Definitions All Grades Flashcards
Definitions All Grades
CFR?
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
A codification of federal rules published annually by the Office of the Federal Register National Archives and Records Administration. Title 40 of the CFR contains the regulations for “Protection of the Environment.”
AHL
Allowable Headworks Loading
BAT
Best Available Technology Economically Achievable
BMP
Best Management Practice (BMP) [40 CFR 403.3(e)]
A schedule of activities, prohibition of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in 40 CFR 403.5(a)(1) and (b). BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.
BOD
An indirect measure of the concentration of biologically degradable material present in organic wastes. It reflects the amount of oxygen consumed in 5 days by biological processes breaking down organic waste.
CIU
Categorical Industrial User (CIU)
An industrial user subject to national categorical pretreatment standards.
CSO
Combined Sewer Overflow
CWA
Clean Water Act
CWF
Combined Wastestream Formula
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
ERG
Enforcement Response Guide
ERP
Enforcement Response Plan
FOG
Fats, Oils, and Grease
IU
Industrial User
IWS
Industrial Waste Survey (IWS)
The process of identifying and locating IUs and characterizing their industrial discharge.
MAHL
Maximum Allowable Headworks LoadingMaximum Allowable Headworks Loading (MAHL)
The estimated maximum loading of a pollutant that can be received at a POTW’s headworks without causing pass through or interference. The most protective (lowest) of the allowable headworks loadings (see definition) estimated for a pollutant.
Maximum Allowable Industrial Loading (MAIL)
The estimated maximum loading of a pollutant that can be received at a POTW’s headworks from all permitted IUs and other controlled sources without causing pass through or interference. The MAIL is usually calculated by applying a safety factor to the MAHL and discounting for uncontrolled sources, hauled waste, and growth allowance.
MGD
Million Gallons per Day
NAICS
North American Industry Classification System
NOV
Notice of Violation
NPDES
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
The national program for issuing, modifying, revoking, and reissuing, terminating, monitoring, and enforcing discharge permits from point sources to waters of the United States, and imposing and enforcing pretreatment requirements, under CWA sections 307, 402, 318, and 405.
NSCIU
Nonsignificant Categorical Industrial User
P2
Pollution Prevention
POTW
Publicly Owned Treatment Works
PSES
Pretreatment Standards for Existing Sources
PSNS
Pretreatment Standards for New Sources
RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
SIC
Standard Industrial Classification
SIU
Significant Industrial User (SIU) [40 CFR 403.3(v)]
(1) All users subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR chapter I, subchapter N, except those designated as NSCIUs (see definition above);
and (2) any other IU that discharges an average of 25,000 gpd or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater); contributes a process wastestream that makes up 5 percent or more of the average dry-weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant;
or is designated as such by the POTW on the basis that the IU has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement [in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6)].
SNC
Significant Noncompliance
SUO
Sewer Use Ordinance (SUO)
A legal mechanism implemented by a local government entity that establishes requirements for the discharge of pollutants into a POTW.
TRC
Technical Review Criteria
TSS
Total Suspended Solids
TTO
Total Toxic Organics
Act or “the act” [40 CFR 403.3(b)]
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act (CWA), as amended, Title 33 of the United States Code (U.S.C.), sections 1251 et seq.
Allowable Headworks Loading (AHL)
The estimated maximum loading of a pollutant that can be received at a POTW’s headworks and not cause a POTW to violate a particular treatment plant or environmental criterion. AHLs are developed to prevent interference or pass through.
Approval Authority [40 CFR 403.3(c)]
The director in an NPDES Authorized State with an approved state pretreatment program, or the appropriate EPA regional administrator in a non-NPDES Authorized State or NPDES state without an approved state pretreatment program.
Approved POTW pretreatment program or program [40 CFR 403.3(d)]
A program administered by a POTW that meets the criteria established in 40 CFR Part 403 and that has been approved by a regional administrator or state director.
Blowdown
The discharge of water with high concentrations of accumulated solids from boilers to prevent plugging of the boiler tubes or steam lines. In cooling towers, blowdown is discharged to reduce the concentration of dissolved salts in the recirculating cooling water.
Bypass [40 CFR 403.17(a)]
The intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of an industrial user’s treatment facility.
Categorical pretreatment standards [paraphrased from 40 CFR 403.6]
Standards specifying the quantity, concentration, or pollutant properties of pollutants that may be discharged to POTWs. EPA promulgates pretreatment standards for specific industry categories in accordance with CWA section 307. These standards are codified in 40 CFR chapter I, subchapter N, Parts 405–471. https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=2098ba12dd8a8bbfbdade19854bf94c4&mc=true&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title40/40CIsubchapN.tpl
Combined Wastestream Formula (CWF) [paraphrased from 40 CFR 403.6(e)]
Procedure for calculating alternative discharge limits at industrial facilities where a wastestream regulated by a categorical pretreatment standard is combined before treatment with wastestreams other than those subject to the standard.
