'Wastewater Assimilation' Program Draws Controversy In Louisiana

A controversial wastewater treatment practice taking place between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is meant to serve as an efficient alternative to standard processes. Known as “wastewater assimilation,” the practice has its defenders but has recently come under the scrutiny of environmentalists and regulatory review.

“On either side of the debate are residents and stakeholders who each say they have science on their side,” The Lens reported. “And watching from Baton Rouge are two state agencies responsible for permitting [the] operation. Both are reviewing the city’s effort to build and maintain a wastewater pipeline — which runs from Hammond to [a] site along [a] marsh — and its struggles to keep its discharge within safe, legal limits.”

The discharge pipe in question takes wastewater from Hammond’s South Sewage Treatment Plant about six miles south to a canal adjacent to the Joyce Wildlife Management Area. The pipeline sits on land owned by Hammond, while the wildlife area is managed by the state’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. By discharging the wastewater into the wetland, supporters of this system hope to make use of a natural purification system.

“Proponents say that because sewage and stormwater is rich in nutrients, assimilation has the added benefit of helping to rebuild wetlands that have been hard hit by natural and man-made factors,” per The Lens. “The flow of the wastewater, called effluent, also serves to keep saltwater out of the freshwater marshland.”

But the wetlands cannot handle raw wastewater — it must be treated to a certain degree. And this is where the controversy arises.

Hammond has been cited by the Department of Environment Quality (DEQ) for failing to meet state effluent limits and, since the assimilation program began in 2006, it has been cited dozens of times.

DEQ also said that Hammond has been running the program without a permit for two years, but that the permit is still “administratively continued” and moving forward legally, according to The Lens. It has applied for a renewal.

Local environmental activists have expressed concern over excess ammonia, nitrogen, and other harmful constituents entering the marsh due to Hammond’s inability to meet regulatory limits. But it’s unclear where this controversy will lead while DEQ and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) weigh these environmental concerns against Hammond’s interest in continuing the program.

“Public concerns expressed to [DEQ] and monthly reports of wastewater discharge, including those from Hammond, prompted a re-evaluation of assimilation projects,” The Lens reported. “Meantime, DNR is investigating concerns about construction of the discharge pipeline.”

To read more about how wastewater operations comply with regulatory oversight, visit Water Online’s Wastewater Regulations And Legislation Solutions Center.