Rhode Island Code of Regulations
Title 835 - Narragansett Bay Commission
Chapter 20 - Sewer Usage
Subchapter 00 - N/A
Part 1 - Use of the Wastewater Facilities
Section 835-RICR-20-00-1.9 - Wastewater Monitoring and Reporting

Universal Citation: 835 RI Code of Rules 20 00 1.9

Current through December 26, 2024

1.9.1 Records and Monitoring

A. All users who discharge or propose to discharge wastewater directly or indirectly to the facilities shall maintain records that substantiate any information supplied in permit applications. Such records shall include, but not be limited to, pH tapes, chemical usage data, log sheets, hazardous waste manifests, water meter readings, effluent monitoring reports, self-monitoring compliance reports and any other informational requirements of this Part or required by a user's wastewater discharge permit or any applicable State and Federal laws and Regulations. These records are to be kept for a period of three (3) years unless there is a pending dispute or pending litigation involving the subject of these records, in which case these records are to be kept for a period of three (3) years following resolution of such dispute or litigation.

B. Access to Information/Confidential Information
1. All such records described in §1.9.1(A) of this Part shall be available, in accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-25-25.1 upon request, to the NBC.

2. Information and data (other than effluent data) about a user obtained from reports, questionnaires, permit applications, permits, monitoring programs, and inspections shall be available to the public unless the user specifically requests and is able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the NBC that the release of such information would divulge processes or methods of production entitled to protection as trade secrets of the user. Any such request must be asserted at the time of submission of the information or data. When such a confidentiality claim is asserted, the information shall be treated as confidential until a determination is made by the NBC. Effluent data shall be available to the public without restriction.

3. If the NBC determines that the information is entitled to protection as a trade secret, the portions of a report that might disclose trade secrets or secret processes shall not be made available for inspection except by the State or EPA for uses related to this Part, the permit, or the pretreatment program. Confidential portions of a report shall be available for use by the state or EPA in judicial review or enforcement proceedings involving the person furnishing the report. Effluent data will not be recognized as confidential information.

C. The NBC may require a user to install, at his or her own cost, suitable monitoring or metering equipment to facilitate the accurate observation, sampling, and measurement of the wastewater discharge. Such equipment shall be maintained in proper working order by the user and shall be kept safe and accessible at all times. The monitoring and metering equipment shall be located and maintained on the user's premises. When such a location would be impractical or cause undue hardship to the user, the NBC may allow such facility to be constructed in the public street or sidewalk area, with the approval of the public agency having jurisdiction over such street or sidewalk, and located so the discharge will not be obstructed by public utilities, landscaping, or parked vehicles.

D. When more than one (1) user discharges into a common sewer, the NBC may require installation of separate monitoring and metering equipment for each user. When there is a significant difference in wastewater constituents and characteristics produced by different operations of a single user, the NBC may require that separate monitoring and metering facilities be installed for each separate discharge.

E. Whether constructed on public or private property, the monitoring facilities shall be constructed in accordance with this Part and any applicable construction standards required by the NBC or by local, State, or Federal law.

1.9.2 Inspection and Sampling

A. The NBC shall have the right to enter the facilities of any user to ascertain whether the purposes of this Part are being met and all requirements are being complied with. Users shall allow the NBC ready access to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling, records examination and copying, and the performance of any additional duties.
1. Where a user has security measures in force that require proper identification and clearance before entry into their premises, the user shall make necessary arrangements with its security guards so that, upon presentation of suitable identification, personnel from the NBC, State, and/or EPA will be permitted to enter, without delay, for the purposes of performing their specific responsibilities.

2. The NBC, the State, and EPA shall have the right to set up or require installation of, on the user's property, such devices as are necessary to conduct sampling and/or metering of the user's operations.

3. The NBC may require the user to install monitoring equipment, as necessary. The facility's sampling and monitoring equipment shall be maintained at all times in safe and proper operating condition by the user at the user's expense. All devices used to measure wastewater flow and quality shall be calibrated periodically to ensure their accuracy.

4. Safe and easy access must be provided for NBC personnel. Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access in and around the facility to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly removed and/or repaired by the user at the written or verbal request of the NBC. The costs associated with said removal and/or repair shall be borne by the user.

