Section 0400-40-14-.06 - NATIONAL PRETREATMENT STANDARDS: CATEGORICAL STANDARDSNational pretreatment standards specifying quantities or concentrations of pollutants or pollutant properties which may be discharged to a WWF by existing or new industrial users in specific industrial subcategories are established as separate regulations under the appropriate subpart of 40 CFR chapter I, subchapter N. These standards, unless specifically noted otherwise, shall be in addition to all applicable pretreatment standards and requirements set forth in this chapter.
(1) Category Determination Request(a) Application Deadline. Within 60 days after the effective date of a Pretreatment Standard for a subcategory under which an Industrial User may be included, the Industrial User or WWF may request that the Division provide written certification on whether the Industrial User falls within that particular subcategory. If an existing Industrial User adds or changes a process or operation which may be included in a subcategory, the existing Industrial User must request this certification prior to commencing discharge from the added or changed processes or operation. A New Source must request this certification prior to commencing discharge. Where a request for certification is submitted by a WWF, the WWF shall notify any affected Industrial User of such submission. The Industrial User may provide written comments on the WWF submission to the Division within 30 days of notification.
(b) Contents of Application. Each request shall contain a statement:
1. Describing which subcategories might be applicable; and2. Citing evidence and reasons why a particular subcategory is applicable and why others are not applicable. Any person signing the application statement submitted pursuant to this rule shall make the following certification: I certify under penalty of law that this document and all attachments were prepared under my direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified personnel properly gather and evaluate the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or persons who manage the system, or those persons directly responsible for gathering the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment for knowing violations.
(c) Deficient requests. The Division will only act on written requests for determinations that contain all of the information required. Persons who have made incomplete submissions will be notified by the Division that their requests are deficient and, unless the time period is extended, will be given 30 days to correct the deficiency. If the deficiency is not corrected within 30 days or within an extended period allowed by the Division, the request for a determination shall be denied.
(d) Final decision. 1. Under receipt of a complete request, the Division will consider the submission, any additional evidence that may have been requested, and any other available information relevant to the request. The Division will then make a written determination of the applicable subcategory and state the reasons for the determination.2. The Division shall forward the determination described in this paragraph to the EPA Water Management Division Director who may make a final determination. The EPA Water Management Division Director may waive receipt of these determinations. If the EPA Water Management Division Director does not modify the Division's decision within 60 days after receipt thereof, or if the EPA Water Management Division Director waives receipt of the determination, the Division's decision is final.3. Where the EPA Water Management Division Director elects to modify the Division's decision, the EPA Water Management Division Director's decision will be final.4. The Division shall send a copy of the determination to the affected Industrial User and the WWF.(e) Requests for hearing and/or legal decision. Within 30 days following the date of receipt of notice of the final determination as provided for by part (d)4 of this paragraph, the Requester may submit a petition to reconsider or contest the decision to the Division Director who shall act on such petition expeditiously and state the reasons for his or her determination in writing.
(2) Deadline for Compliance with Categorical Standards. Compliance by existing sources with categorical Pretreatment Standards shall be within 3 years of the date the Standard is effective unless a shorter compliance time is specified in the appropriate subpart of 40 CFR chapter I, subchapter N. Existing sources which become Industrial Users subsequent to promulgation of an applicable categorical Pretreatment Standard shall be considered existing Industrial Users except where such sources meet the definition of a New Source as defined in paragraph (1) of Rule 0400-40-14-.03. New Sources shall install and have in operating condition, and shall "start-up" all pollution control equipment required to meet applicable Pretreatment Standards before beginning to discharge. Within the shortest feasible time (not to exceed 90 days), New Sources must meet all applicable Pretreatment Standards.
