(1) Introduction.
Rule
62-625.420, F.A.C., does not apply where the Department is acting as the
control authority.
(a) Any public utility
receiving wastewater from a categorical industrial user may, at the control
authority's discretion and subject to the conditions of this section, grant
removal credits to reflect removal by the WWF of pollutants specified in the
categorical pretreatment standard. The control authority may grant a removal
credit equal to or, at its discretion, less than its consistent removal rate.
Upon being granted a removal credit, each affected industrial user shall
calculate its revised discharge limits in accordance with paragraph (c), below.
Removal credits shall only be given for indicator or surrogate pollutants
regulated in a categorical pretreatment standard if the categorical
pretreatment standard so specifies.
(b) Conditions for authorization to give
removal credits. A control authority is authorized to give removal credits only
if all of the following conditions are met:
1. The control authority requests, and
receives authorization from the Department to give, a removal credit in
accordance with the requirements and procedures specified in subsection (4),
below.
2. Consistent removal
determination. The WWF demonstrates and continues to achieve consistent removal
of the pollutant in accordance with subsection (2), below.
3. Pretreatment program. The public utility
has a pretreatment program approved by the Department in accordance with Rule
62-625.510,
F.A.C.
4. Biosolids requirements.
The granting of removal credits will not cause the WWF to violate the local,
State, and Federal requirements which apply to the biosolids management method
chosen by the WWF. Alternatively, the WWF can demonstrate to the Department
that (even though it is not presently in compliance with applicable domestic
wastewater residual requirements) it will be in compliance when the industrial
user (to whom the removal credit would apply) is required to meet its
categorical pretreatment standard, as modified by the removal credit. Removal
credits may be made available for the following:
a. Any pollutant listed in subsections
62-625.880(2) and
(3), F.A.C., for the use or disposal practice
employed by the WWF, when the requirements in Chapter 62-640, F.A.C., for that
practice are met;
b. Arsenic,
Beryllium, Cadmium, Chromium, Lead, Mercury and Nickel, when incinerated, when
the concentration for these pollutants does not exceed the requirements of 40
C.F.R. Part
503.43, ("Incineration: Pollutant Limits" codified as of July 1,
2020, which is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-13511).
A copy of this document may be obtained by contacting the Wastewater Management
Program, M.S. 3545, 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida
32399-2400;
c. Any pollutant listed
in subsection
62-625.880(4),
F.A.C., for the use or disposal practice employed by the WWF, when the
concentration for the pollutant listed in subsection
62-625.880(4),
F.A.C., does not exceed the specified concentration; or
d. For any pollutant in biosolids, when the
WWF disposes all of its biosolids in a municipal solid waste landfill that
meets the criteria in Chapter 62-701, F.A.C.
5. Permit limitations. The granting of
removal credits shall not cause a violation of the WWF's permit limitations or
conditions. Alternatively, the WWF can demonstrate to the Department that (even
though it is not presently in compliance with applicable limitations and
conditions in its permit) it will be in compliance when the industrial user (to
whom the removal credit would apply) is required to meet its categorical
pretreatment standard, as modified by the removal credit.
(c) Calculation of revised discharge limits.
Revised discharge limits for a specific pollutant shall be derived by use of
the following formula:
Click
here to view image
where
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y
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=
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Revised discharge limit for the specified pollutant
(expressed in same units as x).
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x
|
=
|
Pollutant discharge limit specified in the applicable
categorical pretreatment standard.
|
r
|
=
|
Removal credit for that pollutant as established
under subsection (2), below (percentage removal expressed as a proportion,
i.e., a number between 0 and 1).
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(2) Establishment of removal credits;
demonstration of consistent removal. Influent and effluent operational data
demonstrating consistent removal, or other information as provided for in
paragraph (g), below, which demonstrates consistent removal of the pollutants
for which discharge limit revisions are proposed, shall be provided to the
Department. These data shall meet the following requirements:
(a) Representative data: seasonal. The data
shall be representative of yearly and seasonal conditions to which the WWF is
subjected for each pollutant for which a discharge limit revision is
proposed.
(b) Representative data:
quality and quantity. The data shall be representative of the quality and
quantity of normal effluent and influent flow if such data can be obtained. If
such data are unobtainable, alternate data or information may be presented for
approval to demonstrate consistent removal as provided for in paragraph (g),
below.
(c) Sampling procedures:
composite.
