HomeMy Public PortalAboutPollutants Not Present Waiver RequestRev. 01/29/2013 1
REQUEST FOR SELF-MONITORING WAIVER
FOR REGULATED POLLUTANTS
Neither present, nor expected to be present in the discharge
Facility Name:
Premise Address:
Regulated Process: 40 CFR Part Subpart
Regulated pollutants for
which waiver is requested:
Technical evaluation: Attach a technical evaluation of the facility regarding the pollutants with
a requested waiver, demonstrating that they should not be present.
The industry's technical evaluation should include a facility-wide accounting of raw materials, products, by-products, and other
chemicals with the potential to be discharged. The industry should either conduct its own analysis of each raw material or
chemical used on-site, or obtain a certificate of analysis from the manufacturer of the material demonstrating the absence of
the pollutant. The evaluation must include materials not necessarily used in the manufacturing operation, such as chemicals
used in equipment cleaning, cooling towers, boilers, and wastewater treatment. Although wastewater treatment chemicals are
used to reduce the levels of pollutants in the Industry's discharge, analysis of the chemicals can show significant levels of
contaminants that can be added to the wastewater stream. Additional information, such as interm ediate products, final
products, and by-products generated in the process must be considered as well; therefore, the industry must have a detailed
knowledge of chemicals used or generated in its facility and perform a detailed evaluation of its operations.
The industry may submit material safety data sheets (MSDSs) as evidence that a particular pollutant is not present in the raw
materials or other chemicals it uses at its facility. However, while MSDSs are a valuable tool in this demonstration, they do not
identify all the pollutants present in a given material. Therefore, the MSDS cannot be relied on exclusively to determine
whether a pollutant is present or not.
Note that determining whether a pollutant is present should be on the basis of not only whether the pollutant is in the process
wastestream, but also whether a pollutant has the potential to enter the wastestream. Therefore, the industry must evaluate
the potential for the pollutant to enter the wastestream through spills and other potentiall y infrequent events in addition to
whether the pollutant would be routinely expected to enter the wastestream or could be a by -product of pollutants in the
wastestream.
Sampling data: Attach sampling data from at least one sampling of the facility's regulated
process wastewater prior to any treatment.
Point at which samples were collected:
Date on which samples were collected:
Time(s) at which samples were collected:
Sample type (grab or composite):
Although a properly conducted technical evaluation showing that a pollutant is not present suggests that the industry has met
its burden for the sampling waiver, the Pretreatment Regulations require the industry to also conduct monitoring to further
demonstrate eligibility for the waiver. The amount of data that is sufficient to make a decision to grant a waiver request is not
defined. The amount of data needed in individual cases is necessarily a site-specific determination, because of the
tremendous variations among facilities.
At a minimum, the industry must provide the results of one or more samples prior to any treatment. The samples taken must
be representative of all wastewater from all processes, including any seasonal or other variability in the discharge. To veri fy
that the pollutant is not present based solely on wastewater treatment, the data must show one of the following:
1. There are no detectable levels of the pollutant. - or - 2. Any detectable levels of the pollutant are solely attributable to the
intake water, as demonstrated by data on the pollutant’s levels in the industry's influent water and not to any activities at the
industry's facility.
Rev. 01/29/2013 2
However, if a pollutant is present in the discharger’s wastewater, either prior to treatment or after treatment, data on the
pollutant levels in the influent water are necessary to demonstrate that the pollutant’s presence is due solely to levels that exist
in the intake water and not due to any of the industry's activities. With the exception of copper and lead, data from the water
supplier may be used in place of data supplied by the industry, provided that such data is representative of the IU’s intake
water. Note that where the data prior to treatment shows that the pollutant is present at levels above concentrations in the
background intake water, the industry's sampling waiver request will be denied.
In addition to the sample prior to the industry's treatment, the industry may also provide historical effluent data as further proof
that the pollutant is not present. This information will be useful as partial evidence of the pollutant’s non-presence. However,
effluent data should be viewed as secondary to the sample(s) taken prior to treatment.
If the permitted sampling point for the regulated process above also receives wastewater from other sources, a
sample must also be collected from this location and analyzed for the pollutants with a requested waiver. Attach this
sampling data, also, and indicate the same sampling details as above.
NOTE: The permitted sampling point's data must not show the presence of the pollutants with a requested waiver, regardless
of whether the source is suspected to be from the regulated process or from other wastewater sources. This point is where
ongoing verification of the absence of the pollutants will occur.
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.
Name of Authorized Facility Representative:
Title:
Signature:
Date:
What happens next: Assuming that the industry has followed the requirements for requesting the sampling waiver,
MSD must determine whether to grant the sampling waiver. The regulations do not in any way
require MSD to grant the sampling waiver at any time. If MSD does not believe that the industry
has demonstrated to its satisfaction that a pollutant is not present, MSD cannot grant the waiver.
Even where the industry has demonstrated that a specific pollutant is not present, MSD has the
discretion to require monitoring.
MSD will base its decision on the materials submitted by the industry as well as its own historical
familiarity with the facility’s participation in the pretreatment program. MSD will also review
information contained in the industry's permit applications, baseline and periodic monitoring
reports, and data obtained through facility inspections.
How long is the waiver valid: If the sampling waiver is granted, it is valid only for the duration of the permit. To
continue the waiver for the period of the next permit, the industry must reapply for the
waiver, including the submission of appropriate monitoring data.