Alcohol Beverage Manufacturing BMP

Purpose and General Information

The Best Management Practice (BMP) for Alcohol Beverage Manufacturing was developed to protect public health and prevent degradation of the sanitary sewerage system by facilities involved in the manufacturing of alcoholic beverages such as breweries, distilleries, wineries, and cideries. Some potential concerns with regards to alcohol beverage manufacturing include but are not limited to; high and low pH wastewater resulting from cleaning and sanitization processes, high strength wastewater including Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) concentrations, solids disposal, bad/unusable product batch disposal and passivation wastewater.

Acidic wastewater can have negative effects on the wastewater collection system and the wastewater treatment process.  It can also produce hydrogen sulfide gas, which is the cause of most sewer odors and can create explosive conditions, endangering workers health and the public. Hydrogen sulfide gas is converted to sulfuric acid which degrades sewer pipes causing corrosion, failures, and/or collapsing of the sewer pipes and pump stations.  These issues can lead to an uncontrolled release of wastewater and disruption of service.

Optional Bill Deduction

Due to the nature of the alcohol manufacturing business, HRSD understands that a good portion of the water utilized at the facility has the potential to not be discharged to the sanitary sewerage system.  Considering most of the facilities under this BMP are billed on influent meter readings, an optional deduction for water contained in the final product may be applicable.

To receive this deduction, a copy of the prior year’s Department of the Treasury TTB Reports (Brewer’s Report of Operations, Report of Wine Premise Operations and/or Distillery Report of Processing Operations) must be submitted annually to our office, via methods outlined in the Data Submittal box below, by January 31st. Once your Department of the Treasury TTB Reports have been submitted, your account will be reviewed for a possible credit adjustment.

 

Submit all required documentation via email to p3data@hrsd.com or mail to:

HRSD
Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Department
Attention: Alcohol BMP
PO Box 5902
Virginia Beach, VA 23471-0902

BMP FAQs