By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
On May 13, the Cazenovia Town Board discussed the status of continued efforts to bring Empire Farm Brewery into compliance with their wastewater discharge permit.
In October 2018, the board voted to execute an enforcement action against Empire for violations related to problems monitoring the flow of its wastewater output and controlling its pH levels.
A consent order was signed in January to address the issues and to bring the facility into compliance. A key feature of the agreement was a 90-day high-intensity sampling program.
In February, the town board — in its role as operator of the Town of Cazenovia Water Pollution Control Facility — authorized the renewal and issuance of new permits for the conditional discharge of waste from the brewery.
The next month, the town entered into an agreement with Timothy P. O’Hara, P.E., PLLC for professional services including engineering assessment services, consulting on matters associated with wastewater treatment and collection, and a review and analysis of wastewater flows from the brewery facility.
During the board’s May 13 meeting, Empire’s engineer, Dale R. Vollmer, P.E. of Plumley Engineering described the brewery’s operations and the steps taken to address the violations at the facility.
According to Vollmer, Empire is classified as a significant industrial user and has a particularly strict permit.
“It’s very hard for small businesses to comply with environmental requirements,” Vollmer said. “[Empire is] probably the most regulated business in Cazenovia, if I had to guess.”
The engineer stated that the brewery was in agreement with the town that its wastewater operations were in need of attention and improvements.
He reported that since the permit was issued in February, the facility has installed a new flow meter; improved its offsite hauling program; enhanced its pH control system; repaired and reprogrammed its flow controls and alarm systems; improved reporting; and complied with its permit limits — apart from one or two minor pH limit violations that were promptly remedied.
All that is left to do under the consent order, according to Vollmer, is to complete the drain survey work and initiate the 90-day sampling program.
Vollmer advised against the town’s suggestion to combine the brewery and the restaurant discharges. He argued that such action would be premature, as the drain mapping has not yet been completed. He also stated that the 90-day sampling study would be compromised if the results were clouded by the restaurant discharges.
Jim Cunningham — plant operator of the Town of Cazenovia Water Pollution Control Facility — presented a graph of the brewery’s daily average flow from April to May 2019. He noted that while some variation in flow is expected, the spikes on the graph are atypical.
“Flow equalization is designed to give us a pretty steady flow,” he said.
The brewery uses a 15,000-gallon equalization tank. Empire’s owner David Katleski said their system is programmed in such a way that as the tank gets fuller it goes faster and as the tank gets lower it slows down.
Cunningham noted the pH levels were scattered as well. He explained that abnormal pH levels could lead to the degradation of the collection system, like the pipes in the ground for example, over time.
“We want the brewery to be successful and we want them to be a partner with the treatment plant,” Town Attorney John Langey said. “We [also] want to make sure we are protecting the town and the village’s infrastructure in the process.”
According to its permit, Empire is required to neutralize all wastewater before allowing it to be discharged.
Cunningham questioned why the brewery adjusts the pH of its wastewater in “a 55-gallon drum” rather than in its much larger flow equalization tank.
Vollmer said he was concerned about the potential cost of switching to the larger tanks in an effort to smooth out the pH levels, but added that he would look into it.
Cunningham also asked Vollmer to elaborate on the improvements made to the pH control system since February.
The engineer responded that Empire had increased the size of the mixer slightly. He added that because all of the levels referenced were in compliance, no change to the pH adjustment/neutralization system was required.
“That’s what is in the consent order,” Vollmer said. “[It says] if we can’t achieve compliance with the system, then we’ll have to upgrade it. So far we feel we are in pretty good compliance with it.”
The board, Vollmer, Katleski and Tim Butler — Empire’s director of brewing operations — also discussed the optimal timing for the 90-day high-intensity sampling program.
In March, the board announced that it had postponed the testing because Empire’s production had dropped considerably.
Vollmer said he was unclear why the brewery’s production schedule was relevant to determining a starting date for the sampling.
“It was designed to capture all brewery operation variability,” he said. “[Therefore,] it was designed to include all days — days when they are active and when they are not active. It’s an average.”
The board explained that comparing the test findings with the production schedule could help to reveal any connections that might exist.
“The treatment plant has two problems: load and flow,” Town Supervisor Bill Zupan said. “The load problem seems to go down when Empire is not brewing heavily. That’s why we are trying to collect enough data to come up with information to work together and solve this problem . . .”
Katleski agreed to supply the town with a tentative production schedule on a weekly basis.
Vollmer and the board concurred that the next logical step would be to perform a septic dye test to expose any obvious leaks and inadequacies in the system.
The Cazenovia Town Board meets the second Monday of every month at 7:30 p.m. in the Gothic Cottage. For more information, visit towncazenovia.digitaltowpath.org or call the town office at 315-655-9213.
