|
ECAR
Fact Sheet for Alaska
Wastewater
Discharges
BACK
to VIRTUAL TOUR
The
following fact sheet was prepared by the ECAR Center staff. Once
prepared, each ECAR Center fact sheet undergoes a review process
with the applicable state environmental agency(ies). You can check
on the status of the review process here.
Please read the disclaimer on the status page. While we have tried
to present a summary of the essential information on this topic,
you should be aware that other items, such as local regulations,
may apply to you.
What
You Need to Know
As an auto recycler, you almost certainly generate wastewater through
operations such as rinsing parts and washing engines, cars and
dirty tools. If water becomes mixed with oil, antifreeze, solvents,
or other liquids, it is important that it be properly treated
and contained prior to discharge. If your wastewater is
currently just going down an unregulated drain, you’re potentially
causing significant problems for which you will be held responsible.
Even if your activities have gone unnoticed for years, there is
an increasing chance that you will be inspected. The federal
EPA and the states are starting to look much more carefully at
sources of water pollution that have so far remained unidentified,
and they have decided to focus on auto recyclers in particular.
There
are a few basic rules to keep in mind. The first is that
wastewater from ordinary lavatory use and hand washing ("domestic
wastewater") can generally be discharged to a city sewer
or a septic field only if it does not contain any
waste from industrial sources. Wastewater from industrial
discharges is usually handled by wastewater treatment plants,
but you will probably be required to conduct “pretreatment” of
the discharge. Most importantly, you should remember that the
storm drains that carry rain and snow runoff from dismantling
yards, roof downspouts, parking lots, and other surfaces typically
go directly to open waterways, and must never be used illegally
for disposal. It is important that all the employees at
your yard are aware of these rules, and that they respect them.
You
will almost certainly need separate permits both for stormwater
runoff (see the ECAR Stormwater fact sheet)
and for any industrial wastewater that you generate. This
page will give you an overview of how to handle your industrial
wastewater.
Regulations
This
fact sheet addresses wastewater discharges other than stormwater,
which is covered by a different fact sheet. Wastewater from salvage
yards can be subdivided into two main types:
- "Domestic wastewater" includes the water coming
from lavatories/washrooms, showers, drinking fountains, etc.
- "Industrial wastewater" includes the water
going into floor drains in areas such as dismantling, discharges
from aqueous cleaning, water from steam cleaning or equipment
wash down, water used for floor cleanup in dismantling areas
(e.g., mop water), or water from any other sources where it
comes into contact with dismantled parts, equipment, trucks,
or machinery.
Domestic
wastewater can be discharged to a city sewer system or an approved
septic tank system. You will likely need a permit from the Alaska
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Division of Water.
Domestic wastewater cannot be discharged to a stream, pond, or
wetland without having a special permit.
Industrial
wastewater is regulated differently than domestic wastewater.
If you combine sanitary and industrial wastewater, then the mixed
wastewater is regulated like industrial wastewater. All industrial
wastewater discharges are regulated by federal and state regulations
and in most cases, also by local regulations established by the
publicly owned treatment works or POTW.
Disposal
Options. There are four primary options
for disposing of industrial wastewater from auto recycling facilities:
- Discharge it to a POTW (Publicly Owned Treatment
Works) or Sanitary Sewer System. If
your facility discharges industrial wastewater into a municipal
sewer that is connected to a POTW, you must meet the standards
set by the receiving water treatment facility. Also, you may
be required to treat your wastewater prior to discharging
it to a sewer or POTW, and you will need a permit or written
permission for all discharges. Contact
your municipality to obtain a discharge permit
and for applicable local requirements. You must also follow
state and federal requirements, which are outlined under the
Regulations section below.
- Haul it to an approved treatment facility. If your area is not served by a municipal sanitary
sewer system, you may opt to transport your wastewater to
an approved treatment facility. Before you haul wastewater you
must perform a hazardous waste determination. This may involve
getting it tested by a laboratory. If the wastewater is non-hazardous,
then you should maintain test records that support your determination.
- Haul it to a Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility. If
your industrial wastewater is considered "hazardous,"
you must manage it using special procedures. For more information,
see the ECAR
Hazardous Waste Fact Sheet. You will need to ensure that
the tank storing this wastewater meets the requirements contained
in the hazardous waste rules. In addition, you must ensure
that you properly manage the wastewater upon removing it from
the tank and that it is transported by certified hazardous
waste transporters.
- Discharge it to the Surface Waters. If your facility discharges
industrial wastewater via a “point source” (such as a pipe,
etc.) directly to waters of the state, you will be required
to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit, which is administered by the federal Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). Waters of the state include (but
are not limited to) ground water, storm drains, rivers, ponds,
streams, lakes and ditches. NPDES permits set limits on the
quantity, discharge rate and concentrations of pollutants
in the water that are discharged from a point source into
waters of the state. If you obtain this type of permit, you
will be required to frequently collect samples of your wastewater
and have them analyzed at a laboratory. You will also have
reporting and recordkeeping responsibilities.