Compliance schedule
A schedule of remedial measures included in a permit or an enforcement order, including a sequence of requirements (for example, actions, operations, or milestone events) that lead to compliance with the CWA and regulations.
Composite sample
A series of water samples taken over a given period of time and weighted by flow rate.
Concentration-based limit
A limit based on the relative strength of a pollutant in a wastestream, usually expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/L).
Continuous discharge
A discharge that occurs without interruption during the operating hours of a facility, except for infrequent shutdowns for maintenance, process changes, or similar activities.
Control Authority [paraphrased from 40 CFR 403.3(f)]
The POTW, in the case of a POTW with an approved pretreatment program, or the Approval Authority, in the case of a POTW without an approved pretreatment program.
Conventional pollutants [40 CFR 401.16]
Pollutants typical of municipal sewage, and for which municipal secondary treatment plants are typically designed. EPA has, pursuant to section 304(a) of the CWA, identified BOD5, total suspended solids (TSS), fecal coliform bacteria, oil and grease, and pH as conventional pollutants.
Daily maximum limitation
The maximum allowable discharge of pollutants during a 24-hour period. Where daily maximum limitations are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged over the course of the day. Where daily maximum limitations are expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.
Detection limit
The minimum concentration of an analyte (substance) that can be measured and reported with 99 percent confidence that the analyte concentration is greater than zero as determined by the procedure set forth in 40 CFR Part 136, appendix B.
Direct discharger
A point source that discharges a pollutant(s) to waters of the United States, such as streams, lakes, or oceans. These sources are subject to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program regulations. Municipal and industrial facilities that introduce pollution through a defined conveyance or system such as outlet pipes are direct dischargers.
Enforcement Response Plan (ERP) [paraphrased from 40 CFR 403.8(f)(5)]
One of the key components of an approved POTW pretreatment program; includes step-by-step enforcement procedures developed and followed by POTW personnel to identify, document, and respond to violations by IUs.
Existing source
Any source of discharge, the construction or operation of which commenced before the publication by EPA of proposed categorical pretreatment standards that will be applicable to such source if the standard is thereafter promulgated in accordance with CWA section 307.
Flow-proportional composite sample
A sample consisting of a series of aliquots (equal portions of the sample) in which each aliquot is collected after the passage of a defined volume of discharge.
General prohibitions [40 CFR 403.5(a)(1)]
Prohibitions that apply to each IU introducing pollutants into a POTW whether or not the IU is subject to other national pretreatment standards or any national, state, or local pretreatment requirements:
No IU may introduce into a POTW any pollutant(s) that cause pass through or interference.
An IU may have an affirmative defense in any action brought against it alleging a violation of the general or specific prohibitions where the IU can demonstrate that:
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It did not know or have reason to know that its discharge, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, would cause pass through or interference; and
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A local limit designed to prevent pass through or interference (or both) was developed for each pollutant in the IU’s discharge that caused pass through or interference, and the IU was in compliance with each such local limit directly before and during the pass through or interference; or
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If a local limit designed to prevent pass through or interference or both has not been developed for the pollutant(s) that caused the pass through or interference, the IU’s discharge directly before and during the pass through or interference did not change substantially in nature or constituents from the IU’s prior discharge activity when the POTW was regularly in compliance with the POTW’s NPDES permit requirements and, in the case of interference, applicable requirements for sewage sludge use or disposal.
Grab sample
A sample that is taken from a wastestream on a one-time basis with no regard to the flow of the wastestream. A single grab sample should be taken over a period not to exceed 15 minutes.
Headworks
The point at which wastewater enters a wastewater treatment plant. The headworks may consist of bar screens, comminuters, a wet well, or pumps.
Indirect discharge or discharge [40 CFR 403.3(i)]
The introduction of pollutants into a POTW from any nondomestic source regulated under CWA section 307(b), (c), or (d).
Industrial user (IU) or user [40 CFR 403.3(j)]
A source of indirect discharge.
Interference [paraphrased from 40 CFR 403.3(k)]
A discharge that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, both (1) inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use, or disposal; and (2) therefore is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW’s NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with … [applicable] statutory provisions and regulations or permits issued thereunder (or more stringent state or local regulations).
Local limits [40 CFR 403.5(c)]
Specific discharge limits developed and enforced by POTWs upon industrial or commercial facilities (IUs) to implement the general and specific discharge prohibitions listed in 40 CFR 403.5(a)(1) and (b).
National pretreatment standard or pretreatment standard or standard [40 CFR 403.3(l)]
National pretreatment standard or pretreatment standard or standard [40 CFR 403.3(l)]
Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by EPA in accordance with CWA section 307(b) and (c) that applies to IUs. This term includes prohibitive discharge limits established pursuant to 40 CFR 403.5.
