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III.I. Local Government Regulatory Programs
All of the previous sections of this chapter provide information on activities conducted by local governments that have some element of environmental regulation. In other words, the previous sections discuss areas in which the local government is the regulatee, or the one being regulated. However, there are some environmental programs at the local level in which the local government is the regulator, or the one implementing and enforcing the program. This section discusses three distinct environmental programs in which the local government is the regulator.
Local governments are responsible for ensuring compliance with the pretreatment program requirements. The national pretreatment program (CWA §307(b)) controls the indirect discharge of pollutants to POTWs by "industrial users." The goals of the pretreatment program are to protect municipal wastewater collection and treatment systems from adverse impacts resulting from the discharge of pollutants into the sewage system, prevent the pass through of pollutants to receiving waters, and protect the quality of the sludge.
EPA established the National Pretreatment Program and shared responsibilities for its implementation among the federal government, states, and local governments:
· EPA and the states are responsible for reviewing, approving, and overseeing local pretreatment programs and regulating discharges to POTWs that do not have local programs; and
· Local governments are responsible for developing, implementing, and enforcing their local programs.
As part of that responsibility, local government's conduct a variety of activities within the confines of the pretreatment program, including;
· Identifying industrial users that need to be regulated
· Reviewing permit applications from industrial users
· Drafting/writing permits
· Conducting sampling and inspections
· Evaluating the status of industrial user compliance (e.g., reviewing reports)
· Taking enforcement actions, as warranted.
The protection of the wastewater collection system is primarily achieved by regulating the nondomestic (i.e., industrial) users from discharging wastes that could result in any of the following problems: interference with POTW operations; pass through of pollutants to receiving waterbodies; sludge contamination; or exposure of workers to hazards.
Any POTW with a design flows greater than five million gallons per day is required to develop a pretreatment program. In addition, any POTW with a design flow of less than five million gallons per day may be required to develop a program if a potential exists for nondomestic wastes to cause POTW upsets, sludge contamination, violations of NPDES permit conditions, or exposure of workers to hazardous chemicals; or if their industrial users are subject to national pretreatment standards.
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