STATE OF WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
PUBLIC NOTICE OF INTENT TO REISSUE A WISCONSIN POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (WPDES) PERMIT No. WI-0021113-11-0
Permittee: Sturgeon Bay Utilities, PO Box 27, Sturgeon Bay, WI, 54235
Facility Where Discharge Occurs: Sturgeon Bay Utilities Wastewater Treatment Facility, 724 Shorecrest Drive, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Receiving Water and Location: Sturgeon Bay with discharge outfall located at NW ¼ of SW ¼ of SW ¼ of Section 8, Township 27 North, Range 26 East, City of Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin.
Brief Facility Description and Summary of Proposed Changes: Sturgeon Bay Utilities (SBU) is a public utility that operates the sanitary sewage collection system and wastewater treatment facility for the City of Sturgeon Bay. The facility treats residential and commercial domestic wastewater, industrial wastewaters, and hauled septage waste from the septage receiving station. SBU provides preliminary, primary, secondary treatment, and seasonal disinfection to the influent wastewater from the City of Sturgeon Bay and septage from the septage receiving station. The final treated effluent then flows by gravity through a submerged outfall structure to the Sturgeon Bay of Lake Michigan via Outfall 001. The annual average design flow of the wastewater treatment facility is 2.816 million gallons per day. SBU treats primary, and waste activated sludge from the wastewater treatment facility and hauled municipal sludge from some of the municipalities in Door County. A Class A, exceptional quality (EQ) sludge is generated from the solids treatment processes. The solids treatment processes include gravity thickeners, anaerobic digestors, and belt filter presses. The digested sludge can be processed through two parallel belt filter presses, or the generated Class A and EQ liquid sludge can be loaded on trucks to be distributed via Outfall 004 if the belt presses are not available. The liquid sludge can also be hauled by truck to be land applied on department approved sites via Outfall 004 as Class B liquid sludge in case the Class A and EQ process and the belt presses are not available. The generated Class A and EQ cake sludge from the belt presses is loaded on a truck to be taken to off-site storage via Outfall 005 and to be later distributed by a contractor. The cake sludge can also be hauled by truck to be land applied on department approved sites via Outfall 005 as Class B sludge in case the Class A and EQ process is not available.
The major changes from the previous permit include bimonthly effluent PFOA and PFOS monitoring; a chronic whole effluent toxicity monthly average limit of 11 TUc; annual sludge PFAS monitoring; Outfall 006 was added to track the compliance of testing for Class A pathogen control requirements following the thermophilic digester; and Outfall 007 was added as a placeholder unless the permittee retains ownership of the sewage sludge within the off-site storage facility.
For specific information and explanation about the proposed conditions of the permit and proposed changes from the previous permit, please see the permit fact sheet.
Permit Drafter's and Basin Engineer's Name, Address, Phone and Email: Trevor Moen, DNR, 625 E Cty Rd Y Suite 700, Oshkosh, WI, 54901, (920) 410-5192, Trevor.Moen@wisconsin.gov
The department has tentatively decided that the above-specified WPDES permit should be reissued.
Persons wishing to comment on or object to the proposed permit action, or to request a public hearing, may write to the department at the above-named permit drafter's address. All comments or suggestions received no later than 30 days after the publication date of this public notice will be considered along with other information on file in making a final decision regarding the permit. Anyone providing comments in response to this public notice will receive a notification of the department's final decision when the permit is issued. Where designated as a reviewable surface water discharge permit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) is allowed up to 90 days to submit comments or objections regarding this permit determination. If no comments are received on the proposed permit from anyone, including U.S. EPA, the permit will be issued as proposed.
The department may schedule a public informational hearing if requested by any person and shall schedule a public informational hearing if a petition requesting a hearing is received from 5 or more persons or if response to this notice indicates significant public interest pursuant to s. 283.49, Wis. Stats. Requests for a public informational hearing shall state the following: the name and address of the person(s) requesting the hearing; the interest in the proposed permit of the person(s) requesting the hearing; the reasons for the request; and the issues proposed to be considered at the hearing.
Information on file for this permit action, including the draft permit, fact sheet and permit application, may be inspected and copied at either the above-named permit drafter's office or the above named basin engineer's office, Monday through Friday (except holidays), between 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Please call the permit drafter or basin engineer for directions to their office location, if necessary. Information on this permit action may also be obtained by calling the permit drafter at (920) 410-5192 or by writing to the department. Reasonable costs (15 cents per page for copies and 7 cents per page for scanning) will be charged for information in the file other than the public notice, permit and fact sheet. Permit information is also available on the internet at: http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/wastewater/PublicNotices.html. Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodation, including the provision of informational material in an alternative format, will be made to qualified individuals upon request.
NAME OF PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER: Door County Advocate
ADDRESS OF PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER: 235 N 3rd Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, WI, 54235-0130
Date Notice Issued: November 22, 2025
WNAXLP
November 22 2025
LWIX0409560