Business Briefing: The National Pretreatment Program

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Business BriefingThe National Pretreatment
Program

• LEB 380.15 Environmental Regulation of Business
• By Jeff Dahm 12/15/2006

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Presentation Overview

• Problem Definition
• Background
• Clean Water Act
• National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
• National Pretreatment Program
• Applicability to National Semiconductors
• Conclusions

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Problem Statement

• National Semiconductors (NS) operates two
  manufacturing facilities along the Sabine River
  (1 in TX, 1 in LA)
• Plants discharge effluent directly to the river
• Would it be better to discharge to municipal
  wastewater treatment facilities?

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Clean Water Act

• Objective To restore and maintain the chemical,
  physical, and biological integrity of the
  nation's surface waters.
• Regulates both direct and indirect discharges
• Direct discharges National Pollutant Discharge
  Elimination System (NPDES)
• Indirect discharges National Pretreatment
  Program (NPP)

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Regulatory Structure under CWA
Domestic Sewage
Indirect Discharge Pretreatment Program
Industrial Facility
POTW
POTW
Direct Discharges NPDES
Receiving Water Body
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NPDES

• Applies to direct discharges from point sources
  which include
• Industrial facilities
• Municipal wastewater treatment facilities
• Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

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National Pretreatment Program (NPP)

• Objectives
• What is a POTW?
• Need
• Standards
• Requirements
• POTW
• Permitting
• Inspections
• Sampling
• Enforcement
• Industrial User (IU)
• Reporting / self-monitoring / record-keeping

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40 CFR 403.2

• Objectives of general pretreatment regulations
• To prevent the introduction of pollutants into
  POTWs which will interfere with the operation of
  a POTW
• To prevent the introduction of pollutants into
  POTWs which will pass through the treatment works
• To improve opportunities to recycle and reclaim
  municipal and industrial wastewaters and sludges

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What is a POTW?

• POTW Publicly Owned Treatment Work municipal
  wastewater treatment facility
• Provides up to 3 levels of treatment
• Primary settling
• Secondary biological
• Tertiary chemical
• Solids Handling (i.e. sludge)

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POTW Operations
Source http//www.mwpca.org/millbury.htm
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Need for NPP

• Most POTWs are not equipped to handle industrial
  wastewater loads.
• To control 126 Priority Pollutants (ex Copper)
  from industries that discharge into sewer systems
• Eliminates loop-hole between NPDES and RCRA
• NPDES only regulates direct discharges from point
  sources into waters of the state
• RCRA excludes municipal sewage from regulations

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NPP Standards

• Prohibited Discharges (40 CFR 403.5)
• Categorical Standards (40 CFR 403.6)
• Local Limits (40 CFR 403.8(f)(4))

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Prohibited Discharges

• General Prohibitions - Forbid IU from introducing
  any pollutant(s) which may cause
• Interference a discharge which inhibits or
  disrupts the POTWcausing a violation of the POTW
  NPDES permit
• Pass Through a discharge which exits the POTW
  into waters of the state in quantities or
  concentrations which violates the POTW NPDES
  permit

40 CFR 403.3
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Prohibited Discharges (contd)

• Specific Prohibitions Forbids from entering
  into a POTW pollutants that cause
• Fire or explosion hazard
• Corrosive structural damage
• Obstruction of flow
• Flow rate or pollutant concentrations that cause
  interference
• Excessive heat
• Oil and oil products
• Toxic gases, vapors or fumes
• Trucked or hauled pollutants

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Categorical Pretreatment Standards

• national, uniform, technology-based standards
  that apply to discharges to POTWs from specific
  industrial categories
• PSES Pretreatment Standards for Existing
  Sources
• PSNS Pretreatment Standards for New Sources
  (more stringent than PSES)

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Adjustments to Categorical Standards

• Removal Credits
• Given to IU to prevent redundant treatment
• Fundamentally Different Factors Variance
• Existing sources with different factors than
  factors EPA used to develop standards
• Net/Gross Adjustment
• Reflect presence of pollutants in IU influent
• Innovative Technology
• IU can receive 2 yr extension to comply

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Local Limits

• Regulates end-of-pipe discharges from all IUs
  for a specific POTW
• Developed and implemented by the POTW based on
  its capabilities and its receiving waters

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Local Limit Approaches

• Collection System Approach
• controls discharges that may cause fire or
  explosion
• Industrial User Management Practice Plans
• Require IUs to develop BMP and/or SPCC
• Case-by-Case Discharge Limits
• Used when insufficient data exists
• Local Specific Prohibitions
• Considers other concerns not already covered

