1. TPDES Pretreatment Program & Update Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Trade Fair and Conference May 17, Bridget Malone & Rebecca L. Villalba Stormwater & Pretreatment Team Water Quality Division
Today we will be speaking about the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (aka TPDES) Pretreatment Program. We will be providing a general overview of the requirements and updating you on important information pertaining to the implementation of the main goals and objectives of the program. At the end of our presentation, we hope you have gained knowledge on what new requirements may be coming out in the future and how to address them within your approved program.

2. Today’s Presentation
Pretreatment History, Objectives, and Introduction
Pretreatment Program Development
TPDES & EPA Rules Updates
Resources & Contacts
We are going to provide a broad overview of the Pretreatment program. We will touch on the what and why of pretreatment, as well as update you on changes to a few TPDES and EPA rules.

3. History of Pretreatment

4. History of Pretreatment
Early 20th century to mid-century
High levels of pollution
Fish kills, burning rivers, thick black smog
Philosophy was “the solution to pollution is dilution”!
As a result of the Industrial Revolution, environmental concerns arose.
During the early 20th century to approximately mid-century, there were:
High levels of pollution, which in turn caused
Fish kills, burning river, and thick black smog covered major cities.
During that time, the accepted philosophy was “the solution to pollution is dilution”!
Many cities pumped sewage and industrial waste directly into rivers, lakes, and streams. There were no laws outlawing this practice.

6. Cuyahoga River Fire Cleveland, 1952
During the Industrial Revolution, safety issues and concerns about pollution fell by the wayside. Coal was king and the technological advancements in technology came at the expense of a public health crisis.
Pictured here you can see the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland burning in Firefighters are hosing down the fire. The Cuyahoga River caught fire multiple times. Finally, in 1969, Time Magazine did a story on the most recent fire, and the general public, moving toward a position of environmentalism, was outraged. This “growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to the Clean Water Act (CWA).”

7. The Federal Clean Water Act - 1972
Restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters
Objective
Eliminate the discharge of pollutants
Support "the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water"
Prohibit the discharge of toxic pollutants in toxic amounts
Goals
Originally, laws affecting the nation’s waters began with the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of The Act was designed to prevent the discharge of materials into waterways that could impede commercial navigation.
Next, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act was passed in 1948 to address water pollution, support the development of technology for treatment of industrial wastes, and provide funding for municipalities to implement water pollution abatement programs. Unfortunately, the FWPCA was difficult to implement, rendering it ineffective in achieving its goals.
Resultantly, numerous revisions including major changes were made in 1972, and the act became known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). In order to assure effectiveness, the CWA authorizes the EPA to implement and enforce provisions of the legislation.
The overarching objective of the CWA is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s water, in order to eliminate the discharge of pollutants; support the protection and propagation of fist, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water; prohibit the discharge of toxic pollutants in toxic amounts; provide Federal financial assistance to construct POTWs.

8. Objectives of Pretreatment

9. National Pretreatment Program Goals and Objectives
Prevent Interference and Pass Through
Protect Worker Health and Safety
Encourage Recycling or Reuse
With the establishment of the Clean Water Act in 1972, we could begin to address
The National pretreatment program goals are to:
Prevent pass through and interference.
Protect worker health and safety and to improve and encourage recycling and reuse.
The term Interference is defined as a discharge which, alone or in conjunction with other discharges:
Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and
Is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW’s TPDES permit or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal.
The term Pass Through is defined as a discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the U.S. in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge, is violation of any requirement of the POTW’s TPDES permit.
The picture here is an explosion, of a city street, due to a hexane build up in the sewer system of the City of Louisville, Kentucky.

10. Pretreatment Standards to Achieve Objectives
General Prohibitions
Discharges that cause Interference or Pass Through
The EPA established pretreatment standards in order to meet the objectives of the national pretreatment program and the CWA. They include: general prohibitions against interference and pass through. The image on the left shows a type of discharge that could potentially cause interference at a POTW. The image on the right is an example of pass through subsequently causing a fish kill downstream from the POTW.

