Record · Inspections & compliance reviews
City of Lima WWTP
edoc-747522
Fields
agency
Ohio EPA, Division of Surface Water
district
Northwest District Office
program
NPDES-Biosolids
inspection_type
Biosolids Generator Inspection
type_code
—
facility
City of Lima WWTP
facility_address
50 Town Square, Lima, Ohio 45801-4900
permit_no
2PE00000
npdes_id
—
county
Allen County
inspection_date
2017-12-05
report_date
2017-12-29
entry_time
—
exit_time
—
significant_noncompliance
—
units_in_service
—
summary
On December 5, 2017, Ohio EPA inspectors Andrew Gall and Peggy Christie conducted a Biosolids Generator Inspection of the City of Lima WWTP (permit 2PE00000, Allen County). The inspection included a plant walk-through and completion of the enclosed checklist evaluating compliance with Ohio's Sewage Sludge Rules (OAC Chapter 3745-40). At the time of the inspection, the City was found to be meeting the applicable requirements; one advisory recommendation was made regarding obtaining copies of biosolids end user reports from Lima Compost for accurate recordkeeping.
note
—
inspectors
- Andrew Gall
- Peggy Christie
facility_representatives
- David Schnipke
- Eric Markley
observations
- kind finding
- text Sewage sludge at the Lima WWTP is treated in anaerobic digesters. As part of recent plant upgrades, both primary digesters were taken out of service for cleaning and inspection prior to installation of the new mixing system. The methane gas produced during digestion is used to power two micro-turbines generating electric power and heat. The digested sludge is dewatered with belt filter presses and then mixed with lime and fly ash using the N-Viro Process. Temperature and pH of the blended material is monitored over a 72-hour period.
- number —
- deadline —
- kind finding
- text The EQ biosolids are stored in both a building and on a concrete storage pad at the WWTP before being released to Lima Compost/Wright Mulch for management and distribution using two different methods: (1) stored at Lima Compost Facility and hauled for beneficial use on agricultural farm fields; (2) blended with finished compost, wood chips and dirt to create a top soil blend sold as topsoil to landscapers and residential customers.
- number —
- deadline —
- kind recommendation
- text The City should continue to obtain copies of the biosolids end user reports from Lima Compost so that there are accurate records at the WWTP showing where the EQ biosolids are beneficially used.
- number —
- deadline —
- kind finding
- text At the time of the inspection, the City was meeting the applicable requirements of Ohio's Sewage Sludge Rules (Chapter 3745-40 of the Ohio Administrative Code).
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- deadline —
- kind finding
- text Blending operation at Lima Compost is regulated by Ohio EPA under sludge management plan (SMP) No. 2MP00014. The SMP requires Lima Compost to monitor the newly created top soil blend after biosolids, leaves, grass and woodchips are blended to ensure it still meets the EQ biosolids criteria.
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- kind finding
- text Facility information: Average Daily Flow 18.5 MGD; Design Treatment Capacity Max Flow 45 MGD; Biosolids Storage Capacity approx. 5 months at plant; Contracted Alternative/Contingency Disposal: 586 Station and 588 Station in NPDES permit; Headworks Screening: Automatic Bar Screen.
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- deadline —
- kind finding
- text Sewage Sludge Treatment units: 3 Anaerobic Digesters (two primary, one secondary; new linear motion mixers installed); 3 Belt Filter Presses (2 run 5 days/week, 8 hrs/day, rotated in and out of service); 2 Holding Tanks (1 MG capacity each); 2 Gravity Thickeners (1 for Lima WWTP solids, 1 as receiving tank for Allen County Sludge); 1 Storage Pad (building for EQ Lim-a-Soil); 1 NVIRO Process unit (Cementec system to add lime and fly ash).
- number —
- deadline —
- kind finding
- text Beneficial Use/Disposal: Beneficial Use (Class B and Exceptional Quality), Transfer to Another NPDES Permittee (Lima Compost), and Landfill. EQ Biosolids managed by Wright Mulch — farmers land apply some directly as fertilizer and Wright blends some EQ into their compost operation. Wright needs to provide City with records indicating who received the biosolids that were land applied and the amounts. When digesters were cleaned out for installation of new mixers, solids were dewatered and hauled to landfill for disposal.
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- deadline —
- kind finding
- text Pathogen Reduction Alternative: P-9 (High pH and High Temperature) is utilized. Vector Attraction Reduction: VAR-1 (38% Volatile Solids Reduction) and VAR-6 (Alkaline Treatment). Records of pH maintained ≥12 for 2 hours and ≥11.5 for 24 hours, and records of dry tons of alkaline material added are on file.
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- deadline —
- kind finding
- text Monitoring: Biosolids samples collected monthly at the Sludge Storage Pad by WWTP Operators and Lab Techs. Chain of custody is utilized. Metals and nutrients samples sent to Alloway Labs (1101 N. Cole St., Lima, OH 45805). Fecal coliform samples run in-house by WWTP lab within eight hours of collection. In-house analyses: Fecal, pH. Contracted analyses: Nutrients, metals (SW-846 for inorganic metals; Standard Methods 2540G for Total, Fixed and Volatile Solids).
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- deadline —
⚠ Gaps in the record
- TWIN CAPTURE — not the canonical reading. The portal serves this 2017-12-05 biosolids generator inspection at two docids; edoc-1851476 is the same letter and is canonical for FIDELITY (a scan is read by the vision path alone, with nothing to check itself against). Declared in data/site/document-versions.yaml as a `v2` cluster — the two files are NOT byte-identical. NOTE this capture records MORE (10 vs 6): it enumerates the report form's evaluated-areas checklist as observations where the canonical summarises the narrative. A granularity difference, not a conflict — and the checklist has no dedicated field on ComplianceInspection.
- No 'Sig. Non-Compliance' checkbox was visible on the enclosed inspection form pages provided — significant_noncompliance left null.
- No entry_time or exit_time printed on any page.
- type_code field left null as no CEI/PCI/PAI code appears on the form; the form header reads 'BIOSOLIDS GENERATOR INSPECTION'.
- Document is a page image with no embedded text layer — values extracted by OCR reading of the image.
Where it connects
oepa/lima/edoc-747522.inspection.yaml · p.1 · oepa