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NPDES Standards

• Water Quality based
• Established in case the technology-based
  standards do not meet water quality standards of
  NPDES permits
• Do not take into account technological
  feasibility or costs
• Depend on quality of receiving water
• Technology based

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NPDES Technology-based Standards

• Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELGs) for
  Industries
• BAT Best Available Technology Economically
  Achievable
• BCT Best Conventional Pollutant Control
  Technology
• BPT Best Practicable Control Technology
  Currently Available
• NSPS New Source Performance Standards

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NPDES ELGs vs. NPP Categorical Standards

• The significant difference between categorical
  standards and effluent limitations guidelines is
  that categorical standards account for any
  pollutant removal that may be afforded through
  treatment at the POTW while ELGs do not.

Source EPA Introduction to the National
Pretreatment Program
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Regulatory Structure

• Pretreatment Program
• EPA ? TCEQ/LDEQ ? POTW ? IUs
• NPDES
• EPA ? TCEQ/LDEQ ? Industrial Facilities
• Industry has more responsibility and liability
  under the NPDES structure

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NPP POTW Basic Responsibilities

• Legal Authority
• POTW must have authorization to apply and enforce
  pretreatment regulations
• Procedures
• POTW must develop and implement procedures to
  ensure compliance from IUs
• Funding
• POTW must have sufficient resources to carry out
  pretreatment program

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NPP POTW Responsibilities (contd)

• Local Limits
• POTW must develop local limits
• Enforcement Response Plan (ERP)
• POTW must develop and implement ERP to respond to
  IU noncompliance
• List of SIUs
• POTW must list all Significant Industrial Users
  (SIUs) for Approval Authority

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Pretreatment Permitting Process

• Done by POTW
• Phase I Collection and verification of
  information from IU
• Phase II Data interpretation and fact sheet
  development
• Phase III Permit development and issuance

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Pretreatment Permits

• Industrial User Discharge Permits (IUDP)
• Required for all Industrial Users that discharge
  process waste to POTW
• Permit Requirements
• Statement of duration (5 yrs or less)
• Effluent limitations
• Self-monitoring, sampling, reporting,
  notification and record keeping requirements
• Statement of applicable civil and criminal
  penalties
• Schedule of compliance

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NPP IU Responsibilities

• Comply with standards and requirements set forth
  by the POTW
• Reporting
• Ex) Baseline Monitoring Report, Compliance
  Reports
• Self-Monitoring
• Record Keeping

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TPDES/LPDES Permit Process

• Industrial Facility Must
• Determine if receiving water body is impaired
• Most of Sabine River is impaired
• Prepare Application Package
• Administrative Report for Industrial Wastewater
• Industrial Wastewater Technical Report
• Submission Checklist
• Core Data Form
• Await Administrative and Technical Review by
  TCEQ/LDEQ

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Quality Impaired Surface Waters
Sabine River
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Pretreatment Enforcement Mechanisms by POTW

• Informal notices or meetings
• NOV Notice of Violation
• Administrative orders, compliance schedules, and
  fines
• Civil and Criminal Suits
• Minimum of 1000 per day per violation
• Revoke Permit

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Total Toxic Organics (TTO)

• Seven industrial categories currently regulated
  for TTOs
• Semiconductor manufacturing industry falls into
  two of these
• Metal Finishing (40 CFR 433)
• Electrical and Electronic Components (40 CFR 469)

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Categorical Guidelines Specific to Semiconductor
Industry
Note 40 CFR 469.13 allows for implementation of
a solvent management plan, in lieu of monitoring
for TTOs
40 CFR 469(A)
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Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELGs) for
Semiconductor Industry
Note 40 CFR 469.13 allows for implementation of
a solvent management plan, in lieu of monitoring
for TTOs
40 CFR 469(A)
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Recent Streamlining Rule to POTW Pretreatment
Programs

• POTW Legal Authority reduced
• Local limits relaxed
• Changes to POTW Control Mechanisms
• Decrease in frequency of self-monitoring /
  reporting by IU
• Other modifications that could result in
  increased pollutant loading

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Conclusions

• Discharging to a POTW is advantageous to the
  Industrial User in most cases
• POTW and Industrial user share liability
• Less stringent requirements and standards on
  Industry than if directly discharging
• IU deals with local authorities instead of state
  or federal authorities

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Questions???