5. Unreasonable delays in allowing NBC personnel access to the user's premises shall be a violation of this Part.

1.9.3 Monitoring and Analysis of Process Wastewater

A. Sampling and analysis of industrial wastewater for the purpose of compliance determinations with respect to § 1.5 of this Part shall be done through industry self-monitoring and through monitoring performed by the NBC. All analyses, including sampling results submitted in support of any application reports, evidence, or as required by any permit or order shall be performed in accordance with the techniques prescribed in 40 C.F.R. Part 136 (2018) incorporated herein by reference, not including later amendments, or, if 40 C.F.R. Part 136 (2018) does not contain sampling or analytical techniques for the pollutant in question, in accordance with procedures approved by EPA. The NBC may, at its sole discretion, require any user to monitor for any parameter which may pose a public health risk, may adversely impact NBC facilities, cause treatment plant process Interference or Pass through, and/or impact receiving water quality, including but not limited to, any new pollutants such as emerging pollutants of concern, which include, but are not limited to, PFAS compounds, pharmaceuticals, etc. The NBC may, at its discretion, require an independent laboratory to conduct the sampling and analysis at the user's own cost.
1. Self-Monitoring Requirements
a. Self-monitoring results must be accompanied by a certified laboratory analysis sheet, indicating the EPA approved test procedure for each parameter analyzed. The user must also submit a self-monitoring report with the results on a form prescribed by the NBC.

b. All Self-Monitoring Reports must be signed and certified in accordance with §1.9.10 of this Part.

c. If any sampling performed by a user indicates any violation(s) of discharge limitations, the user shall notify the NBC within twenty-four (24) hours of becoming aware of the violation(s). The user shall repeat the analysis immediately for the parameters determined to be in violation and submit the resampling results to the NBC within thirty (30) days after becoming aware of the violation(s).

2. Sample Collection
a. Except as indicated in §1.9.3(A)(3) of this Part below, wastewater samples collected for the purpose of determining user compliance with pretreatment standards and requirements must be obtained using flow proportional composite sample collection techniques. In the event that flow proportional sampling is not feasible, the NBC may authorize the use of time proportional sampling.

b. For automatic samplers, the intake line hose must be at least one quarter inch (1/4") (0.6 cm) internal diameter and the velocity in the intake line must be maintained at least at two feet (2') per second.

c. Samples for oil and grease, temperature, pH, cyanide, phenols, toxicity, sulfides, and volatile organic chemicals must be obtained using a grab sample.

3. Analysis of Wastewater Samples

Laboratory analysis and sample preservation of industrial wastewater samples for user self-monitoring and compliance monitoring by the NBC shall be performed in accordance with EPA approved methods. Where applicable, the laboratory must be certified by the State in which it is located.

1.9.4 Baseline Monitoring Report

A. Within one hundred eighty (180) days after the effective date of a categorical pretreatment standard, or the final administrative decision on a category determination under 40 C.F.R. § 403.6 (2018) incorporated herein by reference, not including later amendments, whichever is later, existing significant industrial users subject to such categorical pretreatment standards, and currently discharging to or scheduled to discharge to the NBC's Facilities shall be required to submit to the NBC a report that contains the information listed below. At least ninety (90) days prior to commencement of their discharge, new sources, including sources that become users subsequent to the promulgation of an applicable categorical standard, including existing users who have changed their operation or processes so as to become new sources, shall be required to submit to the NBC a report that contains the information listed below. A new source shall also be required to report the method of pretreatment it intends to use to meet applicable pretreatment standards, estimates of its anticipated flow, and estimates of the quantity of pollutants to be discharged.
1. The information required by this section includes:
a. Identifying Information: The name and address of the facility including the name of the operator and owner(s);

b. Wastewater Discharge Permits: A list of any environmental control wastewater discharge permits held by or for the facility;

c. Description of Operations: A brief description of the nature, average rate of production, and standard industrial classifications of the operation(s) carried out by such user. This description should include a schematic process diagram that indicates points of discharge to the NBC's sewer system from the regulated processes;

d. Flow Measurement: Information showing the measured average daily and maximum daily flow, in gallons per day, to the NBC's sewer system from regulated process streams and other streams as necessary to allow use of the combined waste stream formula set out in 40 C.F.R. § 403.6(e) (2018);

e. Measurements of Pollutants
(1) Identify the categorical pretreatment standards applicable to each regulated process;

(2) Submit the results of sampling and analysis identifying the nature and concentration (and/or mass, where required by the standard or NBC) of regulated process. Instantaneous daily maximum and long-term average concentrations (or mass, where required) shall be reported. The sample shall be representative of daily operations and shall be performed in accordance with procedures set out in 40 C.F.R. Part 136 (2018).

f. Certification: A statement reviewed by an authorized representative of the user and certified by a qualified professional, indicating whether pretreatment standards are being met on a consistent basis, and if not, whether additional operation and maintenance and/or additional pretreatment is required in order to meet the pretreatment standards and requirements;

g. Compliance Schedule: If additional pretreatment and/or operations and maintenance will be required to meet the pretreatment standards; the shortest schedule by which the user will provide such additional pretreatment and/or operations and maintenance shall be applied. The completion date in this schedule shall not be later than the compliance date established for the applicable pretreatment standard; and

h. Signatory Certification: All baseline monitoring reports must be signed and certified in accordance with §1.9.10 of this Part below.