11. Pretreatment Standards to Achieve Objectives
Specific Prohibitions
Fire or explosion hazard
Corrosive structural damage
Solid or viscous pollutants obstructing flow
Flow rate causing interference
Heat inhibiting biological activity
Oils causing interference/pass through
Toxic gases causing worker health problems
Trucked/hauled pollutants unless designated
The EPA established pretreatment standards in order to meet the objectives of the national pretreatment program and the CWA. They include: general prohibitions against interference and pass through; specific prohibitions, which are national standards that apply to all POTWs. In addition, the local POTW may develop specific prohibitions in order to protect their WWTP, receiving waters and sludge use. The standards apply to Significant Industrial Users that discharge wastewater to a sewer system that flows to a WWTP.
General Prohibitions:
prohibit pollutants that cause pass through or interference
Specific Prohibitions (we will cover these in more detail later):
pollutants which create a fire or explosion hazard
pollutants which cause corrosive structural damage to the POTW (pH no less than 5.0 S.U.)
solid or viscous pollutants in amounts that will cause obstruction to the flow in the POTW resulting in interference
any pollutant (including BOD) released in a flow rate and/or in concentrations which will cause interference
heat in amounts which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW resulting in interference (nothing to cause temp at POTW to go above 104 degrees F)
petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil or mineral oil products that will cause interference or pass through
pollutants that will result in the presence of toxic gases in a POTW in quantities that may cause acute worker health and safety problems
any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the POTW

12. Introduction to Pretreatment

13. Wastewater Collection and Treatment
This is a schematic of the typical different types of contributors to a wastewater treatment plant: commercial, residential and industrial. This also depicts the effluent discharge and sludge disposal routes.
As we have discussed, problems can occur at the collection system, the plant, with worker health, and the receiving body of water.

14. Who is regulated? The Pretreatment Program regulates:
Significant Industrial Users (SIUs)
Categorical Industrial Users (CIUs)
Other Industrial Users (IUs)
This slide introduces industry types that are regulated. See next slide for IU definitions.
Based on character and volume of wastewater discharged to the POTW

15. What is a Significant Industrial User? 40 CFR Part §403.3(v)
Discharges 25,000 gallons per day (gpd) or more of process wastewater
Subject to categorical pretreatment standards (CIUs)
Contributes 5% or more of the hydraulic or organic capacity of the WWTP
Reasonable potential to adversely impact the POTW or for violating any standard
As mentioned previously, the national pretreatment program is designed to control the wastewater contributions from significant industrial users.
SIUs are any Industrial User that:
Discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater (excludes sanitary, noncontact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater).
All industrial users that are subject to Categorical Pretreatment Standards under 40 CFR and 40 CFR subchapter I, subchapter N;
Contributes a process wastestream which makes up 5% or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW;
Or is designated as such by the Control Authority (CA) on the basis that it has a reasonable potential to adversely affect the POTW’s operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6)
The SIU definition has remained the same through the Pretreatment Streamlining Rule change, however, the sampling and reporting requirements for SIUs has changed.

16. What is a Categorical Industrial User?
Industrial categories in 40 CFR Parts
Subparts according to processes or manufactured products or raw material used
Existing Source or New Source in 40 CFR §403.3(m)
National technology based limits that apply at the CIU’s “end-of-process”
Categorical IU’s perform specific manufacturing processes that are regulated as described and referenced here.
We will talk more about online resources for accessing the online links to the CFRs & effluent guidelines at the end of the presentation.
Industries are listed by category in 40 CFR parts Each category is divided into subparts according to process or manufactured products. The categorical standards are divided into New Source or Existing Sources. The Existing Source categorical standards applies to CIUs that came into existence prior to the proposal date of the categorical effluent guideline. And New Source categorical standards would thus apply to facilities, buildings, structures or installations that were constructed after this proposal date. There are criteria to qualify as a new source that are included in 40 CFR §403.3(m).
Note that categorical pretreatment standards are treatment technology based limits that apply at the "end of process" for that particular category of industry. On the other hand, the local limits, which are based on the protection of the POTW, apply at the "end of pipe", where the IUs pipe meets the POTWs collection system trunk line. [Picture of a factory]

17. IUs SIUs Domestic Non-SIUs Non-CIUs CIUs POTW
This slide introduces industry types that are regulated.
Image of a large square that contains all the discharger types: domestic and industrial users (IUs). The IUs are divided into significant industrial users (SIUs) and non-SIUs. The SIUs are divided into categorical industrial users (CIUs) and non-CIUs.
Some of the common types of facilities that are overlooked are on this slide. For example small metal plating facilities, facilities that do not have categorical standards and facilities that might impact the collection system, not necessarily the POTW. For example, meat and poultry facilities do not have categorical standards. However, due to their high strength waste they may impact the POTW. Hospitals have cafeterias and possibly laundry facilities that could give

18. Pretreatment Standards to Achieve Objectives
Categorical Pretreatment Standards
National standards
Apply to specific industrial categories
Emphasis on toxic pollutants
Technology-based
Apply at the “end-of-process”
Local Limits
Developed individually by each POTW
Based on local, site-specific data
Protect WWTP, workers, sludge quality and water body
Apply at the IU’s “end-of-pipe”
The national categorical pretreatment standards apply to any categorical industrial user discharging process wastewater to a POTW and they apply at the end of process (pretreatment unit).
Local limits are developed by each POTW to protect the WWTP operations and conveyances, receiving waters and sludge use.

