New legal developments in France for small wastewater treatment plants
21.05.2020
For manufacturers of small wastewater treatment plants, the requirements for the approval of their products in France could soon change. At present, the following decree has been submitted to the relevant authorities in Brussels for approval:
“ORDER of […] amending the Order of 7 September 2009 laying down the technical specifications applicable to individual sewerage systems receiving a gross load of organic waste less than or equal to 1.2 kg/day of BOD5 and the Order of 27 April 2012 on the implementing procedures for the inspection of individual sewerage installations”
[https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/tris/fr/search/?trisaction=search.detail&year=2020&num=123]
This decree essentially relates to systems and plants that cannot be CE marked. According to Article 8, the following conditions apply to systems:
To perform the treatment, the system shall include
- a primary treatment device, built in situ or prefabricated;
- a secondary treatment device using the purifying power of the soil.
This applies only to systems complying with EN 12566-2 (soil infiltration systems) or EN 12566-5 (filtration systems for pre-treated domestic wastewater). The decree regulates, among other things, requirements for the test programme (44 weeks in total), wastewater pre-treatment and inlet and outlet concentrations.
The simplified assessment procedure described in Appendix 3 of the decree applies to all treatment systems according to hEN 12566 Part 3 or Part 6. The basis for the assessment is the 38-week test programme corresponding to the initial type testing of the standard. The simplified assessment regulates among other things
- A standard test performed without desludging shall be demonstrated.
- There is a new evaluation procedure for the effluent concentrations for the parameters BOD5 and SS for which the value Lsup must be calculated (Lsup = m 1.34 x s; m = mean value; s = standard deviation - for details see appendix 3 of the decree)
- The evaluation of inlet quality which previously only included BOD5 must now also include the additional parameters COD and SS.
Coronavirus information
31.03.2020
PIA is continuously monitoring relevant developments associated with the spread of the Coronavirus and has taken preventive action to safeguard personnel and to ensure the continuation of all testing services.
Testing is currently carried out without constrictions and new orders may be placed as usual. Should any issues arise which might impact our ability to carry out testing services in the future, we will immediately notify all affected customers.
To protect the health of all associated personnel we kindly ask to refrain from any non-scheduled site visits or unannounced deliveries, unless mutually agreed on beforehand.
We will gladly be available for regular communications via telephone and email.
If you require further information, please feel free to contact us as at any time.
Stay safe and healthy!
The PIA-team
Horizontal notification for EN ISO 11925-2 - Reaction to fire
25.02.2020
PIA GmbH is now notified for testing of the essential characteristic “reaction to fire” according to EN ISO 11925-2 (Ignitability of products subjected to direct impingement of flame / Single-flame source test).
Ignitability tests for fire classification may be conducted for all construction products under CPR Annex V.3.
Further information is available in the Material tests / Reaction to fire section.
Visit Notified Body 1739 on NANDO for notification details.
PIA GmbH approved by U.S. Coast Guard as Independent Laboratory for testing of Ballast Water Management Systems
3.11.2019
PIA GmbH expands maritime testing services as an Independent Laboratory (IL) and received a letter of acceptance by the United States Coast Guard Office for Operating and Environmental Standards for testing of Ballast Water Management Systems (BWMS) to meet the requirements in 46 CFR 162.060.
PIA provides this service in collaboration with its sub-laboratories:
- Ankron Water Services GmbH, Germany
- Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore SAS, France
- Golden Bear Facility at California State University Maritime Academy, USA
- Phoenix Testlab GmbH, Germany
In addition, PIA is accepted by the U.S. Coast Guard for testing of marine sanitation devices and oily water separators:
- Recognized Facility for evaluating, inspecting and testing marine sanitation devices for compliance with the standards and regulations in 33 CFR Part 159 as promulgated under section 312 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1322).
- Qualified Facility for evaluating, inspecting and testing of sewage treatment plants for compliance with the standards and regulations in IMO Resolution MEPC.227(64) and in 33 CFR Part 159 as promulgated under section 312 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1322).
- Recognized Facility for collecting and testing effluent in certain Alaskan waters from cruise vessel operations for compliance with the standards and regulations in Subpart E to 33 CFR Part 159 as promulgated under section 1(a)(4) in Pub. L. 106-554.
- Designated Facility for performing approval testing on pollution prevention equipment (PPE) for compliance with the standards and regulations contained in IMO Resolutions MEPC.107(49), MEPC.108(49) & MEPC.240(65) and 46 CFR 162.050, as promulgated under the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.). PPE includes 15 ppm bilge separators and 15 ppm bilge alarms.
Joint paper on non-conformities with marine sewage regulations for greywater
22.08.2019
The paper explores non-conformities with marine sewage rules. It follows previous joint-papers on chlorination disinfection without de-chlorination, no-sludge and recirculation-via-influent. These non-conformities are widening the gap between rules and realities.
The article Opinion: Grey Water Related Non-Conformities Need to be Addressed can be accessed via the following link:
https://maritime-executive.com/editorials/opinion-grey-water-non-conformities-need-to-be-addressed
For further information, please refer to the following related publications:
- Sewage Chlorination Without De-chlorination: A Certified Impossibility
https://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/sewage-chlorination-without-de-chlorination-a-certified-impossibility - Call for Action on Sewage Treatment with No-Sludge Production
https://maritime-executive.com/editorials/call-for-action-on-sewage-treatment-with-no-sludge-production - MEPC 74 Agrees to Revise MARPOL Annex IV While Non-Conformities Spread
https://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/mepc-74-approves-revisions-of-marpol-annex-iv-and-its-guidelines - Sewage from Ships – Rules and Realities
https://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/sewage-from-ships-rules-and-realities-1