(3) Concentration and mass limits.(a) Pollutant discharge limits in categorical Pretreatment Standards will be expressed either as concentration or mass limits. Wherever possible, where concentration limits are specified in standards, equivalent mass limits will be provided so that local, State or Federal authorities responsible for enforcement may use either concentration or mass limits. Limits in categorical Pretreatment Standards shall apply to the effluent of the process regulated by the Standard, or as otherwise specified by the standard.(b) When the limits in a categorical Pretreatment Standard are expressed only in terms of mass of pollutant per unit of production, the Control Authority may convert the limits to equivalent limitations expressed either as mass of pollutant discharged per day or effluent concentration for purposes of calculating permit limitations applicable to individual Industrial Users.(c) A Control Authority calculating equivalent mass-per-day limitations under subparagraph (b) of this paragraph shall calculate such limitations by multiplying the limits in the Standard by the Industrial User's average rate of production. This average rate of production shall be based not upon the designed production capacity but rather upon a reasonable measure of the Industrial User's actual long-term daily production, such as the average daily production during a representative year. For new sources, actual production shall be estimated using projected production.(d) A Control Authority calculating equivalent concentration limitations under subparagraph (b) of this paragraph shall calculate such limitations by dividing the mass limitations derived under subparagraph (c) of this paragraph by the average daily flow rate of the Industrial User's regulated process wastewater. This average daily flow rate shall be based upon a reasonable measure of the Industrial User's actual long-term average flow rate, such as the average daily flow rate during the representative year. Any day in which a facility does not have a discharge should not be included in the calculation of an average flow.(e) When the limits in a categorical Pretreatment Standard are expressed only in terms of pollutant concentrations, an Industrial User may request that the Control Authority convert the limits to equivalent mass limits. The determination to convert concentration limits to mass limits is within the discretion of the Control Authority. The Control Authority may establish equivalent mass limits only if the Industrial User meets all the following conditions in subparts 1.(i) through (v) of this subparagraph.1. To be eligible for equivalent mass limits, the Industrial User must:(i) Employ, or demonstrate that it will employ, water conservation methods and technologies that substantially reduce water use during the term of its control mechanism;(ii) Currently use control and treatment technologies adequate to achieve compliance with the applicable categorical Pretreatment Standard, and not have used dilution as a substitute for treatment;(iii) Provide sufficient information to establish the facility's actual average daily flow rate for all wastestreams, based on data from a continuous effluent flow monitoring device, as well as the facility's long-term average production rate. Both the actual average daily flow rate and the long-term average production rate must be representative of current operating conditions;(iv) Not have daily flow rates, production levels, or pollutant levels that vary so significantly that equivalent mass limits are not appropriate to control the discharge; and(v) Have consistently complied with all applicable categorical Pretreatment Standards during the period prior to the Industrial User's request for equivalent mass limits.2. An Industrial User subject to equivalent mass limits must:(i) Maintain and effectively operate control and treatment technologies adequate to achieve compliance with the equivalent mass limits;(ii) Continue to record the facility's flow rates through the use of a continuous effluent flow monitoring device;(iii) Continue to record the facility's production rates and notify the Control Authority whenever production rates are expected to vary by more than 20 percent from its baseline production rates determined in subpart 1.(iii) of this subparagraph. Upon notification of a revised production rate, the Control Authority must reassess the equivalent mass limit and revise the limit as necessary to reflect changed conditions at the facility; and(iv) Continue to employ the same or comparable water conservation methods and technologies as those implemented pursuant to subpart 1.(i) of this subparagraph so long as it discharges under an equivalent mass limit.3. A Control Authority which chooses to establish equivalent mass limits:(i) Must calculate the equivalent mass limit by multiplying the actual average daily flow rate of the regulated process(es) of the Industrial User by the concentration-based daily maximum and monthly average Standard for the applicable categorical Pretreatment Standard and the appropriate unit conversion factor;(ii) Upon notification of a revised production rate, must reassess the equivalent mass limit and recalculate the limit as necessary to reflect changed conditions at the facility; and(iii) May retain the same equivalent mass limit in subsequent control mechanism terms if the Industrial User's actual average daily flow rate was reduced solely as a result of the implementation of water conservation methods and technologies, and the actual average daily flow rates used in the original calculation of the equivalent mass limit were not based on the use of dilution as a substitute for treatment pursuant to paragraph (4) of this rule. The Industrial User must also be in compliance with Rule 0400-40-14-.17 (regarding the prohibition of bypass).4. The Control Authority may not express limits in terms of mass for pollutants such as pH, temperature, radiation, or other pollutants which cannot appropriately be expressed as mass.