Thomas Laustsen
Chief Operating Officer
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission
Biography
Tom Laustsen is the Chief Operating Officer of the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, the largest wastewater treatment plant in New Jersey and the fifth largest in the country. He oversees plant operations which includes the main interceptor and branch sewers and the wet and sludge train of treatment facility. He is also ultimately responsible for the onsite laboratory and the Liquid Waste Acceptance Program.
Rutgers Climate Bridge Panel 4: Rain’s Impact on Stormwater Management
Abstract
The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC), located in Newark, New Jersey, is one of the largest wastewater facilities in the Eastern United States and one of the half-dozen largest in the entire country. The PVSC wastewater treatment facility is rated for 330 million gallons per day (MGD) and serves approximately 1.5 million people, 200 significant users, and 5,000 commercial users. PVSC service area includes 48 municipalities located in portions of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, and Union Counties. Eight of the municipalities in the sewer district have combined sewer systems (CSS). The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) issued PVSC and the eight CSS municipalities New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) permits requiring the development of Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Long Term Control Plans (LTCPs). As part of PVSC’s LTCP, a Secondary Bypass Facility will be constructed that will increase their wet weather treatment capacity from 400 MGD to 720 MGD. This process will provide primary treatment and disinfection for high wet weather flows. Also being considered as part of a regional approach is the construction of a parallel interceptor that will provide the ability to store and convey more flow for treatment. The eight CSO communities as part of their LTCPs will be implementing projects including sewer separation, storage, green infrastructure and pumping station improvements. The projects will be implemented over a 40-year time period. When they are all ultimately constructed, CSO reduction is expected to be approximately 58,000,000 million gallons per year.