DIFFERING STATE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS
AND INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT COSTS
Dee Mitchell, Assistant Professor
David G. Parker, Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701
INTRODUCTION
Historically, as population pressures within various governmental boundaries grew to
such extent as to cause polluted streams, stream standards of some type have been adopted by state and local regulatory agencies.   Often, streams were classified according to
the present or future beneficial uses and the water quality within the stream was then
held at some minimal acceptable level for that reserved use.   With the widespread adoption of a nondegradation policy by both federal and state regulatory agencies in the
1960's, the old piecemeal stream standards by use classification had to be abandoned and
new water quality standards with nondegradation clauses established.
When the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (PL 92-500)
were enacted and signed into law, each state had to submit new interstate and intrastate
water quality standards to the EPA Administrator for approval as being consistent with
the requirements of PL 92-500.   Thus, each state's water quality or stream standards had
to reflect the six national goals and policies as well as meet the objective of PL 92-500.
The objective of PL 92-500 is clearly [ 1 ]:
"to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation's
waters."
Two national goals (very clearly not policies) were set forth in the act.
1. "it is the national goal that the discharge of pollutants into the navigable waters
be eliminated by 1985;"
2. "it is the national goal that wherever attainable, an interim goal of water quality
which provides for the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish and wildlife and provides for recreation in and on the water be achieved by July 1, 1983."
The act further establishes four national policies:
3. "it is the national policy that the discharge of toxic pollutants in toxic amounts be
prohibited;"
4. "it is the national policy that federal financial assistance be provided to construct
publicly owned waste treatment works;"
5. "it is the national policy that areawide waste treatment management planning proc
esses be developed and implemented to assure adequate control of sources of
pollutants in each state;" and
6. "it is the national policy that a major research and demonstration effort be made to
develop technology necessary to eliminate the discharge of pollutants into the
navigable waters, waters of the contiguous zone, and the oceans."
Practically all states refer to the second national goal of providing protection and propagation of fish and wildlife as justification for establishing their state Water Quality
Standards.
USE OF STREAM STANDARDS
The water quality standards of a state are used in numerous ways, having both direct
and indirect effects upon industrial wastewater treatment costs.   The most significant
impact is the influence the water quality standards have upon the NPDES permit.   The
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