For the third consecutive year, the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA) has awarded one of its highest honors to the Fall River, Mass., wastewater treatment plant managed by USFilter Operating Services, Inc., as part of a public-private partnership.
AMSA's "Peak Performance Gold Award" recently was presented to USFilter's staff for maintaining perfect environmental compliance in 2002 at the facility.
AMSA, whose member base collectively treats and reclaims more than 18 billion gallons of wastewater daily, works closely with federal regulatory agencies to implement environmental programs and legislation.
"USFilter strives to achieve perfect environmental compliance every day, everywhere we operate facilities," said Marc Laferriere, USFilter Fall River project manager. "Maintaining a healthy environment is not just our job, it's our passion. Receiving this award from the highly-regarded AMSA is public validation that we are doing our job well and that private expertise can help municipalities solve problems and keep the environment healthy and safe."
Through a partnership that began in 1994, USFilter provides operation and management services to the city's 30.9-million-gallon-per-day pure oxygen secondary wastewater treatment plant. Additional responsibilities include a 15-dry-ton-per-day sludge incinerator (ash is hauled to a landfill for disposal), 13 lift stations and a regional collection system.
When the city of Fall River partnered with USFilter for the operations of its wastewater plant, the facility had been plagued by continuous permit violations, with neither regulatory experts nor nationally recognized biologists able to identify the cause of chronic process control and odor problems.
Within the first year of operation, USFilter's team of experts suggested many process improvements and the adoption of new operational procedures which resulted in reduced odor complaints and environmental compliance at the plant.
"We are very pleased with USFilter's progress in repeatedly achieving perfect compliance at our wastewater treatment plant," said Fall River Mayor Edward M. Lambert, Jr. "Today, Fall River residents enjoy a cleaner, healthier and odor-free environment."
Fall River's award reinforces USFilter's statewide excellent compliance record in Massachusetts where the company currently operates 20 municipal and industrial facilities.
Source: USFilter
