means, for the sole purpose of estimating design

flows from dwellings, an area that is:

A. a room designed or used for sleeping; or

B. a room or area of a dwelling that has a minimum floor

area of 70 square feet with access gained from the living area

or living area hallway. Architectural features that affect the

use as a bedroom under this item may be considered in

making the bedroom determination.

Bedroom

"Bedroom" means, for the sole purpose of estimating design

flows from dwellings, an area that is…….

IMPORTANT – This definition is not meant to determine the

adequacy or safety of a room for sleeping per building codes

– Only use for sewage flow determination.

Useful sources to establish a bedroom:

the current or most recent real estate listing of the number of

bedrooms

the number of bedrooms listed with the local Assessor’s office

rooms labeled as bedrooms on the house plans

rooms with smoke detector

all rooms on a second level that are not bathrooms

Positives of sizing for an extra bedroom

■ Typically, the increase in cost of adding an additional bedroom to a

system design is not exorbitant.

■ A larger system size adds longevity and often recaptures the

additional cost over the life of the system.

■ If house expands, the system is sized OK

Campground Rule Finalized

■ September 2016

■ All LGU’s informed

■ Allows measured flows to be used for permit determination

– Existing systems only

■ Only 3 measured

SDS Permit Rule ■ Measured flows used for Permit determination

■ Discharge Zones excluded from permit flow

■ 7 day averaging “church rule”

■ Others and Developments included

– Others can extrapolate for expansions

■ All new facilities use table values

Pumping for Inspections

■ Proposed Rule Change for 2017

– Implementation by Spring 2018

■ Requires a tank to be inspected while empty to issue a COC

■ Maintainer Certification

– 3 years prior

■ Arose from poorly done inspections

Maintainer Responsibilities ■ Record pump-out date, gallons removed, any tank leakage below or above the

operating depth, the access point used to remove the septage, the method of disposal, the reason for pumping, any safety concerns with the maintenance hole cover, and any troubleshooting or repairs conducted. This information must be submitted to the homeowner within 30 days after the maintenance work is performed.

■ Maintenance business pumping record information must be maintained by the business for a period of five years;

■ Observe and provide written reports of any noncompliance to the system owner within 30 days

■ Obtain a signed statement if the owner refuses to allow the removal of solids and liquids through the maintenance hole.

New Tank Maintenance Form

Poor Inspection Cases

■ Have had a few cases recently

■ Improper tank inspections

– What is required?

■ Didn’t locate entire system

■ Soil borings in area of influence

Poor Inspection Cases

■ Enforcement cases pending

■ Inspectors bonds being requested

■ Lawsuits

■ Keep documentation

What criteria require you to fail system?

■ ISTS must be protective of public health and safety. A system that is not protective is

considered an imminent threat to public health or safety

– Discharge of sewage or sewage effluent to the ground surface, drainage

systems, ditches, or storm water drains or directly to surface water

– Systems that cause a reoccurring sewage backup into a dwelling or other

establishment

– Systems with electrical hazards

– Sewage tanks with unsecured, damaged, or weak maintenance hole covers

What criteria require you to fail system?

■ ISTS must be protective of groundwater. A system that is not protective

is considered a system failing to protect groundwater

– a seepage pit, cesspool, drywell, leaching pit, or other pit

– a system with less than the required vertical separation distance

described in items D and E (3 feet and 2 feet)

– a system not abandoned in accordance with part 7080.2500

Compliance Inspection

Q. If you can’t locate or determine the condition of a system, or a

component of a system how should the system be classified?

A. Assessments cannot be completed and compliance with 7080.1500

cannot be determined. As such the system should be deemed an

Imminent Threat to Public Health and Safety until the component/system

can be located and assessed.

Winter Compliance Inspections/Design

■ Rules are silent on when you must cease work

■ Field Evaluation must be completed

– Under adequate light conditions (7080.1720 subp. 5) ■ Poor light conditions with sun low in sky

– Moist, Unfrozen state (7080.1720 subp. 5)

■ How do you determine slope, landscape position, vegetation with

snow cover?

■ Percolation tests on frozen soil?

■ Extreme backlighting will distort colors

– Snow reflecting light

Existing System Compliance Inspections

Q. - Is greater than 50% glacial rock a limiting layer for an existing system compliance inspection?

A. – Yes. However, The 35 to 50% rock fragments are not used as a compliance requirement for the

depth of the vertical separation distance.

pH Corrections ■ Federal 503 Regulations require pH to be held for 30 minutes at pH 12

– Must be corrected to 25 °C or 77 °F

■ pH changes with temperature

■ pH meters are also sensitive to temperature

– When the temp changes the conductance of the metal in the probe changes

■ Auto Temp Correction (ATC) adjusts for the variability in the conductance in the metal

■ ATC does not correct the reading back to 25 C° or 77 F°

– This is where the formula/table are used

Redoximorphic Features ■ Requires Anaerobic conditions

– Soil is saturated, no oxygen

■ Microbes still want to “breathe”

■ NO3- → N2 (Nitrogen Gas)

■ MnO2 → Mn2+ (Black visual features)

■ FeOOH → Fe2+ (Red and orange visual features)

■ SO4- → H2S (Rotten Egg Smell)

■ CO2 → CH4 (Methane)

Redoximorphic Features

■ Reduction from Fe3+ to Fe2+

■ Translocation of material

■ Oxidation (Fe2+ back to Fe3+)

■ Gleyed

– No translocation

Why Redoximorphic Features?

