South Carolina Code of Regulations
Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Subchapter 61-9 - Water Pollution Control Permits
Subchapter 61-9.403 - GENERAL PRETREATMENT REGULATIONS FOR EXISTING AND NEW SOURCES OF POLLUTION
Section 61-9.403.6 - National pretreatment standards: Categorical standards
Universal Citation: SC Code Regs 61-9.403.6
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 9, September 27, 2024
(a) National Pretreatment Standards specifying quantities or concentrations of pollutants or pollutant properties which may be discharged to a POTW by existing or new Industrial Users in specific industrial subcategories will be established as separate Federal regulations under the appropriate subpart of 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N. These Standards, unless specifically noted otherwise, shall be in addition to all applicable pretreatment standards and requirements set forth in this part.
(b) Category Determination Request
(1) Application Deadline. Within 60
days after the effective date of a Pretreatment Standard for a subcategory
under which an Industrial User may be included, the Industrial User or POTW may
request that the Department provide written certification on whether the
Industrial User falls within that particular subcategory. If an existing
Industrial User adds or changes a process or operation which may be included in
a subcategory, the existing Industrial User must request this certification
prior to commencing discharge from the added or changed processes or operation.
A New Source must request this certification prior to commencing discharge.
Where a request for certification is submitted by a POTW, the POTW shall notify
any affected Industrial User of such submission. The Industrial User may
provide written comments on the POTW submission to the Department within 30
days of notification.
(2) Contents
of Application. Each request shall contain a statement:
(i) Describing which subcategories might be
applicable; and
(ii) Citing
evidence and reasons why a particular subcategory is applicable and why others
are not applicable. Any person signing the application statement submitted
pursuant to this section shall make the following certification: "I certify
under penalty of law that this document and all attachments were prepared under
my direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that
qualified personnel properly gather and evaluate the information submitted.
Based on my inquiry of the person or persons who manage the system, or those
persons directly responsible for gathering the information, the information
submitted is to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and
complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false
information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment for knowing
violations."
(3)
Deficient requests. The Department will only act on written requests for
determinations that contain all of the information required. Persons who have
made incomplete submissions will be notified by the Department that their
requests are deficient and, unless the time period is extended, will be given
30 days to correct the deficiency. If the deficiency is not corrected within 30
days or within an extended period allowed by the Department, the request for a
determination shall be denied.
(4)
Final decision.
(i) When the Department
receives a submittal, he or she will, after determining that it contains all of
the information required by paragraph (2) of this section, consider the
submission, any additional evidence that may have been requested, and any other
available information relevant to the request. The Department will then make a
written determination of the applicable subcategory and state the reasons for
the determination.
(ii) The
Department shall forward the determination described in this paragraph to the
Water Management Division Director who may make a final determination. The
Water Management Division Director may waive receipt of these determinations.
If the Water Management Division Director does not modify the Department's
decision within 60 days after receipt thereof, or if the Water Management
Division Director waives receipt of the determination, the Department's
decision is final.
(iii) Where the
Water Management Division Director elects to modify the Department's decision,
the Water Management Division Director's decision will be final.
(iv) The Water Management Division Director
or Department, as appropriate, shall send a copy of the determination to the
affected Industrial User and the POTW. Where the final determination is made by
the Water Management Division Director, he or she shall send a copy of the
determination to the Department.
(5) Requests for hearing and/or legal
decision. Within 30 days following the date of receipt of notice of the final
determination as provided for by subsection (b)(4)(iv) of this section, the
Requester may submit a petition to reconsider or contest the decision to the
Regional Administrator who shall act on such petition expeditiously and state
the reasons for his or her determination in writing.
(c) Deadline for compliance with categorical standards. Compliance by existing sources with categorical Pretreatment Standards shall be within 3 years of the date the Standard is effective unless a shorter compliance time is specified in the appropriate subpart of 40 CFR chapter I, subchapter N. Direct dischargers with NPDES Permits modified or reissued to provide a variance pursuant to section301(i)(2)(i)(2) of the Act shall be required to meet compliance dates set in any applicable categorical Pretreatment Standard. Existing sources which become Industrial Users subsequent to promulgation of an applicable categorical Pretreatment Standard shall be considered existing Industrial Users except where such sources meet the definition of a New Source as defined in Section403.3(i)(i). New Sources shall install and have in operating condition, and shall "start-up" all pollution control equipment required to meet applicable Pretreatment Standards before beginning to Discharge. Within the shortest feasible time (not to exceed 90 days), New Sources must meet all applicable Pretreatment Standards.