1.9.5 Compliance Schedule Progress Report

The following conditions shall apply to the schedule required by §1.9.4(A)(1)(g) of this Part. The schedule shall contain progress increments in the form of dates for the commencement and completion of major events leading to the construction and operation of additional pretreatment required for the user to meet the applicable pretreatment standards (such events include hiring an engineer, completing preliminary and final plans, executing contracts for major components, commencing and completing construction, beginning and conducting routine operation). No increment referred to above shall exceed nine (9) months. The user shall submit a progress report to the NBC no later than fourteen (14) days following each date in the schedule and the final date of compliance including, as a minimum, whether or not it complied with the increment of progress, the reason for any delay, and, if appropriate, the steps being taken by the user to return to the established schedule. In no event shall more than nine (9) months elapse between such progress reports to the NBC.

1.9.6 Report on Compliance with Categorical Pretreatment Standard Deadline

Within ninety (90) days following the date for final compliance with applicable categorical pretreatment standards, or in the case of a new source following commencement of the introduction of wastewater into the NBC's Facilities, any user subject to such pretreatment standards and requirements shall submit to the NBC a report containing the information described in §1.9.4 of this Part. For users subject to equivalent mass or concentration limits established in accordance with the procedures in 40 C.F.R. § 403.6 (2018), this report shall contain a reasonable measure of the user's long-term production rate. For all other users subject to categorical pretreatment standards expressed in terms of allowable pollutant discharge per unit of production (or other measure of operation), this report shall include the user's actual production during the appropriate sampling period. All compliance reports must be signed and certified in accordance with §1.9.10 of this Part.

1.9.7 Periodic Compliance Reports

A. Any significant industrial user subject to a pretreatment standard shall, at a frequency determined by the NBC but in no case less than twice per year, submit a report indicating the nature and concentration of pollutants in the discharge that are limited by such pretreatment standards and the measured or estimated average and maximum daily flows for the reporting period. All periodic compliance reports must be signed and certified in accordance with §1.9.10 of this Part.

B. All wastewater samples must be representative of the user's discharge. Wastewater monitoring and flow measurement facilities shall be properly operated, kept clean, and maintained in good working order at all times. The failure of a user to keep its monitoring facility in good working order shall not be grounds for the user to claim that analytical results are not representative of its discharge.

C. If a user subject to the reporting requirement in and of this section monitors any pollutant more frequently than required by the NBC, using the procedures prescribed in §1.9.3(A)(2) of this Part, the results of this monitoring shall be included in the report.

1.9.8 Notification/Reporting Requirements

A. Report of Changed Conditions

Users are required to submit written notification to the NBC in advance of any substantial change to the user's pretreatment operations or system that might alter the nature, quality, or volume of its wastewater at least thirty (30) days prior to instituting any such change, including the listed or characteristic hazardous wastes for which the user has submitted initial notification under 40 C.F.R. § 403.12(p) (2018).

B. Sampling Violations

If sampling performed by a user indicates a violation of discharge limitations, the user must notify the NBC within twenty-four (24) hours of becoming aware of the violation. The user shall also repeat the sampling and analysis and submit the results of the repeat analysis to the NBC within thirty (30) days of becoming aware of the violation.

C. Potential Problems
1. Notification of Accidental Spills

In the case of an accidental discharge into the facility, it is the responsibility of the user to immediately contact the NBC and inform them of the incident at the emergency phone numbers referenced in the user's permit. The notification shall include location of discharge, type of waste, concentration and volume, and corrective actions. Within five (5) days following an accidental discharge into the facilities, the user shall submit a detailed written report describing the nature and cause of the discharge and the measures to be taken by the user to prevent similar future occurrences. Such notification shall not relieve the user of any expense, loss, damage, or other liability resulting from the discharge. Notification will not exempt the user from any fines, civil or criminal penalties, or any other liability that may be imposed under this Part or other applicable State or Federal law.

