Notes for Owners/Operators
This page is useful for owners and operators of sewage collection and treatment systems.
Owners:
Procedures for Certificate to Construct
Sewerage projects must be reviewed by the Office of Wastewater Engineering for compliance with the Sewage Collection and Treatment Regulations. The owner is responsible for hiring a licensed professional engineer to design the sewerage project and submit it to DEQ for review and approval for construction.
DEQ Review Period:
Certificate to Construct: All applications and submittals for a certificate to construct (CTC) shall be submitted by the owner or the owner's designee at least 180 days prior to the date the owner desires to begin construction. This is to allow time for comments and revisions. Allow 30 days per submittal for DEQ to complete a review and issue either a comment letter or a CTC.
All Other Submittals: Allow 30 days for DEQ to review preliminary engineering reports, operation and maintenance manuals,and miscellaneous reports and to issue a comment or approval letter.
Procedures for Certificate to Operate
Once a project has been constructed, the area engineer will need to issue a Certificate to Operate for your sewerage system. The owner is ultimately responsible to ensure these procedures are followed and a Certificate to Operate is issued. The basic procedures are as follows:
1. Send a statement of completion to the area engineer, signed by a licensed engineer, stating that the facility was constructed in accordance with the approved plans.
2. The statement of completion is the trigger for the area engineer to start the process for issuing a Certificate to Operate.
3. Test the equipment and be sure all mechanical and electrical equipment is operating.
4. The area engineer will contact the owner or engineer to schedule a final inspection. This inspection may be waived by the area engineer for city/county owned stations, or small package stations.
5. If the facility is complete upon inspection, the area engineer will issue the Certificate to Operate.
6. The Certificate to Operate is good for the life of the facility, provided there are no upgrades or modifications.
7. The operations and maintenance manual for the facility must be submitted or already approved at this time. (Note - If a city, county, service authority, military facility, etc. has an approved master operations and maintenance manual for pump stations, an individual operations and maintenance manual for each pump station is not required.)
Procedures for Reporting Spills and Overflows
In the event that a pump station, manhole, force main, treatment plant, or any part of a sewage system overflows, the State must be notified of the overflow. For phone numbers, see the Reporting Procedures for Spills and Overflows sheet (for southeast Virginia). Also, check the DEQ Pollution Response Program web site at http://www.deq.virginia.gov/prep.
Operators:The following links may be useful: click here
Class VI Operators Workshop - Va Tech
http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/dporweb/www_reg.pdf - Wastewater Operator License Information
Legislative Information for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators
http://www.deq.virginia.gov/tptp/homepage.html - DEQ's Wastewater Treatment Plant Training Program