New source [40 CFR 403.3(m)]
Any building, structure, facility or installation from which there is or could be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which began after the publication of proposed pretreatment standards under CWA section 307(c) that will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section provided that any of the following are true:
The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other discharge source is located.
The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source.
The production or wastewater generating processes of the building, structure, facility, or installation are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether these are substantially independent, factors such as the extent to which the new facility is integrated with the existing plant, and the extent to which the new facility is engaged in the same general type of activity as the existing source should be considered.
Construction on a site at which an existing source is located results in a modification rather than a new source if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility, or installation meeting the criteria of paragraphs (m)(1)(ii), or (m)(1)(iii) of this section but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
Construction of a new source, as defined under this paragraph, has commenced if the owner or operator has begun, or caused to begin as part of a continuous onsite construction program:
Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or
Significant site preparation work including clearing, excavation, or removal of existing buildings, structures, or facilities that is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of new source facilities or equipment; or
Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment that are intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts that can be terminated or modified without substantial loss, and contracts for feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute a contractual obligation under this paragraph.
Nonconventional pollutant
Any pollutant that is neither a toxic pollutant nor a conventional pollutant (e.g., manganese, ammonia).
Noncontact cooling water
Water used for cooling that does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product. The only pollutant contributed from the discharge is heat.
Nonsignificant Categorical Industrial User (NSCIU) [40 CFR 403.3(v)(2)]
An IU subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR chapter I, subchapter N, that the POTW has determined is exempt from the definition of SIU on a finding that the IU never discharges more than 100 gpd of total categorical wastewater (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater, unless specifically included in the pretreatment standard). The IU must also meet the following conditions:
The IU, before the POTW’s finding, has consistently complied with all applicable categorical pretreatment standards and requirements.
The IU annually submits the certification statement required in 40 CFR 403.12(q) together with any additional information necessary to support the certification statement.
The IU never discharges any untreated concentrated wastewater.
Pass through [40 CFR 403.3(p)]
A discharge that exits the POTW into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW’s NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).
Periodic compliance report [paraphrased from 40 CFR 403.12(e) & (h)]
A report on compliance status submitted by CIUs and significant non-CIUs to the POTW at least semiannually (once every 6 months). For middle-tier categorical industrial users, the POTW may reduce the requirement to report to no less frequently than once a year, unless required more frequently in the pretreatment standard or by the Approval Authority. A facility determined to be an NSCIU must annually submit a certification statement in addition to any other alternative report required by the POTW.
Point source [40 CFR 122.2]
Any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fixture, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, landfill leachate collection system, vessel or other floating craft from which pollutants are or could be discharged.
Pollutant [40 CFR 122.2]
Dredged spoil; solid waste; incinerator residue; filter backwash; sewage; garbage; sewage sludge; munitions; chemical wastes; biological materials; radioactive materials (except those regulated under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended [42 U.S.C. section 2011 et seq.]); heat; wrecked or discarded equipment; rock; sand; cellar dirt; and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water.
Pretreatment [paraphrased from 40 CFR 403.3(s)]
The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater before or in lieu of discharging, or otherwise introducing, such pollutants into a POTW.
Pretreatment requirements [40 CFR 403.3(t)]
Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a national pretreatment standard, imposed on an IU.
Pretreatment Standards for Existing Sources (PSES)
Categorical standards and requirements applicable to industrial sources that began construction before the publication of the proposed pretreatment standards for that industrial category (see individual standards at 40 CFR Parts 405–471) or on a date specifically provided in promulgation of the pretreatment standard.
Pretreatment Standards for New Sources (PSNS)
Categorical standards and requirements applicable to industrial sources that began construction after the publication of the proposed pretreatment standards for that industrial category (see individual standards at 40 CFR Parts 405–471) or on a date specifically provided in promulgation of the pretreatment standard.
Process wastewater
Any water that, during manufacturing or processing, comes into contact with or results from the production or use of any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, byproduct, or waste product.
Removal credit [paraphrased from 40 CFR 403.7]
Variance for an IU from the otherwise applicable categorical pretreatment standard that reflects the POTW’s removal of that pollutant.
Representative sample
A sample from a wastestream that is as nearly identical as possible in composition to that in the larger volume of wastewater being discharged and is typical of the discharge from the facility on a normal operating day.
Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO)
Untreated or partially treated sewage overflows from a sanitary sewer collection system.
Self-monitoring
Sampling and analyses performed by a facility to measure compliance with a permit or other regulatory requirements.
