Centralized Waste Treatment Effluent Guidelines
- What is Centralized Waste Treatment?
- Facilities Covered
- Compliance Assistance
- Study of CWT and Oil & Gas Wastewater – 2018
- Rulemaking History
- Additional Information
What is Centralized Waste Treatment?
The centralized waste treatment industry handles wastewater treatment residuals and industrial process by-products that come from other industries. CWT facilities receive a wide variety of hazardous and non-hazardous industrial wastes for treatment. Many of the wastes contain very high pollutant concentrations and are unusually difficult to treat.
CWT facilities typically fall within NAICS codes 562211 (hazardous waste treatment and disposal), 562219 (other nonhazardous waste treatment and disposal) and 562920 (materials recovery facilities).
Facilities Covered
- Metals Treatment and Recovery
- Oils Treatment and Recovery
- Organics Treatment and Recovery
- Multiple Wastestreams
- Discharges from stand-alone waste treatment and recovery facilities receiving materials from off site. These facilities may treat hazardous or non-hazardous waste, hazardous or non-hazardous wastewater, and/or used material from off site, for disposal, recycling or recovery.
- Certain discharges from waste treatment systems at facilities primarily engaged in other industrial operations. Thus, industrial facilities which process their own, on-site generated, process wastewater with hazardous or non-hazardous wastes, wastewaters, and/or used material received from off site, in certain circumstances, may be subject to this category with respect to a portion of their discharge.
Covered wastestreams include materials received from off-site, solubilization water, used oil/emulsion breaking wastewater, tanker truck/drum/roll-off box washes, equipment washes, air pollution control waters, laboratory-derived wastewater, wastewater from on-site industrial waste combustors, landfills, and contaminated stormwater.
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operations at facilities which are subject to other effluent guidelines categories and which receive wastes from off-site for treatment or recovery that are subject to the same effluent guidelines as the on-site generated wastes
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operations at facilities which receive off-site wastes whose nature and treatment are compatible with the treatment of on-site non-CWT wastes
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operations engaged exclusively in landfilling and/or the treatment of landfill wastewaters, whether generated on- or off-site (See also the Landfills Effluent Guidelines, 40 CFR Part 445)
Facilities that treat wastewater that results from cleaning tanker trucks, rail tank cars, or barges may be subject to the CWT effluent guidelines if not subject to the Transportation Equipment Cleaning Effluent Guidelines (40 CFR Part 442).
See the applicability and definitions sections in 40 CFR Part 437 for complete descriptions of coverage and exclusions.
Compliance Assistance
- Small Entity Compliance Guide (2001)
A plain language explanation of how to comply with the CWT regulation; with Frequently Asked Questions (2003 and 2006)
Study of CWT and Oil & Gas Wastewater – 2018
Rulemaking History
- 2003 Amendment
Deleted limitations for several pollutants; revision to BOD limitation.- Final Rule - Federal Register Notice (December 22, 2003)
- Proposed Rule - Federal Register Notice (September 10, 2003)
- 2000 Initial Rulemaking
- Final Rule - Federal Register Notice (December 22, 2000)
- Support documents, including:
- Fact sheet
- Development Document
Describes industry processes, pollutants generated, available control & treatment technologies, the technical basis for the final rule, and costs of the rule - Environmental Assessment
Evaluates environmental effects, human health impacts and impacts on publicly owned treatment works from wastewater discharges by CWT facilities, and estimates the benefits associated with the final rule
- Support documents, including:
- Proposed Rule - Federal Register Notice (January 13, 1999)
- Final Rule - Federal Register Notice (December 22, 2000)
Additional Information
For additional information regarding the CWT Effluent Guidelines, please contact Jesse Pritts (pritts.jesse@epa.gov) or 202-566-1038.