Public Comment Form

Commenting open: March 08, 2024 12:00AM CT - May 07, 2024 11:59PM CT.

City of New Richland - Wastewater Permit & Chloride Variance

The City of New Richland has applied for a reissued water quality permit for its municipal wastewater treatment facility. The facility is designed to treat 600,000 gallons per day and discharges to an unnamed ditch which flows into County Ditch 47.


The draft wastewater permit includes new limits for phosphorus and chloride. Excess phosphorus can lead to harmful algae growth while excess chloride can harm aquatic life and drinking water sources. The facility can meet the new phosphorus limit now, but it will not be able to meet the new chloride limits.


New Richland applied for a chloride variance because it cannot feasibly reduce chloride from wastewater to meet state water quality limits due to the cost of treatment. The variance still requires the facility to meet interim chloride limits, complete chloride source investigation and minimization, and meet final limits within 15 years of variance approval.


You can learn more and ask questions at an online public meeting via WebEx on April 23, 2024, from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be recorded and available upon request.


Water quality permits - or National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits - establish specific limits and requirements to protect Minnesota's surface and groundwater quality. Permits are regularly reviewed and updated as they expire, allowing the MPCA to incorporate new information about the impacts of pollutants on the environment in future permits. Permits are enforced through a combination of self-reporting and compliance monitoring.



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If you want to submit a letter, you can upload the letter on this website or submit it via US Mail to the following address:


Nancy Heskett
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
7381 Airport View Dr SW
Rochester, MN 55902

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