Region I issued an Administrative Order ( AO or Order ) to the Town of Newport, New Hampshire ( Town ) under Section 309 of the Clean Water Act. The Town's wastewater treatment facility ( WWTF ) has discharged effluent to the Sugar River in violation of the effluent limitations for total phosphorus included in its NPDES Permit. The Town has also periodically violated the acute and chronic whole effluent toxicity ( WET ) limitations of its NPDES Permit.
The Order requires the Town to prepare and submit by December 31, 2009 a WWTF upgrade facilities plan with recommendations and a proposed schedule to achieve full NPDES Permit compliance no later than October 31, 2012. The design and construction schedule for the selected alternative, as approved by EPA, will be incorporated into the AO. The AO includes interim effluent limitations for total phosphorus.
The Order also requires the Town to prepare and submit a detailed report evaluating the WET test data and recommending corrective measures to eliminate violations of the WET limits of the NPDES Permit. Finally, the Order requires the Town to submit quarterly compliance status reports until it achieves compliance with its NPDES Permit limits.