Pretreatment & Hazardous Wastes Issues
Effluent Guidelines Plan
Background: EPA published its final plans for developing
new and revised effluent guidelines which regulate industrial
discharges to surface waters and to POTWs in the October 7, 1996
Federal Register. Section 304(m) of the Clean Water Act requires
EPA to publish a biennial Effluent Guidelines Plan. In the plan,
EPA highlights current effluent guidelines under development,
the process for selection of new effluent guideline regulations,
and preliminary and ongoing studies.
Status: EPA and NRDC reached an agreement, on February
3, that will give the agency more time to meet court-ordered deadlines
for developing effluent guidelines. Table 1, now current through
February 21, presents a summary of effluent guidelines currently
under development (recent changes are in italics). CONTACT:
Sam Hadeed, AMSA (202) 833-4655.
Table 1 - Effluent Guidelines Currently Under Development
Consent Decree or actual Consent Decree
| Category | Proposal Consent Decree | Final Action ConsentDecree |
| Pulp, Paper and Paperboard | 12/17/93 | (1) |
| Pesticide Formulating, Packaging, and Repackaging | 4/14/94 | 9/96 |
| Centralized Waste Treatment | 1/27/95 | 8/99 |
| Coastal Oil and Gas Extraction | 2/17/95 | 10/96 |
| Pharmaceutical Manufacturing | 5/2/95 | 4/98 |
| Metal Products and Machinery, Phase1 and Phase 2 | 10/00 | 4/98 |
| Industrial Laundries | 9/97 | 6/99 |
| Transportation Equipment Cleaning | 1/98 | 2/00 |
| Landfills and Incinerators | 11/97 | 11/99 |
1 The Pulp, Paper and Paperboard rulemaking is not covered by the January 31, 1992 consent decree with NRDC
2 EPA merged Phase 1 and 2 of the Metal Products and Machinery Rule
Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Effluent Guidelines: EPA issued
the proposed Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard "Cluster Rules",
covering both effluent guidelines and National Emission Standards
for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), on December 17, 1993. The
proposed effluent guidelines were organized into 12 subcategories.
A final rule is expected in 1997.
Pesticide Formulating, Packaging, and Repackaging : EPA
is currently negotiating with the Natural Resources Defense Council
(NRDC) an extension to its consent decree for the development
of this rulemaking. CONTACT: Shari Zuskin, EPA (202) 260-7130.
Centralized Waste Treatment Facilities: In the September
16, 1996 Federal Register, EPA published a notice on the availability
of new information concerning the proposed oils treatment and
recovery subcategory of this industry. Originally, EPA estimated
that there were 35 facilities in this subcategory. EPA now estimates
that there are a total of 275 facilities in the subcategory. Many
of additional 240 facilities accept dilute, not concentrated oil
wastestreams, which has caused EPA to recalculate the projected
costs of proposed options under consideration, expected pollutant
reductions associated with these options and the projected economic
impacts. CONTACT: Ed Terry, EPA (202) 260-7128.
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: EPA has plans to jointly
promulgate effluent guidelines along with National Emission Standards
for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulations for the pharmaceutical
industry. CONTACT: Frank Hund, EPA (202) 260-7182.
Metal Products and Machinery: EPA plans to merge the two
phases of this regulation into one rule scheduled for proposal
in October 2000. CONTACT: Steve Geil, EPA (202) 260-9817.
Industrial Laundries: The Office of Science and
Technology is conducting a public meeting prior to proposing effluent
limitations guidelines and standards for the industrial laundries
industry. The meeting is intended to be a forum, in which EPA
can report on the status of the regulatory development and in
which interested parties can provide information and ideas to
the Agency on key technical, scientific, economic, and other issues.
The meeting will be held on March 4, 1997 in Laurel, MD. CONTACT:
Susan Burris, EPA (202) 260-5379.
Revisions to NPDES Pretreatment Program Modification Requirements
- Proposed Rule
Background: On July 31, 1996 a proposed rule to simplify
procedures for modifying POTW pretreatment programs was published
in the Federal Register. Only modifications that relax legal authority
or local limits would continue to be deemed substantial modifications
and, therefore, require public notice. Only one public notice
would be required for substantial program modifications in most
cases.
