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Prairie View pretreatment plan prompts proposed sewer‑use ordinance changes; board seeks IDEM coordination
Summary
Engineer Dan reported Prairie View's plan to pretreat and blend 'mixed liquor' to the district (roughly 25,000 gallons/day) with preliminary TSS estimates of 500–1,250 mg/L, exceeding the district's 250 mg/L limit; board discussed sludge handling, testing, and the need to amend the sewer‑use ordinance and obtain IDEM approval.
Dan briefed the board on conversations with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and Waste Management related to Prairie View's permit renewal. IDEM's pre‑treatment coordinator identified sections of the district's sewer‑use ordinance that require clarification or amendment; Dan said some requested language changes go beyond routine drafting and will need board approval and formal readings.
Prairie View proposes on‑site pretreatment and would send a low volume of treated flow to the district; Dan said that would introduce "mixed liquor" (active biomass and higher suspended solids) into the district plant. He reported Prairie View's preliminary total suspended solids (TSS) numbers were "500 to 1250 mg per liter," while the district's current ordinance limit is 250 mg/L. Dan warned that higher TSS would increase sludge generation and handling costs and said staff needs firm numbers from Prairie View to understand operational impacts.
Board members discussed options including additional testing, whether the district should change numeric limits in its sewer‑use ordinance, and the process to secure IDEM's approval. Dan said that if ordinance limits change, Prairie View would need IDEM's permit amendment; the board agreed to include sewer‑use ordinance amendments for consideration in August alongside the rate ordinance work. Staff said they would draft the needed ordinance language for board review.
The board did not take a final vote on numeric limits at the meeting; discussion concluded with a plan to gather definitive numbers from Prairie View, coordinate with IDEM, and prepare ordinance language for the August meeting.
