County Public Hearing Q & A

Exactly as extracted, unformatted — for checking against the original. The readable version is easier to read.

Centreville WWTP Public Hearing Questions and Comments
1. How far out into Corsica will the new outfall be?
Once the County has approved the CWSP Amendment, work can start on reviewing
available environmental study data, conduct mixing study to determine the size of
diffusers, perform an alignment and constructability study, approve initial design, hold a
public hearing, and upon final approval issue permit.
2. Has the State signed off on this?
MDE has not signed off on this as it is the official first step in the process, followed by
reviews, and a public hearing prior to final approval and sign-off.
3. Does the Town even have a mechanism for funding a new plant?
Yes. The Town currently has funding from the following channels:
• Bay Restoration Fund (BRF): ~$14.9M
• Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS): ~$2.155M
• ARPA: ~2.5M - $3.3M
• Rural Dev (Commerce): $500,000
• State Grant: $15M request to be disbursed at $5M annually over a 3-year period
(pending approval)
4. If the Town ultimately decides to not build a plant, will they be allowed stream
discharge 365 days if this amendment is passed?
The amendment to the CWSP does not approve nor authorize the Town to discharge 365
days a year, only MDE can authorize. If the Town is unable to increase the plant
capacity, there would be no need to update the currently permitted discharge capacity of
.542 MGD.
5. What are the environmental implications for full year discharge and the impact on
water quality?
Through MDE’s water quality TMDL reports developed for the Corsica River, approved
by EPA, allow for full year discharge.
6. Does the Town expect to take over the daily running of the plant, or continue to
contract it out to Maryland Environmental Service?
As of July 1, 2023, the Town’s Wastewater Treatment facility has been operated and
managed by Susquehanna Environmental Services. The current projection is to maintain
our contract with Susquehanna until the Town can hire, train, and fully staff the new
treatment plant.
7. A degraded marine habitat from increased effluent that may result in temperature
and salinity changes.
Those concerns will be addressed with MDE in the next phase.
8. Damage to the upper Corsica anadromous fish spawning area and to state
designated oyster sanctuaries.
Those concerns will be addressed with MDE in the next phase.

Centreville WWTP Public Hearing Questions and Comments
9. Decreased benefit from nutrient uptake that now occurs in the extensive wetland
area of the current discharge point if that point is moved to the main channel.
With the new outfall location, it may still be acceptable to discharge to the current
outfall, while remaining within the existing permit limits.
10. Increased toxins from pharmaceuticals and microplastics, which are not filtered out
by the membrane technology, as discharges increase.
Such constituents are not currently being targeted for removal at any wastewater
treatment plant in the State.
11. Does the current permit allow for 100% of the effluent to be surface discharged
from Dec 1 – Mar 31?
The current permit does allow for the Town to stream discharge the current permitted
flow of 0.542 MGD during the off -peak discharge season of December 1 through March
31.
12. Membrane Availability
Membranes and system appurtenances in the many different membrane systems available
on the market today, do not lack availability.
13. Comparable systems
While Queenstown is not of the same capacity, they do operate an ENR treatment plant
and discharge .200 MGD into the Little Queenstown Creek, using membrane technology.
14. Swimmable and Fishable impacts.
Swimming and fishing impacts are typically related to non-point sources. The Town’s
treatment facility currently meets permitted levels of treatment and does not contribute to
the non-swimmable environment.
From State:
1. Where will the new Centreville membrane plant be located?
The new plant will be located at 116 Johnstown Ln, Centreville, MD 21617, which is
where the current facility is situated.
2. Is this aspirational?
It is a very necessary approach, but it does come with numerous responsibilities including
but not limited to solidifying finances, connecting politically, meeting regulatory
requirements, engaging, notifying the public, working with state and local agencies to
determine viability, etc... Prior to most of the aforementioned activities commencing the
amendment to the CWSP is the first step.
3. Do they have a construction permit and funding?
The Town is currently in the scoping, funding, and discovery phases of the project. The
initial draft of the Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) is slated for review by the end
of December. The Town has not arrived at the construction permitting phase of the

Centreville WWTP Public Hearing Questions and Comments
project and does not anticipate those activities to commence until ~late 2024 – early
2025.
4. Where did they (or are they intending to) obtain the pollution credits to go from
0.5+ MGD discharging Dec 1- Mar 31 to 1 MGD, 365 days/year?
The Town intends to maintain the existing spray irrigation field for the currently
permitted .542 MGD between Apr 1 – Nov 30, which would not count against our
pollution credit. The remainder of the treated effluent, up to 1.0 MGD, is what the Town
is proposing will be discharged year-round, which is well below the waste load
allocations for the new discharge location.