You may choose from any of the course days, or attend all of them, it’s up to you.

Practical Applications will cover the following topics in order to prepare you for the exam:

• Wastewater Chemistry
• Wastewater Math
• Pollutants and Industrial Sources
• Flow Measurement
• Dosage Math
• Wastewater Treatment Basics
• pH Adjustment
• Wastewater Equipment
• Wastewater Sampling and Testing
• Metals Treatment
• Special Waste Treatment Methods
• Health and Safety

REGISTER HERE

Boston, MA – Practical Applications, Inc. (PAI), a leading environmental company, recently commissioned the chemical/biological decontamination system (chemical kill system) at the Center For Medical Science in Albany, NY.

Center For Medical Science Chemical Decontamination System Tanks

Center For Medical Science Chemical Decontamination System Control Station

Capable of treating up to 28,000 gallons of waste water per day, the system is intended to operate automatically and is a duplex system, utilizing two complete treatment tanks so there is always one tank online to receive waste water. A centralized main control panel provides system control components for both tanks. Operator interaction is limited to daily inspections and maintenance procedures. The system will automatically batch process and discharge biologically inactive waste water. A vacuum collection system will gravity drain the waste water into the system. The chemical kill system enters treatment mode once the batch tank reaches an operator specified level. The waste water is mixed with chemical reagents until the ORP and pH set points are reached. The system then maintains that set point for a specific dwell time before discharging the contents to the sewer. The tank discharge is monitored for flow and residual chlorine concentration. PAI has incorporated its expert knowledge into the system’s computerized control such that numerous parameters are monitored to provide safe operation and predictive maintenance.

PAI has been designing, building, and operating waste water treatment systems since 1994. Our systems are designed and built by operating engineers and technicians who understand that an effective system must ensure performance while remaining economical to operate and maintain.

Press Contact:
Gary Broberg
Practical Applications, Inc.
Boston, MA 617-423-5639
gbroberg@pai-online.com

Download this press release as a PDF

The cost for the TCH course, meals and the harbor boat cruise is $800 per person.

The Deer Island tour is FREE.

You will earn up to 5 TCHs for this course. PAI will be conducting the workshops on board one of Boston Harbor Tours’ boats. Breakfast and lunch will be served on board. After the course is complete we will dock at Deer Island and take a tour of the grounds and treatment plant. The Deer Island tour will be run by MWRA staff, and is sponsored by WOOMA, the non-profit Wastewater Operators of Massachusetts Association.

The cost for the TCH course, meals and the harbor boat cruise is $800 per person.

The Deer Island tour is FREE. If you would like to attend ONLY the Deer Island tour, and not earn any TCHs, you are welcome to find transportation to the island and join our group for the tour.

Register today!

Boston, MA – Leading environmental firm Practical Applications, Inc. (PAI) has been awarded the contract to build the central wastewater treatment system for the plant expansion project at Tribe Foods, Inc., a subsidiary of Nestle, SA.

Tribe Foods Wastewater Treatment System - DAF Unit supplied by Krofta

Wastewater generated during food manufacturing operations is controlled using Dissolved Air Flotation. Designed to meet strict Massachusetts sewer discharge limits, wastewater in the system is continuously treated at 50,000 gallons per day with peak flows of 200 gallons per minute.

Composed of a 12,000 gallon equalization tank, pH Neutralization controls, coagulant and polymer dosing, rotary drum screening, and sludge dewatering, the system incorporates PAI’s automatic control package and integrated expert knowledge software to predict and prevent system upset. The system is housed in a custom-built 400 square foot packaged steel building.

PAI has been designing, building, and operating wastewater treatment systems since 1994. Our systems are designed and built by operating engineers and technicians who understand that an effective system must ensure performance while remaining economical to operate and maintain.

Is There Mercury In Your Industrial Wastewater Discharge?

This article was written by Practical Applications’ biologist Kimberly Baxter and originally appeared in the December 2005 issue of Plumbing Engineer magazine. A PDF of the article is available HERE.

Abstract

An assessment of sampling locations for three industrial wastewater effluent piping systems is presented. The assessments provided demonstrate that by installing sampling ports at the appropriate location along an effluent stream’s piping system, truly representative samples can be collected. These real and accurate results scientifically prove that a specific industrial wastewater discharge does not contain mercury levels that will trigger regulatory enforcement action.

Continue reading…

Collection, Recycling, Labeling and Sales Ban of Mercury-added Products; and Disposal Prohibition of Mercury-added Products in Solid Waste–310 CMR 19.00 (amended), 74.00 (amended), 75.00 (amended), 76.00 (added).

