La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § IX-6119

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section IX-6119 - Development and Submission of NPDES State Pretreatment Programs

A. Approval of State Programs. No state NPDES program shall be approved under Section 402 of the Act after the effective date of these regulations unless it is determined to meet the requirements of Subsection F of this Section. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Regulation, a state will be required to act upon those authorities which it currently possesses before the approval of a state pretreatment program.

B. Reserved.

C. Failure to Request Approval. Failure of an approved State to administer its state pretreatment program in accordance with the requirements of this Section constitutes grounds for withdrawal of NPDES program approval under Section 402(c)(3) of the Act.

D. Reserved.

E. State Program In Lieu of POTW Program. Notwithstanding the provision of LAC 33:IX.6115.A, a state with an approved pretreatment program may assume responsibility for implementing the POTW pretreatment program requirements set forth in LAC 33:IX.6115.F in lieu of requiring the POTW to develop a pretreatment program. However, this does not preclude POTWs from independently developing pretreatment programs.

F. State Pretreatment Program Requirements. In order to be approved, a request for state pretreatment program approval must demonstrate that the state pretreatment program has the following elements.

1. Legal Authority. The attorney general's statement submitted in accordance with Subparagraph G.1.a of this Section shall certify that the state administrative authority has authority under state law to operate and enforce the state pretreatment program to the extent required by this Chapter and by 40 CFR 123.27. At a minimum, the state administrative authority shall have the authority to:

a. incorporate POTW pretreatment program conditions into permits issued to POTWs; require compliance by POTWs with these incorporated permit conditions; and require compliance by industrial users with pretreatment standards;

b. ensure continuing compliance by POTWs with pretreatment conditions incorporated into the POTW permit through review of monitoring reports submitted to the state administrative authority by the POTW in accordance with LAC 33:IX.6123 and ensure continuing compliance by industrial users with pretreatment standards through the review of self-monitoring reports submitted to the POTW or to the state administrative authority by the industrial users in accordance with LAC 33:IX.6123;

c. carry out inspection, surveillance and monitoring procedures which will determine, independent of information supplied by the POTW, compliance or noncompliance by the POTW with pretreatment conditions incorporated into the POTW permit; and carry out inspection, surveillance and monitoring procedures which will determine, independent of information supplied by the industrial user, whether the industrial user is in compliance with pretreatment standards;

d. seek civil and criminal penalties, and injunctive relief, for noncompliance by the POTW with pretreatment conditions incorporated into the POTW permit and for noncompliance with pretreatment standards by industrial users as set forth in LAC 33:IX.6123.F.1.f. The state administrative authority shall have authority to seek judicial relief for noncompliance by industrial users even when the POTW has acted to seek such relief (e.g., if the POTW has sought a penalty which the state administrative authority finds to be insufficient);

e. approve and deny requests for approval of POTW pretreatment programs submitted by a POTW to the state administrative authority;

f. deny and recommend approval of (but not approve) requests for fundamentally different factors variances submitted by industrial users in accordance with the criteria and procedures set forth in LAC 33:IX.6125; and

g. approve and deny requests for authority to modify categorical pretreatment standards to reflect removals achieved by the POTW in accordance with the criteria and procedures set forth in LAC 33:IX.6113, 6117, and 6121.

2. Procedures. The state administrative authority shall have developed procedures to carry out the requirements of Sections 307(b) and (c), and 402(b)(1), 402(b)(2), 402(b)(8), and 402(b)(9) of the Act. At a minimum, these procedures shall enable the state administrative authority to:

a. identify POTWs required to develop pretreatment programs in accordance with LAC 33:IX.6115.A and notify these POTWs of the need to develop a POTW pretreatment program. In the absence of a POTW pretreatment program, the state shall have procedures to carry out the activities set forth in LAC 33:IX.6115.F.2;

b. provide technical and legal assistance to POTWs in developing pretreatment programs;

c. develop compliance schedules for inclusion in POTW Permits which set forth the shortest reasonable time schedule for the completion of tasks needed to implement a POTW pretreatment program. The final compliance date in these schedules shall be no later than July 1, 1983;

d. sample and analyze:

i. influent and effluent of the POTW to identify, independent of information supplied by the POTW, compliance or noncompliance with pollutant removal levels set forth in the POTW permit (see LAC 33:IX.6113); and

ii. the contents of sludge from the POTW and methods of sludge disposal and use to identify, independent of information supplied by the POTW, compliance or noncompliance with requirements applicable to the selected method of sludge management;

e. investigate evidence of violations of pretreatment conditions set forth in the POTW permit by taking samples and acquiring other information as needed. This data acquisition shall be performed with sufficient care as to produce evidence admissible in an enforcement proceeding or in court;

f. review and approve requests for approval of POTW pretreatment programs and authority to modify categorical pretreatment standards submitted by a POTW to the state administrative authority; and

g. consider requests for fundamentally different factors variances submitted by industrial users in accordance with the criteria and procedures set forth in LAC 33:IX.6125.

3. Funding. The state administrative authority shall assure that funding and qualified personnel are available to carry out the authorities and procedures described in Paragraphs F.1 and 2 of this Section.

G. Content of State Pretreatment Program Submission. The request for state pretreatment program approval will consist of:

a. a statement from the state attorney general (or the attorney for those state agencies which have independent legal counsel) that the laws of the state provide adequate authority to implement the requirements of this Chapter. The authorities cited by the attorney general in this statement shall be in the form of lawfully adopted state statutes or regulations which shall be effective by the time of approval of the state pretreatment program; and

b. copies of all state statutes and regulations cited in the above statement;

c. states with approved pretreatment programs shall establish pretreatment regulations by November 16, 1989, unless the state would be required to enact or amend statutory provision, in which case, such regulations must be established by November 16, 1990;

2. a description of the funding levels and full- and part-time personnel available to implement the program; and

3. any modifications or additions to the memorandum of agreement (required by 40 CFR 123.24) which may be necessary for EPA and the state to implement the requirements of this Chapter.

H. EPA Action. Any approved NPDES state requesting state pretreatment program approval shall submit to the EPA regional administrator three copies of the submission described in Subsection G of this Section. Upon a preliminary determination that the submission meets the requirements of Subsection G of this Section the EPA regional administrator shall:

1. notify the state administrative authority that the submission has been received and is under review; and

2. commence the program revision process set out in 40 CFR 123.62. For purposes of that section, all requests for approval of state pretreatment programs shall be deemed substantial program modifications. A comment period of at least 30 days and the opportunity for a hearing shall be afforded the public on all such proposed program revisions.

a. Notification Where Submission Is Defective. If, after review of the submission as provided for in Subsection H of this Section, EPA determines that the submission does not comply with the requirements of Subsection F or G of this Section, EPA shall so notify the applying NPDES state in writing. This notification shall identify any defects in the submission and advise the NPDES state of the means by which it can comply with the requirements of this Chapter.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § IX-6119

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Water Resources, LR 21:945 (September 1995), repromulgated by the Office of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Planning Division, LR 30:232 (February 2004).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2001 et seq., and in particular Section 2074(B)(3) and (B)(4)