Compliance and Enforcement

MSD has its legal authority through the Wastewater Discharge Regulation (WDRs). The WDRs define the terms of compliance and resulting enforcement for industries discharging to the collection system. Compliance is determined by comparing the results from a combination of self-monitoring and MSD sampling to the discharge limitations. MSD utilizes an Oracle based data management tool referred to as the Industrial Waste Information System (IWIS) to track compliance / non-compliance. The primary enforcement issue is when an IU fails to meet its discharge limits. Other issues which require enforcement activity include failure to submit required reports, failure to meet the requirements of a compliance schedule, and the release of prohibited discharges. MSD has developed and implements an EPA approved Enforcement Response Plan (ERP).

When an IU violates the specific discharge limitation for a given parameter, a Notice of Violation (NOV) is issued and the industry is required to resample within 30 days for the violating pollutant. If the results of the additional sampling exceed the discharge limits, the industrial user may meet the criteria for significant non-compliance (SNC). A discharger is considered to be in SNC if it meets one of the following criteria:

• Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which thirty-three (33) percent or more of all of the measurements taken during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) the daily maximum limit or the average limit for the same pollutant parameter;
• Technical Review Criteria (TRC) - violations, defined here as those in which thirty-three (33) percent or more of all of the measurements for each pollutant parameter taken during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the daily maximum limit or the average limit multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC = 1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
• Any other violation of a pretreatment effluent limit (daily maximum or longer-term average) that MSD determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass-through (including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public);
• Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or to the environment or has resulted in the POTW’s exercise of its emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge;
• Failure to meet, within ninety (90) days after the schedule date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in wastewater discharge permit or other order issued hereunder for starting construction, completing construction or attaining final compliance;
• Failure to provide, within thirty (30) days after the due date, required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, ninety (90) day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;
• Failure to accurately report non-compliance;
• Any other violation or group of violations which MSD determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.

Pretreatment continued

Pretreatment Index