“MOM” PRODUCES MEASURABLE RESULTS IN ATLANTA

The City of Atlanta's Consent Decree addressing wet weather control for its wastewater collection systems is one of the earliest “on the books” with a MOM program requirement, and its implementation is showing measurable success. This is important to a city that has faced over 7 million in stipulated and civil penalties, to date, for numerous sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and unacceptable performance of combined sewer overflow (CSO) control facilities. Additionally, the City is administering a 27.5 million Supplemental Environmental Project (“SEPs”) and complying with other tough Consent Decree terms.In 2003, stipulated penalties totaling over 340,000 were demanded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division (EPD). Furthermore, EPD independently fined the City under its “Zero Tolerance” policy associated with water quality protection of the Chattahoochee River, approximately 40,000 for major SSOs to the waters of the state, specifically, those with volumes over 10,000 gallons. Additionally, separate penalties have been imposed due to CSO-related violations.The required MOM program includes the following components:Collection and Transmission Systems Contingency and Emergency Response Plan;Short-Term Operation Plan;Maintenance Management System Plan;Pump Station Evaluations;Grease Management Program;Sewer Mapping Program;Safety and Training Programs;Capacity Certification Program; and,Long-Term Operation PlanAll MOM program elements are currently under implementation with the exception of the Long Term Operation Plan that will be prepared only after the capital improvements program is completed. Completion of construction is scheduled to occur within the next 8 to 9 years.This paper uses collected data and results of their analyses to:Describe components of the Consent Decree-mandated MOM program to which the City's earliest realized successes can be attributed;Explain resource commitments made by the City necessary to be successful;Review collection system operation and maintenance goals and their impacts on system performance to date; and,Present “lessons learned” in implementation of the MOM program.