The department proposes to issue a variance for the Metropolitan St Louis Sewer District. The department invites the public to review and offer written comments on the proposed variance conditions. All comments must be received or postmarked by April 8, 2024. The public can review the proposed variance conditions below.
Written comments may be submitted by mail to Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Water Protection Program, ATTN: Cindy LePage, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176 or by email to cindy.lepage@dnr.mo.gov. The department can only consider comments about issues relating to the proposed action and the potential effect on emergency operations and water quality.
The Metropolitan St Louis Sewer District (MSD) applied to re-authorize their Supervised Sewer Extension Program Authority. During review of their standard design requirements, standard specifications and typical details, the department discovered the current regulation for grinder pump stations was not included in their documents. MSD's last supervised sewer extension authority approval was before the 2019 rulemaking. Grinder pump station details were not required to be approved in their standard plans and specifications at that time. MSD has, in the past, and is granting construction permits that allow commercial facilities to use a grinder pump station with only one pump, where the commercial facility is responsible for operation and maintenance of the pump station and piping from the building to the connection with the public sewer system.
Regulation 10 CSR 20-8.125, Alternative Sewer Systems, requires grinder pump stations used at commercial facilities be constructed with two pumps and grinder pump stations with multiple pumps are required to be owned, operated and maintained by an approved continuing authority. The language, as written, can be interpreted in several ways and the department questions whether a variance from this regulation is necessary, due to the ambiguous language. In an attempt to be transparent, it was decided to pursue a variance to provide assurance of the department’s approval of the standard specifications included in the MSD Supervised Sewer Extension Authority Program.
On the basis of preliminary staff review and the application of applicable state and federal regulations, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, as administrative agent for the Missouri Clean Water Commission, has found that an individual variance pursuant to Missouri Revised Statute 644.061.1, RSMo is warranted. The department proposes to recommend approval of the variance CWC-V-2-2024. The proposed recommendation is tentative pending public comment.