Automated dissolved oxygen (DO) control allows the aeration equipment to meet current oxygen demand without excessive run times or over-aeration. The process utilizes phased isolation ditches to alternate between aeration and settling phases, eliminating the need for an external clarifier. The process is self-contained and produces a fully nitrified effluent low in BOD and suspended solids. They selected CSBR technology due to its simplicity and its suitability for the site. In conjunction with B & B Consultants, Inc., the engineering firm in charge of plant design, the District supervisory board evaluated a number of systems. However, the State worked with Amelia to locate funds for construction, and the plan-to-build project went forward ahead of schedule in 1991. When the State of Virginia began phasing out pond and lagoon systems in 1990, the Amelia Sanitary District planned to build a new plant on the Appomattox River by the year 2010. In 1998, the Amelia Sanitary District received the Wastewater System of the Year award for outstanding performance from the Virginia Rural Water Association. After Amelia WWTP replaced its pond and lagoon system with the CSBR process, it consistently has met regulatory limits while significantly increasing plant efficiency. This treatment system already had been well established in Europe. Taking an innovative step forward in wastewater treatment, the Amelia Courthouse Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Amelia County, Va., became the first plant in the United States to adopt the continuous sequencing batch reactor (CSBR) process in 1994.