Rules & Regulations of the State of Tennessee
Title 0400 - Environment and Conservation
Subtitle 0400-40 - Water Resources (WPC)
Chapter 0400-40-14 - Pretreatment Requirements
Section 0400-40-14-.08 - PRETREATMENT PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS: DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION BY WWF

Universal Citation: TN Comp Rules and Regs 0400-40-14-.08

Current through September 24, 2024

(1) WWFs required to develop a pretreatment program.

(a) Subparagraphs (b) and (c) of this paragraph apply to any WWF that discharges treated effluent to waters of the state or applies treated effluent to land.

(b) Any WWF (or combination of WWFs operated by the same authority) with a total design flow greater than 5 million gallons per day (mgd) and receiving from Industrial Users pollutants which will or will likely Pass Through or Interfere with the operation of the WWF or are otherwise subject to Pretreatment Standards will be required to establish a WWF Pretreatment Program.

(c) The Division may require that a WWF with a design flow of 5 mgd or less develop a WWF Pretreatment Program upon determination that the nature or volume of the industrial influent, treatment process upsets, violations of WWF effluent limitations, contamination of municipal sludge, or other circumstances warrant in order to prevent Interference with the WWF, Pass Through, or permit violations by the WWF.

(2) WWFs identified as being required to develop a WWF Pretreatment Program under paragraph (1) of this rule shall develop and submit such a program for approval as soon as possible, but in no case later than one year after written notification from the Approval Authority of such identification. The WWF Pretreatment Program shall meet the criteria set forth in paragraph (6) of this rule and shall be administered by the WWF to ensure compliance by Industrial Users with applicable Pretreatment Standards and Requirements.

(3) Incorporation of approved programs in permits.

A WWF may develop an appropriate WWF Pretreatment Program any time before the time limit set forth in paragraph (2) of this rule. The WWF's NPDES Permit will be reissued or modified by the Division to incorporate the approved Program as enforceable conditions of the Permit. The modification of a WWF's NPDES Permit for the purposes of incorporating a WWF Pretreatment Program approved in accordance with the procedure in Rule 0400-40-14-.11 shall be deemed a minor Permit modification subject to the procedures in paragraph (5) of Rule 0400-40-14-.06.

(4) Incorporation of compliance schedules in permits. [Reserved]

(5) Cause for reissuance or modification of Permits.

The Approval Authority may modify, or alternatively, revoke and reissue a WWF's Permit in order to:

(a) Put the WWF on a compliance schedule for the development of a WWF Pretreatment Program where the addition of pollutants into a WWF by an Industrial User or combination of Industrial Users presents a substantial hazard to the functioning of the treatment works, quality of the receiving waters, human health, or the environment;

(b) Coordinate the issuance of a section 201 construction grant with the incorporation into a permit of a compliance schedule for WWF Pretreatment Program;

(c) Incorporate a modification of the permit approved under section 301(h) or 301(i) of the Federal Clean Water Act;

(d) Incorporate an approved WWF Pretreatment Program in the WWF permit; or

(e) Incorporate a compliance schedule for the development of a WWF pretreatment program in the WWF permit.

(f) Incorporate the removal credits (established under Rule 0400-40-14-.07) in the WWF permit.

(6) WWF pretreatment requirements.

A WWF pretreatment program must be based on the following legal authority and include the following procedures. These authorities and procedures shall at all times be fully and effectively exercised and implemented.

(a) Legal authority.

The WWF shall operate pursuant to legal authority enforceable in Federal, State or local courts, which authorizes or enables the WWF to apply and to enforce the requirements of this chapter. Such authority may be contained in a statute, ordinance, or series of contracts or joint powers agreements which the WWF is authorized to enact, enter into or implement, and which are authorized by State law. At a minimum, this legal authority shall enable the WWF to:

1. Deny or condition new or increased contributions of pollutants, or changes in the nature of pollutants, to the WWF by Industrial Users where such contributions do not meet applicable Pretreatment Standards and Requirements or where such contributions would cause the WWF to violate its NPDES permit;

2. Require compliance with applicable Pretreatment Standards and Requirements by Industrial Users;

3. Control through permit, order, or similar means, the contribution to the WWF by each Industrial User to ensure compliance with applicable Pretreatment Standards and Requirements. In the case of Industrial Users identified as significant under the definition of "Significant Industrial User" in paragraph (1) of Rule 0400-40-14-.03, this control shall be achieved through individual permits or equivalent individual control mechanisms issued to each such User except as follows.
(i) At the discretion of the WWF, this control may include use of general control mechanisms if the following conditions are met. All of the facilities to be covered must:
(I) Involve the same or substantially similar types of operations;

(II) Discharge the same types of wastes;

(III) Require the same permit limitations;

(IV) Require the same or similar monitoring; and

(V) In the opinion of the WWF, be more appropriately controlled under a general control mechanism than under individual control mechanisms.

