This report has been cleared for submission to the Board by the Programme Manager Frank Clinton. Signedd.Cc'QLQ-9 Date /b/&/lO ur'FICE OF CLIMATE, LICENSING & RESOURCE USE. emEnvironmental Protection Agency I An Ghniomhommcht urn Chamhnd Canhrhoarl To: DIRECTORS Environmental Licensing From: Caroline Murphy Programme Date: 21" May 2010 Application for a Waste Water Discharge Licence from Sligo County RE: Council, for the agglomeration named Ballysadare, Reg. No. D0095- 01 with a population equivalent of 2,OO 1 to 10,000. Licence ap pl icat ion received : 22"d September 2008 Notices under Regulation 18(3)(b) issued: I 4t'1July 2009 Information under Regulation 18(3)(b) 251h August 2009 & received: 171h December 2009 Site notice check: None Site visit: Submission(s) Received: 1. Agglomeration This application relates to the Ballysadare agglomeration. Primarily a combined sewer network serves Ballysadare. One pumping station, at box Park, pumps into this network. The Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) is located c. 9Km south of Sligo town, on the edge of Ballysadare town in County Sligo. The WWTP in Ballysadare was upgraded under a Design Build Operate (DBO) contract in 2005. The plant is operated and maintained by EPS Ireland Ltd. as part of a 20 year DBO contract. 1 The WWTP is located c. 1SOm from the point where the Ballysadare River merges into Ballysadare Estuary and c. 160m from the edge of Ballysadre town. The WWTP is an activated sludge process with chemical nutrient removal which is designed to treat loads up to 3 times Dry Weather Flow (DWF, with a flow of 311/s and effluent quality of 25mg/l biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and 35mg/l suspended solids. The waste water treatment process incorporates the following components: Foul, Storm, Return Activated Sludge (RAS) and Surplus Activated Sludge (SAS) Pumps Inlet works, flow measurement and flow splitter Inlet screening and by-pass Grit removal system Screenings conditioning and compacting Storm water overflow to the storm water tank Ferric Dosing (Phosphorus removal) Aeration Tank Clarifier STM Hybrid Activated Sludge Plant - Sludge Thickening, holding and dewatering facilities. Treated effluent flow measurement and sampling Tidal Release Tank The WWTP has been designed to accommodate a maximum loading of 4,500 population equivalent (p.e.). A p.e. count was completed for Ballysadare in August 2009, which totalled a p.e. of c. 2,536 for Ballysadare town. However; this figure includes c. 417p.e. from apartments and houses built but currently vacant. There is no industrial zoning within the town and no major land banks available for future housing so this p.e. should be applicable to 20 15. The percentage p.e. attributable to commercial development currently and to 2015 is c. 8 - 10%. It has been estimated that p.e. loading may rise to c. 4,500p.e. by the year 2026. 2. Discharges to waters The primary discharge outfall (SW1) is located c. 45011-1 from the WWTP and discharges via a lunar valve into Ballysadare Estuary. This point discharges c. 123,l 87.5m3/annum and is operational 365 daydyear. The primary discharge discharges directly into Ballysadare Bay candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC), Ballysadre Bay designated Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ballysadare Bay proposed Natural Heritage Area (pNHA). There is no secondary discharge point in this system. There are five discharges in the current system, the primary discharge point and four storm water overflows (SWOs). The existing SWOs on the current network are as follows: SW2, is the SWO at the handball alley. There is a screened overflow facility from this manhole which is adjacent to the Ballysadare River. According to the caretaker this rarely, if ever, overflows. SW3, is the SWO at the power plant. There is a screened overflow facility from this manhole to the Ballysadare River. According to the caretaker this rarely, if ever, overflows. 2 0 SW4, was the SWO located adjacent to the WWTP. This SWO was originally the SWO upstream of the WWTP that existed at Ballysadare prior to the new works being built. As part of the new system treated effluent flowed through this SWO chamber. Sligo County Council has confirmed that SW4 has been sealed as it serves no purpose as part of the new system. No measures have being put in place for its removal, which would require a foreshore licence. 0 SW5, is the SWO at Main Street. There is a screened overflow from this manhole to the Ballysadare River. This SWO overflows in periods of rain. There is a storm water retention tank at the WWTP with a capacity of 279m3 which will provide over 2 hours of storage for a p.e. of 4,500 (peak flow to €ull treatment is 3DWF or 35.21/s (127m3/hour)). Based on a review of the EPS monthly reports for Ballysadare, Sligo County Council have confirmed the storm tank rarely (if ever) filkddischarges. The storm water overflow from the inlet works is pumped back into the treatment system prior to ferric dosing and as such is not excluded from any treatments. However, if the storm water retention tank reaches its capacity this storm water overflow (SWA) will be discharged through the same point as the primary discharge (SW 1). 