Public Notice: Village of Pender Wastewater Treatment Facility (Within the Exterior Boundaries of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Reservation)
Summary
Proposed Wastewater (NPDES) Permit No. NE0040908 and CWA Section 401(a)(1) Certification
This public notice is issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 (EPA). EPA is seeking comments on a proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, under Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the related CWA Section 401(a)(1) draft certification for the Village of Pender Wastewater Treatment Facility located in the Village of Pender, within the exterior boundaries of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska Reservation.
EPA is seeking written comments regarding this proposed action until June 27, 2026. The address for written comments or to request a public hearing is provided below.
BACKGROUND: NPDES permits to discharge wastewater to waters of the United States are issued under Section 402 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. Section 1342, subject to certain effluent limitations and conditions.
The facility is located on Logan Creek Road southeast of the village. The facility and the permitted discharge point are located within the exterior boundaries of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska Reservation in the northeastern part of Nebraska; see map of the Omaha Reservation in the Administrative Record.
The facility is an activated sludge treatment system constructed in 1987 that treats domestic wastewater and serves a population of approximately 1,115 people. Generated sanitary wastewater is collected and flows to the facility, which consists of: a main lift station with a 6-inch Parshall flume with an ultrasonic level sensor, comminutor, and manually cleaned bar screen; two extended aeration tanks; one final clarifier; an aerobic sludge digester tank; an ultraviolet disinfection system that was constructed in 2009; and effluent-flow measurement equipment with a V-notch weir and ultrasonic flow meter. In addition to the main lift station at the facility, the sewer collection system includes one lift station that is referred to as the satellite lift station or water treatment plant lift station; it is located near the corner of Industrial Road and Slaughter Avenue.
In addition to domestic wastewater, the facility receives significant contributions from a car wash, a hospital, and the municipal water treatment plant. The drinking water treatment plant discharges 10,000 gallons of backwash water every third day during the winter and every day during the summer. The Village of Pender provides potable water to the Thurston County Rural Water District. The facility also receives process wastewater from Emerson Manufacturing Corporation, a metal finisher, and Blue Ox, a manufacturer of towing products.
The former two-cell lagoon system — Cell 1 is 4.6 acres and Cell 2 is 5.6 acres — immediately south of the activated sludge treatment system is currently used as a surface impoundment for the waste sludge and diversion of peak wet-weather flows. The sludge in the lagoon cells, as well as sludge that is not sent to the lagoon system, shall be disposed according to the Sludge Management Plan. The outlets of the original lagoon cells have been plugged with concrete. Currently, portable pumping equipment is used to transfer lagoon wastewater to the headworks of the plant to maintain acceptable water levels in the lagoon cells.
The activated sludge treatment system is operated as a continuous discharge system. According to the permit application, the design flow rate of the system is 0.165 million gallons per day (MGD), with a reported actual annual average flow rate of 0.291 MGD. Because the design inflow capacity of the facility is less than one million gallons per day, it is designated as a minor facility. The permit designates one authorized discharge point, identified as Outfall 001. The receiving water for Outfall 001 is Logan Creek. Logan Creek exits the boundaries of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska Reservation approximately 13 miles downstream of Outfall 001.
PROPOSED NPDES PERMIT RENEWAL: The proposed permit renewal will reauthorize existing operations at the facility and conditions for land application. The proposed permit includes technology-based and water quality-based limitations. Additional information regarding this proposed permit modification is contained in the Administrative Record, which includes the permit application, proposed permit, statement of basis for the proposed permit, and other pertinent information upon which the proposed permit modification is based.
CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH CWA SECTION 401: The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska does not have authority under CWA Section 401(a)(1) to issue Section 401 Certification for the proposed Village of Pender Wastewater Treatment Facility NPDES permit. Therefore, the EPA acts as the certifying authority for the proposed NPDES permit.
Before EPA may issue the final NPDES permit, EPA must certify under CWA Section 40, 33 U.S.C. Section 1341, that the discharge to be authorized by the proposed permit will comply with the requirements of Sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307 of the CWA, including applicable water quality standards and effluent guidelines and limitations. EPA has reviewed the applicable water quality standards and effluent guidelines and has specified limitations and conditions in the permit to ensure compliance with such requirements, as described in the proposed permit and the associated Statements of Basis. At this time, EPA seeks public comments regarding these proposed agency actions, including the certification that the discharge authorized by the proposed NPDES permit will not violate any applicable water quality standards and/or effluent guidelines and limitations.
Summary
EPA is seeking comments on a proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, under Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the related CWA Section 401(a)(1) draft certification for the Village of Pender Wastewater Treatment Facility located in the Village of Pender, within the exterior boundaries of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska Reservation.
Program/Statute: Clean Water Act (CWA)
Applicant/Respondent(s): Village of Pender Wastewater Treatment Facility
Proposed action: Public Notice of Proposed Wastewater (NPDES) Permit No. NE0040908 and CWA Section 401(a)(1) Certification
- Village of Pender Wastewater Treatment Facility Draft Permit (pdf)
- Village of Pender Wastewater Treatment Facility Draft Statement of Basis (pdf)
- Village of Pender Wastewater Treatment Facility Proposed Section 401 Certification (pdf)