Responsibilities

Environmental Compliance Services is comprised of the Laboratory section & Pretreatment section.

Laboratory Section

The process of wastewater treatment requires constant monitoring at the various treatment levels. This ensures the wastewater is being treated properly or identifies if changes need to be made to the treatment process to meet strict regulatory mandates as specified in the permit to operate.

Valley Sanitary District has its own environmental laboratory to handle the day-to-day testing of the various treatment processes. The laboratory is certified by the State of California as an Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP) accredited laboratory for the testing of environmental samples including but not limited to water, wastewater, and biosolids.

The Laboratory is comprised of the Laboratory & Compliance Supervisor and two laboratory technicians who are trained in chemistry, biology and microbiology to take care of daily testing and analysis. Timely and accurate data provided by the laboratory to the operations staff is essential for process control and to ensure compliance with environmental regulations such as the Clean Water Act, the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), the 40 CFR Part 503 Biosolids Rule, and other Federal and State programs.

Valley Sanitary District also utilizes external laboratories for testing more complex water quality requirements.

Staff Contacts

Anna Bell                              Laboratory and Compliance Supervisor

Mario Luna                           Laboratory Technician

 

Environmental Compliance Section

Valley Sanitary District implements a Pretreatment Program to protect water quality. We work with local businesses to ensure that wastewater discharges do not negatively impact the collection system or treatment plant. Whether you are new to the industry or looking to start a business in the service area, or an existing facility, we are here to help you protect the environment by providing the following services:

·         Inspections of industrial facilities for industrial waste compliance

·         Industrial waste discharge permits

All business with a sewer connection is included in the District’s Pretreatment Program. These businesses are inspected annually to ensure compliance with Pretreatment regulations. During field inspections, industries are evaluated for compliance and educated on pollution prevention. The Environmental Compliance section strives to help businesses maintain compliance.

Certain industries are required to have a wastewater discharge permit based on their strength and quantity of their wastewater discharge. The Environmental Compliance section helps businesses through every step of the permit process. Permit applications are reviewed by staff to determine if the proposed pretreatment equipment will adequately remove pollutants from the waste stream. Once a permit is issued, inspectors will regularly monitor the wastewater discharge to ensure compliance with local limits.

Environmental Compliance staff also perform surveillance monitoring to prevent illegal discharges of prohibited materials into the sewer system.

Staff Contacts

Anna Bell                              Laboratory & Compliance Supervisor

Maya Federbush               Environmental Compliance Technician