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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 23-1005

NOTICES

DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Availability of Technical Guidance

[53 Pa.B. 4042]
[Saturday, July 29, 2023]

 Technical guidance documents (TGD) are available on the Department of Environmental Protection's (Department) web site at www.depgreenport.state.pa.us/elibrary/. The ''Technical Guidance Final Documents'' heading is the link to a menu of the various Department bureaus where each bureau's final TGDs are posted. The ''Technical Guidance Draft Documents'' heading is the link to the Department's draft TGDs.

Ordering Paper Copies of Department Technical Guidance

 The Department encourages the use of the Internet to view and download TGDs. When this option is not available, persons can order a paper copy of any of the Department's draft or final TGDs by contacting the Department at (717) 783-8727.

 In addition, bound copies of some of the Department's documents are available as Department publications. Check with the appropriate bureau for more information about the availability of a particular document as a publication.

Changes to TGDs

 Following is the current list of recent changes. Persons who have questions or comments about a particulardocument should contact the person whose name and phone number are listed with each document.

Final TGD: Minor Revision

 DEP ID: 385-2208-003. Title: Alternate Onlot Sewage Pretreatment Technology Verification Policy. Description: The purpose of this TGD is to provide scientific methods and minimum levels of pretreatment for demonstrating the performance of onlot alternate technology systems or components. The scientific methods and minimum levels of pretreatment in this TGD can provide the basis for the Department's evaluation of newly proposed onlot sewage system or component technologies for which approval as an alternate system or component in this Commonwealth is being sought. The TGD provides a consistent approach for the submission, review and approval or disapproval of proposed alternate onlot pretreatment technologies. Compared with the version published as final at 50 Pa.B. 2473 (May 9, 2020), the TGD has been updated to reflect amendments to the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (35 P.S. §§ 750.1—750.20a) made by the act of June 5, 2020 (P.L. 257, No. 34) (Act 34). The revised TGD also includes minor revisions to clarify certain parts of the TGD based on the experience of the Department's Sewage Facilities Planning Program staff reviewing several applications for technology approval using the process described in the TGD. Minor revisions to the TGD include the following:

 • Throughout the TGD, all references to the act of July 20, 2017 (P.L. 321, No. 26) have been removed since the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act was subsequently amended by Act 34.

 • Throughout the TGD, all use of the term ''performance standard'' has been removed and replaced with ''minimum level of pretreatment.''

 • Throughout the TGD, all use of the term ''experimental systems'' has been removed. The TGD does not provide the process for testing and approving experimental systems.

 • Throughout the TGD, language has been updated for clarity.

 • The format of the ''Introduction'' section has been changed to provide clarity.

 • Changed the timing for the manufacturer to choose the type of performance monitoring before technology classification instead of after technology classification. This was done to facilitate the public comment review process and the development of a technology-specific guidance document.

 • Removed language that allows technologies that are not certified by an accredited NSF/American National Standards Institute (ANSI) organization to participate in the alternate approval process. Based on experience, the Department's Sewage Facilities Planning Program staff determined that without a certification from an accredited NSF/ANSI organization, the Department will not be able to verify that the technology being marketed after approval is the same technology that went through the approval process. The NSF/ANSI certification organizations provide an insignia or ''mark'' on all products certified under the organization's process and they complete annual audits of the manufacturing process to confirm the NSF/ANSI certified product uses the same technology that was certified.

 • Added language to reflect current practice allowing technologies that are certified by an accredited NSF/ANSI organization based on testing that was performed at a test center with a climate warmer than the Commonwealth. Many of the technologies that have received NSF/ANSI certifications were tested at test centers in southern states such as Texas, Louisiana or Hawaii. This was done to allow these technologies to enter the technology verification process with the stipulation that the Department may ask for additional field-testing sites to compensate for their certification being completed under less harsh weather conditions than is typical of the Commonwealth.

 • Added language to reflect current practice which does not require a certification from an accredited NSF/ANSI organization for fecal coliform (FC) removal. The NSF/ANSI 40 certification is the most common certification attained by manufacturers for onlot sewage treatment technologies. However, NSF does not evaluate FC removal. Due to this fact, most manufacturers do not have information about FC removal. Previously, if a manufacturer wished to receive approval for FC removal, they would not be able to since NSF/ANSI 40 standard does not measure FC removal performance. Without the change, the Department was limited to accepting technologies for TVP testing that have completed the NSF/ANSI 350 certification. The list of products that are NSF 350 approved is significantly smaller than the NSF/ANSI 40 list.

 • Updated language to address non-proprietary alternate onlot systems.

 • Included language that reflects the Department's current expectation that the manufacturer develop a Sewage Enforcement Officer (SEO) training course for each technology. SEOs are required to successfully complete training for alternate technologies before the Department delegates the ability to independently review permits using the alternate technology. The manufacturer's development of this training before classification provides assurance to the Department that SEOs will be able to receive the training necessary to review and permit the technology at the same time the technology is approved.

 • Moved ongoing performance monitoring language from the introduction to a section renamed ''Performance monitoring.'' Expanded on the existing language for ongoing performance to provide clarity on what would be expected of the manufacturer if they choose the performance monitoring option.

 • Removed language that referenced the possibility of the manufacturer, if they complete the performance audit, to become a conventional technology. The ability for an alternate technology to become conventional was removed from the Sewage Facilities Act when Act 34 of 2020 was enacted.

 • Updated the performance audit language to clarify the Department's expectation of the manufacturer with regard to the list of all installed onlot alternate technologies in this Commonwealth. Based on experience, the Department needs more detail in this section to make an informed decision on which installations should or should not be a part of the audit.

 • Removed reference to the Chesapeake Data Sharing Agreement. The agreement has expired, with no discussion of renewal.

 Contact: Questions regarding this TGD should be directed to Brian Schlauderaff at bschlauder@pa.gov, (717) 772-5620.

 Effective Date: July 29, 2023

RICHARD NEGRIN, 
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 23-1005. Filed for public inspection July 28, 2023, 9:00 a.m.]


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