Status: AMSA distributed a copy of the proposal to the
membership via Regulatory Alert RA 96-19. Based upon comments
received and comments resulting from the August 10-14 AMSA-WEF
Pretreatment Streamlining Workshop (see below), AMSA recommended
that EPA allow for direct implementation of Part 403 through incorporation
by reference in the NPDES permit and eliminate the program modification
process entirely. A final rulemaking is scheduled for June 1997.
CONTACT: Jeff Smith, EPA (202) 260-5586, or Sam Hadeed, AMSA (202)
833-4655.
Streamlining Pretreatment Program Requirements - Anticipated
Proposed Rule
Background: EPA is considering several simplifying changes to the pretreatment program that would reduce the current burden to POTWs and industrial users. These potential changes include exclusions or variable requirements for smaller facilities that contribute insignificant amounts of pollutants, clarification of requirements for implementing pretreatment standards, and more flexible reporting, inspection and sampling requirements. A workshop developed and sponsored by AMSA and WEF to guide EPA's efforts to streamline the national pretreatment program was held on August 10-14, 1996 in Leesburg, Virginia.
Status: EPA had planned to circulate a preliminary draft
of the proposed rule to regional/state offices in February 1997.
AMSA will have an opportunity to review and comment on this document
following Agency-wide input to the pre-proposal. AMSA and WEF
forwarded proposed regulatory language to EPA in mid-December
1996 on the redefinition of Significant Industrial Users (SIUs)
and Significant Noncompliance (SNC). A proposal is expected in
the June 1997 Federal Register. CONTACTS: Sam Hadeed, AMSA (202)
833-4655, or Jeff Smith, EPA (202) 260-5586.
1996 Pretreatment Coordinators Workshop
Supplemental proceedings from the Workshop were distributed
to participants in late February.
AMSA Pretreatment Performance Measures Study
Background: As a follow up project to AMSA's 1994 Pretreatment
Performance Measures Report to EPA, the National Office is working
under a cooperative agreement with EPA to better define performance
measures in site-specific, tangible terms, and determining how
the measures can be implemented to assess pretreatment program
performance to achieve the greatest environmental benefits. The
firms of Apogee Research, Inc. and Woolpert are providing the
National Office with technical assistance.
Status: Preliminary results of five case studies
on the use of performance measures were presented to attendees
of the 1996 AMSA-EPA Pretreatment Coordinators Workshop. Recommendations
are being developed to describe how the existing and additional
measures could be used for program oversight. A progress report
was sent to EPA on November 13, 1996. The project report is
expected to be completed in March 1997. Copies of the draft final
report were distributed to the Peer Review Committee in February
for final review. CONTACT: Sam Hadeed, AMSA (202) 833-4655.
AMSA To Finalize Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) White Paper
Background: As a result of AMSA's meetings with the Environmental
Working Group (EWG) concerning allegations presented in the EWG
and Public Interest Research Group's (PIRG) recent publication,
"Dishonorable Discharge: Toxic Pollution of America's Waters,"
AMSA will complete a white paper of TRI issues which it had begun
in 1995. The white paper will assess the TRI program's ability
to accurately inform communities of the risks of toxic chemical
exposure and, where necessary, to offer potential remedies. The
paper will also assess the accuracy of the current TRI reporting
program, and analyze the contribution of TRI chemicals to the
environment from POTWs.
Status: AMSA expects to complete the white paper by
March and distribute its findings to EPA, EWG, PIRG, and other
interested parties. CONTACT: Sam Hadeed, AMSA (202) 833-4655.
Related Items of Interest
AMSA and the Silver Council met recently with U.S. EPA to discuss funding for a demonstration project using the photo processing industry as a model to evaluate the use of alternative compliance mechanisms as a means of controlling wastewater discharges in streamlining local pretreatment limits. The AMSA/Silver Council "Code of Management Practice (CMP) for Silver Dischargers" will be used as the model approach for controlling silver discharges. A total of seven communities will be studied; five cities implementing the CMP as a best management practice; one city using a general permit mechanism; and one using a flow-adjusted concentration-based limits. The total grant assistance requested from EPA is $150,000, to be augmented by in-kind services from AMSA and $50,000 furnished by the Silver Council. The proposed 1-2 year project will be coordinated at a national level by AMSA, The Silver Council, and EPA using a steering team approach. EPA involvement in the steering team will be directed by the Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation (OPPE), in cooperation with the Office of Water (OW), Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), and appropriate EPA Regional offices. A meeting between AMSA, EPA and the Silver Council is scheduled for March 13 to discuss project activities.