Wastewater authority honored by EPA

Representatives of the EPA will present the award to the plant sometime during the first week of October.

The wastewater plant covers 42 square miles and serves 26,000 residents, said Tim Grotheer, plant superintendent.

The medium-advance classification incorporates wastewater plants that handle 1 million to 10 million gallons of effluent a day. Plum Creek Wastewater Authority handled about 2.3 million gallons a day, Grotheer said.

“Compared with Denver metro, which puts out 180 million a day, or New York that puts out billions, the operation is small,” Grotheer said.

There are 10 regions nationally, and each region has six categories, said Anthony DeLoach, EPA operation and maintenance award manager.

“PCWA was the only one in the region to earn the excellence award for medium-advanced in 2000,” Grotheer said.

The plant was awarded its excellence standard because within the last nine years it has not received any discharge permit violations from the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System authorities, Grotheer said.

“The PCWA application was outstanding,” DeLoach said. “They did a great job of presenting their package.”

“PCWA also was instrumental in developing a household hazardous waste roundup program in 1993,” Grotheer said in a recent press release.

It is working on a re-use master plan update, which should be completed in the near future, Grotheer said.

The Plum Creek Wastewater Authority provides “high-quality” effluent to use on the “International” golf course at Castle Pines and for the Castle Pines Country Club.

This is not the first award PCWA has won, Grotheer said.

“PCWA also received awards for its safety record for the last six years, excellence in financial reporting for several years and the Region VIII award in 1994,” Grotheer said.

Region VIII, of which PCWA is a part, includes Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Montana and South Dakota, Grotheer said.

The award was based on several specific environmental requirements and criteria, including water quality, financial accounting and public service.

“PCWA scored very high in these criteria,” Grotheer said.

The wastewater authority was formed by an intergovernmental agreement in 1990 to provide wastewater treatment for its three members, Castle Pines North Metropolitan District, the town of Castle Rock and Castle Pines Metropolitan District.

Grotheer commended the members of the board, both past and present, for the hard work and leadership that made the award possible.

PCWA’s application has been forwarded to the EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., as a candidate for the national award in its class, Grotheer said.

Colorado has a fairly good track record in winning the national awards, DeLoach said.