Wastewater plant gets expansion, environmental fine

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

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Valrico Wastewater Treament plant manager Flint Seth, right, examines a filtering procedure.

An east Hillsborough County wastewater plant facility that has been dealing with growth demands may finally have answers to combat that growth.

But at the same time, it's facing fines from the Department of Environmental Protection.

Valrico and its surrounding areas have been a hot spot for growth and development for several years. And that growth has been especially tough on the Valrico Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility the past two years.

According to EPA reports, the facility is not doing a good job of filtering wastewater. Since September 2005, there have been over-the-limit violations for chlorine, nitrogen and fecal coli bacteria. The plant has been fined $169,000.

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Wastewater fine

"The staff has been working here fighting these battles for a long time,'' said plant manager Flint Seth.

The plant's manager of operations said it is a matter of too much growth.

"The growth outraced our planning efforts," said George Cassady, who quickly added an expansion project at the plant will be completed by 2008. "That (new facility) will resolve the capacity issues that we have there today."

The county has already broken ground on the expansion that will double the plant's capacity. When the project is completed, the plant will be able to handle 12 million gallons of waste a day, twice as much as it can handle now. Also, after the improvements, the plant will use state-of-the-art equipment to better monitor the water-filtering process and the overall quality of the water.

Officials said it is possible the DEP will allow the county to use its fine amount for construction costs. Either way, the money will likely be pumped back into the county for environmental projects.