19. Pretreatment Program Development

20. Who Must Develop Pretreatment Program? 40 CFR §403.8
POTWs with:
Combined design flow of ≥ 5 MGD, and
Receive wastewater contributions from CIUs
Receive pollutants which cause pass through or interference at the WWTP
Program development may be required by TCEQ due to other reasons
Based on the results of the formal survey, a City or municipality may be required to develop a pretreatment program. The TCEQ may also require a pretreatment program in cases where a POTW is receiving industrial wastewater contribution that may be resulting in pass-through or interference, exceeding effluent limits in its discharge monitoring reports, or having repeated biomonitoring failures, for examples.

21. Pretreatment Program Elements 40 CFR §403.8
Legal Authority (ordinance)
Enforcement response plan and guide
Standard operating procedures
Adequate funding & resources
Local Limits
List of IUs, SIUs, CIUs
The Legal Authority is the local law that mandates pretreatment, usually an ordinance for Cities.
The Enforcement response plan and guide, sometimes referred to as ERP/ERG, detail what specific enforcement actions a City will utilize for a particular noncompliance. For example, INCLUDE EXAMPLE HERE.
The SOP’s, are the procedures and forms utilized for issuing permits, conducting inspections, and sampling activities.
Adequate funding….
Local Limits….
IWS/Database

22. TPDES & EPA Rules Updates

23. Minimum Analytical Levels (MALs)
On July 12, EPA partially approved the 2010 version of the Procedures to Implement the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards (IPs)
Implementation began July 14, 2014
More than 50 MALs were updated
Lowered due to EPA’s lowered Minimum Quantification Limits (MQLs)
New MALs for additional pollutants were added
Download 2010 IPs (RG-194) at:
We felt the need to provide this update again because we are still seeing cities with Pretreatment programs using the incorrect MALs when submitting their annual report data.
As of July 12, 2013, the Minimum Analytical Levels (MALs) were approved, as part of the Implementation Procedures. There was a grace period until The 2010 MALs have been implemented for the last 2 ½ years. There is no program left in Texas that should be using the numbers from 2003.

24. MALs (con’t)
Effective July 14, use 2010 MALs, found in Tables E-1 & E-2
EVERY POTW should now be using these values when measuring effluent.
Annual reports from POTWs are still being submitted using the old values. This is not correct and can result in a violation.
Please make sure you are using the correct MAL values
Excerpt from current TPDES permits with an approved pretreatment program:
Sampling and analytical procedures shall be in accordance with guidelines established in 40 CFR Part 136, as amended; as approved by the EPA through the application for alternate test procedures; or as suggested in Tables 8 and 9 of the Procedures to Implement the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards, January 2003, as amended and adopted by the TCEQ. The effluent samples shall be analyzed to the minimum analytical level (MAL).
Please review the language in your TPDES permit, if it says “as amended” then you should be using the most up-to-date MAL 2010 MAL values.
Again, this rule was effective July 14, 2014 and the grace period ended at the beginning of The permit language states Sampling and analytical procedures shall be in accordance with guidelines established in 40 CFR Part 136, as amended; therefore, the most up-to-date MAL values should be used.

25. NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule (e-Reporting)

26. NPDES e-Reporting Rule
Final Rule Effective December 21, 2015
Permittees required to electronically submit NPDES pretreatment required reports by December 21, 2020.
Pretreatment Program Annual Reports
Periodic Compliance Monitoring Reports
Industrial Users in POTWs without Approved Pretreatment Programs
EPA-state Pretreatment Technical Workgroup
Kick-off meeting – April 5, 2017

27. EPA Proposed Dental Amalgam Rule

28. EPA Proposed Dental Amalgam Rule
Effluent Limitations Guidelines for the Dental Category
Published in Federal Register – October 22, 2014
Comments due – February 20, 2015
OMB 90-day Review – Began September 8, 2016
Finalized for publication – December 2016
Final rule was not published
EPA proposes to:
Create 40 CFR Part 441
Dental Industrial User (DIU) category
Amend 40 CFR Parts §§403.3 and 403.8

29. EPA Proposed Dental Amalgam Rule
Would apply to all dental facilities
Excludes facilities practicing exclusively:
oral pathology
oral and maxillofacial radiology and surgery
orthodontics, periodontics, and prosthodontics
Dentists who do not place or remove dental amalgam may comply by certifying to their Control Authority
If this status changes, the facility would have to
comply with the discharge limit.

