FAST^® Systems in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Smith & Loveless and Bio-Microbics were one of the first groups to gain approvals and begin offering to install Advanced Treatment Units to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Nearly 1,000 FAST^® units are currently installed in New England.

• The installations range from single family homes, to schools, to large manufacturing companies.
• These units discharge to leach fields, municipal sewer lines and surface waters.
• The type of discharge system (surface vs. sub-surface), flow rate, and level of treatment required, will determine the size of the unit, and which type of permit program the FAST^® System will require.

In the State of Massachusetts, there are two permit programs:

• NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Permit Program
• Massachusetts DEP Title 5 Permit Program

NPDES Permit Program applies to all large treatment systems with design flows equal to or greater than 10,000 GPD. It also applies to all industrial, municipal and other facilities’ discharges that go directly to surface waters. In most cases, the NPDES permit program is administered by authorized states who are approved by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Office of Wastewater Management.

Massachusetts DEP Title 5 Permit Program applies to all treatment systems with design flows of less than 10,000 GPD that use a septic system or do not have a surface discharge. In Massachusetts, the Title 5 Permit Program is administered by local Boards of Health who are authorized by the Massachusetts DEP.

Within the Massachusetts DEP Title 5 Permit Program, there are three classifications:

• General Use -- FAST^® treatment systems are Certified for General Use and can be installed wherever a conventional Title 5 System can be installed. (Represents 37.8% of the FAST^® Systems sold in Massachusetts in the Title 5 Permit Program)
  
• Remedial Use -- FAST^® treatment systems are approved for remedial permit situations, in which an existing system requires upgrading, is failed, is failing or is nonconforming where relief is sought to construct an SAS. (Represents 55.9% of the FAST^® Systems sold in Massachusetts in the Title 5 Permit Program)
  
• Provisional Use -- See Below. (Represents 6.3% of the FAST^® Systems sold in Massachusetts in the Title 5 Permit Program)

FAST^® and the Massachusetts DEP Title 5 Provisional Use Permit for Nitrogen Reduction Program

Recently, there have been a number of questions regarding FAST^® Systems and the Massachusetts DEP Title 5 Provisional Use Permit for Nitrogen Reduction Program. Many of these questions have risen out of the confusion between the three Title 5 Classifications. The next bullets will help address and clarify these questions.

• FAST^® process manufacturers Bio-Microbics Inc. and Smith & Loveless Inc. are two of only six manufacturers currently participating in the Provisional Use program. The Provisional Use program only involves Title 5 onsite systems in officially designated Nitrogen Sensitive Areas.
  
• Because Bio-Microbics and Smith & Loveless have reached the requisite number of Provisional Use units to conduct an evaluation in order to qualify for General Use permitting in Nitrogen Sensitive Areas, the companies are no longer supplying systems for Provisional Use. This will allow the companies time to conduct and provide all of the necessary evaluations required by the Title 5 program. In the meantime, the two companies are continuing to supply systems for Title 5 General Use and Title 5 Remedial Use installations.
  
• Following the evaluation phase, the FAST^® Process will be submitted for application for General Use status for nitrogen reduction, which would eliminate the need for permits being granted under Title 5 Provisional Use.
  
• Recent testing for nitrogen reduction conducted at the Buzzards Bay test site in Massachusetts demonstrates clearly that the FAST^® process meets Provisional Use nitrogen requirements. At the same time, the FAST^® process is outperforming other current traditional technologies already approved for nitrogen reduction, including Recirculating Sand Filters (RSF).

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