(d)
(1) Concentration and mass limits. Pollutant
discharge limits in categorical Pretreatment Standards will be expressed either
as concentration or mass limits. Wherever possible, where concentration limits
are specified in standards, equivalent mass limits will be provided so that
local, State or Federal authorities responsible for enforcement may use
concentration or mass limits. Limits in categorical Pretreatment Standards
shall apply to the effluent of the process regulated by the Standard, or as
otherwise specified by the standard.
(2) When the limits in a categorical
Pretreatment Standard are expressed only in terms of mass of pollutant per unit
of production, the Control Authority may convert the limits to equivalent
limitations expressed either as mass of pollutant discharged per day or
effluent concentration for purposes of calculating effluent limitations
applicable to individual Industrial Users.
(3) A Control Authority calculating
equivalent mass-per-day limitations under subsection (d)(2) of this section
shall calculate such limitations by multiplying the limits in the Standard by
the Industrial User's average rate of production. This average rate of
production shall be based not upon the designed production capacity but rather
upon a reasonable measure of the Industrial User's actual long-term daily
production, such as the average daily production during a representative year.
For new sources, actual production shall be estimated using projected
production.
(4) A Control Authority
calculating equivalent concentration limitations under subsection (d)(2) of
this section shall calculate such limitations by dividing the mass limitations
derived under subsection (d)(3) of this section by the average daily flow rate
of the Industrial User's regulated process wastewater. This average daily flow
rate shall be based upon a reasonable measure of the Industrial User's actual
long-term average flow rate, such as the average daily flow rate during the
representative year.
(5) When the
limits in a categorical Pretreatment Standard are expressed only in terms of
pollutant concentrations, an Industrial User may request that the Control
Authority convert the limits to equivalent mass limits. The determination to
convert concentration limits to mass limits is within the discretion of the
Control Authority and with prior approval of the Department. The Control
Authority may establish equivalent mass limits after Department review and
approval only if the Industrial User meets all the following conditions in
paragraph (d)(5)(i)(A) through (d)(5)(i)(E) of this section.
(i) To be eligible for equivalent mass
limits, the Industrial User must:
(A) Employ,
or demonstrate that it will employ, water conservation methods and technologies
that substantially reduce water use during the term of its control
mechanism;
(B) Currently use
control and treatment technologies adequate to achieve compliance with the
applicable categorical Pretreatment Standard, and not have used dilution as a
substitute for treatment;
(C)
Provide sufficient information to establish the facility's actual average daily
flow rate for all wastestreams, based on data from a continuous effluent flow
monitoring device, as well as the facility's long-term average production rate.
Both the actual average daily flow rate and long-term average production rate
must be representative of current operating conditions;
(D) Not have daily flow rates, production
levels, or pollutant levels that vary so significantly that equivalent mass
limits are not appropriate to control the Discharge; and
(E) Have consistently complied with all
applicable categorical Pretreatment Standards during the period, at least three
years, prior to the Industrial User's request for equivalent mass
limits.
(ii) An
Industrial User subject to equivalent mass limits must:
(A) Maintain and effectively operate control
and treatment technologies adequate to achieve compliance with the equivalent
mass limits;
(B) Continue to record
the facility's flow rates through the use of a continuous effluent flow
monitoring device. The devices shall be installed, calibrated, and maintained
to ensure that the accuracy of the measurements is consistent with the accepted
capability of that type of device. Devices selected shall be capable of
measuring flows with a maximum deviation of not greater than 10 percent from
the true discharge rates throughout the range of expected discharge
volumes;
(C) Continue to record the
facility's production rates and notify the Control Authority whenever
production rates are expected to vary by more than 20 percent from its baseline
production rates determined in paragraph (d)(5)(i)(C) of this section. Upon
notification of a revised production rate, the Control Authority must reassess
the equivalent mass limit and revise the limit as necessary to reflect changed
conditions at the facility; and
(D)
Continue to employ the same or comparable water conservation methods and
technologies as those implemented pursuant to paragraph (d)(5)(i)(A) of this
section so long as it discharges under an equivalent mass limit.
