Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Natural Resources
NR 200-299 - Environmental Protection - Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
Chapter NR 290 - Steam Electric Power Generating
Subchapter I - - Direct Discharges
Section NR 290.12 - Discharge standards

Universal Citation: WI Admin Code ยง NR 290.12

Current through August 26, 2024

(1) BEST PRACTICABLE TECHNOLOGY. The following effluent limitations and standards for all or specific wastewater flows establish, except as provided in subch. IV of ch. NR 220, the quantity or quality of pollutants or pollutant properties which may be discharged by a facility subject to the provisions of this chapter after application of the best practicable control technology currently available:

Note: Despite this reference, federal regulations in 40 CFR 125.30 and state regulations in s. NR 220.31(3) state that steam electric power generators are ineligible to receive a fundamentally different factors variance for BPT limitations.

(a) The pH of all discharges, except once through cooling water, shall be within the range of 6.0 to 9.0. Dischargers which continuously monitor pH shall be subject to s. NR 205.06.

(b) There may be no discharge of polychlorinated biphenyl compounds such as those commonly used for transformer fluid.

(c) The quantity of pollutants in each of the wastewater sources identified in Table 1 may not exceed the quantity determined by multiplying the flow by the concentration of each pollutant listed in Table 1.

(d) Neither free available chlorine nor total residual chlorine may be discharged from any unit for more than 2 hours in any one day and not more than one unit in any plant may discharge free available or total residual chlorine at any one time unless the utility can demonstrate to the department that the units in a particular location cannot operate at or below this level of chlorination.

(e) In the event that wastestreams from various sources are combined for treatment or discharge, the quantity of each pollutant or pollutant property limited in pars. (a) to (d) attributable to each regulated stream except coal pile runoff may not exceed the specified limitation for that waste source.

(f) Any untreated discharge from facilities designed, constructed, and operated to treat the volume of coal pile runoff which is associated with a 10 year, 24 hour rainfall event may not be subject to the limitations of par. (c).

(g) Where the department determines there is no need for a restriction on the mass of pollutants discharged, the quantity of any pollutant allowed to be discharged may be expressed as a concentration limitation instead of the mass limitation required to be calculated by par. (c). Concentration limitations shall be those concentrations specified in this subsection

Table 1

BPT Effluent Limitations in mg/

TSS

O&G

Iron (total)

Copper (total)

FAC

Wastewater

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Low volume waste

30

100

15

20

Fly ash transport water

30

100

15

20

Bottom ash transport water

30

100

15

20

Metal cleaning wastes

30

100

15

20

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

Once through cooling water

0.2

0.5

Cooling tower blowdown

0.2

0.5

Coal pile runoff1

-

502

(2) BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY. The following effluent limitations and standards for all or specific wastewater flows establish the quantity or quality of pollutants or pollutant properties which may be discharged by a facility subject to the provisions of this chapter after application of the best available technology economically achievable:

(a) There may be no discharge of polychlorinated biphenyl compounds such as those commonly used for transformer fluid.

(b) The quantity of pollutants in each of the wastewater sources identified in Table 2 may not exceed the quantity determined by multiplying the flow by the concentration of each pollutant listed in that table.

(c) For any plant with a total rated electric generating capacity of 25 or more megawatts discharging once through cooling water, total residual chlorine may not be discharged from any single generating unit for more than 2 hours per day unless the utility demonstrates to the department that discharge for more than 2 hours is required for macroinvertebrate control. Simultaneous multi-unit chlorination is permitted.

(d) For any plant with a total rated generating capacity of less than 25 megawatts discharging once through cooling water and for plants of any size discharging cooling tower blowdown, neither free available chlorine nor total residual chlorine may be discharged from any unit for more than 2 hours in any one day and not more than one unit in any plant may discharge free available or total residual chlorine at any one time unless the utility can demonstrate to the department that the units in a particular location cannot operate at or below this level of chlorination.

