National pretreatment
standards specifying quantities or concentrations of pollutants or pollutant
properties which may be discharged to a WWF by existing or new industrial users
in specific industrial subcategories are established as separate 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
chapter.
(1) Category Determination
Request
(a) 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 WWF may request that the Division 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 WWF, the WWF shall notify
any affected Industrial User of such submission. The Industrial User may
provide written comments on the WWF submission to the Division within 30 days
of notification.
(b)
Contents of Application.
Each request shall contain a statement:
1. Describing which subcategories might be
applicable; and
2. 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 rule 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.
(c)
Deficient requests.
The Division 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 Division 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 Division, the request for a
determination shall be denied.
(d) Final decision.
1. Under receipt of a complete request, the
Division will consider the submission, any additional evidence that may have
been requested, and any other available information relevant to the request.
The Division will then make a written determination of the applicable
subcategory and state the reasons for the determination.
2. The Division shall forward the
determination described in this paragraph to the EPA Water Management Division
Director who may make a final determination. The EPA Water Management Division
Director may waive receipt of these determinations. If the EPA Water Management
Division Director does not modify the Division's decision within 60 days after
receipt thereof, or if the EPA Water Management Division Director waives
receipt of the determination, the Division's decision is final.
3. Where the EPA Water Management Division
Director elects to modify the Division's decision, the EPA Water Management
Division Director's decision will be final.
4. The Division shall send a copy of the
determination to the affected Industrial User and the WWF.
(e) 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 part (d)4 of this paragraph, the
Requester may submit a petition to reconsider or contest the decision to the
Division Director who shall act on such petition expeditiously and state the
reasons for his or her determination in writing.
(2) 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. 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 paragraph (1) of Rule
0400-40-14-.03. 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.
(3) Concentration and mass limits.
(a) 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 either 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.
(b) 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 permit limitations
applicable to individual Industrial Users.
(c) A Control Authority calculating
equivalent mass-per-day limitations under subparagraph (b) of this paragraph
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.
(d) A Control Authority
calculating equivalent concentration limitations under subparagraph (b) of this
paragraph shall calculate such limitations by dividing the mass limitations
derived under subparagraph (c) of this paragraph 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. Any day in which a facility does not have a discharge
should not be included in the calculation of an average flow.
(e) 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. The Control
Authority may establish equivalent mass limits only if the Industrial User
meets all the following conditions in subparts 1.(i) through (v) of this
subparagraph.
1. To be eligible for equivalent
mass limits, the Industrial User must:
(i)
Employ, or demonstrate that it will employ, water conservation methods and
technologies that substantially reduce water use during the term of its control
mechanism;
(ii) 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;
(iii)
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 the long-term average production
rate must be representative of current operating conditions;
(iv) 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
(v) Have consistently complied with all
applicable categorical Pretreatment Standards during the period prior to the
Industrial User's request for equivalent mass limits.
2. An Industrial User subject to equivalent
mass limits must:
(i) Maintain and effectively
operate control and treatment technologies adequate to achieve compliance with
the equivalent mass limits;
(ii)
Continue to record the facility's flow rates through the use of a continuous
effluent flow monitoring device;
(iii) 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 subpart 1.(iii) of this subparagraph. 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
(iv) Continue to
employ the same or comparable water conservation methods and technologies as
those implemented pursuant to subpart 1.(i) of this subparagraph so long as it
discharges under an equivalent mass limit.
3. A Control Authority which chooses to
establish equivalent mass limits:
(i) 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;
(ii) Upon
notification of a revised production rate, must reassess the equivalent mass
limit and recalculate the limit as necessary to reflect changed conditions at
the facility; and
(iii) May retain
the same equivalent mass limit in subsequent control mechanism terms 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 (4) of this rule. The Industrial User must also
be in compliance with Rule
0400-40-14-.17 (regarding the
prohibition of bypass).
4. 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.
(f) The Control Authority may
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 (4) of this rule.
(g) Equivalent limitations calculated in
accordance with subparagraphs (c), (d), (e) and (f) of this paragraph are
deemed Pretreatment Standards for the purposes of section 307(d) of the Federal
Clean Water Act and this chapter. 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.
(h) 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.
(i) 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 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.
(4) 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.
(5) 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.
(a) 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:
1. Alternative concentration
limit.
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where
CT=the alternative concentration limit for the
combined wastestream.
Ci=the categorical
Pretreatment Standard concentration limit for a pollutant in the regulated
stream i.
Fi=the average daily flow (at
least a 30-day average) of stream i to the extent that it is regulated for such
pollutant.
FD=the average daily flow (at
least a 30-day average) from:
(a)
Boiler blowdown streams, non-contact cooling streams, stormwater 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
wastestream(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 wastestreams where
such streams are not regulated by a Categorical Pretreatment Standard;
or
(c) from any process
wastestreams 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 chapter):
(1) The pollutants of
concern are not detectable in the effluent from the Industrial User (paragraph
(8)(a)(iii) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842);
(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) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842);
(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) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842);
or
(4) The wastestream contains
only pollutants which are compatible with the WWF (paragraph (8)(b)(i) of the
Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842).
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.
2. Alternative mass
limit.
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where
MT=the alternative mass limit for a pollutant in
the combined wastestream.
Mi=the
categorical Pretreatment Standard mass limit for a pollutant in the regulated
stream i (the categorical pretreatment mass limit multiplied by the appropriate
measure of production).
Fi=the average flow
(at least a 30-day average) of stream i to the extent that it is regulated for
such pollutant.
FD=the average daily flow
(at least a 30-day average) from:
(a)
Boiler blowdown streams, non-contact cooling streams, stormwater 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
wastestream(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 wastestreams where
such streams are not regulated by a categorical Pretreatment Standard;
or
(c) from any process
wastestreams 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 chapter):
(1) The pollutants of
concern are not detectable in the effluent from the Industrial User (paragraph
(8)(a)(iii) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842);
(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) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842);
(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) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842);
or
(4) The wastestream contains
only pollutants which are compatible with the WWF (paragraph (8)(b)(i) of the
Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842).
FT=The average 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.
(b) 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.
(c)
Self-monitoring.
Self-monitoring required to ensure compliance with the
alternative categorical limit shall be conducted in accordance with the
requirements of paragraph (7) of Rule
0400-40-14-.12.
(d) Choice of monitoring location.
Where a regulated process wastestream is combined prior to treatment with
wastewaters other than those generated by the regulated process, the Industrial
User may monitor either the segregated process wastestream or the combined
wastestream for the purpose of determining compliance with applicable
Pretreatment Standards. If the Industrial User chooses to monitor the
segregated process wastestream, it shall apply the applicable categorical
Pretreatment Standard. If the User chooses to monitor the combined wastestream,
it shall apply an alternative discharge limit calculated using the combined
wastestream formula as provided in this paragraph. 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.