(iii) A Control Authority which
chooses to establish equivalent mass limits:
(A) Must calculate the equivalent mass limit
by multiplying the actual average daily flow rate of the regulated process(es)
of the Industrial User by the concentration-based daily maximum and monthly
average Standard for the applicable categorical Pretreatment Standard and the
appropriate unit conversion factor;
(B) Upon notification of a revised production
rate, must reassess, with prior Department approval, the equivalent mass limit
and recalculate the limit as necessary to reflect changed conditions at the
facility; and
(C) May retain the
same equivalent mass limit in subsequent control mechanism terms, with prior
Department approval, if the Industrial User's actual average daily flow rate
was reduced solely as a result of the implementation of water conservation
methods and technologies, and the actual average daily flow rates used in the
original calculation of the equivalent mass limit were not based on the use of
dilution as a substitute for treatment pursuant to paragraph (e) of this
section. The Industrial User must also be in compliance with section403.17
(regarding the prohibition of bypass).
(iv) The Control Authority may not express
limits in terms of mass for pollutants such as pH, temperature, radiation, or
other pollutants which cannot appropriately be expressed as mass.
(6) The Control Authority may,
with prior Department approval, convert the mass limits of the categorical
Pretreatment Standards at 40 CFR parts 414, 419, and 455 to concentration
limits for purposes of calculating limitations applicable to individual
Industrial Users under the following conditions. When converting such limits to
concentration limits, the Control Authority must use the concentrations listed
in the applicable subparts of 40 CFR parts 414, 419, and 455 and document that
dilution is not being substituted for treatment as prohibited by paragraph (e)
of this section.
(7) Equivalent
limitations calculated in accordance with paragraphs (d)(3), (d)(4), (d)(5),
and (d)(6) of this section are deemed Pretreatment Standards for the purposes
of section307(d)(d) of the CWA and this regulation. The Control Authority must
document how the equivalent limits were derived and make this information
publicly available. Once incorporated into its control mechanism, the
Industrial User must comply with the equivalent limitations in lieu of the
promulgated categorical standards from which the equivalent limitations were
derived.
(8) Many categorical
pretreatment standards specify one limit for calculating maximum daily
discharge limitations and a second limit for calculating maximum monthly
average, or 4-day average, limitations. Where such standards are being applied,
the same production or flow figure shall be used in calculating both the
average and the maximum equivalent limitation.
(9) Any Industrial User operating under a
control mechanism incorporating equivalent mass or concentration limits
calculated from a production based standard shall notify the Control Authority
within two (2) business days after the User has a reasonable basis to know that
the production level will significantly change within the next calendar month.
Any User not notifying the Control Authority of such anticipated change will be
required to meet the mass or concentration limits in its control mechanism that
were based on the original estimate of the long term average production
rate.
(e) Dilution prohibited as substitute for treatment. Except where expressly authorized to do so by an applicable Pretreatment Standard or Requirement, no Industrial User shall ever increase the use of process water, or in any other way attempt to dilute a Discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with a Pretreatment Standard or Requirement. The Control Authority may impose mass limitations on Industrial Users which are using dilution to meet applicable Pretreatment Standards or Requirements, or in other cases where the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.
(f) Combined wastestream formula. Where process effluent is mixed prior to treatment with wastewaters other than those generated by the regulated process, fixed alternative discharge limits may be derived by the Control Authority or by the Industrial User with the written concurrence of the Control Authority. These alternative limits shall be applied to the mixed effluent. When deriving alternative categorical limits, the Control Authority or Industrial User shall calculate both an alternative daily maximum value using the daily maximum value(s) specified in the appropriate categorical Pretreatment Standard(s) and an alternative consecutive sampling day average value using the monthly average value(s) specified in the appropriate categorical Pretreatment Standard(s). The Industrial User shall comply with the alternative daily maximum and monthly average limits fixed by the Control Authority until the Control Authority modifies the limits or approves an Industrial User modification request. Modification is authorized whenever there is a material or significant change in the values used in the calculation to fix alternative limits for the regulated pollutant. An Industrial User must immediately report any such material or significant change to the Control Authority. Where appropriate new alternative categorical limits shall be calculated within 30 days.
(1)
Alternative limit calculation. For purposes of these formulas, the "average
daily flow" means a reasonable measure of the average daily flow for a 30-day
period. For new sources, flows shall be estimated using projected values. The
alternative limit for a specified pollutant will be derived by the use of
either of the following formulas:
(i)
Alternative concentration limit.