Brief Explanation and Rationale for Changes

Signed into law in July 2006, the “Massachusetts Mercury Management Act” is designed to keep mercury out of our trash and wastewater, where it is released into the environment. MassDEP is implementing this law in two phases. The Phase 1 regulations (promulgated on December 28, 2007) banned the sale of mercury-added products in Massachusetts unless the manufacturer registers the product with an interstate clearinghouse and establishes a collection program for the end-of-life products, banned schools from buying mercury-containing products, required auto manufacturers to collect and recycle mercury switches from “end of life” vehicles, required manufacturers of mercury containing lamps to educate consumers about mercury hazards and the requirement to recycle discarded lamps and to report on lamp recycling to MassDEP.

The Phase 2 regulations (promulgated on August 21, 2009) ban the sale in Massachusetts of specific mercury-added products, establish a procedure for manufacturers to apply for an exemption from the sales ban, and establish labeling requirements for mercury-added products that are sold in Massachusetts. The regulations also prohibit disposal of any mercury-added product in solid waste.

View the final regulations here: http://www.mass.gov/dep/public/reglist.htm or contact Practical Applications with any questions.

MA Wastewater Operator Exam Training

The Practical Applications industry-leading Wastewater Operator Training Exam Prep Course will be held for 8 weeks this Autumn.
Participants will be introduced to every element of the state exam, run by the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC).
The course is held on Thursday mornings from 8:00 to 11:00 at Practical Applications’ South Boston training center, starting on October 1 and concluding on November 19. The state exam will be held in multiple locations on Saturday, November 21.

THIS COURSE IS FULL

MA DEP

Information will be collected through an electronic survey. 1900 chemicals and approximately 3500 individual businesses will be targeted. The survey will be conducted in three phases with the first phase beginning in July.

The first phase targets all 1200 large quantity generators within the state. Notification postcards will go out in July and reporting will begin in August.

The second and third phases include a statistical representation of different business categories within the state. Approximately 2500 businesses have been chosen as part of the statistical sample. These
businesses will be split into Phases two and three, with about 1200 businesses participating in each phase. Notification will be via postcard in August for Phase II and December for Phase III. Phase II reporting begins in
mid-October and Phase III in the beginning of February.

All phases will receive a postcard about 45 days before reporting begins and a reporting package about two weeks before reporting begins. Every company will have 60 days in which to complete the report. Non-respondents will
receive a notice of non-compliance(NON). If the NON is ignored, the DEP will implement fines.

The survey is similar to other e-DEP forms. You will receive a toxic discharger id in your reporting packet. The form asks for general facility identification, toxics information, and a standard DEP certification
statement. You will be asked if you discharge wastewater to the sewer, what pretreatment you use, if you are solely or party research, and if you are a health care facility. You are then asked to compare the list of 1900
chemicals to the MSD sheets in your facility for chemicals that are discharged or have a reasonable potential to be discharged to the sewer. You are required to list all of these chemicals on the form and give a very
generalized frequency of discharge. If your company has an electronic file for the MSDSs, you will have the opportunity to upload the file to the DEP system and it will compare your MSDS with their chemical list. Their
chemical list is presented as a database searchable by name and CAS number.

Note: Research and development facilities will not have to fill out the toxics section at this time. If you are solely R&D, you must check off the box stating so and then sign the certification statement. The DEP will look
into R&D facilities further down the road.

The DEP will have training available through their website.

The DEP is looking for volunteers to come in and test the new electronic system during the first week in July. They were working on getting TCH credits for this testing. If you are interested, you can contact John
Reinhardt at: john.reinhardt@state.ma.us

We wanted to send out a notification for those who did not attend the MWRA Significant Industrial User (SIU) meetings this week.  As many of you know, the EPA audited the MWRA and its Industrial Pretreatment Program(IPP) back in December 2007.  The MWRA just received the report back and one of the requirements in the report was to change/streamline their

MWRA Rate Increase - Regulation 310 CMR 10.00

regulations.  The MWRA changed some of the terminology surrounding the adjudicatory proceedings(310 CMR 1.00) and clarified the language and provisions surrounding enforcement actions (310 CMR 2.00).  Changes to 310 CMR 10.00 included adding definitions for Best Management Practices(BMP) and New Sources, clarifying the definitions for an SIU, adding a prohibition against BOD and COD that could interfere with the POTW function, and proposing a fee increase over the next three years.  You can view the proposed regulations by visiting http://www.mwra.com/trac/proposedamendments-2009.htm.  The underlined text means an addition, a strike means a deletion.

This fee increase affects ALL industrial users.  If you have a permit, whether it is a low-flow general permit or your are a SIU, your fees will be going up.  The proposed increase is 4.5% each year for three years.  They have not raised their fees since fiscal year 2005 and are looking for feedback regarding the increase.  The informal comment period on the fee increase ends April 24th!  If you have comments regarding the fee increase (or the other regulations changes), please email Carolyn Fiore at cfiore@mwra.state.ma.us by April 24th.