NPDES industrial permits
The process of issuing the “second round” of water discharge permits to industrial sources has begun. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for issuing water discharge permits to “point sources” was put into operation in 1973 according to comprehensive 1972 Amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA). Since most permits were written for terms of five years (the maximum allowed), the permitting agencies are now beginning the major chore of renewing the initial N P D E S permits. This task, known as the “second round,” will be carried out under ground rules markedly different from those in effect five years ago. Congress significantly amended the FWPCA by the Clean Water Act of 1977, largely as a result of national emphasis on controlling toxic pollutants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has in turn developed a comprehensive and complex new permit strategy to expedite the control of toxic substances. Kinds of pollutants The key amendments of the Clean Water Act classified pollutants into three categories: conventional, toxic, and non-conventional or “gray area.” Conventional pollutants are common pollutants that have no lasting effect on water quality-biological oxygen demand (BOD), pH, suspended solids (TSS) and the like. Toxic substances, also called priority pollutants, include at least the 65 listed toxic substances and categories of substances for which EPA is already developing effluent standards as a re32 Environmental Science & Technology
sult of a 1976 suit by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Some elements and their compounds-for example, mercury and zinc-as well as cyanides and a broad array of organic chemicals, are among the 65. The third category comprises, by default, those pollutants that are not listed as conventional or toxic. These so-called non-conventional or “gray area” pollutants are an important class, embracing nontoxic metals (such as iron), “color,” and heat, among others. A new variance provision directed exclusively at this gray area category of pollutants allows sources to do without stringent Best Available Technology (BAT) controls under certain conditions if water quality is protected and if Best Practicable Technology (BPT) is employed. The three-part classification of pollutants will be subject to differing levels of pollution control. Conventional pollutants will be controlled only to the extent that it is cost-effective to do so; this level of control will be called “Best Conventional Technology” (BCT) and will be defined by EPA for each pollutant and each industrial category. The familiar BAT standard will apply to toxics and gray area pollutants, with the emphasis on identifying and stringently controlling the toxic components of the effluent. Consequently, the 1977 Amendments are forcing EPA to review and promulgate anew its BAT standards for all industries. The Agency has published a schedule showing the expected dates for promulgation of the revised standards. EPA has developed a complex strategy for the “second record” of industrial permits. The second time around The strategy divides sources into two broad classes: primary industries and secondary industries. The primary industries include most of the manufacturing and chemical industrial categories, which have toxic pollutants i n their discharges. (They are specifically defined as those 21 industries
listed in the Consent Agreement in the N R D C litigation.) The secondary industry discharges are generally free of toxic pollutants. In order to implement control standards as soon as they are developed, each new or renewal permit for a primary industry source will contain a “reopener” clause authorizing EPA immediately to modify the permit whenever any new effluent limitation or control standard is promulgated. Once the permit has been reopened under this provision, other regulatory requirements that have come into effect in the meantime will also be incorporated in the modification. This reopener clause is mandatory in state NPDES permits as well. The EPA strategy for rapid implementation of the BAT effluent limits in the primary industries is to issue short-term permits set to expire 18 months after the scheduled date of promulgation of the effluent guidelines for the industrial category in question. EPA then will be in a position to specify the guideline BAT limits in the permit, and a compliance schedule for the source to meet those limits. In the event that BAT effluent guidelines have not been promulgated by the time the short-term permit expires, EPA will exercise its “best engineering judgement,” case-by-case, to set BAT limits in the permit. States have the choice The states issuing NPDES permits have more flexibility in how they impose BAT limits for primary industries. They may either follow the EPA short-term permit strategy, or they may issue full-term (five year) permits that contain limits and compliance schedules for achieving those limits that are stringent enough to achieve BAT standards within the time frames specified in the Clean Water Act. The so-called “secondary” industries, in which the principal constituents of the discharges are the conventional pollutants, are treated differently. For those sources discharging only the conventional pollutants named i n the Clean Water Act (BOD,
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@ 1979 American Chemical Society
TSS, pH, and coliform), permits are to be reissued promptly upon expiration of the current permit. I f the effluent contains pollutants that EPA has proposed to classify as conventional (COD, oil and grease, and phosphorus), reissuance of the permit is to be held up until the classification is final. In either case, the BCT limits for control of the conventional pollutants are to be determined by applying best engineering judgment to each source. There are a few ground rules for the second round that apply to all permits. First, under federal lawj--and presumably under most state laws---if a permit holder makes timely application for a new permit, the old permit will continue in effect, even beyond its stated expiration date, until the government agency issues the new permit. Some exceptions Secondly, the effluent limits written into an existing permit will not be relaxed in a new permit, even if current effluent guidelines specify a more relaxed standard. There are, however, three limited exceptions to this rule: ( I ) when state law prohibits an N P D E S state from imposing controls stricter than effluent guidelines; (2) when the source can demonstrate that it cannot achieve the more stringent limit; and (3) when process changes, plant modifications, or the like would qualify the source for a routine permit modification. Finally, EPA or the state may specify best management practices (BMPs) for the handling, storage, or transportation of hamrdous and toxic substances. The work ahead Many people, in both government and industry, anticipated that the experience gained in the first round of N P D E S permitting would lead to a simplified second round. Given those widespread expectations, the complexity of EPA’s second round policy is particularly dismaying. From the Agency’s perspective the changes in national water pollution control policy, coupled with the rapid approach of the July I , 1984 deadline for achieving BAT controls, inevitably created this complexity. From industry’s standpoint, there is now no option but to fully master the complexity and intricate detail of the Act and its regulations. Effluent guidelines are now being formulated; permit applications are falling due . . . : the opportunity for meaningful input into the process will soon pass.
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We can lead you through. Monitoring, Modeling, PSD Review, BACT Review - are these the things that are confusing you? If so, we’ll guide you in getting the pre-construction permit, and in meeting all the complicated requirements - and then we’ll stand by you with proof that you’ve met them. We’re in a unique position to help you. We not only took part in writing the quality assurance guidelines, we do quality assurance for monitoring throughout the U. S. for EPA. We manufacture and install air monitoring systems large or small. We understand the special problems industry is facing. We have available all of the approved EPA models, along with the skill and expertise to use them. If you need special models, we can develop them.
If your requirements include special studies such as environmental assessment, emission inventories, special testing, development of emission factors, guidance on control technology -the whole sphere of environmental activities - we’re prepared to help you. We even offer a training course to help you understand the Clean Air Act and its amendments. For full information contact R. Yelin, Environmental Monitoring & Services Center, Environmental & Energy Systems Division, Rockwell International, 2421 West Hillcrest Drive, Newbury Park, CA 91320, or phone (805) 498-6771.
...where science gets down to business CIRCLE 26 ON READER SERVICE CARD
Volume 13, Number 1, January 1979
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