(ii) To be covered by the general control mechanism, the Significant Industrial User must file a written request for coverage that identifies its contact information, production processes, the types of wastes generated, the location for monitoring all wastes covered by the general control mechanism, any requests in accordance with subparagraph (5)(b) of Rule 0400-40-14-.12 for a monitoring waiver for a pollutant neither present nor expected to be present in the discharge, and any other information the WWF deems appropriate. A monitoring waiver for a pollutant neither present nor expected to be present in the discharge is not effective in the general control mechanism until after the WWF has provided written notice to the Significant Industrial User that such a waiver request has been granted in accordance with subparagraph (5)(b) of Rule 0400-40-14-.12. The WWF must retain a copy of the general control mechanism, documentation to support the WWF's determination that a specific Significant Industrial User meets the criteria in items (i)(I) through (V) of this part, and a copy of the User's written request for coverage for three years after the expiration of the general control mechanism. A WWF may not control a Significant Industrial User through a general control mechanism where the facility is subject to production-based categorical Pretreatment Standards or categorical Pretreatment Standards expressed as mass of pollutant discharged per day or for Industrial Users whose limits are based on the Combined Wastestream Formula or Net/Gross calculations (paragraph (5) of Rule 0400-40-14-.06 and Rule 0400-40-14-.15).

(iii) Both individual and general control mechanisms must be enforceable and contain, at a minimum, the following conditions:
(I) Statement of duration (in no case more than five years);

(II) Statement of non-transferability without, at a minimum, prior notification to the WWF and provision of a copy of the existing control mechanism to the new owner or operator;

(III) Effluent limits, including Best Management Practices, based on applicable general pretreatment standards in this chapter, categorical pretreatment standards, local limits, and State and local law;

(IV) Self-monitoring, sampling, reporting, notification and recordkeeping requirements, including an identification of the pollutants to be monitored (including the process for seeking a waiver for a pollutant neither present nor expected to be present in the discharge in accordance with subparagraph (5)(b) of Rule 040-40-14-.12, or a specific waived pollutant in the case of an individual control mechanism), sampling location, sampling frequency, and sample type, based on the applicable general pretreatment standards, categorical pretreatment standards, local limits, and State and local law;

(V) Statement of applicable civil and criminal penalties for violation of pretreatment standards and requirements, and any applicable compliance schedule. Such schedules may not extend the compliance date beyond applicable federal deadlines.

(VI) Requirements to control slug discharges, if determined by the WWF to be necessary.

4. Require (i) the development of a compliance schedule by each Industrial User for the installation of technology required to meet applicable Pretreatment Standards and Requirements and (ii) the submission of all notices and self-monitoring reports from Industrial Users as are necessary to assess and assure compliance by Industrial Users with Pretreatment Standards and Requirements, including but not limited to the reports required in Rule 0400-40-14-.12.

5. Carry out all inspection, surveillance and monitoring procedures necessary to determine, independent of information supplied by Industrial Users, compliance or noncompliance with applicable Pretreatment Standards and Requirements by Industrial Users. Representatives of the WWF shall be authorized to enter any premises of any Industrial User in which a discharge source or treatment system is located or in which records are required to be kept under paragraph (15) of Rule 0400-40-14-.12 to assure compliance with Pretreatment Standards. Such authority shall be at least as extensive as the authority provided under section 308 of the Federal Clean Water Act;

6. Obtain remedies for noncompliance by any Industrial User with any Pretreatment Standard and Requirement.
(i) All WWFs shall be able to seek injunctive relief for noncompliance by Industrial Users with Pretreatment Standards and Requirements. All WWFs shall also have authority to seek or assess civil or criminal penalties in at least the amount of $1,000 a day for each violation by Industrial Users of Pretreatment Standards and Requirements.

