SAAM 6537-016 Leyes y Reglamentos Aplicados a la Seguridad

Ocupacional
Class 1b: Water Regulations: Wastewaters
1. The Clean Water Act (CWA):
References: https://www.epa.gov/npdes and 40 CFR Part 122

The CWA’s goal is to protect water resources from contamination by

discharges. See 40 CFR Part 122 in ecfr.
1.1. Overview
 Water pollution degrades surface waters making them
unsafe for drinking, fishing, swimming, and other activities.
 As authorized by the Clean
Water Act, the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit program controls
water pollution by regulating
sources that discharge pollutants
into surfaces waters of the United
States.
  Point sources and Nonpoint sources (NPS)
 The term point source means any discernible, confined and discrete
conveyance, such as a pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, discrete
fissure, or container.
 It also includes vessels or other floating craft from which pollutants
are or may be discharged.
 By law, the term "point source" also includes concentrated animal
feeding operations; places where animals are confined and fed.
 By law, agricultural storm water discharges and return flows from
irrigated agriculture are not "point sources".
 States report that nonpoint source pollution is the leading remaining
cause of water quality problems.
2. Permits
Ref.: NPDES Permit Writer's Manual
https://www.epa.gov/npdes/npdes-permit-writers-manual.
 Technology-based Effluent Limitations
(In Chapter 5 of Manual)
Technology-based effluent limitations (TBELs) in NPDES permits
require a minimum level of treatment of pollutants for point
source discharges based on available treatment technologies.
 Using national effluent limitations guidelines and standards
established by EPA
 40 CFR Part 401 (general effluent guidelines provisions)
 40 CFR Parts 405-471 (effluent limitations guidelines)
 Using best professional judgement (BPJ) on a case-by-case
basis in the absence of national guidelines and standards.
 Water Quality-based Effluent Limitations
(WQBELs) (In Chapter 6 of Manual)
 Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes a
 process for states to identify waters within their boundaries
where implementing technology-based controls is inadequate to
achieve water quality standards.
 States develop total maximum daily loads (TMDLs).
 A TMDL identifies the amount of a specific pollutant or
property of a pollutant, from point, nonpoint, and natural
background sources, that ensure compliance with water quality
standards.
 Pollutants considered in permits
 Conventional pollutants (40 CFR 401.16)
The list of conventional pollutants was designated pursuant to
section 401.16 of the CWA:
 Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
 Total suspended solids (no-filterable) (TSS)
 pH
 Fecal coliform (MPN)
 Oil and grease
 Toxic pollutants (40 CFR 401.15)
The list of toxic pollutants was designated pursuant to section
401.15 of the CWA, and includes 65 compounds or classes of
compounds, both organic and inorganic.
 Sample NPDES Permit
(https://www3.epa.gov/region02/water/pdf/Naranjito_WWTP_P
ermit.pdf)
3. Estándares de Calidad de Agua de
Puerto Rico (JCA)
http://www.jca.pr.gov in “Leyes y
Reglamentos”
 Classification of water resources
 Class A:
Seawater and estuaries
 Class B: Surface
 water
 Class C: Ground Water
 Standards:
 General
 Specific
4. Technology, Operations and Compliance Monitoring - CWA
Treatment of wastewaters in general comprises three levels of
process, which may be required depending on the receiving water
system.
Primary Treatment
 Equalization (solids, pH, organic
load, other)
 301(h) plants (emissaries)
 Usually a one stage
process.
 Solids removal by
settling/sedimentation, in
some cases aided by
coagulation
Secondary Treatment
 Biological treatment is included:
 Anaerobic processes hydrolyze insoluble organic and
nitrogen compounds and remove phosphorus. Produce gases
(CH4, H2S)
Air
 Aerobic
processes
(Activated
Sludge) are used
to oxidize
organic
 components and other reduced matter (e.g. ammonia and
hydrogen sulfide)
 A clarifier is used after the biological treatment section to
reduce the solids content of the effluent, to recirculate a
fraction of the sedimented solids to the biological process, and
to discharge the excess solids.
 Solids discharged must be stabilized and dried, before being
incinerated or deposited.
Tertiary Treatment
 Biological Nutrient Removal
 Anaerobic process.
 Anoxic process.
 Filtration
 Disinfection

 Chemical Precipitation
AaBb (s) ↔ aAb+ + bBa-
Based on pKs:

BaSO4 ↔ Ba2+ + SO42-

Effluent Compliance Monitoring
Based on Permit requirements
5. NPDES Program Areas
Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs)
AFOs are agricultural operations where animals are kept and raised in
confined situations.
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are AFOs that
exceed a certain number of animals kept and raised in confined
situations
Aquaculture
Aquaculture is the culture, or husbandry, of marine or freshwater plants
or animals. "Aquatic animals" means all life stages of fish, mollusks, and
crustaceans.
Biosolids
 40 CFR Part 501 presents the State Sludge Management
Program.
 40 CFR Part 503 presents Standards for the use or disposal of
sewage sludge
Subpart B - LAND APPLICATION
Subpart C - SURFACE DISPOSAL
Subpart D - PATHOGENS AND VECTOR ATTRACTION
REDUCTION
Subpart E - INCINERATION
Industrial Wastewater
Wastewater discharges from industrial and commercial sources may
contain pollutants at levels that could affect the quality of receiving
waters or interfere with publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) that
receive those discharges.
The NPDES permitting program establishes discharge limits and
conditions for industrial and commercial sources with specific
limitations based on the type of facility/activity generating the discharge.
Resources for discharge requirements based on the sector generating the
discharge include:
 NPDES Permitting Framework – Framework for establishing water
quality (WQBEL) and technology-based (TBEL) NPDES permit
limits.
 Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards (Subchapter N)
Federal technology-based requirements are available for discharges from
more than 50 different categories of industrial and commercial activity.
 Effluent Guidelines are national standards for industrial
wastewater discharges to surface waters and publicly owned
treatment works (municipal sewage treatment plants).
 Effluent Guidelines were issued for categories of existing
sources and new sources under Title III of the Clean Water
Act.
Example:
PART 439 - PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING
POINT SOURCE CATEGORY
Subpart D - Mixing/Compounding and Formulation
National Pretreatment Program
The national pretreatment program requires nondomestic dischargers
to comply with pretreatment standards to ensure the goals of the CWA
are attained (40 CFR Part 403).
The objectives of the program are to:
6. Prevent the introduction of pollutants into a POTW that will interfere
with its operation, including interference with its use or disposal of
municipal sludge,
7. Prevent the introduction of pollutants into a POTW that will pass
through the treatment works or otherwise be incompatible with
8. Improve opportunities to recycle and reclaim municipal and industrial
wastewaters and sludges.
The national pretreatment program identifies specific discharge
standards and requirements that apply to sources of nondomestic
wastewater discharged to a POTW.
9. By reducing or eliminating waste at the industries (“source
reduction”), fewer toxic pollutants are discharged to and treated by
the POTWs, providing benefits to both the POTWs and the industrial
users.
10. Pretreatment standards and requirements include:
11. General and specific prohibitions (§403.5)
12. Categorical pretreatment standards (§403.6)
13. Local limits (§403.5).
Reference: Industrial user permitting manual (EPA)
Municipal Wastewater
The collection and treatment of domestic sewage and wastewater is vital
to public health and clean water.
Sewers collect sewage and wastewater from homes, businesses, and
industries and deliver it to wastewater treatment facilities before it is
discharged to water bodies or land or reused.
NPDES permits establish discharge limits and conditions for discharges
from municipal wastewater treatment facilities to waters of the United
States.
Storm Water
NPDES stormwater program areas:
14. Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activities
Five acres or more (one acre or more in Puerto Rico requires a Plan
CES – Control de la Erosion y la Sedimentacion)
15. Stormwater Discharges from Industrial Activities
Material handling and storage, equipment maintenance and cleaning,
and other activities at industrial facilities are often exposed to the
weather.
Runoff from rainfall or snowmelt that comes in contact with these
activities can pick up pollutants, and transport them directly to a
nearby river, lake, or coastal water or indirectly via a storm sewer and
degrade water quality.
Federal regulations at 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14)(i)-(xi) require
stormwater discharges associated with specific categories of industrial
activity to be covered under NPDES permits (unless otherwise
excluded).
The 11 categories of regulated industrial activities are:
 Category One (i): Facilities subject to federal stormwater effluent
discharge standards at 40 CFR Parts 405-471
 Category Two (ii): Heavy manufacturing (e.g., paper mills,
chemical plants, petroleum refineries, steel mills and foundries)
 Category Three (iii): Coal and mineral mining and oil and gas
exploration and processing
 Category Four (iv): Hazardous waste treatment, storage, and
disposal facilities
 Category Five (v): Landfills, land application sites, and open
dumps with industrial wastes
 Category Six (vi): Metal scrapyards, salvage yards, automobile
junkyards, and battery reclaimers
 Category Seven (vii): Steam electric power generating plants
 Category Eight (viii): Transportation facilities that have vehicle
maintenance, equipment cleaning, or airport deicing operations
 Category Nine (ix): Treatment works treating domestic sewage
with a design flow of 1 million gallons a day or more
 Category Ten (x): Construction sites that disturb 5 acres or more
(permitted separately)
 Category Eleven (xi): Light manufacturing (e.g., food processing,
printing and publishing, electronic and other electrical equipment
manufacturing, public warehousing and storage)
16. Stormwater Discharges from Municipal Sources
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4)
Polluted stormwater runoff is commonly transported through municipal
separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), and then often discharged,
untreated, into local water bodies.
An MS4 is a conveyance or system of conveyances that is:
 Owned by a state, city, town, village, or other public entity that
discharges to waters of the U.S.
 Designed or used to collect or convey stormwater (e.g., storm
drains, pipes, ditches)
 Not a combined sewer
 Not part of a sewage treatment plant, or publicly owned treatment
works (POTW).
To prevent harmful pollutants from being washed or dumped into
specific types of MS4s, operators might be required to obtain NPDES
permits and develop storm water management programs (SWMPs).