Pretreatment Program

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 Marcellus Shale gas well production wastewater information Web page. 

• For general information, go here.
• For information on receiving frac wastewater, go here.

Program Description 

The pretreatment program regulates industrial facilities discharging wastewater to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs).  These facilities, known as industrial users, discharge process wastewater often contaminated by a variety of toxic or otherwise harmful substances.  Because POTWs are usually not specifically designed to treat these substances, pretreatment programs are needed to eliminate potentially serious problems that occur when these substances are discharged into public sewer systems.

The pretreatment program is mandated under the federal Clean Water Act and U.S. EPA has delegated the program to Ohio for implementation.  At Ohio EPA, the Pretreatment Unit is responsible for implementing the pretreatment program.  Since local sewer control is best handled at the local level, Ohio EPA delegates program responsibilities to local governments, but also directly regulates industries when local governement is unable to perform the role effectively or is not mandated to have an approved pretreatment program.  The Unit's implementation philosophy is to work in partnership with local government, providing support and technical expertise, to help build capacity at the local level.  At present, Ohio EPA oversees approximately 100 approved local pretreatment programs administered by cities, counties and other local governmental entities, and directly permits approximately 150 industrial users discharging into sewer systems tributary to POTWs without approved pretreatment programs (see indirect discharge permit program).

Ohio EPA-Approved Pretreatment Programs

 An approved program refers to a pretreatment program administered by a POTW that meets the criteria established in federal regulations and which has been approved by Ohio EPA.  In general, any POTW with a design flow equal to or greater than 5 million gallons per day is required to develop a local pretreatment program.  An approved program can be administered by a city, county, or some other government entity, and may be responsible for several POTWs and associated sewer systems, or collection systems.  Requirements for an approved program are enforced through the NPDES permit issued to the POTW.

• Contacts for Approved Programs Spreadsheet (Excel 4,333K) (last updated July 2011)
• NPDES Permits for Approved Programs
• Forms for Approved Programs
• Guidance Documents, Tools, and Checklists

 Indirect Discharge Permit Program

Ohio EPA has issued approximately 150 permits to industries, which regulate discharges into sewer systems tributary to POTWs without an approved pretreatment program.

• Indirect Discharge Permits:
  • Central District Office
  • Northeast District Office
  • Northwest District Office
  • Southeast District Office
  • Southwest District Office
• Monitoring and Reporting via e-DMR
• Policy and Guidance Documents
• Forms for Indirect Discharge Program

Pretreatment Regulations

• Federal Regulations
• Ohio Regulations for Approved Pretreatment Programs (OAC 3745-3)
• Ohio Regulations for Indirect Discharge Program (OAC 3745-36)

Frequently Asked Questions

Ohio EPA's response to frequently asked questions and explanations of pretreatment terms and programs.

Related Web Sites

Back to Permits Program page.

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