Public Notice: Village of Thurston Wastewater Treatment Facility (Within the Exterior Boundaries of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Reservation)

Summary

Proposed Wastewater (NPDES) Permit No. NE0031739

This public notice is issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 (EPA). EPA is seeking comments on a proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, under Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), for the Village of Thurston Wastewater Treatment Facility located in the Village of Thurston, within the exterior boundaries of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Reservation.

EPA is seeking written comments regarding this proposed action until November 12, 2025. The address for written comments or to request a public hearing is provided below.

BACKGROUND: NPDES permits to discharge wastewater to waters of the United States are issued under Section 402 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. Section 1342, subject to certain effluent limitations and conditions. 

The Village of Thurston Wastewater Treatment Facility is located approximately 0.5 mile south of the Village of Thurston, Nebraska. The facility and the permitted discharge point are within the exterior boundaries of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Reservation in northeastern Nebraska. The facility is a two-cell, controlled-discharge lagoon that was constructed and placed into service in 2011. It treats domestic wastewater from approximately 132 persons, several community offices, commercial businesses, and one small industry.

Sanitary wastewater is collected and flows by gravity to a lift station at the lagoon system, where it is pumped into the treatment facility. The facility includes influent and effluent flow measurement manholes. The two lagoon cells are operated in series, with a controlled discharge to an unnamed tributary that then flows approximately 0.27 stream mile before entering Middle Creek. 

The total storage volume of the two lagoon cells is approximately 4.614 million gallons; the primary cell and storage cell volumes are 1.014 and 3.6 million gallons, respectively. The facility average daily design flow is 0.01375 million gallons per day, and the design holding time for the lagoon system is 365 days. The facility average wastewater influent flow is approximately 8,300 gallons per day.  

PROPOSED NPDES PERMIT RENEWAL: The proposed permit renewal will reauthorize existing operations at the facility and conditions for land application. The proposed permit includes technology-based and water quality-based limitations. Additional information regarding this proposed permit modification is contained in the Administrative Record, which includes the permit application, proposed permit, Statement of Basis for the proposed permit, and other pertinent information upon which the proposed permit modification is based.

CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH CWA SECTION 401: The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, which is a Treatment as a State Tribe, has issued the CWA Section 401(a)(1) Certification for the Village of Thurston Wastewater Treatment Facility NPDES Permit, pursuant to CWA Section 401, 33 U.S.C. Section 1341. This certification indicates that the discharge authorized by this proposed permit will comply with the requirements of the applicable water quality standards and Tribal laws.

ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD AVAILABILITY: The Administrative Record for the proposed NPDES permit is available for review on the Public Notices webpage. To access these online documents, go to the webpage and then click on the link to this online public notice under the Clean Water Act (CWA) heading. Then in the notice, click on the links to the Administrative Record documents at the bottom. Copies of these documents are also available for review by contacting the Winnebago Tribe Environmental Program Office, 1 Mission Road, Winnebago, NE 68071 (contact: Anna Berridge, anna.berridge@winnebagotribe.com, 402-878-4060); or by contacting the Thurston County Clerk Office, 106 5th St., Pender, NE 68047 (contact: Administrative Assistant Steven Schneider, clerk3@thurstoncountyne.gov, 402-385-2343). In addition, copies of these documents are available to the public upon request by contacting Steven Vu, EPA Region 7, at 913-551-7785, or at vu.steven@epa.gov.

HOW TO PROVIDE COMMENTS: Interested persons may submit written comments regarding this proposed EPA action or submit a written request for a public hearing on the proposed permit. Any request for a public hearing must identify the issues that the requester proposes to raise at the hearing. EPA’s rules and procedures governing the issuance of NPDES permits, including public notices, public commenting, and the public hearing process, are found at 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 25 and 124. All written comments and any requests for a public hearing must be submitted by November 12, 2025, to: Tanya Nix, Supervisor, Permits and Wetlands Branch, Water Division, EPA Region 7, 11201 Renner Blvd., Lenexa, KS 66219. Written comments may also be submitted to Tanya Nix at nix.tanya@epa.gov.

• Village of Thurston Draft NPDES Permit
• Village of Thurston Draft Statement of Basis

Applicants or Respondents