0 The applicant has confirmed that the existing SWOs are compliant with the DoEHLG bcProcediiresand Criteria in relation to Storm Water Oijeyflotzs”. There is one pumping station (PS) in the current system, the Knox Park PS. There is one duty and one standby pump at this pumping station. In the event of power failure the lines backup. Backing up of the system at this pumping station has no immediate effect on the WWTP only to stop the forward flow of sewage. Once the backup is cleared there may be an increased flow of sewage to the WWTP until the blockage is cleared. There is no history of power failure at this pumping station. 3. Receiving waters and impact Table 1 below summarises the main considerations in relation to Ballysadare Estuary which receives the primary discharge. Table 1: Receiving waters Comment Receiving Ballysadare Estuary Ballysadare Estuary is a transitional water body in the Western River and type Basin District (WRBD) and merges into Ballysadare bay and in turm Sligo Bay. Resourceuse Designated as a key satellite There has been a lot of housing village and a designated development in Ballysadare in town for consolidation under recent years. the settlement structure set out in the Regional Planning Guidelines Note I Amenity value Marsh shooting and to a lesser extent fishing and aauaculture Note 2 Applicable - Bathing Water - There are no designated bathing Regulations areas in the Ballysadare Estuarv 3 ~~ Note 3 Surface Water . With regard to Ballysadare Estuary surface water quality see the comment on ELV parameters below. Waste Water Treatment . Samples taken in 2008 from the Regulatioiis Note 4 upgraded WWTP have demonstrated non compliances for BOD, COD and Suspended Solids Shellfish Waters . Ballysadare Estuary and Bay Regulations Note 6 have not been designated as Shellfish Areas (S.I. 55 of 2009). Designations Proposed NHA - Ballysadare Bay proposed NHA Designated SPA (000622) Candidate SAC - Ballysadare Bay designated SPA (004129). - Ballysadare Bay cSAC (000622) EPA Ballysadare Estuary EPA Status: Monitoring Monitoring Locations (X3): Stations Inner Ballisodare Bay: Reference figure 1 on page 13 for Abbey (SB 140) the location of these monitoring locations. SB 140 is approximately Inner Ballisodare Bay: in the same area as SW 1 while Inishmore (SB 13 0) SB 120, SB 130 and SB 150 are located c. 6km, 2km and 1Km from Inner Ballisodare Bay: SW 1 respectively. Derrinch Point (SB 120) Ballysadare Estuary has an Ballysadare River EPA ‘Unpolluted’ trophic status. Monitoring Locations (Xl): River Ballisodare at Ballisodare Bridge (SB 150) WFD Status Ballysadare Estuary Good Note 7 (Waterbody Code = IE WE 460 0300) WFD Risk Ballysadare Estuary la - at risk of not achieving good Category status Note 7 Target 2015 Good status ote / WFD Ballysadare Estuary A “Protect” status has been listed as Protected an WFD overall objective for Areas Ballysadare Estuary Note 7 Note I : Source: Sligo County Council Website 4 Note 2: NPWS - Site Synopsis: Ballysadare Bay SPA (004129). Note 3: Quality of Bathing Waters (Amendment)Regulations, 1998 (S.I. No. 177 of 1998 ). Note 4: EC Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations, 1994 to 2004. Note 5: Records on Ballisadare WWTP for 2008 supplied by the Office of Environmental Enforcement (OEE). Note 6: European Communities (Quality of Shrlltish Waters) Regulations 1006, as amended Note 7: Source: Water Framework Directive Ireland website. Ballysadare Bay extends for about 1Okm westwards from the town of Ballysadare, and is the most southerly of three inlets of the larger Sligo Bay. The estuarine channel of the Ballysadare River winds its way through the Bay, finally reaching the open sea near the spit at Strandhill Dunes. The Bay is underlain by sedimentary rocks of limestones, sandstones and shales, which are exposed as low cliffs and small sections of bedrock shore at several locations’. The Bay is little used for fishing or boating, but marsh shooting is common in the upper reaches of the Bay. Aquaculture is little developed in this bay compared to nearby Sligo and Drumcliff Bays’. The primary discharge point is located in the following sites designated under the Habitats Directive [92/43/EEC] and the Birds Directive [79/409/EEC]: 0 Ballysadare Bay proposed Natural Heritage Area (pNHA) 0 Ballysadare Bay designated Special Protection Area (SPA) 0 Ballysadare Bay candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) Ballysadare Bay SPA encompasses the same area as the cSAC. The Bay is selected for four habitats listed under Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive and two species listed under Annex I1 of the Directive.