Pretreatment Program

The Federal and State Pretreatment Program gives regulatory authority for EPA, States, and municipal governments to control the discharge of industrial wastewater into municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) or Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs). The objectives of the Pretreatment Program are to prevent pass-through, interference, or other adverse impacts to the POTW, its workers or the environment; to promote the beneficial reuse of biosolids; and to assure that all categorical pretreatment standards are met. As of early 2011, there are around 630 Significant Industrial Users (SIUs) who discharge industrial wastewater to over 130 POTWs throughout the State of North Carolina.

The PERCS Pretreatment staff periodically present the following Workshops as a service to assist POTWs and their consultants.

• Pretreatment Annual Report Workshops
• Headworks Analysis Workshops
• Permit Writing Workshops

Also see US EPA Pretreatment Training

See the Training Page for details.

New! December 13, 2011- DWQ updates: NCPC Annual Conference

State pretreatment program update presentation given by Deborah Gore and DWQ Point Source update presentation given by Jeff Poupart at the NCPC Annual Conference held in Asheville September 25-27th. 

August 30, 2011 - Sewer Use Ordinance (SUO) Checklist

The Pretreatment, Emergency Response, and Collection Systems (PERCS) Unit published our 2011 NC DWQ Model SUO on our website on August 12, 2011.  This Model SUO includes many revisions to address the revisions to NCAC 15A 02H .0900 - Local Pretreatment Programs.

Additional comments were received and revisions were made to 1.2(a)(34)(D) & (E) to clarify that it is the POTW's NPDES permit, not the SIU's.  If you downloaded the Model prior to August 17, please make sure that you review these two sections and make the correction if you feel it is necessary to provide clarification.  The version posted August 17 includes the informational boxes for both the required and optional 2006 streamlining changes.  The August 26 revision has removed the informational boxes regarding the 2006 required streamlining changes, making it somewhat easier to read.  There are 4 - 2006 Optional Changes in the model, you may make the same choice as before or make a different choice at this time.

All POTWs must include the Checklist for SUO updated August 2011 when submitting their SUO for review.  

• Model Pretreatment SUO revised August 26, 2011
• NC SUO Checklist August 2011
• Model Pretreatment SUO 2011 posted August 17, 2011
• Summary of SUO Comments

Pretreatment Mailings

Moved to the Other Downloads page. 

State Pretreatment Regulations

The Rules were approved by the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) on January 13, 2011, and were approved by the Rules Review Commission (RRC) on February 17 and March 17, 2011.  The Rules are final and effective as of April 1, 2011.

• Pretreatment Rules: 15A NCAC 2H .0900 effective 2011
• Copy of the Rule effective April 1, 2011, with changes underlined and explanation boxes for all changes from those first proposed back in August 2009 through those made in March 2011 to address concerns of the State Rules Review Commission (RRC).
• Final Hearing Officers Report - December 2010
• Fiscal Note - May 2010

Federal Regulations

• General pretreatment regulations: 40 CFR 403 (.pdf file, July 1, 2006)
• Categorical Pretreatment Regulations: 40 CFRs 401-471
• October 14, 2005, Streamlining of the Federal Pretreatment Pretreatment Regulations -
  See the Other Downloads Webpage for:
  • Streamlining Guidance for NC Pretreatment Programs
  • Link to EPA Streamlining web-page.
• See the Permit Writing Webpage for updated 2006 NC DWQ Generic IUP.

Pretreatment Contacts in North Carolina

NC Pretreatment Program Staff contacts (May 2012)

June 4, 2010 - Proposed Metals Water Quality Standards

The Division of Water Quality has proposed revisions to the North Carolina Water Quality Standards. Some of these proposed WQSs for metals are significantly lower than the current standards. Information at DWQ's Planning Section Unit web-site (link below) addresses the WQSs and their development. Information at DWQ's NPDES Complex Permitting Unit web-site (link below) address how the Proposed WQSs may impact NPDES dischargers. PERCS is providing the following information to build on that information to assist NC Pretreatment POTW's, their Industrial Users, and other interested parties in evaluating the impact of these proposed WQSs on their Pretreatment Programs.

• Presentation: Proposed Metals Water Quality Standards (WQS): Impact on Pretreatment. Presented by Deborah Gore, PERCS Unit Supervisor, at the May 27, 2010, NC-PC Meeting. Note some minor information has been corrected or added. Please view the Presentation where you can see the "Notes" for each slide - these contain lots of additional information to explain and/or supplement many of the slides.
• Guidance for NC Pretreatment Programs on Evaluation of Proposed Metals Water Quality Standards (WQS) - June 2010. This Guidance includes step by step activities POTW's and others can go through to evaluate the potential impact on the Pretreatment Program.
• Link to NPDES web-site: Scroll down to "Quick Links" to find the Limits Calculator: User Guidance and Calculators to assist permittees in understanding how the Proposed Surface Water Standards (dissolved metals) will impact NPDES Limits. Includes on-line Calculators, detailed explanations inculding use of WWTP effluent hardness in the Hardness Mass Balance Equation, and a Presentation with examples and further explanation that was presented by NPDES staff to the NC-PC on May 27th.
• Link to DWQ Planning Section's Triennial Review web-site: Scroll down to "Metals". Includes a copy of Proposed WQS Rule changes and detailed background on development of the WQS.