Wastewater Permits

Trappe East Wastewater Treatment Plant Permit​​​

Notice of Tentative Determination

State Application Number: 19-DP-3460

Town of Trappe, P.O. Box 162, Trappe, Maryland 21673 and Trappe East Holding Business Trust, 1960 Gallows Road, Suite 300, Vienna, VA 22182 submitted an application for a permit to discharge an average of 540,000 gallons per day of treated domestic wastewater from the Trappe East Wastewater Treatment Facility, located at East End of Backdown Road, Trappe, Maryland, to groundwater via a spray irrigation system.                                                              

The Department has reached a tentative determination to issue the permit with the following limitations and conditions: (1) BOD5: 10 mg/l (monthly average); (2) suspended solids: 10 mg/l (monthly average);(3) total nitrogen: 3 mg/l (monthly average); (4) total phosphorus: 0.3 mg/l (monthly average) ;(5) fecal Coliform < 3 MPN/100 ml (monthly geometric mean) and (5) Ultimate permitted flow: 540,000 gal/day (yearly average). Approval of the permitted flow to 540,000 gpd is divided into five separate phases. Currently the permittee is at phase I.A and is authorized to discharge 37,500 gpd of flow. 

The following conditions are also a part of this permit: 1) The Permittee shall monitor groundwater quality via 12 monitoring wells; 2) The Permittee shall monitor surface water quality via 3 sampling stations installed at tributaries of Mile Creek; 3) The wastewater treatment plant and spray irrigation system shall be monitored by a certified operator and 4) A storage pond with a volume of no less than 75 days of the permitted daily average wastewater flow shall be provided. 5) The permittee shall operate the spray irrigation system in conformance with the approved nutrient management plan. 

If a written request is received by July 15, 2021, a public hearing on the tentative determination for this application can be scheduled. The request should be sent to the Maryland Department of the Environment, Water and Science Administration, 1800 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland 21230-1708, Attn.: Mary Dela Onyemaechi, Chief, Groundwater Discharge Permits Division and must include the name, address and telephone number (home and work) of the person making the request, the name of any other party whom the person making the request may represent, and the name of the facility and permit number.  Failure to request a hearing by July 15, 2021 will constitute a waiver of the right to a public hearing on the tentative determination for this permit. 

Written comments concerning the tentative determination will be considered in the preparation of a final determination if submitted to the Department, to the attention of Mary Dela Onyemaechi at the above address, on or before July 26, 2021. Any hearing-impaired person who requests a hearing may request an interpreter at the hearing by contacting Mrs. Onyemaechi at (410) 537-3662 or 1-800-633-6101, or by written request to the above address at least ten working days prior to the scheduled hearing date. 

Information supporting the tentative determination, including the draft permit and fact sheet, may be reviewed by contacting Mrs. Onyemaechi at the above telephone number to make an appointment or by written request to Mrs. Onyemaechi at the above address. Copies of documents may be obtained at a cost of $0.36 per page.


The draft permit and supplemental documents can be found in the links below: