1. Management of Wastewater in Jamaica: A Regulatory Perspective
National Environment and Planning Agency
Management of Wastewater in Jamaica: A Regulatory Perspective
Presented by: Mr. Oswald Chinkoo
Manager, Pollution Monitoring and Assessment Branch
National Environment and Planning Agency
At the GEF/CREW Workshop held at the Jamaica Conference Centre
November 24, 2015

2. Overview of Presentation
What is wastewater?
Sources of wastewater
Impact of wastewater on the environment and health
Legislative Framework
Why Regulations for wastewater and Sludge
Summary of Regulations
Number of licensed facilities since WWSR came into effect
Results of Wastewater Treatment Plant Audits 04/2013 to 10/2015
Reuse of wastewater
Chemicals in in wastewater
Economic Valuation
Sustainable Financing
Discussion
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3. Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water
What is wastewater?
Water that has been used and contains dissolved or suspended solids and is carried from residential, business or industrial sources.
- NRC (Wastewater and Sludge) Regulations, 2013
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4. Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water
Sources of wastewater
ISIC
Description
Examples
9000
Sewage
15xx
Manufacture of food products and beverage
Manufacture of dairy products, vegetable and animal oils and fats, prepared animal feeds, beverages, soft drinks; manufacture of sugar, distilling, rectifying and blending of spirits, ethyl alcohol production; manufacture of malt liquors and malt (included manufacture of beer, stout, ale) food processing
24xx
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products
Fertilizers, basic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, soap and detergents, pains, agrochemical products
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5. Sources of wastewater (cont’d)
ISIC
Description
Examples
26xx
Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products
Manufacture of cement
2320
Manufacture of refined petroleum products
4010
Electric power generation
9000
Sewage
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6. Impact of Wastewater on the Environment and Health
Impaired water quality (pollution of beaches, rivers, groundwater)
Disease from polluted water and contaminated shellfish which may be consumed by humans
Fish kills
Eutrophication which results in excessive plant growth which can harm spawning grounds and become toxic to aquatic organisms
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7. Legislative Framework
Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act, 1991
Natural Resources Conservation (Wastewater and Sludge) Regulations, 2013
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8. Why Regulations for wastewater and sludge?
Raw and poorly treated septage, sludge, domestic and industrial waste entering gullies, streams and coastal areas
Inadequately designed and malfunctioning sewage treatment systems
Low capacity among operators of sewage treatment plants and in government
Failure of voluntary compliance in the sector, and
Cost to design, operate and maintain infrastructure
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9. Summary of the Regulations
Licensing System
Licences required for construction and operating a treatment plant as well as for discharging the treated effluent to the environment
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10. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d)
Treatment Plant Specifications
Complete set of drawing must be kept on site or at a location specified by the Authority
Flow measuring devices should be installed at the inlet and outlet of the plant
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11. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d)
Effluent Standards, Measurements, Monitoring & Reporting
Sewage effluent, trade effluent and irrigation discharge standards specified
Owner/operator required to take samples of the effluent in accordance with the licence (weekly, bimonthly, monthly, annually, etc.)
Plant should be monitored for operational purposes in accordance with best engineering practices
Monitoring reports should be submitted as stipulated by the Authority (monthly, quarterly, annually etc.)
Spills and Pollution incidents should be reported to the Authority
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12. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d)
Operation and Maintenance of Treatment Plants
Operation and maintenance manual should be kept at a designated location specified by the licensee to the Authority
O & M Manual should include: description of the treatment plant; description of the operating procedures, including details of the process operations; a list of equipment; maintenance requirements and procedures; maintenance schedule; effluent monitoring schedule; emergency management plan
Standby power to be available
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13. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d)
Use of Marine Outfalls
Requests for use of marine outfalls should be accompanied by supporting documentation including: model of plume behaviour; data, studies, calculations that show that the proposed outfall will allow for acceptable effluent quality and will not affect marine environment
Request may be made for relaxation of effluent limits
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14. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d)
Re-use for irrigation
Approval should be granted by the Authority prior to use of treated effluent for irrigation
Prior to granting approval, Authority must have prior consultation with the competent authorities within the Ministries responsible for health and agriculture
Additional standards may be prescribed
Nutrient management plan may be requested
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15. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d)
Confirmation testing of Trade Effluent and Sewage Effluent
Where licensee does not utilize independent laboratory for testing; confirmation testing by an independent laboratory should be done twice per calendar year at a minimum of three months apart
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16. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d)
Treatment of Septage
Septage shall be disposed of in a treatment plant approved by the Authority.