(ii) Pretreatment requirements which will be enforced through the remedies set forth in subpart (i) of this part, will include but not be limited to, the duty to allow or carry out inspections, entry, or monitoring activities; any rules, regulations, or orders issued by the WWF; any requirements set forth in control mechanisms issued by the WWF; or any reporting requirements imposed by the WWF or these regulations. The WWF shall have authority and procedures (after informal notice to the discharger) immediately and effectively to halt or prevent any discharge of pollutants to the WWF which reasonably appears to present an imminent endangerment to the health or welfare of persons. The WWF shall also have authority and procedures (which shall include notice to the affected industrial users and an opportunity to respond) to halt or prevent any discharge to the WWF which presents or may present an endangerment to the environment or which threatens to interfere with the operation of the WWF. The Approval Authority shall have authority to seek judicial relief and may also use administrative penalty authority when the WWF has sought a monetary penalty which the Approval Authority believes to be insufficient.

7. Comply with the confidentiality requirements set forth in Rule 0400-40-14-.14.

(b) Procedures.

The WWF shall develop and implement procedures to ensure compliance with the requirements of a Pretreatment Program. At a minimum, these procedures shall enable the WWF to:

1. Identify and locate all possible Industrial Users which might be subject to the WWF Pretreatment Program. Any compilation, index or inventory of Industrial Users made under this paragraph shall be made available to the Regional Administrator or Director upon request;

2. Identify the character and volume of pollutants contributed to the WWF by the Industrial Users identified under part 1. of this subparagraph. This information shall be made available to the Regional Administrator or Director upon request;

3. Notify Industrial Users identified under part 1. of this subparagraph, of applicable Pretreatment Standards and any applicable requirements under sections 204(b) and 405 of the Federal Clean Water Act and subtitles C and D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Within 30 days of approval pursuant to subparagraph (6)(f) of this rule, of a list of significant industrial users, notify each significant industrial user of its status as such and of all requirements applicable to it as a result of such status.

4. Receive and analyze self-monitoring reports and other notices submitted by Industrial Users in accordance with the self-monitoring requirements in Rule 0400-40-14-.12;

5. Randomly sample and analyze the effluent from industrial users and conduct surveillance activities in order to identify, independent of information supplied by industrial users, occasional and continuing noncompliance with pretreatment standards. Inspect and sample the effluent from each Significant Industrial User at least once every 12 months, except as otherwise specified below:
(i) Where the WWF has authorized the Industrial User subject to a categorical Pretreatment Standard to forego sampling of a pollutant regulated by a categorical Pretreatment Standard in accordance with subparagraph (5)(b) of Rule 0400-40-14-.12, the WWF must sample for the waived pollutant(s) at least once during the term of the Categorical Industrial User's control mechanism. In the event that the WWF subsequently determines that a waived pollutant is present or is expected to be present in the Industrial User's wastewater based on changes that occur in the User's operations, the WWF must immediately begin effluent monitoring of the User's discharge and inspections of the industrial facility at least once every 12 months.

(ii) Where the WWF has determined that an Industrial User meets the criteria for classification as a Non-Significant Categorical Industrial User, the WWF must evaluate, at least once every 12 months, whether an Industrial User continues to meet the criteria in subparagraph (b) of the definition of "Significant Industrial User" in paragraph (1) of Rule 0400-40-14-.03.

6. Evaluate whether each such Significant Industrial User needs a plan or other action to control slug discharges. For Industrial Users identified as significant prior to November 14, 2005, this evaluation must have been conducted at least once by October 14, 2006; additional Significant Industrial Users must be evaluated within 12 months of being designated a Significant Industrial User. For purposes of this part, a slug discharge is any discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or a non-customary batch discharge, which has a reasonable potential to cause Interference or Pass Through, or in any other way violate the WWF's regulations, local limits or Permit conditions. The results of such activities shall be available to the Approval Authority upon request. Significant Industrial Users are required to notify the WWF immediately of any changes at its facility affecting potential for a slug discharge. If the WWF decides that a slug control plan is needed, the plan shall contain, at a minimum, the following elements:
(i) Description of discharge practices, including non-routine batch discharges;

(ii) Description of stored chemicals;

(iii) Procedures for immediately notifying the WWF of slug discharges, including any discharge that would violate a prohibition under paragraph (2) of Rule 0400-40-14-.05, with procedures for follow-up written notification within five days;

