The New Federal Water Pollution Control Act —
Its Effect on Industrial Wastewater Treatment Costs
RICHARD W. KLIPPEL, Managing Engineer
O'Brien & Gere Engineers, Inc.
Syracuse, New York 13201
INTRODUCTION
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 without doubt
comprise the most far reaching pollution control legislation in history. The effect of the act
on industry is unusually pronounced since the entire approach to industrial pollution
abatement is different than anything contained in previous legislation.
The net effect of the new legislation in many cases will mean increased costs to industry
for treating its wastewater discharge. This paper attempts to quantify those increased costs
using a number of specific plants. The results for the specific plants are then analyzed and
generalized conclusions are drawn from the data.
In discussing the effects of the new Act on industry, there are two quite separate and
distinct situations affecting industry. Probably the most complex to deal with will be those
situations where industry discharges waste to a publicly owned system. The other situation,
in which industry must provide treatment of its effluents for direct discharge to a receiving
body of water, is not quite as complex, although the provisions of the Act are much more
specific and far reaching than have even been previously contemplated.
PROVISIONS RELATING TO  DISCHARGE OF EFFLUENTS TO PUBLICLY
OWNED TREATMENT WORKS
Industrial Payback Provisions
The most important provision which will have an effect on industry which either
discharges or has planned to discharge to publicly owned systems is commonly referred to
as the Industrial Payback Provision.
Under this provision no grant for any publicly owned treatment works will be
approved after March 1, 1973, unless the applicant has met certain new conditions which
require the following: 1) Adoption of a system of charges such that each recipient of waste
treatment services will pay its proportionate share for the cost of operation and
maintenance of waste treatment services; and 2) Has made provisions for payment to the
applicant by industrial users of that portion of the cost of construction which is applicable
to the treatment of industrial waste to the extent of the Federal share of the cost of
construction.
The Administrator of EPA is to issue guidelines governing the payment of waste
treatment costs by industrial users of waste treatment plants. Such guidelines are to include:
1) Definition of classes of users including categories of industrial users; 2) Criteria against
which to determine the adequacy of charges; and 3) Model systems and rates of user charges
for typical treatment works. These guidelines have not been issued as of this writing.
Those treatment works which were approved prior to March 1, 1973, did not come
under these restrictive provisions and there were many projects awaiting approval on the
March 1st date. Unfortunately, only a very small percentage of the projects which were
already designed were approved by that date due to the extreme shortage of Federal funds
due to the President's refusal to appropriate the entire amount authorized. Consequently,
many projects are not held up for a further period of time while the applicants conduct
exhaustive surveys of the multitude of industrial waste discharges entering their sewer
system.
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