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17. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d)
Management Practices for Sewage and Industrial Sludge
Sludge should meet standards in Regulations prior to disposal to the environment, sale or distribution
Disposal other than in a landfill should be done in accordance with management practices in guidelines
Sludge can be used for agricultural purposes
No unauthorized access to storage and treatment areas
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18. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d)
Compliance Plans
Should include: details on how the plant will be operated; current compliance status; list of pollutants that exceed the standards; statement of methods used to determine plant’s compliance status; detailed statement of how the plant will achieve compliance; proposed compliance schedule; schedule for submission of progress reports or compliance reports; performance targets
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19. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d)
Discharge Fees
Paid annually
Based on load of effluent discharged
Discount may be granted in cases of beneficial use of effluent/sludge
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20. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d)
Pollutant Release and Transfer Register
Based on public’s right to know
Public document
Should include: quality of the effluent being discharged and status of compliance for treatment plants licensed to discharge effluent
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21. Summary of the Regulations (cont’d)
Actions by the Authority when breaches occur
Warning notice
Control order
Revocation of licence
Suspension of licence
Apply for injunction to prohibit operation of the plant
Refuse renewal of licence
GENERAL PENALTY: Fine not exceeding 50,000 JMD or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both fine and imprisonment. (If convicted in a RM court)
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22. Licensing of Wastewater Facilities
Number of facilities licensed between prior to WWSR
368
Number of facilities licensed pursuant to WWSR
179
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23. Results of Wastewater Treatment Plant Audits April 2013 - October 2015
April 2013 – March 2014
April 2014 – October 2015
# of plants audited = 47*
# of plants audited = 82
Effluent Quality
Number of Samples
Very Poor 1
Poor 14
Good 26
Very Good 3
Effluent Quality
Number of Samples
Very Poor 8
Poor 27
Good 28
Very Good 9
Number of parameters within compliance
Quality of effluent
< 2
Very Poor
3 - 4
Poor
5 - 6
Good
> 6
Very Good
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24. Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water
Results of Wastewater Treatment Plant Audits April October 2015 (cont’d)
April 2013 to March 2014
April 2014 – October 2015
Parameters with highest incidence of non-compliance
Total Nitrogen, Total Suspended Solids, Chemical Oxygen Demand
Parameters with highest incidence of non-compliance
Total Nitrogen, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Faecal Coliform, Total Suspended Solids
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25. Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water
Results of Wastewater Treatment Plant Audits April October 2015 (cont’d)
Issues observed
Lack of flow measurement devices
Lack of standby power
Some components of plant not operated in accordance with best practice (to potentially save on energy costs)
Disinfection not practiced or not properly carried out
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26. Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water
Re-use of Wastewater
Existing licensed facilities re-use treated effluent for irrigation
Benefit from discount on discharge fees
Majority of facilities that re-use effluent are in the hotel sector
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27. Re-use of Wastewater (cont’d)
ISSUES:
How can we increase re-use?
Do we have the data to support the push for re-use in light of CECs?
Cannot re-use effluent that does not meet the standards
Buy in from general public
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28. Chemicals in Wastewater: Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs)
Chemicals that are being discovered in water that previously had not been detected or are being detected at levels that may be significantly different than expected.  
Pose a risk to human health and the environment as a result of their presence, frequency of occurrence, or because their source may be unknown.  
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29. Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water
Chemicals in Wastewater: Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) (cont’d)
Q: How do CECs get into wastewater?
A: From the use of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PCPs)
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30. Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water
Chemicals in Wastewater: Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) (cont’d)
Examples of CECs
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)
Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs)
Widely distributed and persistent in the environment.
Both accumulate in human tissue or blood, and are associated with health effects including endocrine disruption.
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31. Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water
Chemicals in Wastewater: Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) (cont’d)
WWSR promotes re-use (S. 45)
Re-use necessary to meet current and future demands
ISSUES:
What are the CECs in our wastewater?
What impact will these have on our environment and health with increased re-use?
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32. Economic Valuation in Wastewater Management
ISSUES
Currently not being done in Jamaica
In general, economic valuation usually not done because of inadequate property rights, presence of externalities and lack of perfect information (Hernandez-Sancho, et al , 2010)
What is needed to start carrying out economic valuation in Wastewater Management
Reference: Hernandez-Sancho, F., Molinos-Senante, M. and Sala-Garrido (2010) Economic valuation of environmental benefits from wastewater treatment processes: An empirical approach for Spain. Science of the Total Environment, 402 (4) pp
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33. Financing Wastewater Management
ISSUES:
Funding for maintenance of plants - critical
Funding for capacity building (both regulated and regulator)
Inadequate resources available to give effective oversight (from the regulator standpoint)
Obligation of government to ensure a healthy environment for citizens.
Use of effluent discharge fees to augment. Timeline for when this will become feasible.
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34. Managing and protecting Jamaica's land, wood and water
Discussion
Thank you for you kind attention: Queries may be directed to: Mr. Oswald Chinkoo Manager, Pollution Monitoring and Assessment Branch National Environment and Planning Agency Telephone: Telefax:
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