Management of Wastewater in Jamaica : A Regulatory Perspective

1. National Environment and Planning Agency Management of Wastewater in Jamaica: A Regulatory Perspective Presented by: Mr. Oswald Chinkoo Manager, Pollution Monitoring and Assessment Branch National Environment and Planning Agency At the GEF/CREW Workshop held at the Jamaica Conference Centre November 24, 2015

2. Overview of Presentation • What is wastewater? • Sources of wastewater • Impact of wastewater on the environment and health • Legislative Framework • Why Regulations for wastewater and Sludge • Summary of Regulations • Number of licensed facilities since WWSR came into effect • Results of Wastewater Treatment Plant Audits 04/2013 to 10/2015 • Reuse of wastewater • Chemicals in in wastewater • Economic Valuation • Sustainable Financing • Discussion Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

3. What is wastewater? • Water that has been used and contains dissolved or suspended solids and is carried from residential, business or industrial sources. - NRC (Wastewater and Sludge) Regulations, 2013 Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

4. Sources of wastewater Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

5. Sources of wastewater (cont’d) Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

6. Impact of Wastewater on the Environment and Health • Impaired water quality (pollution of beaches, rivers, groundwater) • Disease from polluted water and contaminated shellfish which may be consumed by humans • Fish kills • Eutrophication which results in excessive plant growth which can harm spawning grounds and become toxic to aquatic organisms Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

7. Legislative Framework • Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act, 1991 • Natural Resources Conservation (Wastewater and Sludge) Regulations, 2013 Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

8. Why Regulations for wastewater and sludge? • Raw and poorly treated septage, sludge, domestic and industrial waste entering gullies, streams and coastal areas • Inadequately designed and malfunctioning sewage treatment systems • Low capacity among operators of sewage treatment plants and in government • Failure of voluntary compliance in the sector, and • Cost to design, operate and maintain infrastructure Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

9. Summary of the Regulations • Licensing System • Licences required for construction and operating a treatment plant as well as for discharging the treated effluent to the environment Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

10. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d) • Treatment Plant Specifications • Complete set of drawing must be kept on site or at a location specified by the Authority • Flow measuring devices should be installed at the inlet and outlet of the plant Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

11. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d) • Effluent Standards, Measurements, Monitoring & Reporting • Sewage effluent, trade effluent and irrigation discharge standards specified • Owner/operator required to take samples of the effluent in accordance with the licence (weekly, bimonthly, monthly, annually, etc.) • Plant should be monitored for operational purposes in accordance with best engineering practices • Monitoring reports should be submitted as stipulated by the Authority (monthly, quarterly, annually etc.) • Spills and Pollution incidents should be reported to the Authority Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

12. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d) • Operation and Maintenance of Treatment Plants • Operation and maintenance manual should be kept at a designated location specified by the licensee to the Authority • O & M Manual should include: description of the treatment plant; description of the operating procedures, including details of the process operations; a list of equipment; maintenance requirements and procedures; maintenance schedule; effluent monitoring schedule; emergency management plan • Standby power to be available Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

13. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d) • Use of Marine Outfalls • Requests for use of marine outfalls should be accompanied by supporting documentation including: model of plume behaviour; data, studies, calculations that show that the proposed outfall will allow for acceptable effluent quality and will not affect marine environment • Request may be made for relaxation of effluent limits Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

14. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d) • Re-use for irrigation • Approval should be granted by the Authority prior to use of treated effluent for irrigation • Prior to granting approval, Authority must have prior consultation with the competent authorities within the Ministries responsible for health and agriculture • Additional standards may be prescribed • Nutrient management plan may be requested Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

15. Summary of the Regulations(cont’d) • Confirmation testing of Trade Effluent and Sewage Effluent • Where licensee does not utilize independent laboratory for testing; confirmation testing by an independent laboratory should be done twice per calendar year at a minimum of three months apart Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

16. Summary of the Regulations(cont’d) • Treatment of Septage • Septage shall be disposed of in a treatment plant approved by the Authority. Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

17. Summary of the Regulations(cont’d) • Management Practices for Sewage and Industrial Sludge • Sludge should meet standards in Regulations prior to disposal to the environment, sale or distribution • Disposal other than in a landfill should be done in accordance with management practices in guidelines • Sludge can be used for agricultural purposes • No unauthorized access to storage and treatment areas Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

