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EPA ANNOUNCES WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT AWARDS

Release Date: 02/04/2000
Contact Information: Amy Miller, EPA Press Office (617-918-1042)

BOSTON - Eight wastewater treatment plants in New England were honored last week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's New England Office as winners of the 14th annual Wastewater Operations & Maintenance Excellence Awards.

Among the award-winning plants were four in Massachusetts, two in Maine, one in Rhode Island and one in New Hampshire.

"These wastewater plants are the best New England has to offer when it comes to publicly-owned facilities," said Mindy S. Lubber, Acting Regional Administrator of EPA New England. "We give these awards to recognize the efforts of the people who build and run these facilities, which help protect our lakes, rivers and ocean from contamination."

The Regional Wastewater Operations and Maintenance Excellence Award winners include:

• The Danforth, Maine Wastewater Treatment Facility in Washington County, which is located in one of the poorest counties in Maine. This facility runs on a shoestring, yet the operators maintain the facility, remain in compliance, and continue to put out consistently high quality effluent.
• The Orono, Maine Wastewater Treatment Facility, which has instituted an aggressive inflow and infiltration program to address fluctuating influent loads, and is well maintained and efficiently operated.
• The Leominster, Mass. Wastewater Treatment Facility, which has consistently followed a strict quality assurance and quality control program.
• The Lowell, Mass. Wastewater Treatment Facility, which has improved its operation and maintenance dramatically in the past several years, contributing to an improved compliance record.
• The North Brookfield, Mass. Wastewater Treatment Facility, which has addressed operation problems that were the result of inadequate construction in a 1995 upgrade.
• The Winchester, NH Wastewater Treatment Facility, which has made numerous improvements over the last several years to ensure compliance.
• The Narragansett, RI Wastewater Treatment Facility, which has had to treat and control a volatile waste stream that is often affected by local fish processing companies.