(f) The Control Authority may convert the mass limits of the categorical Pretreatment Standards at 40 CFR Parts 414, 419, and 455 to concentration limits for purposes of calculating limitations applicable to individual Industrial Users under the following conditions. When converting such limits to concentration limits, the Control Authority must use the concentrations listed in the applicable subparts of 40 CFR Parts 414, 419, and 455 and document that dilution is not being substituted for treatment as prohibited by paragraph (4) of this rule.(g) Equivalent limitations calculated in accordance with subparagraphs (c), (d), (e) and (f) of this paragraph are deemed Pretreatment Standards for the purposes of section 307(d) of the Federal Clean Water Act and this chapter. The Control Authority must document how the equivalent limits were derived and make this information publicly available. Once incorporated into its control mechanism, the Industrial User must comply with the equivalent limitations in lieu of the promulgated categorical standards from which the equivalent limitations were derived.(h) Many categorical pretreatment standards specify one limit for calculating maximum daily discharge limitations and a second limit for calculating maximum monthly average, or 4-day average, limitations. Where such Standards are being applied, the same production or flow figure shall be used in calculating both the average and the maximum equivalent limitation.(i) Any Industrial User operating under a control mechanism incorporating equivalent mass or concentration limits calculated from a production-based standard shall notify the Control Authority within two business days after the User has a reasonable basis to know that the production level will significantly change within the next calendar month. Any User not notifying the Control Authority of such anticipated change will be required to meet the mass or concentration limits in its control mechanism that were based on the original estimate of the long-term average production rate.(4) Dilution Prohibited as Substitute for Treatment. Except where expressly authorized to do so by an applicable Pretreatment Standard or Requirement, no Industrial User shall ever increase the use of process water, or in any other way attempt to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with a Pretreatment Standard or Requirement. The Control Authority may impose mass limitations on Industrial Users which are using dilution to meet applicable Pretreatment Standards or Requirements or in other cases where the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.
(5) Combined wastestream formula. Where process effluent is mixed prior to treatment with wastewaters other than those generated by the regulated process, fixed alternative discharge limits may be derived by the Control Authority, or by the Industrial User with the written concurrence of the Control Authority. These alternative limits shall be applied to the mixed effluent. When deriving alternative categorical limits, the Control Authority or Industrial User shall calculate both an alternative daily maximum value using the daily maximum value(s) specified in the appropriate categorical Pretreatment Standard(s) and an alternative consecutive sampling day average value using the monthly average value(s) specified in the appropriate categorical Pretreatment Standard(s). The Industrial User shall comply with the alternative daily maximum and monthly average limits fixed by the Control Authority until the Control Authority modifies the limits or approves an Industrial User modification request. Modification is authorized whenever there is a material or significant change in the values used in the calculation to fix alternative limits for the regulated pollutant. An Industrial User must immediately report any such material or significant change to the Control Authority. Where appropriate new alternative categorical limits shall be calculated within 30 days.
(a) Alternative limit calculation. For purposes of these formulas, the "average daily flow" means a reasonable measure of the average daily flow for a 30-day period. For new sources, flows shall be estimated using projected values. The alternative limit for a specified pollutant will be derived by the use of either of the following formulas:
1. Alternative concentration limit. Click to view Image
where
CT=the alternative concentration limit for the combined wastestream.
Ci=the categorical Pretreatment Standard concentration limit for a pollutant in the regulated stream i.
Fi=the average daily flow (at least a 30-day average) of stream i to the extent that it is regulated for such pollutant.
