Phosphorus Mandate Could Cost Millions

Wastewater plants in Ohio are fighting back against new rules around phosphorus discharge imposed by the state. 

“Dayton and Montgomery County said changing their operations to comply with the new rules could cost up to $2 million,” the Associated Press reported. 

Under new rules, the plants would face the same limits as those who discharge into Lake Erie. The rules would be phased in over three years. These plants discharge into the Great Miami River, which turns into the Ohio River. 

Both plants want the Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission “to force the state's environmental regulators to delay establishing limits until another study of the river is completed. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said the restrictions will cut down a key ingredient in the toxic algae blooms that have become a growing concern around the state,” the report said. 

The new mandate followed a study of the Great Miami River. 

“The study showed during the summer and early fall most of the phosphorus in the river comes from the Dayton and Montgomery plant discharges. The new limits would be in place only during those months,” the report said. 

Pat Turnbull, Montgomery County’s director of environmental services, advocated against the new mandate to the Dayton Daily News. 

“To go down the path of the lower limits in the future, you’re talking tens to hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said, per the report. “My guess is it would be more than $100 million for both facilities.”

“There would be some rate increase necessary for any of these improvements,” he said. “And if we make a $100 million investment at our plants, and the problem hasn’t gotten any better, how is that being good stewards of the public’s dollars.” 

Water plants face increasingly cumbersome mandates around nitrates and phosphorus. Many experts say the agriculture industry should shoulder more of the burden. 

At a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on cyanotoxins, John Donahue, president of the American Water Works Association, explained the origin of the algae problem. 

“There is no uncertainty about one critical aspect of the problem: It is always associated with amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus in the water,” Donahue said, per Roll Call. “Although each watershed is unique and has its own mix of nutrient sources, across the nation the most prominent uncontrolled sources of nitrogen and phosphorus are non-point sources — that is, runoff. These sources are at the same time both the hardest to manage and the furthest from being subject to meaningful federal regulatory authority.” 

For more on the laws affecting wastewater treatment plants, visit Water Online’s Wastewater Regulations And Legislation Solutions Center.