Indiana's Industrial Effluent Monitoring Program
Before and After the NPDES Permit Program
PATRICK L. STEVENS, Acting Chief
SAMUEL R. VIA, Engineer
Industrial Wastes Section
Division of Water Pollution Control
Indiana State Board of Health
Indianapolis, Indiana 46206
INTRODUCTION
As Indiana's Industrial Water Pollution Abatement Programs began toexpand during
the early 60's and more industries began to install more numerous and complex wastewater
treatment systems there evolved a definite need from both the regulatory standpoint and
operational standpoint to expand its effluent monitoring program. In the early 1960's
approximately 35 major industries were submitting effluent monitoringdata on a voluntary
basis. The need of the regulatory agency (Indiana Stream Pollution Control Board) was to
create a means for being able to observe the day-to-day operations of a particular
wastewater treatment plant and to collect data to assist in our water quality monitoring
programs. Such a program would also allow the Board to receive data without the
expenditure of either manpower or laboratory cost, neither of which were in abundance.
This type of program also proved to be beneficial to the industries and became an
essential necessity since the data allowed the plant operators to run the treatment facilities
more efficiently and minimize operating costs. Many industries were quite surprised at the
fluctuations in influent and effluent data and as a result many in-house corrections were
made because of the data generated from the monitoring program. By 1966 the number of
industries reporting voluntarily had increased to about 75.
In general these industries were the major industries in northwest Indiana plus a few
large industries in other areas of the State. The parameters that were reported were
essentially those that could substantially define the character of the wastewater. For
instance flow was reported in most cases as was suspended solids and pH. Oil refineries also
reported ammonia, phenol, oil and grease, BOD, COD, sulfides, etc. Some chemical plants
reported sulfates, phosphates, BOD, COD, suspended solids, oil and grease while others
reported total dissolved solids, BOD, COD, oil and grease in addition to flow, pH and
suspended solids. The frequency of monitoring was daily and less often if the parameter was
not an essential control parameter. In 1965 the Division of Water Pollution Control of the
Indiana State Board of Health conducted an extensive survey of all industries in Lake
County. Seventeen parameters were analyzed in the laboratory to define future monitoring
requirements. This action was the real forerunner to future monitoring programs on mass
scale.
REGULATION SPC 11
By 1970 the number of industries with waste treatment systems that were reporting
their effluent data was considerably less than the total number of treatment systems in
existence. By this time Indiana had about run the gamut of those industries that were
volunatrily developing a monitoring program. It, therefore, became obvious that the
monitoring program should be mandatory. It was determined that the State could be
more effective in its request for monthly reporting if there was a regulation to require such
submissions and on March 3, 1971. Regulation SPC-11 was promulgated (See Table I).
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