1. The influent and effluent
operational data shall be obtained through 24-hour flow-proportional composite
samples. Sampling shall be done manually or automatically, and discretely or
continuously. For discrete sampling, at least 12 aliquots shall be composited.
Discrete sampling shall be flow-proportioned either by varying the time
interval between each aliquot or the volume of each aliquot. All composites
must be flow-proportional to each stream flow at the time of collection of the
influent aliquot or to the total influent flow since the previous influent
aliquot. Volatile pollutant aliquots must be combined in the laboratory
immediately before analysis.
2.
Sampling frequency and historical data.
a.
Twelve samples shall be taken at approximately equal intervals throughout one
full year. Sampling must be evenly distributed over the days of the week so as
to include non-workdays as well as workdays. If the Department determines that
this sampling is not representative of the actual operation of the WWF, the
Department shall notify the WWF with an explanation of why it has come to this
determination. The control authority shall submit, within 30 days of receipt of
the Department notice, an alternative sampling schedule. The Department shall
approve the alternative sampling schedule if it is representative of the
operation of the WWF. The alternative sampling schedule shall not be
implemented until written Department approval is obtained.
b. As an alternative, a WWF may utilize an
historical data base amassed prior to the effective date of this chapter. In
order for the historical data base to be approved, it must present a
statistically valid description of daily, weekly, and seasonal WWF loadings and
performance for at least one year.
3. The Department shall require that each
effluent sample be taken approximately one detention time later than the
corresponding influent sample when failure to do so would result in an
unrepresentative portrayal of actual WWF operation. The detention period is to
be based on a 24-hour average daily flow value. The average daily flow used
will be based upon the average of the daily flows during the same month of the
previous year.
(d)
Sampling procedures: Grab. Where composite sampling is not an appropriate
sampling technique, grab samples shall be taken to obtain influent and effluent
operational data. Collection of influent grab samples should precede collection
of effluent samples by approximately one detention period. The detention period
is to be based on a 24-hour average daily flow value. The average daily flow
used shall be based upon the average of the daily flows during the same month
of the previous year. Grab samples shall be required, for example, where the
parameters being evaluated are those, such as cyanide and phenol, which may not
be held for any extended period because of biological, chemical, or physical
interactions which take place after sample collection and affect the
results.
(e) Analytical methods.
The sampling referred to in paragraphs (c) and (d), above, and an analysis of
these samples, shall be performed in accordance with Chapter 62-160,
F.A.C.
(f) Calculation of removal.
All data acquired under the provisions of this rule must be submitted to the
Department. Removal for a specific pollutant shall be determined for each
sample either by measuring the difference between the concentrations of the
pollutant in the influent and effluent of the WWF and expressing the difference
as a percent of the influent concentration, or by using other data or
procedures subject to concurrence by the Department as provided for in
paragraph (g), below.
(g) All
sample data obtained for the measured pollutant during the time period
prescribed in this section, must be reported to the Department and used in
computing consistent removal. If a substance is detectable in the influent but
not in the effluent, the effluent level shall be assumed to be the method
detection limit, and those data may be used by the WWF at its discretion if the
method detection limit meets the requirements of Rule
62-4.246,
F.A.C. If the substance is not detectable in the influent, the data shall not
be used to calculate consistent removal. Where the number of samples with
concentrations equal to or above the method detection limit is between 8 and
12, the average of the lowest 6 removals shall be used. If there are less than
8 samples with concentration equal to or above the method detection limit, the
Department shall require alternate means for demonstrating consistent
removal.
(3) Provisional
credits. For pollutants which are not being discharged currently (i.e., new or
modified facilities, or production changes), the control authority may apply
for authorization to give removal credits prior to the initial discharge of the
pollutant. Consistent removal shall be based provisionally on data from
treatability studies or demonstrated removal at other comparable treatment
facilities where the quality and quantity of influent are similar. Within 18
months after the commencement of discharge of pollutants in question,
consistent removal must be demonstrated in accordance with subsection (2),
above. If, within 18 months after the commencement of the discharge of the
pollutant in question, the WWF cannot demonstrate consistent removal in
accordance with subsection (2), above, the authority to grant provisional
removal credits shall be terminated by the Department in accordance with
paragraph (5)(d), below.
(4)
Control authority request for authorization to give removal credits and
Department review.
(a) Any control authority
that wants to give a removal credit must request authorization from the
Department.
(b) The request for
authorization to give removal credits (or modify existing ones) shall be
submitted in writing by the control authority to the Department.
