Sewage Collection Systems

Procedures to Obtain a Construction Permit and a Certificate to Operate

Procedures for Certificate to Construct:

1. Obtain an application form (DEQ Submittal Form) from the Office of Wastewater Engineering Area Engineering Staff.
2. Complete the form for submittal. Applications which do not contain this information will not be considered to be complete and will not be processed. The applicant must furnish adequate documentation, such as a flow certificate and acceptance, from downstream system or works owners, to the Area Engineer that assures the availability of downstream capacity and treatment.
3. File the completed application with the Area Engineering whose service area encompasses the location of the existing or proposed sewerage system. The Area Engineer in cooperation with VDH Staff will establish the appropriate reliability classification.
4. Upon receipt of the application by the appropriate Office of Wastewater Engineering Staff, it will be evaluated to determine if it is complete. If the Area Engineer determines that the application is not complete, the owner will be notified concerning the information necessary to make it complete. If the application is determined to be complete, the owner will be contacted and an appointment can be arranged for a preliminary engineering conference if a technical evaluation is deemed necessary. The preliminary engineering conference may not be required for collection system projects, however, engineering design calculations must be submitted with the plans and specifications.
5. The preliminary engineering conference scheduled in step 4 above, if held, will include the owner, the owner's consulting engineer, the Area Engineer and other agency staff if necessary. The owner may bring other interested parties. The owner may be represented solely by the engineer as long as the Area Engineer has been so notified in writing.
6. At a preliminary conference, the owner or the owner's consulting engineer shall discuss the scope of the project to include design flow based on population to be served, the expected hydraulic loadings and any unusual problems such as industrial wastewater discharges, or infiltration-inflow. The general scope and content of the preliminary engineering proposal will be discussed and agreed upon. The owner and consultant may elect to submit a statement agreeing that the sewerage system will be designed in accordance with the appropriate standards of practice as identified through the Sewerage Collection and Treatment Regulations.
7. When submitted, a preliminary engineering proposal will be evaluated by the Office of Wastewater Engineering staff. A project will be evaluated in the chronological sequence of when it was received by the Office of Wastewater Engineering Staff. The preliminary engineering proposal shall establish the criteria utilized in the final design. Comments, if any, will be sent to the owner's engineer with a copy to the owner by the Office of Wastewater Engineering Staff. Once the preliminary engineering proposal is found to be satisfactory, the owner and the owner's engineer will be so notified. Such notification indicates that the Office of Wastewater Engineering agrees with the basic design proposal and engineering criteria. The owner's engineer should proceed at this point with preparation of final engineering plans and specifications. Authorization for advertisement of contruction bid documents and contract awards can be granted in accordance with receipt of the appropriate agreement statments submitted by the owner and consultant to the Area Engineer.
8. When final engineering plans and specifications are submitted, they will be evaluated by the Area Engineer in accordance with established priorities in chronological order of receipt unless assigned another priority for processing. If the technical evaluation reveals questions concerning the design, a letter with staff comments will be sent to the owner's consulting engineer for action. If deemed necessary by either the owner's engineer or the Office of Wastewater Engineering Staff, a meeting will be convened to discuss the Staff comments. Once the comments have been resolved to the satisfaction of the Office of Wastewater Engineering Staff, revised plans and specifications, if necessary, shall be submitted for evaluation. Revised plans and specifications will be processed in chronological sequence but will normally have a higher priority than original submissions.
9. If the Wastewater Engineering staff are unable to satisfactorily resolve questions concerning the design and the Office of Wastewater Engineering determines that the plans and specifications are not in substantial compliance with the Sewage Collection and Treatment Regulations, the plans and specifications may be disapproved by letter listing the reasons for disapproval. If the proposed design is found to be in substantial compliance with the Sewage Collection and Treatment Regulations and deemed approvable, a Construction Permit (in the form of a letter) will be issued.
10. Receipt of a Construction Permit is authorization to proceed with the construction of the sewerage system. In some cases, the owner may commence construction prior to issuance of a construction permit, with the concurrence of the Area Engineer.
11. If modifications or changes to the approved plans and specifications become necessary, they shall be processed by the Area Engineer for approval prior to the change being made. Such change orders or addenda will be processed by the Area Engineer on a priority basis.

Procedures for Certificate to Operate:

Once a project has been constructed, the area engineer will need to issue a Certificate to Operate for your sewerage system. The owner is ultimately responsible to ensure these procedures are followed and a Certificate to Operate is issued. The basic procedures are as follows:

1. Send a statement of completion to the area engineer, signed by a licensed engineer, stating that the facility was constructed in accordance with the approved plans.
2. The statement of completion is the trigger for the area engineer to start the process for issuing a Certificate to Operate.
3. Test the equipment and be sure all mechanical and electrical equipment is operating.
4. The area engineer will contact the owner or engineer to schedule a final inspection. This inspection may be waived by the area engineer for city/county owned stations, or small package stations.
5. If the facility is complete upon inspection, the area engineer will issue the Certificate to Operate.
6. The Certificate to Operate is good for the life of the facility, provided there are no upgrades or modifications.
7. The operations and maintenance manual for the facility must be submitted or already approved at this time.