EFFLUENT LIMITATIONS GUIDELINES FOR THE INORGANIC
CHEMICALS INDUSTRY
E. E. Martin, Project Officer
Effluent Guidelines Division
G. E. Stigall, Chief
Inorganic Chemicals Branch
Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460
M. G. Wamer, Project Engineer
Environmental Division
Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.
Pasenda, California 91101
INTRODUCTION
This is a review of the effluent limitations guidelines proposed for the inorganic chemicals
manufacturing industry about July 10, 1980. Table 1 presents a historical review of pertinent
legislation.
The Effluent Guidelines Division of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
responsible for carrying out the provisions of the water pollution control legislation that
relates to preparation of effluent limitations guidelines for industrial categories following
Section 304 of the Water Act. The basic legislation is the Clean Water Act of 1972 that
established a program to restore and maintain physical, chemical and biological integrity
of the nation's waters. By July 1, 1977, existing industrial dischargers were required to
achieve effluent limitations based on the application of best practicable control technology
currently avaUable, known as BPT.
EPA was unable to promulgate many of these regulations by the dates contained in the
act. In 1976, EPA was sued by several environmental groups. In settlement of this lawsuit
EPA and the plaintiffs executed a Settlement Agreement. This agreement required EPA to
develop a program to promulgate for 21 major industries, BAT effluent limitations guidelines, pretreatment standards and new source performance standards for 65 priority pollutants and classes of pollutants.
In 1977 the President signed into law the Clean Water Act of 1977. Although this law
makes several important changes in the federal Water Pollution Control program, its most
significant feature is its incorporation into the act of several features of the Settlement
Agreement program for toxic pollutant control.
The principal purpose of the inorganic chemicals regulations is to provide effluent limitations guidelines for BPT (if not previously established), BAT for toxic pollutants, BCT for
conventional pollutants, new source performance standards and pretreatment standards.
The primary emphasis is on toxic pollutant limitations although limitations for other pollutants of concern are included.
The list of 65 toxic pollutants and classes of poUutants in the Settlement Agreement
and in the 1977 Clean Water Act potentially includes thousands of specific pollutants.
In order to make the task more manageable, EPA selected 129 specific toxic pollutants
as representative of the list of 65 for study in this rulemaking. The criteria for choosing
these pollutants included the frequence of their occurrence in water, their chemical stabdity
and structure, the amount of the chemical produced, and the avadability of chemical
standards for measurement.
The 1973-1976 round of rulemakings emphasized the achievement of best practicable
control technology (BPT). In general, this technology represents the average of the best
existing performance of well known technologies for control of familiar classical pollutants.
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