(iv) If necessary, procedures to prevent adverse impact from accidental spills, including inspection and maintenance of storage areas, handling and transfer of materials, loading and unloading operations, control of plant site run-off, worker training, building of containment structures or equipment, measures for containing toxic organic pollutants (including solvents), and/or measures and equipment for emergency response;

7. Investigate instances of noncompliance with Pretreatment Standards and Requirements, as indicated in the reports and notices required under Rule 0400-40-14-.12, or indicated by analysis, inspection, and surveillance activities described in part 5. of this subparagraph. Sample taking and analysis and the collection of other information shall be performed with sufficient care to produce evidence admissible in enforcement proceedings or in judicial actions; and

8. Comply with the public participation requirements of 40 CFR part 25 in the enforcement of national pretreatment standards. These procedures shall include provision for at least annual public notification, in a newspaper(s) of general circulation that provides meaningful public notice within the jurisdiction(s) served by the WWF, of industrial users which, at any time during the previous 12 months, were in significant noncompliance with applicable pretreatment requirements. For the purposes of this provision, a significant industrial user (or any industrial user which violates subparts (iii), (iv), or (viii) of this part) is in significant noncompliance if its violation meets one or more of the following criteria:
(i) Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which 66 percent or more of all of the measurements for each pollutant parameter taken during a 6-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits, as defined by paragraph (1) of Rule 0400-40-14-.03;

(ii) Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which 33 percent or more of all of the measurements for each pollutant parameter taken during a 6-month period equal or exceed the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits, as defined by paragraph (1) of Rule 0400-40-14-.03 multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC=1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil, and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH). TRC calculations for pH are not required by this rule.

(iii) Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement as defined by Rule 0400-40-14-.03 (daily maximum, long-term average, instantaneous limit, or narrative standard) that the WWF determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass through (including endangering the health of WWF personnel or the general public);

(iv) Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or to the environment or has resulted in the WWF's exercise of its emergency authority under subpart (a)6.(ii) of this paragraph to halt or prevent such a discharge;

(v) Failure to meet, within 90 days after the schedule date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a local control mechanism or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;

(vi) Failure to provide, within 45 days after the due date, required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, 90-day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;

(vii) Failure to accurately report noncompliance;

(viii) Any other violation or group of violations, which may include a violation of Best Management Practices, which the WWF determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.

(c) Funding.

The WWF shall have sufficient resources and qualified personnel to carry out the authorities and procedures described in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph. In some limited circumstances, funding and personnel may be delayed where

1. The WWF has adequate legal authority and procedures to carry out the Pretreatment Program requirements described in this paragraph, and

2. A limited aspect of the Program does not need to be implemented immediately.

(d) Local limits.

The WWF shall develop local limits as required in subparagraph (3)(a) of Rule 0400-40-14-.05, or demonstrate that they are not necessary.

(e) The WWF shall develop and implement an enforcement response plan.

This plan shall contain detailed procedures indicating how a WWF will investigate and respond to instances of industrial user noncompliance. The plan shall, at a minimum:

1. Describe how the WWF will investigate instances of noncompliance;

2. Describe the types of escalating enforcement responses the WWF will take in response to all anticipated types of industrial user violations and the time periods within which responses will take place;

3. Identify (by title) the official(s) responsible for each type of response;

4. Adequately reflect the WWF's primary responsibility to enforce all applicable pretreatment requirements and standards, as detailed in this rule.

(f) The WWF shall prepare and maintain a list of its industrial users meeting the criteria in subparagraph (a) in the definition of "Significant Industrial User" in paragraph (1) of Rule 0400-40-14-.03. The list shall identify the criteria in subparagraph (a) in the definition of "Significant Industrial User" in paragraph (1) of Rule 0400-40-14-.03 applicable to each industrial user and, where applicable, shall also indicate whether the WWF has made a determination pursuant to subparagraph (b) in the definition of "Significant Industrial User" in paragraph (1) of Rule 0400-40-14-.03 that such industrial user should not be considered a significant industrial user. The initial list shall be submitted to the Approval Authority pursuant to Rule 0400-40-14-.09 as a non-substantial modification pursuant to paragraph (4) of Rule 0400-40-14-.18. Modifications to the list shall be submitted to the Approval Authority pursuant to subparagraph (9)(a) of Rule 0400-40-14-.12.

(7) A WWF that chooses to receive electronic documents must satisfy the requirements of 40 CFR Part 3 (Electronic reporting).

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-201, et seq., and 69-3-101, et seq.

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