Pretreatment Program
The National Pretreatment Program is a cooperative effort of federal, state, and local regulatory environmental agencies established to protect water quality. The program is designed to reduce the level of pollutants discharged by industrial and other non-domestic wastewater sources into municipal sewer systems, and thereby, reduce the amount of pollutants released into the environment from these sources.
The General Pretreatment Regulations require all Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW’s) meeting certain criteria, to develop an Industrial Pretreatment Program (IPP) to regulate Industrial Users discharging wastewater to the POTW. Because it meets these criteria, LASA has developed an approved Pretreatment Program. LASA’s pretreatment program has the legal authority to issue Industrial User Permits, conduct inspections of industrial and commercial sources, sample industrial discharges and enforce regulations. LASA also routinely performs monitoring to ensure the protection of worker safety, the treatment facility operations, biosolids, and water quality. Oversight of LASA’s Pretreatment Program is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Program Goals
The goals of the Pretreatment Program are as follows:
- To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW that will interfere with the operation of the system, or contaminate the resulting biosolids.
- To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW which will pass through the system inadequately treated, into receiving waters or the atmosphere, or otherwise be incompatible with the system.
- To ensure that the quality of the wastewater treatment facility biosolids is maintained at a level which allows its use and disposal in compliance with applicable statutes and regulations.
- To protect POTW personnel who may be affected by wastewater and biosolids in the course of their employment, and to protect the general public.
Pretreatment Regulations
LASA administers and enforces its Industrial Pretreatment Program through its Rules and Regulations – Chapter 60 – Industrial Waste. These Regulations enable the Authority to comply with all applicable State and Federal laws required by the Clean Water Act of 1977 and the General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR, Part 403).
Permitting
LASA currently issues Industrial User Permits to any discharger who is considered a Significant Industrial User (SIU). A user must qualify for one of the following listed criteria to become a Significant Industrial User:
- An industrial user subject to Categorical Pretreatment Standards under 40 CFR Part 403.6 and 40 CFR Chapter 1, Subchapter N of the Federal General Pretreatment Standards.
- An Industrial User discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW.
- An Industrial User who contributes a process waste stream which makes up 5 percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity.
- An Industrial User who has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting POTW operation or for violating any Pretreatment Standard or Requirement in accordance with 40 CFR 403.12 (a).
Local Limits
Local Limits are wastewater limitations that apply to industrial and other non-domestic facilities that discharge to LASA’s treatment facility. Local limits are developed to meet the pretreatment program goals and site-specific needs of the treatment facility and the receiving stream.
| LASA's Local Limits are as follows: | |
|---|---|
|
Cadmium |
0.03 mg/L |
|
Chromium |
1.0 mg/L |
|
Copper |
0.9 mg/L |
|
Lead |
0.3 mg/L |
|
Mercury |
0.01 mg/L |
|
Nickel |
0.7 mg/L |
|
Silver |
0.1 mg/L |
|
Zinc |
1.4 mg/L |
|
BOD |
Monitor Only |
|
TSS |
Monitor Only |
|
Oil and Grease |
100 mg/L |
|
Cyanide |
0.4 mg/L |
|
pH |
5.5 – 10.5 S.U. |
|
Temperature |
0 – 59ºC |
Dental Effluent Guidelines
On June 14, 2017, EPA published the Final Rule for the Dental Category in the Federal Register (82 FR 27154). The Federal Register notice can be found at the following web address:
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-06-14/pdf/2017-12338.pdf
The effective date of the Rule is July 14, 2017, and the compliance date for existing sources is July 14, 2020. Any facility subject to the Rule whose first discharge to LASA occurs after the effective date of the rule (July 14, 2017) is considered a new source and must comply immediately upon commencement of discharge.
The new Rule also establishes special reporting requirements for dentists. For existing sources, the One-Time Compliance Report is due no later than October 12, 2020 (90 days after the compliance date) or no later than 90 days after transfer of ownership. For new sources, the One-Time Compliance Report is due within 90 days of the start of discharge to LASA.
Additional information on the Dental Rule and a One-Time Compliance Report template may be found below. Please contact the LASA Pretreatment team with any questions.
Surcharge Program
LASA’s Surcharge Program recovers the costs of collecting, transporting and treating wastewater that is of a higher strength than domestic wastewater. Typical domestic wastewater contains 250 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), 250 mg/L of Total Suspended Solids (TSS), 40 mg/L of Total Nitrogen (TN) and 12 mg/L of Total Phosphorus (TP). The portion of wastewater that exceeds these strengths must be assessed an additional charge. Additional information on how surcharge rates are calculated may be found in LASA’s Rules and Regulations, or by downloading the spreadsheet below.
