Within the Federal General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR 403) are newly establish methods to control discharges to Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs). The NJDEP has been put in charge of the pretreatment programs from the EPA, and in turn is requiring all POTWs to implement local pretreatment programs and minimize discharges during emergency situations. The POTWs have delegated this task to Significant Industrial Users (SIUs) through their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) permits or Industrial Pretreatment Program (IPP) permits (see N.J.A.C. 7:14A-6.12) to develop and implement emergency plans, called Emergency Discharge Limitation Plans (EDLP).
EDLPs are intended to limit discharges to POTWs during emergency situations. In this case, an emergency is defined as any event that hinders a treatment work from transferring and or treating wastewater that could cause a threat to public health and the environment. SIUs need to incorporate certain elements in their EDLPs:
Water conservation methods to reduce wastewater discharges,
Facility changes in operation that would reduce discharges during emergencies,
Identification of storage options on site to store wastewater.
Develop and implement a plan of action for sending wastewater discharges to unaffected facilities.
A plan to stop all operations when notified by the DEP or POTW
Contact information for Emergency Response personnel both on-site and off-site as well as contact information for companies that will assist the facility in reducing discharges.
How to implement the plan when a potential emergency arises.
If any item listed above does not apply to a facility, non-applicability should be noted in the plan.
For more information on how to prepare an EDLP, visit (http://www.nj.gov/dep/dwq/pdf/emergency-guidance-for-pretreatment.pdf).
For information on how Baron Environmental can help your facility design and maintain this plan, please contact Leida Jorge or Suzanne Custons.