(c) A control authority may request
authorization to give or modify removal credits at any time.
(d) The request for authorization to give
removal credits must be supported by the following information:
1. List of pollutants. A list of pollutants
for which removal credits are proposed.
2. Consistent removal data. The data required
in subsection (2), above.
3.
Calculation of revised discharge limits. Proposed revised discharge limits for
each affected subcategory of industrial users calculated in accordance with
paragraph (1)(c), above.
4.
Biosolids management certification. A specific description of the WWF's current
methods of using or disposing of its biosolids and a certification that the
granting of removal credits will not cause a violation of the biosolids
requirements identified in subparagraph (1)(b)4., above.
5. Permit limit certification. A
certification that the granting of removal credits will not cause a violation
of the WWF's permit limits and conditions as required in subparagraph (1)(b)5.,
above.
(e) Department
review. The Department shall review the control authority's request for
authorization to give or modify removal credits in accordance with the
procedures of Rule
62-625.510,
F.A.C., and shall, in no event, have more than 180 days from public notice of
the request to complete review.
(f)
EPA review of State removal credit approvals. The EPA Regional Administrator
will review and approve submissions for authority to grant removal
credits.
(g) Nothing in these
regulations precludes an industrial user or other interested party from
assisting the control authority in preparing and presenting the information
necessary to request authorization.
(h) Upon Department and EPA approval of a
control authority's request to grant removal credits, the WWF's permit shall be
revised in accordance with Rule
62-620.325,
F.A.C., to include the revised discharge limits and any additional monitoring
and reporting requirements.
(5) Continuation and withdrawal of
authorization.
(a) Effect of authorization.
Once a control authority has received authorization to grant removal credits
for a particular pollutant regulated in a categorical pretreatment standard, it
may automatically extend that removal credit to the same pollutant when it is
regulated in other categorical standards, unless granting the removal credit
will cause the WWF to violate the requirements identified in subparagraph
(1)(b)4., above, or its permit limits and conditions as required by
subparagraph (1)(b)5., above. If a control authority elects at a later time to
extend removal credits to a certain categorical pretreatment standard,
industrial subcategory or one or more industrial users that initially were not
granted removal credits, it must notify the Department prior to granting the
removal credit.
(b) Inclusion in
WWF permit. Once authority is granted, the removal credits shall be included in
the WWF's permit and shall become an enforceable requirement of the WWF's
permit. The removal credits shall remain in effect for the term of the WWF's
permit, provided the WWF maintains compliance with the conditions specified in
paragraph (d), below.
(c)
Compliance monitoring. Following authorization to give removal credits, a
control authority shall continue to monitor and report on the WWF's removal
capabilities at such intervals as specified in the WWF's permit, but in no case
less than once per year. A minimum of one representative sample per month
during the reporting period is required, and all sampling data must be included
in the control authority's compliance report.
(d) Modification or withdrawal of removal
credits.
1. Notice of control authority. The
Department shall notify the control authority if, on the basis of pollutant
removal capability reports received pursuant to paragraph (c), above, or other
relevant information available to it, the Department determines:
a. That one or more of the discharge limit
revisions made by the control authority no longer meets the requirements of
this section, or
b. That such
discharge limit revisions are causing a violation of any conditions or limits
contained in the WWF's permit.
2. Corrective action. If appropriate
corrective action is not taken within a reasonable time, not to exceed 60 days,
the Department shall either withdraw such discharge limits or require
modifications in the revised discharge limits. An extension to the 60 day time
period shall be granted if the control authority or industrial user submits a
written request to the Department that demonstrates that more time is necessary
to undertake appropriate corrective action and that the time extension will not
have any adverse environmental impacts.
3. Public notice of withdrawal or
modification. The Department shall not withdraw or modify revised discharge
limits unless it first notifies, in writing, the control authority and all
industrial users to whom revised discharge limits have been applied, of the
reasons for such withdrawal or modification. The Department shall publish a
notice of withdrawal or modification of revised discharge limits in a
newspaper(s) of general circulation within the jurisdiction served by the WWF
that meets the requirements of Sections
50.011
and
50.031,
F.S., and shall provide an opportunity for an administrative hearing. Following
such notice and withdrawal or modification, all industrial users to whom
revised discharge limits had been applied, shall be subject to the modified
discharge limits or the discharge limits prescribed in the applicable
categorical pretreatment standards, as appropriate, and shall achieve
compliance with such limits in accordance with subsection
62-625.410(3),
F.A.C.