(e) Where the discharger requests and the department approves in writing, instead of monitoring cooling tower blowdown, compliance with the limitations for the 126 priority pollutants may be determined by engineering calculations which demonstrate that the regulated pollutants are not present or are present in the final discharge in no detectable amount.

(f) Where the department determines there is no need for a restriction on the mass of pollutants discharged, the quantity of any pollutant allowed to be discharged may be expressed as a concentration limitation instead of the mass limitation required to be calculated by par. (b). Concentration limitations shall be those concentrations specified in this subsection.

(g) In the event that wastestreams from various sources are combined for treatment or discharge, the quantity of each pollutant or pollutant property controlled in pars. (a) to (e) attributable to each regulated stream may not exceed the specified limitations for that waste source.

Iron (total)

Copper (total)

FAC1

TRC2

Chromium (total)

Zinc (total)

Other Priority Pollutants

Wastewater

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Chemical metal cleaning wastes

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

Once through cooling water

0.2

0.5

-

0.2

Cooling tower blowdown3

0.2

0.5

0.2

0.2

1.0

1.0

nda4

nda4

(3) NEW SOURCE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS (NSPS). The following effluent limitations and standards for all or specific subcategories establish the quantity or quality of pollutants or pollutant properties which may be discharged by a facility which is a new source subject to the provisions of this chapter:

(a) The pH of all discharges, except once through cooling water shall be within the range of 6.0 to 9.0. Dischargers which continuously monitor pH shall be subject to s. NR 205.06.

(b) There may be no discharge of polychlorinated biphenyl compounds such as those commonly used for transformer fluid.

(c) The quantity of pollutants in each of the wastewater sources identified in Table 3 may not exceed the quantity determined by multiplying the flow by the concentration of each pollutant listed in that table.

(d) For any plant with a total rated electric generating capacity of 25 or more magawatts discharging once through cooling water, total residual chlorine may not be discharged from any single generating unit for more than 2 hours per day unless the utility demonstrates to the department that discharge for more than 2 hours is required for macroinvertebrate control. Simultaneous multi-unit chlorination is permitted.

(e) For any plant with a total rated electric generating capacity of less than 25 magawatts discharging once through cooling water and for plants of any size discharging cooling tower blowdown, neither free available chlorine nor total residual chlorine may be discharged from any unit for more than 2 hours in any one day and not more than one unit in any plant may discharge free available or total residual chlorine at any one time unless the utility can demonstrate to the department that the units in a particular location cannot operate at or below this level of chlorination.

(f) Where the discharger requests and the department approves in writing, instead of monitoring cooling tower blowdown, compliance with the limitations for the 126 priority pollutants may be determined by engineering calculations which demonstrate that the regulated pollutants are not present or are present in the final discharge in no detectable amount.

(g) Where the department determines there is no need for a restriction on the mass of pollutants discharged, the quantity of any pollutant allowed to be discharged may be expressed as a concentration limitation instead of the mass limitation required to be calculated by par. (c). Concentration limitations shall be those concentrations specified in this subsection.

(h) In the event that wastestreams from various sources are combined for treatment or discharge, the quantity of each pollutant or pollutant property controlled in pars. (a) to (f) attributable to each regulated stream except coal pile runoff may not exceed the specified limitation for that waste source.

(i) Any untreated discharge from facilities designed, constructed, and operated to treat the volume of coal pile runoff which is associated with a 10 year, 24 hour rainfall event may not be subject to the limitations of par. (c).

TSS

O&G

Iron (total)

Copper (total)

FAC

TRC1

Zinc (total)

Chromium (total)

Other

Priority

Pollutants

Wastewater

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Low volume waste

30

100

15

20

Fly ash transport water2

Bottom ash transport water

30

100

15

20

Chemical metal cleaning wastes

30

100

15

20

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

Once through cooling water

0.2

0.5

-

0.2

Cooling tower blow-down3

0.2

0.5

1.0

1.0

0.2

0.2

nda5

nda5

Coal pile runoff4

-

50

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