Ala. Admin. Code r. 335-6-5-.03
Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 1, October 31, 2024
Section 335-6-5-.03 - General Pretreatment Standards And Prohibitions And Local Limits(1) An industrial user, whether or not the user is subject to other categorical pretreatment standards or any national, state, or local pretreatment requirements, shall not introduce into publicly or privately owned treatment works any pollutant(s) which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, cause pass through or interference or in any other manner adversely impact the operation or performance of the treatment works, to include the method of sludge disposal in use by the publicly or privately owned treatment works.(2) The following pollutants may not be introduced into a publicly owned treatment works: (a) pollutants which create a fire or explosion hazard in the publicly owned treatment works, including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed cup flashpoint of less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit or 60 degrees Centigrade using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21(1994);(b) pollutants which will cause corrosive structural damage to the treatment works, but in no case discharges with pH lower than 5.0, unless the treatment works are specifically designed to accommodate such discharges;(c) solid or viscous pollutants in amounts which will cause obstruction to the flow in sewers, or other interference with the operation of the treatment works;(d) any pollutant, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.) released in a discharge of such volume or strength as to cause interference in the treatment works;(e) heat in amounts which will inhibit biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in interference but in no case in such quantities that the temperature of the influent, at the treatment plant, exceeds 40° C (104° F) unless the treatment plant is designed to accommodate such heat;(f) pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the treatment works in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems;(g) any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the treatment works; and(h) petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or pass-through.(3) The Department shall develop and enforce any specific local limits required to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Rule and, where appropriate, shall include these limits in SID Permits. Ordinance limits developed by publicly owned treatment works, that are based on a technical evaluation, shall be imposed as local limits in SID Permits, provided the publicly owned treatment works submits the limit and technical evaluation to the Department for review and approval and the limit is determined to be necessary to ensure compliance with the Department's Rules. (a) Local limits shall not be developed for substances that are not present in industrial user discharges to the publicly owned treatment works or that are not limited by a SID Permit issued for discharge to the publicly owned treatment works, except that local limits necessary to ensure compliance with general pretreatment standards shall be developed.(b) Local limits may be determined using actual data from analysis of publicly owned treatment plant influent and effluent, from sludge analysis, and the characteristics of the waterbody receiving the publicly owned treatment works NPDES permitted discharge. If actual data is not available, pollutant loadings from all significant industrial discharges and best professional judgment based on literature search and/or EPA published estimates shall be used. When the publicly owned treatment works disposes of treated wastewater using an alternative, such as land application, to discharge to a surface water, local limits determinations shall consider the wastewater quality required by the disposal method when evaluating pass-through.(c) Local limits shall prevent the creation of sludges at the treatment plant that are not compatible with the treatment works chosen method of sludge disposal and may be developed to produce a sludge compatible with a POTW's long range plan for sludge disposal. Local limits for support of long range sludge disposal plans must be developed by the POTW and submitted in accordance with this paragraph.(d) Local limits for a substance may be equivalent to the concentration of the substance found in domestic wastewater when necessary to prevent water quality impacts, interference, or sludge problems.(e) Public notice of the Department's intent to develop local limits shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the area served by the treatment works for which the limits are being developed. The notice shall include directions for obtaining a copy of the proposed limits and for commenting on the limits. The notice shall allow at least a 30 day comment period prior to final development of the local limits. All comments received during the notice period shall be considered during development of the final local limits.(f) Procedure For Submittal Of Local Limits. Any POTW wishing to participate in the initial development of local limits shall notify the Department within 30 days of the effective date of this Rule and shall provide an anticipated schedule leading to the submittal of the limits and technical justification. The notification shall also state what local limits the POTW plans to develop. A POTW may submit requested changes to local limits at any time and shall submit the technical justification concurrent with the requested change. Author: John Poole.
Ala. Admin. Code r. 335-6-5-.03
Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 22-22-9, 22-22A-5, 22-22A-6, 22-22A-8.