Most
auto recyclers use option 1 or 2. Option 1 is viable when the
facility is located in an area served by a sanitary sewer system,
while Option 2 is the economical choice when the volume is small.
Before you begin to discharge industrial wastewater using option
1, you must acquire a permit or written approval from your local
sewer district or POTW. You also will have to meet certain rules
found in federal and state regulations, including:
- You are prohibited from discharging any pollutant,
including oil, that may upset or interfere with the sewage
treatment processes or pass through the system untreated;
- The pH of your wastewater often must be between
6.0 and 9.0;
- You cannot discharge pollutants (e.g., solvents)
that may cause a fire in the sewer system; and
- You cannot discharge pollutants such as sludge
(e.g., grease, dirt) that may clog the sewer system.
Pretreatment. To meet the rules listed above,
you may need to install treatment equipment such as an oil/water
separator to prevent oil and sludge from being discharged to the
sewer. This is referred to as "pretreatment.” The oil and
sludge collected by pretreatment equipment will have to be periodically
removed and disposed of, possibly as a hazardous waste (you must
make a hazardous waste determination).
*It
is important to note that discharging industrial wastewater to
a septic tank is not a viable option. Septic tank systems, wells,
drain fields, cesspools and similar disposal sites are regulated
by federal and state Underground Injection Control (UIC) program
rules that are designed to prevent the contamination of underground
drinking water supplies. For more information see the Septic Tanks and Disposal Wells
Fact Sheet.
Links
to the Regulations and Forms. Use the following links to view the regulations and permit forms pertaining
to wastewater.
Federal NPDES Permits
Alaska Department of Environmental
Conservation Wastewater Webpage
Alaska
Wastewater Regulations (18 AAC 72)
Self-Audit
Checklist
When
an inspector comes to your facility, there are certain things
he or she checks to see if you are in compliance with environmental
regulations. It makes good sense for you to perform a "self-audit"
and catch and correct problems before they result in penalties.
Also, there are some compliance incentives associated with self-audits
(see Audit
Policy Page).
Use
the following list to audit your wastewater management activities.
- Does your facility discharge process wastewater?
Are the discharges authorized by a permit? Check all uses of water and
steam within the industrial areas of your facility. Determine
where wastewater is generated and discharged. You must have
a federal NPDES permit, administered by EPA, to discharge
to surface waters and you will likely need a permit to discharge
to your local sewer authority. Check with your local POTW
and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
to ensure you have the proper permits.
- Have you performed the necessary pretreatment? If you are discharging to a sewer system/treatment
plant, you may have to perform pretreatment of your waste.
Check with your local sewer authority.
- Is oil or solvent discharged to the sewer? Federal and state laws prohibit
the discharge of oil or flammable solvents to the sewer system.
These are regulated wastes that must be properly disposed
of.
Best
Management Practices (BMPs)
Most
regulations tell you what you have to do to be in compliance,
but they don’t explain how to do it. That’s where "best
management practices" come into play. BMPs are proven
methods that help you to get into compliance and stay there. The
following BMPs are recommended for wastewater management.
- Limit water use and the volume of water discharged
through conservation methods and by reusing water whenever
possible.
- Train employees to use water efficiently.
- Don’t use water for cleaning floors and equipment
unless absolutely necessary. Use dry cleanup methods for spills.
- Post signs at all floor drains and sinks in industrial
areas of your facility to discourage employees from using
the drains to dispose of oil, other vehicle fluids, solvent,
paint or similar liquids. Review these rules with your employees.
- Use only non-toxic soaps to clean floors and
vehicles instead of hazardous materials.
- If you have floor drains at your facility that
are not in use, consider having them capped or plugged to
prevent misuse or accidental discharges.
- Prevent drips and spills from reaching the floor.
- Check your floor drains and make certain you
know where they discharge.
- Setup and use a maintenance schedule for inspection
and cleaning of floor drains, oil/water separators, traps,
etc.
- Never have floor drains where hazardous materials
are stored.
- If your wastewater is nonhazardous, you may want
to purchase evaporating equipment to evaporate your wastewater.
It should be noted that evaporators may require an air permit
or registration, and evaporator bottoms may be considered
a hazardous waste.
- Don’t use degreaser solvents to clean engines.
Most engine degreasers are hazardous and should not be discharged
to a POTW. Even if you use nonhazardous degreasers, the oil
and grease concentration in the spent degreaser may exceed
the limit allowed by your sewer authority.
Contacts
- Contact the Alaska DEC, Wastewater Discharge
Program at 907-465-5308.
- To report a spill or leak,
call or fax a completed spill
report form to the nearest
ADEC Office
at 907-269-3063 (Anchorage), 907-451-2121 (Fairbanks), 907-465-5340
(Juneau), or 800-478-9300 (after hours), or contact the National Response Center at
800-424-8802.
- To report an environmental incident or complaint,
contact the nearest regional
office.
Related
ECAR Fact Sheets
- Stormwater
- Septic Tanks and Disposal
Wells
Other
Relevant Resources
None.
BACK
to VIRTUAL TOUR
|
