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The NPDES Permit
Meeting Clean Water Standards
Regulatory Framework
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the federal agency responsible for implementing the Clean Water Act. However, the USEPA has delegated authority to the State of California to regulate water quality. In California, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and its nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs) implement the Clean Water Act. These water boards also implement the Porter Cologne Water Quality Control Act, which provides additional regulation of water quality in California. The Sacramento area is within the jurisdiction of the Central Valley RWQCB and is responsible for issuing the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to the SRCSD.
Requirements in the NDPES Permit
The NPDES permit governs the quantity and quality of the treated wastewater from the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant (SRWTP) that is put back into the Sacramento River. A core feature of the permit is numeric limits that govern the following parameters:
- Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
- Suspended Solids
- Settleable Solids
- Chlorine
- Coliform (a bacterial indicator)
- pH range (acidity)
- Oil and grease
- Temperature
- Copper
- Lead
- Silver
- Zinc
- Cyanide
- Lindane
- Mercury
- Methylene chloride
- Chloroform
- Tetrachloroethylene
- Dichlorobromomethane
- Bis-2 ethylhexyl phthalate
The permit contains an extensive water quality monitoring program. All parameters with limits are monitored as well as a host of additional parameters that provide additional useful information in assessing water quality. One important test is the whole effluent toxicity test which checks for survival of three sensitive species (fathead minnow, a water flea, and an algae) in the presence of the treated wastewater. This test helps to assure that any pollutants that are not specifically included in the permit are not harming the environment.
For more information on SRCSD's discharge permit, please contact:
Bob Seyfried
(916) 876-6068
seyfriedr@sacsewer.com