(a) Boiler blowdown
streams, non-contact cooling streams, storm water streams, and mineralizer
backwash streams: provided, however, that where such streams contain a
significant amount of a pollutant, and the combination of such streams, prior
to treatment, with an Industrial User's regulated process waste stream(s) will
result in a substantial reduction of that pollutant, the Control Authority,
upon application of the Industrial User, may exercise its discretion to
determine whether such stream(s) should be classified as diluted or
unregulated. In its application to the Control Authority, the Industrial User
must provide engineering, production, sampling and analysis and such other
information so that the Control Authority can make its determination; or (b)
sanitary waste streams where such streams are not regulated by a Categorical
Pretreatment Standard; or (c) from any process waste streams which were or
could have been entirely exempted from Categorical Pretreatment Standards
pursuant to paragraph 8 of the NRDC v.Costle Consent Decree (12 ERC 1833) for
one or more of the following reasons (see Appendix D of this regulation):
(1) The pollutants of concern are not
detectable in the effluent from the Industrial User (paragraph
(8)(a)(iii));
(2) The pollutants of
concern are present only in trace amounts and are neither causing nor likely to
cause toxic effects (paragraph (8)(a)(iii);
(3) The pollutants of concern are present in
amounts too small to be effectively reduced by technologies known to the
Administrator (paragraph (8)(a)(iii)); or
(4) The waste stream contains only pollutants
which are compatible with the POTW (paragraph (8)(b)(i)).
FT = The average daily flow (at least a 30-day average) through the combined treatment facility (includes FI, FD and unregulated streams).
N = The total number of regulated streams.
(ii) Alternate mass
limit.
(a) boiler blowdown
streams, non-contact cooling streams, storm water streams, and demineralizer
backwash streams; provided, however, that where such streams contain a
significant amount of a pollutant, and the combination of such streams, prior
to treatment, with an Industrial User's regulated process waste-stream(s) will
result in a substantial reduction of that pollutant, the Control Authority,
upon application of the Industrial User, may exercise its discretion to
determine whether such stream(s) should be classified as diluted or
unregulated. In its application to the Control Authority, the Industrial User
must provide engineering, production, sampling and analysis and such other
information so that the Control Authority can make its determination;
or
(b) sanitary waste streams where
such streams are not regulated by a categorical Pretreatment Standard;
or
(c) from any process waste
streams which were or could have been entirely exempted from categorical
Pretreatment Standards pursuant to paragraph 8 of the NRDC v. Costle Consent
Decree (12 ERC 1833) for one or more of the following reasons (see Appendix D
of this regulation);
(1) The pollutants of
concern are not detectable in the effluent from the Industrial User (paragraph
(8)(a)(iii));
(2) The pollutants of
concern are present only in trace amounts and are neither causing nor likely to
cause toxic effects (paragraph (8)(a)(iii));
(3) The pollutants of concern are present in
amounts too small to be effectively reduced by technologies known to the
Administrator (paragraph (8)(a)(iii)); or
(4) The waste stream contains only pollutants
which are compatible with the POTW (paragraph (8)(b)-(i)).
FT = The average flow (at least a 30-day average) through the combined treatment facility (includes F19, FD and unregulated streams).
N = The total number of regulated streams.
(2)
Alternate limits below detection limit. An alternative pretreatment limit may
not be used if the alternative limit is below the analytical detection limit
for any of the regulated pollutants.
(3) Self-monitoring. Self-monitoring required
to insure compliance with the alternative categorical limit shall be conducted
in accordance with the requirements of section403.12(g)(g).
(4) Choice of monitoring location. Where a
treated regulated process waste stream is combined prior to treatment with
wastewaters other than those generated by the regulated process, the Industrial
User may monitor either the segregated process waste stream or the combined
waste stream for the purpose of determining compliance with applicable
Pretreatment Standards. If the Industrial User chooses to monitor the
segregated process waste stream, it shall apply the applicable categorical
Pretreatment Standard. If the User chooses to monitor the combined waste
stream, it shall apply an alternative discharge limit calculated using the
combined waste stream formula as provided in this section. The Industrial User
may change monitoring points only after receiving approval from the Control
Authority. The Control Authority shall ensure that any change in an Industrial
User's monitoring point(s) will not allow the User to substitute dilution for
adequate treatment to achieve compliance with applicable
Standards.
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