Nitrogen Reduction

Passive Nitrogen Reduction Study

• Final Legislative Report on the Florida Onsite Sewage Nitrogen Reduction Strategies Study
• History
• Current Status
• Deliverables
• Progress Reports to Legislature
• Public Education
• Contact Us

History

In 2008, the Florida Legislature directed the Florida Department of Health to develop a tool box of cost-effective nitrogen reduction strategies for onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems (OSTDS). The project had two main areas of focus: development of passive nitrogen reduction technologies; and evaluation and prediction of the fate and transport of nitrogen from OSTDS. Objectives included:

• Development of cost-effective, passive strategies for nitrogen reduction from onsite sewage systems.
• Characterization of nitrogen removal in the soil and shallow groundwater.
• Development of simple models to determine fate and transport of nitrogen from OSTDS in soil and groundwater.

In January 2009, the department in consultation with its Research Review and Advisory Committee (RRAC) contracted with a project team comprised of nationally recognized experts led by Hazen and Sawyer, P.C. The department, and its RRAC, directed the Florida Onsite Sewage Nitrogen Reduction Strategies (FOSNRS) Project, with participation from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Current Status

As of December 2015, the contractor, in coordination with the RRAC, DEP and the department, has successfully completed the contractual work for this project. The department has submitted the final Legislative report to the Governor, Speaker of the House and President of the Senate on Dec. 31, 2015.

Deliverables

The resulting contract (1.9 MB pdf), March 2010 amendment (2.6 MB pdf), October 2010 amendment (1.5 MB pdf), January 2012 amendment (2.7 MB pdf), January 2012 renewal (1.6 MB pdf) and January 2012 amendment to the renewal (2 MB pdf) split the study into five main tasks.

The task descriptions, deliverables and status for all project deliverables are available for download. 

Task A:  Technology Evaluation for Field Testing: Review, Prioritization and Development  

The list below shows highlights of the task deliverables.  

View all Task A deliverables:

• Literature Review of Nitrogen Reduction Technologies for Onsite Sewage Treatment Systems (4.5 MB pdf)
• Classification, Ranking and Prioritization of Technologies (2.3 MB pdf)
• Passive Nitrogen Removal Study Phase II Quality Assurance Project Plan (3.0 MB pdf)

The following document contains site and system design drawings for the Nitrogen Study. This document is visual in nature and may not be accessible to screen readers. If you need assistance with the information contained in this document, please contact the Onsite Sewage Program office.

• Passive Nitrogen Removal Study Phase II Test Facility Design As Builts (6.8 MB zip)
• Passive Nitrogen Removal Study Phase II Final Construction Progress Report (2.5 MB pdf)
• Passive Nitrogen Removal Study Phase II Test Facility Final Report (1.7 MB pdf)
• Presentation of Passive Nitrogen Removal Study Phase II Test Facility Results (1.9 MB pdf)

Task B:  Field Testing of Technologies and Cost Documentation

View all Task B Deliverables:

• Field Testing Quality Assurance Project Plan (2 MB pdf)
• Life cycle cost assessment tool (5 MB xlsx)
• Life cycle cost assessment user guide (9 MB pdf)
• Life cycle cost assessment and cost analysis report for each tested system (6 MB pdf)
• Evaluation of Prototype Full Scale Passive Nitrogen Reduction Systems (PNRS) and Recommendations for Future Implementation Volume I - Final Report (7 MB pdf); Volume II - Appendices (20 MB pdf)

Task C:  Evaluation of Nitrogen Reduction Provided by Soils and Shallow Groundwater  

View all Task C Deliverables:

• Literature Review of Nitrogen Reduction by Soils and Shallow Groundwater
• Quality Assurance Project Plan (3.8 MB pdf)
• Soil and groundwater test facility as-built drawings (6 MB pdf)
• Soil and groundwater test facility data summary report for final sampling event (8 MB pdf)
• Test facility existing mound system data summary report for final sampling event (10 MB pdf).
• Field monitoring data summary reports for final sampling event: Site 1, Site 2, Site 3, Site 4 (All are <10 MB pdf)
• Field monitoring site close out memo: Site 1, Site 2, Site 3, Site 4 (All are <10 MB pdf)

Task D:  Nitrogen Fate and Transport Modeling

View all Task D Deliverables:

• Literature Review of Nitrogen Fate and Transport Modeling (3.0 MB pdf)
• Quality Assurance Project Plan (2.2 MB pdf)
• Simple Soil Tools White Paper (2.6 MB pdf)
• Complex Soil Model White Paper (2.5 MB pdf)
• Aquifer-Complex Soil Model Performance Evaluation White Paper (4 MB pdf)
• Validate/Refine Aquifer-Complex Soil Model (3 MB pdf)
• Task D planning level tool (12MB xlsm)
• User Guide Task D.