2. In the case of any discharge, including but not limited to, discharges of a non-routine, episodic nature, a non-customary batch discharge, or a slug load that may cause potential problems for the NBC (including a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in § 1.5 of this Part), it is the responsibility of the user to immediately telephone and notify the NBC of the incident at the emergency phone numbers referenced in the user's permit. The notification shall include location of discharge, type of waste, concentration and volume, and corrective actions. Within five (5) days following an accidental discharge into the facilities, the user shall submit a detailed written report describing the nature and cause of the discharge and the measures to be taken by the user to prevent similar future occurrences. Such notification shall not relieve the user of any expense, loss, damage, or other liability resulting from the discharge. Notification will not exempt the user from any fines, civil or criminal penalties, or any other liability that may be imposed under this Part or other applicable State or Federal law.

3. Failure to notify the NBC of potential problem discharges shall be deemed a separate violation of this Part.

4. A notice shall be permanently posted on the user's bulletin board or other prominent place advising employees whom to call in the event of a discharge described in §1.9.8 of this Part. Employers shall ensure that all employees, who may cause or suffer such discharge to occur, are advised of the emergency notification procedure.

D. Selling, Closing, or Moving a Business

Any user who will be selling, closing, or moving a business from its present location must notify the NBC in writing thirty (30) days before disposing of any process waste associated with the move or the cessation of business. The NBC has a facility shutdown procedure that must be adhered to upon selling, closing, or moving a business or operation. Failure to notify the NBC prior to such change may subject the user to civil or criminal penalties in accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 46-25-25.2 and 46-25-25.3.

E. The facility shutdown procedure includes, but is not limited to, the following:
1. An inventory specifying the amount of each chemical and each solution on the premises, whether in storage drums or in process tanks;

2. A written plan detailing how each chemical and solution is to be disposed of (e.g. discharged to sewer with or without pretreatment, sold, returned to the supplier, or hauled off as hazardous waste);

3. The information required in §§1.9.8(E)(1) and (2) of this Part above must be reviewed and approved by the NBC prior to any solutions or chemicals being disposed of. Only those solutions approved by the NBC may be discharged to the sewer system. The NBC must be informed at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of when chemicals are to be shipped off-site or discharged to the sewer. A copy of each hazardous waste manifest form for any chemicals or solutions disposed of off-site must be submitted to the NBC as soon as they are completed. A copy of each sales receipt, credit slip, etc., for any chemicals or solutions that are sold or returned to the supplier must be submitted to the NBC as soon as they are completed.

1.9.9 Hazardous Waste Notification

A. Any user, except as specified in §1.9.9(E) of this Part, that discharges to the NBC's Facilities any substance that, if disposed of, would be listed or characterized as hazardous waste under 40 C.F.R. Part 261 (2018) incorporated herein by reference, not including later amendments, shall notify the NBC in writing of such discharge.

B. All hazardous waste notifications shall include:
1. The name of the hazardous waste as set forth in 40 C.F.R. Part 261 (2018);

2. The EPA hazardous waste number;

3. The type of discharge (continuous, batch, or other); and

4. A certification that the user has a program in place to reduce the volume and toxicity of hazardous waste generated to the degree it has determined to be economically practical.

C. In addition to the information submitted in §1.9.9(B) of this Part, users discharging more than one hundred kilograms (100 kg) of hazardous waste per calendar month to the NBC's Facilities shall include the following information to the extent such information is known and readily available to the user:
1. An identification of the hazardous constituents contained in the waste;

2. An estimation of the mass and concentration of such constituents in the waste stream discharged during that calendar month; and

3. An estimation of the mass of constituents in the waste stream expected to be discharged during the following twelve (12) months.

D. Discharge of more than fifteen kilograms (15 kg) of non-acute hazardous wastes in a calendar month, or of any quantity of acute hazardous wastes as specified in 40 C.F.R. §§ 261.30(d) (2018) incorporated herein by reference, not including later amendments, and 261.33(e) (2018) incorporated herein by reference, not including later amendments, requires a one (1) time notification.

E. Dischargers are exempt from the requirements of §§1.9.9(A) through (C) of this Part during a calendar month in which they discharge no more than fifteen kilograms (15 kg) of hazardous waste unless the wastes are acute hazardous wastes as specified in 40 C.F.R. §§ 261.30(d) (2018) and 261.33(e) (2018).

1.9.10 Signatories and Certification

All wastewater discharge permit applications and user's reports shall contain a certification statement as outlined in 40 C.F.R. § 403.6 (2018) and shall be signed by an authorized representative of the user.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Rhode Island may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.