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INFORMATION SHEET • • $ MUSCO FAMILY OLIVE COMPANY AND THE STUDLEY COMPANY WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY to install aerators in its ponds; this step may be all that is necessary to meet the BOD effluent limitation. If not then the Discharger will need to take other steps to improve its treatment system Land Application Area Specification D.19 Land Application Area Specification D.15 requires that effect wastewater application on the soil shall not exceed the buffering capacity of the soil profile. The Discharger has described the disassociation of the bicarbonate ion under certain soil pH conditions but has failed to describe the pH at which the disassociation is anticipated to occur. Pollution Abatement recommends a wastewater pH range of 6.4 to 8.4 for irrigation and Effluent Limitation CA requires wastewater discharged to the land application areas to not have a pH of less than 6.5 or greater than 8.5. This limitation alone cannot ensure that soil pH conditions will be optimal for land treatment and preventing leaching of metals, so Land Application Area Specification D.19 requires that the discharge not exceed the soil pH buffering capacity. Land Application Area Specification D.20 This specification is needed because wastewater application near the property boundary has resulted in nuisance odors for residents. The Discharger's Odor Minimization Report described elimination of standing water in the irrigation checks. Because the soil permeability is so low, staff believe any application of wastewater at the irrigation checks will result in standing water. To prevent anaerobic conditions and associated odor problems in the treatment and storage ponds, this Order also requires the dissolved oxygen content in the upper 12 inches of any liquid impoundment to be maintained at no less than 1.0 mg/L. Technical Reports Required by the Provisions The Discharger is required to submit a workplan for characterization of groundwater quality and percolate quality at the land treatment units (land application areas). The groundwater well workplan will allow evaluation of groundwater conditions upgradient and downgradient of the newly constructed 114-million gallon storage pond. In addition, installation of lysimeters are required to determine the quality of the percolate at the bottom of the land treatment units (at a depth of five feet). Lysimeters shall be installed in both the land application areas and in an area where no land application of wastewater has occurred. The Discharger is required to submit a BPTC Salinity Source Reduction Plan because the available data on groundwater quality,wastewater quality, and crop uptake indicates the wastewater application could impact groundwater quality. This Workplan must contain plans to reduce the concentration of DIS constituents, organic constituents, and hydraulic loading. The Discharger is required to submit an assimilative capacity report for the LTUs (land application areas). The report shall evaluate the LTU's capacity to treat the wastewater constituents being applied. This requirement is needed to determine the adequacy of the land treatment. The wastewater contains high concentrations of constituents, such as sodium and chloride, that are not biologically treated and an evaluation of the effectiveness of land treatment to protect groundwater quality is needed. The Discharger shall submit a technical report describing specific numerical water quality criteria prior to being allowed to bypass the 114-million gallon storage pond. This item is discussed above in"Discharge Prohibition A.5."