Task E:  Project Management, Coordination and Meetings

View all Task E Deliverables:

• Progress Reports 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,  18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23.
• RRAC or TRAP Meeting Presentations and Attendance: July 1, 2009; Aug. 27, 2009; Dec. 16, 2009; March, 23, 2010; June 10, 2010; Nov. 5, 2010; Dec. 10, 2010; Jan. 4, 2012; April 10, 2012; June 21, 2012; Nov. 14, 2012; Dec. 11, 2012; Aug. 29, 2013; Sept. 11, 2013; Oct. 22, 2013; Sept. 25, 2014, March 3, 2015; July 28, 2015. 

Progress Reports to Legislature

• 2009, February:  Progress Report on Nitrogen Reduction Strategies for Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems (2.8 MB pdf)
• 2010, February:  Interim Study and Report on the Florida Onsite Sewage Nitrogen Reduction Strategies Study (2.2 MB pdf)
• 2010, May:  Final Study and Report on Phase I of the Florida Onsite Sewage Nitrogen Reduction Strategies Study (2008-2010) (3.2 MB pdf)
• 2011, February:  Interim Study and Report on Phase II of the Florida Onsite Sewage Nitrogen Reduction Strategies Study (2.5 MB pdf)
• 2011, May:  Status Report on Phase II of the Florida Onsite Sewage Nitrogen Reduction Strategies Study (2.6 MB pdf)
• 2012, February:  Progress Report on Phase II and Phase III of the Florida Onsite Sewage Nitrogen Reduction Strategies Study (2 MB pdf)
• 2012, May:  Status Report on Phase II and Phase III of the Florida Onsite Sewage Nitrogen Reduction Strategies Study (2.1 MB pdf)
• 2012, October:  Status Report on Phase II and Phase III of the Florida Onsite Sewage Nitrogen Reduction Strategies Study (2.2 MB pdf)
• 2013, February:  Status Report on Phase II and Phase III of the Florida Onsite Sewage Nitrogen Reduction Strategies Study (1.2 MB pdf)
• 2014, February: Status Report (1.3 MB pdf)
• 2015, April: Update on the Study (<1 MB pdf)

Public Education

• List of Awards, Papers, Presentations, and Other Public Education for Nitrogen Reduction Strategies Study (<1 MB pdf)
• Presentation by Hazen and Sawyer on Final Technology Report (start time: 52:07, end time: 4:18:06 - Adobe Connect Presentation - opens in new window)
• Presentation to the FDOH Technical Review and Advisory Panel September 25, 2014 (2.2 MB pdf)
• Soil Science Society of America Onsite Wastewater Conference: Florida Nitrogen Reduction Strategies Study Session
  • Project overview (1.3 MB pdf).
  • Passive, 2-stage biofilter treatment systems for reduction of nitrogen from onsite wastewater systems – pilot study results (1.8 MB pdf)
  • Performance of a full-scale 2-stage passive biofilter system (2.3 MB pdf)
  • University of Florida presentation on water and nitrogen balance for mounded drip irrigation systems receiving septic tank effluent (1.8 MB pdf)
  • Colorado School of Mines presentation on quantifying rates of denitrification in the biozone and shallow subsurface within soil treatment units used for wastewater reclamation (2.5 MB pdf)
  • Colorado School of Mines presentation STUMOD-FL a tool for predicting fate and transport of nitrogen in soil treatment units in Florida (1.5 MB pdf)
• Passive Ways to Reduce Nitrogen in Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (3.2 MB pdf) by Josefin Edeback-Hirst, given at the Florida Environmental Health Associations' Annual Education Meeting, Sept. 7, 2012
• Nitrogen Study Test Center Results (2.6 MB pdf)

Contact Us

Please contact the Onsite Sewage Program with any questions or comments.