Protocol Development for Utah's Statewide Nutrient Cost Impact Study

The State of Utah Division of Water Quality undertook this study to estimate the local and aggregate economic impacts that could result from implementation of state-wide nutrient discharge standards for treated wastewater in Utah. Protocols used to conduct the evaluation of over 30 publicly owned treatment works, estimate costs to upgrade them to meet stringent nitrogen and phosphorus discharge limits, and determine the resulting economic impacts on the facilities and their customers are presented. Key aspects of protocol development and implementation discussed include stakeholder involvement, data collection methods, information management systems, standardization principles for data and systems analysis, computational processes, and work product quality control and delivery. Challenges encountered with work process integration and limitations that may result from some standardization practices are presented along with suggested solutions to such problems for future applications. The focus of this paper is on the process of efficient implementation of the overall study.