■ Good indicator of seasonal/periodic saturation

■ 50% or more, 21 days at a time

■ Doesn’t change rapidly

■ Formation requires organic matter, Microbes

– Temp >42 °C

– No glaciers

Identifying Redox

■ Specifically Fe and Mn

■ Depleted zones and zones of accumulation

■ Diffuse boundaries

■ What's causing the redox process to occur?

– Immpermeable layer?

– Excess water?

– Textural change?

Photo courtesy of Warren Lynn, NRCS-NSSC

Relict Redox

■ Not locally valid

– SE U.S.

■ Removal by NRCS

■ Large-Scale land use changes

■ Burden of proof is on the one describing “relict”

Modifying designs

■ Only allowed by designer

■ Not LGU

■ Not Installer

■ Not Homeowner

What is the role of the installer ■ A licensed installation business is authorized to construct, install,

alter, extend, maintain, or repair all SSTS and the building sewer

connected to a subsurface sewage treatment system only according

to an approved design.

■ Ensure all work is done according to a design report approved

by the local SSTS authority under part 7082.0500 and the plumbing

program administrative authority as required under part 1300.0215,

subpart 6

■ provide as-built drawings to the owner and local unit of

government within 30 days of system installation

PE’s and type V’s

■ All SSTS work in the state must be completed by a licensed business.

– Minn. Statute 115.56 subd. 2

■ Licensed businesses must complete work in accordance with prescriptive rules or

guidance.

■ Type V is not prescriptive

■ Must be an advanced designer and “contract” out the engineered parts

■ Hold both an P.E. License and SSTS license

Tanks

Q. – If a PE designs a non-registered tank, then is the system a Type V?

A.- No – the system can be a Type I. Type I systems must follow

7080.1900. 7080.1900 says a PE can design a tank.

What is sewage and what does 7080 cover? ■ waste produced by:

■ toilets

■ bathing

■ laundry

■ culinary operations or the floor drains associated with these sources

■ Sewage includes- household cleaners and medications (do not flush)

Kennels ■ Animal waste

– Not domestic waste

– Not regulated under MN 7080

■ Not recommended in an SSTS

■ Hair is a problem

■ Feedlots may regulate based on # of dogs

■ Holding tanks for washing runs/grooming

Car washes ■ Sizing?

■ DLI plumbing review

■ Best options

– Municipal connection

– Holding tank

– Separation and reuse

■ Not Sewage

– Not regulated under 7080

■ Not Recommended in SSTS

■ Class V injection wells

■ Solid waste – sediment/sand traps

■ Flammable waste traps

– Tested for haz waste

Fish Cleaning Tables

■ Not sewage

■ Fish guts can’t go back into the lake (DNR Reg.)

– Solid waste

– Check with DNR

■ Holding tanks for water

■ May be able to land apply

– Check with Industrial By-products

■ Unused bait can be thrown in the trash (DNR Reg.)

Phased developments ■ Permitted based on final flow

– Usually as platted

■ 10,000 gpd an higher need an SDS

■ 7081.0120 Subp. 2

– If the ultimate development of phased or segmented growth meets or exceeds

the thresholds in part 7081.0040, subpart 1, item B, the initial system or

systems and all subsequent systems require a state disposal system permit

■ Permitted at the beginning so there are no problems later

– Reduced monitoring

Is I&I included in permit flow

■ Yes (currently)

■ Permit flow is based on 7081.0110

■ Minn. R 7081.0110 includes all flow from 7081.0120 - 7081.0140

■ Minn. R. 7081.0140

– design flow must also include 200 gallons of infiltration and inflow per inch of

collection pipe diameter per mile per day with a minimum pipe diameter of two

inches to be used for the calculation

HDPE Supply Pipe

■ HDPE allowed for supply pipe

– Directional boring

■ Design guidance contains specifications

■ SDR 11 HDPE pipe

– ASTM D2239

– ASTM F 714

– minimum working pressure of 160 pounds per square inch at 73

degrees F

Soil Disputes

Contractor Dispute

■ Local process (if any)

■ Meet on site

■ LGU decision

■ PSS Opinion

■ LGU decision

LGU-Contractor Dispute

■ Meet on site

■ PSS Opinion

■ LGU decision

*Ammend documents and submit to LGU and involved parties

Questions?