Dealing with industrial wastes...
Why have industrial pretreatment?Which businesses are monitored?
How do we know businesses are not polluting?
What if a business fails to cooperate?
I need more detailed information
WHY HAVE INDUSTRIAL PRETREATMENT?
One major threat to water quality comes from various industrial processes. Heavy metals and some organic chemicals are not dealt with by the biological treatment process. In fact, they can threaten the bacteria which are necessary to the treatment process!
In addition, many food processing activities can overload the wastewater with "bacteria food" such as grease or sugar. Processing these food contaminants raises the cost of treating wastewater.
The CCMUA's Industrial Pretreatment Program protects the treatment process and keeps costs down by working with local businesses to identify problem areas. Businesses are required to pretreat their wastewater before it is discharged into the sewer system. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection delegated the responsibility for industrial pretreatment monitoring in Camden County to the CCMUA.
WHICH BUSINESSES ARE MONITORED?
The IPP department classifies businesses into six groups:
Exempt
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Businesses whose activities present no threat of excess pollution
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Permitted (that is, required to comply with limits spelled out in a permit)
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HOW DO WE KNOW BUSINESSES ARE NOT POLLUTING?
"Permitted" businesses are required to have tests run on their wastewater by independent labs at stated intervals and must report the results of the tests. At set intervals (varying based on the exact category), the permit is reviewed and the parameters which must be met are restated.
CCMUA staff visits the permitted businesses without warning from time to time to sample the wastewater being discharged. These samples are also tested to make sure the permit is not being violated.
The CCMUA is responsible for reporting monitoring results regularly to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
WHAT IF A BUSINESS FAILS TO COOPERATE?
If businesses fail to provide test results or violate the terms of their permit by discharging excessive wastes, they can be required to pay various penalties or fines. It may become necessary to meet with the NJDEP for further negotiations. The CCMUA's legal staff may become involved in this process.
In most cases, the Industrial Pretreatment Program staff is able to work with businesses to help everyone by keeping our water cleaner and keeping treatment costs as low as possible.
I NEED MORE DETAILED INFORMATION
Our entire Sewer Use Ordinance, also known as the Industrial Pretreatment Rules and Regulations, is now available on the Internet. This document gives full details about Purpose and Policy for pretreatment, Prohibitions and Limitations on wastewater discharges, Control of Prohibited Wastes, the Industrial / Commercial Discharge Permit, Industrial Wastewater Monitoring and Reports, Enforcement Procedures, Fees, Severability, and Conflict. Also incuded are tables giving Maximum Daily Discharge limits for specific pollutants, the Total Toxic Organics parameter list, our Enforcement Response Plan, and the Penalty Matrix.
If you need a printed copy, you can download a pdf-format version of the Sewer Use Ordinance (240 kB, 56 pages). You will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat reader to use the pdf version. Acrobat reader can be downloaded free of charge from Adobe's web site.