Wastewater Incident Reporting
Wastewater incidents, which
include wastewater spills, can pose a threat to the environment and the
public health. Immediate notification and appropriate response are
essential factors at minimizing the impact from wastewater incidents.
Spills which are of 1,000 gallons or greater, or which may threaten the
environment or public heath are required to be immediately reported by a
utility to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)
through a toll-free, 24-hour hotline known as the
State Warning Point. Citizens are also encouraged to report any
suspected wastewater incidents to the toll-free number. Please note that
a utility which experiences a spill less than 1,000 gallons is only
required to report such incident to the Department by notifying their
appropriate District Office or delegated local
program.
FDEP State Warning Point
1-800-320-0519 |
On average, the State Warning Point receives two wastewater incident
notifications a day for the entire state. In many cases, wastewater
spills are caused by road construction, storms or other factors beyond
the control of the wastewater facility. Nearly two-thirds of all spills
have a volume of less than 10,000 gallons, far less than the volume of a
typical backyard swimming pool. In most cases, wastewater spills can be
contained and much of the released volume can be recovered for proper
treatment.
FDEP staff follow-up on wastewater incident reports and work closely
with the facility to initiate any necessary remedial actions. FDEP also
works with local health agencies to ensure that appropriate public
health warnings are issued immediately. It is important to note that the
Department's primary compliance efforts are to prevent spills by
ensuring facilities are properly constructed, operated and maintained.
Sanitary Sewer Overflows and CMOM
CMOM stands for Capacity, Management, Operation and Maintenance for
sanitary sewer collection systems. The Management, Operation and
Maintenance (MOM) Programs Project is a pilot enforcement approach
developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPAs)
Region 4 to bring municipal sewer systems into full compliance with the
Clean Water Act by eliminating sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) from
municipal sewer systems.
Emergency Preparedness and Response
In recent years, Florida has experienced numerous tropical storms and
hurricanes. Being prepared for emergencies is not only essential to
every resident of Florida, but also to wastewater treatment utilities.
For this reason, FDEP sponsored the creation of the Florida’s
Water-Wastewater Agency Response Network (FlaWARN) - a formalized system of "utilities
helping utilities" to address mutual aid during emergency situations
such as hurricanes. FlaWARN has developed an
Emergency Response & Preparedness manual to assist water and
wastewater utilities in developing appropriate procedures to deal with
such events.
In addition, the Department has developed a web-site called
StormTracker which allows all Florida water and wastewater utilities to
report their operational status following significant storm events. The
operational status along with the reported needs of a utility are used
to not only assess storm damage but to efficiently mobilize resources
and distribute aid through FlaWARN. Wastewater incidents or spills which
occur as a result of a storm event are still reported to the State
Warning Point (1-800-320-0519).
What is the State Warning Point?
The State Warning Point is a centralized phone bank managed by the
Department of Community Affairs' Division of Emergency Management and
operated 24 hours/day and 7 days/week. It is used to report any
emergency situations, including, for example, oil and hazardous spills,
fires, airline or rail incidents.
Why did FDEP change the reporting of wastewater spills to the
State Warning Point?
The Department needed to be able to provide 24-hour response coverage
and coordinate with other state and local agencies such as the Florida
Department of Health and/or Emergency Response, where needed.
Where can I find regulations pertaining to wastewater spill
reporting?
Chapter 62-620, F.A.C.
What does one do if a wastewater spill is discovered?
A spill should be reported as soon as practical, but at least no later
than 24 hours from the time the permittee becomes aware of the spill.
Citizens can also report spills by calling the State Warning Point's
toll-free number 1-800-320-0519.
Where does a spill get reported?
If the spill is less than 1,000 gallons, it should be reported by the
facility directly to the appropriate District Office or delegated local
program. If the spill is 1,000 gallons or more, or where the public
health or the environment may be endangered, it should be reported by
the facility to the State Warning Point's toll-free number
1-800-320-0519.
What information does a permittee provide when reporting a spill?
- Name, address, and phone number of person reporting the spill.
- Name, address, and telephone number of permittee or
responsible party for the discharge.
- Date and time of the discharge and status of discharge
(ongoing or ceased).
- Characteristics of the wastewater spilled or released
(untreated or treated, industrial or domestic wastewater).
- Estimated amount of the discharge.
- Location or address of the discharge.
- Source and cause of the discharge.
- Whether the discharge was contained on-site, and any cleanup
actions taken to date.
- Description of area affected by the discharge, including name
of water body affected, if any.
- Other persons or agencies contacted.
- Provide as much information as possible!
What happens after a spill gets reported to the State Warning
Point?
The State Warning Point operator may contact FDEP's Bureau of Emergency
Response (BER), the affected county’s Emergency Management, and the
Florida Department of Health. The BER then passes the information to the
District’s Wastewater program for follow-up. The required written
follow-up report should be submitted to the District Office by the
permittee within 5 days of the time the permittee became aware of the
spill.
What is FlaWARN?
FlaWARN is the formalized system of "utilities helping utilities"
address mutual aid during emergency situations. These incidents may be
man-made or natural disasters. FlaWARN is made up of Water and
Wastewater Utilities across Florida, assisted by regulatory, technical,
and law enforcement agencies. The goal of FlaWARN is to provide
immediate relief for member utilities during emergencies. The system
works by matching personnel with the necessary tools and equipment to
both assess and assist the impacted water and wastewater system as
quickly as possible until a permanent solution to the devastation may be
implemented.
What if a utility requires immediate assistance in the event of an
emergency to ensure public health & safety?
For immediate assistance a utility must contact one of the following:
- their local County Emergency Operations Center,
- the State Warning Point at 1-800-320-0519, or
- the Florida Hotline at 1-866-742-0481 and leave a message on the
automated answering system.
What if a utility is unable to connect to the Internet after a storm
event?
The utility can still report their facility’s status by calling
toll-free 1-866-742-0481. Please note that if multiple facilities are
being reported, the permit number for each facility reported need to be
provided. Please note that a utility that is in an area affected by a
storm event must wait until the storm has passed before logging-into the
StormTracker website or calling the toll-free number to report their
operational status.
How does an owner or operator of a utility get access to StormTracker?
An owner or operator of a utility must contact their
local District
Office in order to obtain the web address for the StormTracker system as
well as a username and password for logging into the system. Please note
that only a utility may obtain a username and password using their
wastewater permit number.
For more information on spill reporting or hurricane preparedness
contact the appropriate DEP district office or the Wastewater Compliance
Assurance program at (850) 245-8567.
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