POTENTIAL FEDERAL REGULATIONS FOR DRINKING WATER TREATMENT PLANT EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND THEIR IMPACT ON WATER UTILITIES

Under the authority of the Clean Water Act (CWA, Section 304 (m), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is directed to revise and/or publish Effluent Guidelines Plans for wastewater discharges into surface waters every other year. In August 2004, the EPA published a plan and schedule to develop and/or revise effluent guidelines for facilities in four industries. These regulations will improve water quality through the control of discharges from industrial sources including water treatment plants (WTPs). While WTPs have been unregulated under the CWA so far, this rulemaking may lead to new requirements for them. The EPA has published its complete plan and timetable for a preliminary WTPs Effluent Guidelines Plan for the 2006–07 planning cycle. This article provides water utilities with information to prepare them for the ramifications of such a rule, particularly in the event that EPA regulates WTPs effluent discharge.