Purposes of Toledo's Pretreatment Program
- Protect the health and safety of the public and the environment
- Prevent the introduction of pollutants to the sewer system that would interfere with the operation at the wastewater treatment plant or interfere with the ability to recycle or dispose of sludge produced
- Prevent the introduction of pollutants that would pass through the wastewater treatment plant, and end up in our lake
- Improve opportunities to reclaim and reuse industrial wastewater and sludge
- Comply with pretreatment regulations as required under the Federal General Pretreatment Regulations and Categorical Standards and local source control ordinances
The above are accomplished through education, monitoring, and enforcement. Our division informs industries of regulations by issuing written discharge orders to the over 70 commercial or industrial operations in Toledo. Our division has personnel that have an on-going program that monitors commercial and industrial discharges. When violations are discovered, the industry is informed in writing. The violator must respond with the cause of the violation along with corrective actions taken. If the problem is not corrected in a timely manor, criminal charges can be brought into play.
Our Division's pretreatment program regulates industrial facilities discharging wastewater to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). These facilities, known as industrial users, discharge process wastewater often contaminated by a variety of toxic or otherwise harmful substances. Because POTWs are usually not specifically designed to treat these substances, pretreatment programs are needed to eliminate potentially serious problems that occur when these substances are discharged into public sewer systems.
The pretreatment program is mandated under the federal Clean Water Act and USEPA has delegated the program to Ohio for implementation. Since local sewer control is best handled at the local level, Ohio EPA delegates program responsibilities to our local department.
Industrial permits are required if a facility falls under a specific primary North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Examples of industrial activities under these codes include, but are not limited to, asphalt/concrete plants, landfills, manufacturing, and transportation.
"Pretreatment” is the application of physical, chemical or biological clean up methods to industrial or non-domestic wastewater before it is discharged to a stream or to the Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW). The purpose of pretreatment is the protection of the treatment plant processes and personnel, public health, and the receiving stream water quality standards.
Baseline Monitoring Report
Baseline Monitoring Report Instructions Baseline Monitoring Form
FATS, OILS AND GREASES (FOG):
Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) is the term used to describe blockages in the sanitary sewer system discharged by food service establishments; restaurants, churches, school/work cafeterias, multi unit homes, hotels, hospitals, caterers, grocery stores. When sewage can no longer get past a build-up of grease the blockages can damage the collection system, the water reclamation plant, clog sewer pipes, and damage home interiors.
FOG control is addressed on a complaint basis. Complaints may come from neighbors, city personnel (e.g. sewers and drainage), or anyone who is affected by a FOG-related back up. When a FOG complaint is received, an Industrial Waste Control Specialist from the Environmental Services Division responds and identifies the offending party. When the Division of Environmental Services is required to respond to a FOG problem, the City will issue a Notice of Violation (NOV) and seek cost recovery for response and cleaning services performed. A letter is sent informing the offending party of a violation and specifying the charges for the violation.
The Divisions of Sewer and Drainage Services and Environmental Services coordinate staff and resources to resolve FOG problems. The Divisions have agreed to contact each other when FOG problems in the sewer system are encountered.
Sewer lines can become full of FOG material that they displace the manhole cover and cause City streets to fill with slick material.
NPDES
Water pollution degrades surface waters making them unsafe for drinking, fishing, swimming, and other activities. As authorized by the Clean Water Act, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. Point sources are discrete conveyances such as pipes or man-made ditches. Individual homes that are connected to a municipal system, use a septic system, or do not have a surface discharge do not need an NPDES permit; however, industrial, municipal, and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to surface waters. Since its introduction in 1972, the NPDES permit program is responsible for significant improvements to our Nation's water quality.
Environmental Services Laboratories
Our division utilizes the most cutting edge technologies, practices, and equipment to obtain the most accurate results regarding water quality.
Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) is used to detect trace metals in various water, and wastewater samples.
Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectroscopy (GC/MS) are utilized to detect and quantitate specific organic contaminants.
Ion Chromatography allows our scientists to analyze multiple ion parameters on a single sample simultaneously.
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR) is a great instrument for identifying unknown solids and liquids.
General Tests include: pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), fluoride, turbidity, solids, ammonia, nitrite, cyanide, phenol, phosphorus, oil and grease, total petroleum, detergents, and hardness.