PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management will hold a public workshop on November 30 to discuss DEM's proposed revisions to the Town of Smithfield's permit for its wastewater treatment facility (WWTF). The workshop will take place at 7:00 p.m. at Smithfield Town Hall, located at 64 Farnum Pike. The town last received a discharge (RIPDES) permit from DEM for its WWTF in 1991. Under the permit, the town is authorized to discharge treated wastewater to the Woonasquatucket River.

The town last received a discharge (RIPDES) permit from DEM for its WWTF in 1991. Under the permit, the town is authorized to discharge treated wastewater to the Woonasquatucket River.

Over the past several years, DEM has investigated various water quality problems in the river, including weed growth and extremely low dissolved oxygen levels downstream of the Smithfield WWTF. DEM has determined that these specific problems are caused by the discharge of excessive phosphorous from the treatment facility. As a result, the new draft permit requires a significant reduction in the amount of phosphorous that may be discharged from the facility. To allow the river to meet the water quality criteria for ammonia, the draft permit also requires a reduction in the amount of ammonia discharged. To meet the proposed phosphorous limit - set at 0.2 ppm, and the ammonia limit, set at 2.6 ppm - the Town will need to design and construct modifications to the facility.

The workshop will be conducted in an informal setting and will offer the public an opportunity to learn more about the draft permit and the information DEM used to develop it. Angelo Liberti, Chief of Watersheds with DEM's Office of Water Resources, will be on hand to answer any questions.

Following the workshop, a formal public hearing on the draft permit will be held. The hearing will take place on December 9 at 5:00 p.m. in Room 300 at DEM Headquarters, 235 Promenade Street, in Providence. The hearing, a legal requirement under the RIPDES Program, will serve as an important opportunity for the public to provide formal comments on the record; however, unlike the workshop, there will be little opportunity to discuss the merits of the permit with DEM staff. Interested parties may present oral testimony at the hearing or submit written comments by 4:00 p.m. on December 10.

For further information on the draft permit, the workshop, or the hearing, contact Angelo Liberti at 222-4700, ext. 7225.