Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Natural Resources
NR 200-299 - Environmental Protection - Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
Chapter NR 220 - Categories And Classes Of Point Sources And Effluent Limitations
Subchapter II - Effluent Limitations Based Upon Federally Promulgated Regulations
Section NR 220.15 - Disposal of pollutants into publicly owned treatment works, land treatment systems, or land application of wastewater

Universal Citation: WI Admin Code § NR 220.15

Current through August 26, 2024

(1) In this section, surface waters means waters of the state, excluding groundwater.

(2) When part of a discharger's process wastewater is not being discharged into surface waters because it is disposed into a POTW, into a land treatment system, or via land application of wastewater, thereby reducing the flow or level of pollutants being discharged into surface waters, applicable effluent standards and limitations for the discharge in a WPDES permit shall be adjusted to reflect the reduced raw waste resulting from such disposal. Effluent limitations and standards in the permit shall be calculated by one of the following methods:

(a) If none of the waste from a particular process is discharged into surface waters, and effluent limitations guidelines provide separate allocation for wastes from that process, all allocations for the process shall be eliminated from calculation of permit effluent limitations or standards.

(b) In all cases other than those described in par. (a), effluent limitations shall be adjusted by multiplying the effluent limitation derived by applying effluent limitation guidelines to the total waste stream by the amount of wastewater flow to be treated and discharged into surface waters, and dividing the result by the total wastewater flow. This method is expressed algebraically as:

See PDF for diagram

Where:

P is the final, adjusted permit effluent limitation,

E is the limitation derived by applying effluent guidelines to the total wastestream,

N is the wastewater flow to be treated and discharged to surface waters, and

T is the total wastewater flow.

(c) In addition to the adjustment in par. (b), effluent limitations and standards may be further adjusted under a fundamentally different factors variance under s. NR 220.20 to make them more or less stringent if discharges to POTWs or land treatment systems change the character or treatability of the pollutants being discharged.

Note: Land treatment system is defined in s. NR 214.03(24). Wells as defined in s. NR 812.05(1) (b) are not land treatment systems. Disposal of pollutants into wells is prohibited by s. NR 812.05.

(3) Sub. (2) does not apply to the extent that effluent limitations guidelines do any of the following:

(a) Control concentrations of pollutants discharged but not mass.

(b) Specify a different specific technique for adjusting effluent limitations to account for land application or disposal into POTWs.

(4) This section does not alter a permittee's obligation to meet any more stringent limitations or requirements established under other WPDES permit program regulations, including those under chs. NR 204 and 214.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Wisconsin 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.

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