18. Summary of the Regulations(cont’d) • Compliance Plans • Should include: details on how the plant will be operated; current compliance status; list of pollutants that exceed the standards; statement of methods used to determine plant’s compliance status; detailed statement of how the plant will achieve compliance; proposed compliance schedule; schedule for submission of progress reports or compliance reports; performance targets Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

19. Summary of the Regulations(cont’d) • Discharge Fees • Paid annually • Based on load of effluent discharged • Discount may be granted in cases of beneficial use of effluent/sludge Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

20. Summary of the Regulations(cont’d) • Pollutant Release and Transfer Register • Based on public’s right to know • Public document • Should include: quality of the effluent being discharged and status of compliance for treatment plants licensed to discharge effluent Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

21. Summary of the Regulations(cont’d) • Actions by the Authority when breaches occur • Warning notice • Control order • Revocation of licence • Suspension of licence • Apply for injunction to prohibit operation of the plant • Refuse renewal of licence GENERAL PENALTY: Fine not exceeding 50,000 JMD or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both fine and imprisonment. (If convicted in a RM court) Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

22. Licensing of Wastewater Facilities Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

23. Results of Wastewater Treatment Plant Audits April 2013 - October 2015 April 2013 – March 2014 April 2014 – October 2015 # of plants audited = 82 • # of plants audited = 47* Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

24. Results of Wastewater Treatment Plant Audits April 2013 - October 2015 (cont’d) April 2013 to March 2014 April 2014 – October 2015 Parameters with highest incidence of non-compliance Total Nitrogen, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Faecal Coliform, Total Suspended Solids • Parameters with highest incidence of non-compliance • Total Nitrogen, Total Suspended Solids, Chemical Oxygen Demand Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

25. Results of Wastewater Treatment Plant Audits April 2013 - October 2015 (cont’d) • Issues observed • Lack of flow measurement devices • Lack of standby power • Some components of plant not operated in accordance with best practice (to potentially save on energy costs) • Disinfection not practiced or not properly carried out Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

26. Re-use of Wastewater • Existing licensed facilities re-use treated effluent for irrigation • Benefit from discount on discharge fees • Majority of facilities that re-use effluent are in the hotel sector Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

27. Re-use of Wastewater (cont’d) • ISSUES: • How can we increase re-use? • Do we have the data to support the push for re-use in light of CECs? • Cannot re-use effluent that does not meet the standards • Buy in from general public Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

28. Chemicals in Wastewater: Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) • Chemicals that are being discovered in water that previously had not been detected or are being detected at levels that may be significantly different than expected.   • Pose a risk to human health and the environment as a result of their presence, frequency of occurrence, or because their source may be unknown.   Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

29. Chemicals in Wastewater: Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) (cont’d) Q: How do CECs get into wastewater? A: From the use of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PCPs) Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

30. Chemicals in Wastewater: Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) (cont’d) • Examples of CECs • Polybrominateddiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) • Perfluorinatedcompounds (PFCs) • Widely distributed and persistent in the environment. • Both accumulate in human tissue or blood, and are associated with health effects including endocrine disruption. Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

31. Chemicals in Wastewater: Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) (cont’d) • WWSR promotes re-use (S. 45) • Re-use necessary to meet current and future demands • ISSUES: • What are the CECs in our wastewater? • What impact will these have on our environment and health with increased re-use? Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

32. Economic Valuation in Wastewater Management • ISSUES • Currently not being done in Jamaica • In general, economic valuation usually not done because of inadequate property rights, presence of externalities and lack of perfect information (Hernandez-Sancho, et al , 2010) • What is needed to start carrying out economic valuation in Wastewater Management Reference: Hernandez-Sancho, F., Molinos-Senante, M. and Sala-Garrido (2010) Economic valuation of environmental benefits from wastewater treatment processes: An empirical approach for Spain. Science of the Total Environment, 402 (4) pp. 953-957 Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

33. Financing Wastewater Management • ISSUES: • Funding for maintenance of plants - critical • Funding for capacity building (both regulated and regulator) • Inadequate resources available to give effective oversight (from the regulator standpoint) • Obligation of government to ensure a healthy environment for citizens. • Use of effluent discharge fees to augment. Timeline for when this will become feasible. Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water

34. Discussion Thank you for you kind attention: Queries may be directed to: Mr. Oswald Chinkoo Manager, Pollution Monitoring and Assessment Branch National Environment and Planning Agency Telephone: 927 1105 Telefax: 9271552 Email: ochinkoo@nepa.gov.jm Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water