Significant Noncompliance (SNC) [40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(viii)]
IU violations that meet one or more of the following criteria:
Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which 66 percent or more of all 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 40 CFR 403.3(l)
Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which 33 percent or more of all 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 40 CFR 403.3(l) multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC = 1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil, and grease and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH)
Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement as defined by 40 CFR 403.3(l) (daily maximum, long-term average, instantaneous limit, or narrative standard) that the POTW determines has caused, alone or in combination with other dischargers, interference or pass through (including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public)
Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare, or to the environment or has resulted in the POTW’s exercise of its emergency authority under paragraph (f)(1)(vi)(B) of 40 CFR 403.8 to halt or prevent such a discharge
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
Failure to provide, within 45 days2 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
Failure to accurately report noncompliance
Any other violation or group of violations, which can include a violation of best management practices, that the POTW determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
Slug discharge [40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(vi)]
Any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including an accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge that has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass through, or in any other way violate the POTW’s regulations, local limits, or permit conditions.
Specific prohibitions [40 CFR 403.5(b)]
Prohibitions that apply to each IU introducing pollutants into a POTW regardless of whether the IU is subject to other national pretreatment standards or any national, state, or local pretreatment requirements. The following pollutants must not be introduced into a POTW:
Pollutants that create a fire or explosion hazard in the POTW, including wastestreams with a closed cup flashpoint of less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) or 60 degrees Celcius (°C) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21
Pollutants that will cause corrosive structural damage to the POTW, but in no case discharges with pH lower than 5.0, unless the POTW is specifically designed to accommodate such discharges
Solid or viscous pollutants in amounts that will cause obstruction to the flow in the POTW resulting in interference
Any pollutant, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD and the like) released in a discharge at a flow rate or concentration that will cause interference with the POTW
Heat in amounts that will inhibit biological activity in the POTW resulting in interference, but in no case heat in such quantities that the temperature at the POTW treatment plant exceeds 104 °F (40 °C) unless the Approval Authority, at the POTW’s request, approves alternative temperature limits
Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or pass through
Pollutants that result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that could cause acute worker health and safety problems
Any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the POTW.
Stormwater
Rainwater, snowmelt, and surface runoff and drainage.
Time-proportional composite sample
A sample consisting of a series of aliquots collected after the passage of a definite period, regardless of the volume or variability of the rate of flow during that period.
Toxic pollutant
Pollutant listed by the EPA Administrator under CWA section 307(a). The list of the current 126 toxic pollutants can be found at http://water.epa.gov/scitech/methods/cwa/pollutants.cfm.
The objectives of the National Pretreatment Program are stated in 40 CFR 403.2, as follows:
Prevent the introduction of pollutants into a POTW that will interfere with the operation of the POTW, including interference with its use or disposal of municipal sludge
Prevent the introduction of pollutants into a POTW that will pass through the treatment works or otherwise be incompatible with such works
Improve opportunities to recycle and reclaim municipal and industrial wastewaters and sludges.
The two key terms used in EPA’s objectives for the National Pretreatment Program, interference and pass through, are defined in 40 CFR 403.3(k) and (p):
Interference: A discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, both:
Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal, and
Therefore is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW’s NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with the following statutory provisions and regulations or permits issued thereunder (or more stringent state or local regulations):
CWA section 405; the Solid Waste Disposal Act (including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and state regulations contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act); the Clean Air Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.
Pass Through: A discharge that exits the POTW into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW’s NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).
An SIU is defined in 40 CFR 403.3(v) as any of the following:
An IU subject to federal categorical pretreatment standards
An IU that discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day (gpd) or more of process wastewater to the POTW
An IU that contributes a process wastestream making up 5 percent or more of the average dry-weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant
An IU designated by the POTW as such because of its reasonable potential to adversely affect the POTW’s operation or violate any pretreatment standard or requirement.
POTW Pretreatment Requirements: Procedures
Identify and locate all possible IUs
Identify character and volume of pollutants from IUs
Notify IUs of applicable pretreatment standards
Receive and analyze reports from IUs
Randomly sample and analyze effluent from IUs
Evaluate whether IUs need slug discharge control plans
Investigate instances of noncompliance
Comply with public participation requirements
8 Prohibited Discharge Standards
Discharges containing pollutants that create a fire or explosion hazard in the POTW, including wastestreams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than 140 °F (60 °C) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21
Discharges containing pollutants causing corrosive structural damage to the POTW, but in no case discharges with a pH lower than 5.0, unless the POTW is specifically designed to accommodate such discharges
Discharges containing pollutants in amounts causing obstruction to the flow in the POTW resulting in interference
Discharges of any pollutants released at a flow rate or concentration that will cause interference with the POTW
Discharges of heat in amounts that will inhibit biological activity in the POTW resulting in interference, but in no case heat in such quantities that the temperature at the POTW treatment plant exceeds 104 °F (40 °C) unless the Approval Authority, at the POTW’s request, approves alternative temperature limits
Discharges of petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or pass through
Discharges that result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that could cause acute worker health and safety problems
Discharges of trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the POTW.
