Experience of SUE «Vodokanal of St. Petersburg» in eliminating HELCOM hot spots in the light of the development of the Russian environmental legislation

Summary

The activities implemented by SUE «Vodokanal of St. Petersburg» to fulfill the recommendations of the Helsinki Convention on the protection of the Baltic Sea against pollution are outlined. The work completion stages on eliminating the discharge of raw wastewater into the Gulf of Finland, upgrading and reconstructing the treatment facilities, and improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment are described. The measures taken provided for almost eliminating all the hot spots identified by the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) for St. Petersburg. A comparison of the HELCOM strategy and the progress in developing the Russian environmental legislation is given. The experience of the enterprise in wastewater sludge handling in the light of the implementation of the HELCOM recommendations and Russian legislation is presented. Information is provided on the development of the European legislation in relation to the utilization of useful properties of municipal wastewater sludge. Development patterns are proposed to improve the Russian legislation regarding municipal wastewater sludge handling in order to avoid the emergence of new hot spots.

Key words

HELCOM recommendations , biogenic elements , chemical precipitation of phosphorus , sludge incineration plant , best available techniques (BAT) , technologically regulated substances , hot spots (subspots) , eutrophication , Helsinki Convention , Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) , wastewater sludge handling , nutrients recycling , utilization of the useful sludge properties , recoverable resources , sideline products , circular economy

Wastewater sludge: secondary raw materials or by-products?

Summary

The issues of developing statutory regulation for wastewater sludge treatment are analyzed. Recommendations are given for water supply and wastewater disposal providers on classifying treated wastewater sludge as a by-product or a secondary resource. It is noted that the transition to a circular economy announced by the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia involves the development of a regulatory framework; however, the passport of the federal project «Circular Economy» and presentation materials of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the public-law company «Russian Ecological Operator» reduce the issues of the circular economy exclusively to the tasks in waste management, which carries high risks of significant costs associated with referring wastewater sludge to wastes. The introduction of new, statutory formalized concepts of «secondary raw materials» and «by-products of production» should play a decisive role in developing the regulation of wastewater sludge handling processes and using it in the economic activities as goods.

Key words

wastewater sludges , circular economy , secondary raw material , by-product of production