30. EPA Proposed Dental Amalgam Rule
Requires > 99.0% removal of total mercury (Hg) from amalgam process wastewater
Numeric limit could be met by using a separator that is:
2008 ISO11143 certified to remove > 99.0% of total Hg
Receives all process wastewater
Inspected monthly to ensure proper functioning
Regularly maintained/serviced as per manufacturer’s instructions or annually, whichever comes first
Annual certification, no wastewater monitoring

31. EPA Proposed Dental Amalgam Rule
Would also require best management practices (BMPs)
Bleach free line cleaners with a neutral pH
No flushing of scrap metal
Effective date:
Three years after the effective date of the final rule

32. List of Dentists and Dental Offices
Texas State Board of Dental Examiners
Select “Mailing Lists” to download “Dentist.csv” file
Filter to remove non-active and practices not subject to the rule
Click on “Licensing Information” then “Dentist” to get a list of Texas Dental and Dental Hygiene Schools
U.S Census Bureau 2012 County Business Patterns for Dental Offices (NAICS )
Search by County:
Go to View Data in Tables and select Texas in Select Area box

33. Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals (HWP)
Proposed rule signed by EPA on August 31, 2015
Proposes sector-specific set regulations to ensure the management of HWP
Healthcare facilities, pharmacies, and reverse distributors
Bans the disposal of HWP into the sewer system
May require pretreatment program modifications
Help make drinking and surface water healthier by reducing the amount of HWP entering the waterways
Comment Period extended to – December 24, 2015

34. Updates to 40 CFR Part 136 Analytical Methods
Rule proposed February 19, 2015
Final Rule signed December 15, 2016 (signed by an EPA administrator)
Awaiting publication
The changes include:
Revised methods published by EPA and voluntary consensus standard bodies, such as ASTM International and the Standard Methods Committee.
Adding certain methods reviewed under the alternate test procedures (ATP) program to 40 CFR Part 136 and clarifying the procedures for EPA approval of nationwide and limited use ATPs.
Revising the procedure for determination of the method detection limit (MDL).

35. Updates to 40 CFR Part 136 Analytical Methods
These revisions:
Provide increased flexibility to the regulated community
Improve data quality
Update methods to keep current with technology advances
Address laboratory contamination issues related to the MDL and better account for intra-laboratory variability.

36. MACT Rule for POTW
December 8,  EPA proposed amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for POTW to address the results of the residual risk and technology review conducted under section 112 of the Clean Air Act.
This rule would further reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants, also known as air toxics, which are known or suspected to cause cancer and other serious health and environmental effects.

37. MACT Rule for POTW
The TCEQ participated in three conference calls with EPA to comment on the proposed rule.
The agency joined with ACWA and did not agree with the proposed rule.
ACWA’s letter was sent to EPA on March 29, 2017, stating the objections and reiterating that the NESHAP POTW Rule would be an unnecessary burden to these facilities.

38. Resources & Contacts

39. Pretreatment Training & Resources
33rd Annual EPA Region VI Pretreatment Workshop
Date: July 25-28, 2017
Location: Albuquerque, NM
TCEQ - Water Quality Seminar
Date: October 11-12, 2017
Location: Palmer Events Center, Austin
training_seminars.html
EPA – Pretreatment webcasts
Including archived presentations

40. TPDES Pretreatment Program Contacts Water Quality Division
Rebecca L. Villalba, Team Leader
David James
Ryan Bucek
Bianca Cooper
Bridget Malone
Yeu Deck Ngui
Reza Broun
Kristy Deaver
Kathryn Martin
Daniel Botello
Peter Reale
(512)
Here are the Pretreatment Program Contacts at the TCEQ. We are currently fully staffed and in the process of training.

41. TCEQ Regional Contacts
North Central and West Texas
Carol Moulton
Pretreatment Compliance Investigator
Fort Worth Office
(817)
Coastal and East Texas
Kelley Kartye
Houston Office
(713)
And, here are the Regional Pretreatment Program Contacts at the TCEQ.

42. Questions and Discussion?
Thank You!