FD=the average daily flow (at least a 30-day average) from:
(a) Boiler blowdown streams, non-contact cooling streams, stormwater streams, and demineralizer backwash streams; provided, however, that where such streams contain a significant amount of a pollutant, and the combination of such streams, prior to treatment, with an Industrial User's regulated process wastestream(s) will result in a substantial reduction of that pollutant, the Control Authority, upon application of the Industrial User, may exercise its discretion to determine whether such stream(s) should be classified as diluted or unregulated. In its application to the Control Authority, the Industrial User must provide engineering, production, sampling and analysis and such other information so that the Control Authority can make its determination; or(b) sanitary wastestreams where such streams are not regulated by a Categorical Pretreatment Standard; or(c) from any process wastestreams which were or could have been entirely exempted from categorical Pretreatment Standards pursuant to paragraph 8 of the NRDC v. Costle Consent Decree (12 ERC 1833) for one or more of the following reasons (see appendix D of this chapter): (1) The pollutants of concern are not detectable in the effluent from the Industrial User (paragraph (8)(a)(iii) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842);(2) The pollutants of concern are present only in trace amounts and are neither causing nor likely to cause toxic effects (paragraph (8)(a)(iii) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842);(3) The pollutants of concern are present in amounts too small to be effectively reduced by technologies known to the Administrator (paragraph (8)(a)(iii) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842); or(4) The wastestream contains only pollutants which are compatible with the WWF (paragraph (8)(b)(i) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842).FT=The average daily flow (at least a 30-day average) through the combined treatment facility (includes Fi, FD and unregulated streams).
N=The total number of regulated streams.
2. Alternative mass limit. Click to view Image
where
MT=the alternative mass limit for a pollutant in the combined wastestream.
Mi=the categorical Pretreatment Standard mass limit for a pollutant in the regulated stream i (the categorical pretreatment mass limit multiplied by the appropriate measure of production).
Fi=the average flow (at least a 30-day average) of stream i to the extent that it is regulated for such pollutant.
FD=the average daily flow (at least a 30-day average) from:
(a) Boiler blowdown streams, non-contact cooling streams, stormwater streams, and demineralizer backwash streams; provided, however, that where such streams contain a significant amount of a pollutant, and the combination of such streams, prior to treatment, with an Industrial User's regulated process wastestream(s) will result in a substantial reduction of that pollutant, the Control Authority, upon application of the Industrial User, may exercise its discretion to determine whether such stream(s) should be classified as diluted or unregulated. In its application to the Control Authority, the Industrial User must provide engineering, production, sampling and analysis and such other information so that the Control Authority can make its determination; or(b) sanitary wastestreams where such streams are not regulated by a categorical Pretreatment Standard; or(c) from any process wastestreams which were or could have been entirely exempted from categorical Pretreatment Standards pursuant to paragraph 8 of the NRDC v. Costle Consent Decree (12 ERC 1833) for one or more of the following reasons (see appendix D of this chapter): (1) The pollutants of concern are not detectable in the effluent from the Industrial User (paragraph (8)(a)(iii) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842);(2) The pollutants of concern are present only in trace amounts and are neither causing nor likely to cause toxic effects (paragraph (8)(a)(iii) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842);(3) The pollutants of concern are present in amounts too small to be effectively reduced by technologies known to the Administrator (paragraph (8)(a)(iii) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842); or(4) The wastestream contains only pollutants which are compatible with the WWF (paragraph (8)(b)(i) of the Decree, 12 ERC at p. 1842). FT=The average flow (at least a 30-day average) through the combined treatment facility (includes Fi, FD and unregulated streams).
N=The total number of regulated streams.
(b) Alternate limits below detection limit. An alternative pretreatment limit may not be used if the alternative limit is below the analytical detection limit for any of the regulated pollutants.
(c) Self-monitoring. Self-monitoring required to ensure compliance with the alternative categorical limit shall be conducted in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (7) of Rule 0400-40-14-.12.
(d) Choice of monitoring location. Where a regulated process wastestream is combined prior to treatment with wastewaters other than those generated by the regulated process, the Industrial User may monitor either the segregated process wastestream or the combined wastestream for the purpose of determining compliance with applicable Pretreatment Standards. If the Industrial User chooses to monitor the segregated process wastestream, it shall apply the applicable categorical Pretreatment Standard. If the User chooses to monitor the combined wastestream, it shall apply an alternative discharge limit calculated using the combined wastestream formula as provided in this paragraph. The Industrial User may change monitoring points only after receiving approval from the Control Authority. The Control Authority shall ensure that any change in an Industrial User's monitoring point(s) will not allow the User to substitute dilution for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with applicable Standards.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-40-14-.06
Original rule filed September 17, 2013; effective December 16, 2013. Rule renumbered from 1200-04-14. Amendments filed January 25, 2023; effective 4/25/2023.Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-201, et seq., and 69-3-101, et seq.