A controversial brine water treatment facility operated by Advanced Water Services in Bradford has shut down its operations.

The news comes from Rick Brocius, Bradford Sanitary Authority executive director, who reported on what happened at Tuesday’s authority board meeting.

According to Brocius, Advanced Water Services was not successful in developing the treatment process.

“Throughout the process the Authority remained supportive and optimistic that the development of the desalinization technology would be successful and potentially provide a cost-effective solution to the brine water disposal issues faced by the local oil producers,” he explained. “However, despite several deadline extensions by the Authority, AWS was unable to develop this desalinization process within the time period defined in the facility’s Industrial Pretreatment Permit.”

The authority voted in October 2018 in favor of issuing an Industrial Pretreatment permit to AWS for treatment of brine water from area oil producers. Contaminants were to be removed from the brine at the High Street facility, then what’s left was to be transported through the sewer system to the wastewater treatment plant on Seaward Avenue.

At the time the authority was considering whether to issue the permit, several community members from across the region attended public meetings to express opinions both for and against the plan.

In his statement, Brocius described the purpose of the permit, as well as what was expected of AWS as a permit-holder.

“The Industrial Pretreatment Permit program is intended to protect the receiving stream and the Authority’s wastewater treatment plant from potentially harmful pollutants associated with industrial discharges,” he explained. “The permit issued to AWS required the use of desalinization technology to remove potentially harmful levels of brine (salt) and radioactive pollutants.

“The Authority also maintained the position that it would not accept these pollutants into the treatment plant once the new sludge digesters and reed bed facilities were ready to come on-line,” he continued. “As part of the phase 3 plant upgrades, new sludge digesters and reed bed facilities will be decomposing treatment plant sludges over a ten-year period, yielding a significant savings in disposal costs at a landfill.”

Brocius explained that because of the new technology at the plant, the authority had “to prohibit the salt and radioactive pollutants from accumulating in the biosolids of the reed bed process that could present long-term risks to the authority.”

He reports that the new reeds are growing well and the new digesters are expected to begin use in early December.

Also at the meeting, Engineer Jack Rae provided an update on the phase 3 upgrades at the wastewater treatment plant.

Rae reported that the diffused outfall across the stream is finished and is operational.

“The new sludge digester tanks were also completed and passed water tightness testing. Currently two new stormwater infiltration systems are under construction that will infiltrate run-off from the new buildings and paving back into the ground water,” it was reported to The Era.

The new chlorine building and feed system were started up on Monday, and Rae anticipated that the new treatment plant boiler systems would be started up this week.

Brocius gave an update on multiple stormwater-related projects.

He said work on the stormwater infiltration system on Marion Avenue is almost done, explaining, “About 450 feet of infiltration ditch and drainage pipe will reduce flooding, insect, and lawn mowing concerns benefitting this neighborhood.”

Another stormwater project involved unplugging 40 feet of 24-inch storm line on Rockland Avenue. This issue had been contributing to flooding on Lincoln Avenue. Crews will make drainage improvements and clean storm lines at the top of Lincoln Avenue, too.

Another stormwater project was discovered when “The road milling process for the PennDOT resurfacing projects for South Avenue and West Corydon Street exposed a buried storm basin that needed to be restored,” he said. “BSA and DPW crews are expediting emergency repairs so as not to hold up the paving projects.”

Regarding the sanitary sewer system, “BSA crews also had to make emergency repairs on a sanitary manhole on Davis Street due to the deteriorated condition of the top assembly,” Brocius reported to The Era. “As the manhole was found to be abandoned it was filled in and paved over.”

On Oct. 10, five Sanitary Authority staff members and four staff members from the Bradford City Water Authority attended the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association’s Region 7 fall meeting at the Straub Brewery visitor center in St. Marys. A representative of the Northern Pennsylvania Region College presented a short program that mentioned careers in the water and wastewater industry.