Sewage regulation and administration
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sewage disposal regulation and administration
Contents |
[edit] Regulation
[edit] United States
Sewer systems in the United States are regulated by multiple agencies on the local, state, and federal levels. Federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state agencies such as the Department of Health Services of various states, and local agencies such as regional pollution control boards, all have an interest in the quality of water discharged from sanitary sewer treatment plants. At a minimum, sewer treatment plants must protect the health and welfare of the local population by ensuring that raw or primary treated wastewater does not contaminate the local potable water supply. At a maximum, certain agencies (such as those located in the Lake Tahoe watershed) must treat all inflows to tertiary standards, and then pump all treated water out of the drainage basin so that no effluent ever drains to a certain body of water.
Regulating agencies can compel sewer treatment enterprises to construct improvements to their plants by requiring higher standards in effluent quality. If not in compliance with regulations, sewer enterprises may be subject to heavy fines. Regulation is therefore often the driving force behind increasing sewer treatment costs in the United States, and is directly linked to the high cost of constructing or expanding a sewer treatment facility.
[edit] United Kingdom
In England and Wales sewage disposal is regulated by the Environment Agency with regard to environmental standards and their achievement and by Ofwat in relation to charges and service standards. In Scotland the Scottish Environment Protection Agency fulfils the equivalent role that the Environment Agency plays in England and Wales
[edit] Administration
[edit] United States
Sewer systems are usually administered on the local level, usually city-wide, and usually by the city itself. These systems, which may operate independently or as a subdivision of a city or other municipal agency, are typically operated as Enterprises, meaning that they produce enough revenues to fund their own activities.
Revenues are usually generated through two charges to customers: connection fees and use charges. Connection fees are charged once to new customers as they connect to the sanitary sewer collection system, and are usually designed to recover capital investments made by the enterprise to serve its customers. Use charges are periodic charges for ongoing use of the system, and are designed to recover operations and maintenance expenses. Both connection fees and use charges are typically proportionate to the amount and strength of wastewater expected to be generated by each customer. Therefore, a single family residence would pay much smaller fees and charges than a food processing plant.
[edit] United Kingdom
In England sewerage and sewage disposal is undertaken by relatively few large private companies, including several multi-national companies. In Wales and Scotland a "not for profit" company is the responsible body, however in Wales almost all the operational work is sub-contracted by others. Charges to domestic users are based either on the metered volume of incoming water or on the notional value of the property (rateable basis).
