(a) The provisions of this part apply to discharges and to the introduction of pollutants into a publicly owned treatment works resulting from production operations in the Iron and Steel Point Source Category.

(b) Central Treatment Facilities. (1) The following central treatment facilities presently discharging through the specified outfall are temporarily excluded from the provisions of this part, provided, the owner or operator of the facility requests the Agency to consider establishing alternative effluent limitations and provides the Agency with the information set out in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, on or before July 26, 1982.

(2) The information to be submitted with the request for consideration of alternative effluent limitations is to include:

(i) A schematic diagram of the existing wastewater treatment facility showing each source of wastewater, cooling water, and other waters entering the treatment facility; discharge and recycle flow rates for each water source and each major treatment component;

(ii) Existing monitoring data relating to discharges to and from the central treatment facility including pollutant concentrations, flows and mass loadings; As a minimum, monitoring data should be provided for a six month period of normal operation of the production and treatment facilities. The complete data as well as a data summary including the maximum, minimum, and mean gross discharge loadings and the standard deviation of the discharge loadings for each monitored pollutant should be provided. Any supplemental monitoring data for toxic pollutants should also be provided.

(iii) A scale map of the area of the plant served by the wastewater treatment facility, including the treatment facility and water supply and discharge points;

(iv) An estimate of the least costly investment required to meet the generally applicable limitations or standards for the facility and a description of such treatment system including schematic diagrams showing the major treatment system components and flow rates through the system. As a minimum, the cost estimates should be comprised of a single page summary for each water pollution control system showing estimated installed direct cost totals for mechanical equipment; piping and instrumentation; foundations and structural components; and, electrical components. Indirect costs for contingencies, overhead and profit, engineering fees, and any other indirect costs must be itemized separately. The sum of the direct and indirect costs which represents the owner's or operator's total estimate, must be shown.

(v) The effluent limitations or standards which could be achieved if the discharger were to spend an amount equal to the Agency's model treatment system cost estimate for the facility and the treatment facilities which would be used to meet those limitations or standards. Schematic diagrams and cost estimates as outlined in paragraph (b)(2)(iv) of this section, should be provided for each treatment system; and,

(vi) Production rates in tons per day for each process contributing wastewater to the central treatment facility consistent with those reported by the owner or operator in the NPDES permit application for the central treatment facility.

(3) The request described in subsection (b)(1) of this section, must be based upon the owner's or operator's belief that the cost of bringing the specified central treatment facilities into compliance with the provisions of this part would require expenditures so high compared to the Agency's model treatment system cost estimate applicable to that facility that the applicable limitations or standards would not represent BPT, BAT, BCT, or PSES, as the case may be, for the facility.

In addition to the definitions set forth in 40 CFR part 401, the following definitions apply to this part:

(a) The term TSS (or total suspended solids, or total suspended residue) means the value obtained by the method specified in 40 CFR 136.3.

(b) The term oil and grease (or O&G) means the value obtained by the method specified in 40 CFR 136.3.

(c) The term ammonia-N (or ammonia-nitrogen) means the value obtained by manual distillation (at pH 9.5) followed by the Nesslerization method specified in 40 CFR 136.3.

(d) The term cyanide means total cyanide and is determined by the method specified in 40 CFR 136.3.

(e) The term phenols 4AAP (or phenolic compounds) means the value obtained by the method specified in 40 CFR 136.3.

(f) The term TRC (or total residual chlorine) means the value obtained by the iodometric titration with an amperometric endpoint method specified in 40 CFR 136.3.

(g) The term chromium means total chromium and is determined by the method specified in 40 CFR 136.3.

(h) The term hexavalent chromium (or chromium VI) means the value obtained by the method specified in 40 CFR 136.3.

(i) The term copper means total copper and is determined by the method specified in 40 CFR 136.3.

(j) The term lead means total lead and is determined by the method specified in 40 CFR 136.3.

(k) The term nickel means total nickel and is determined by the method specified in 40 CFR 136.3.

(l) The term zinc means total zinc and is determined by the method specified in 40 CFR 136.3.

(m) The term benzene (or priority pollutant No. 4) means the value obtained by the standard method Number 602 specified in 44 FR 69464, 69570 (December 3, 1979).

(n) The term benzo(a)pyrene (or priority pollutant No. 73) means the value obtained by the standard method Number 610 specified in 44 FR 69464, 69570 (December 3, 1979).

(o) The term naphthalene (or priority pollutant No. 55) means the value obtained by the standard method Number 610 specified in 44 FR 69464, 69571 (December 3, 1979).

(p) The term tetrachloroethylene (or priority pollutant No. 85) means the value obtained by the standard method Number 610 specified in 44 FR 69464, 69571 (December 3, 1979).

(q) The term pH means the value obtained by the standard method specified in 40 CFR 136.3.

(r) The term non-process wastewaters means utility wastewaters (for example, water treatment residuals, boiler blowdown, and air pollution control wastewaters from heat recovery equipment); treated or untreated wastewaters from groundwater remediation systems; dewatering water for building foundations; and other wastewater streams not associated with a production process.

(s) The term nitrification means oxidation of ammonium salts to nitrites (via Nitrosomas bacteria) and the further oxidation of nitrite to nitrate via Nitrobacter bacteria. Nitrification can be accomplished in either:

(1) A single or two-stage activated sludge wastewater treatment system; or

(2) Wetlands specifically developed with a marsh/pond configuration and maintained for the express purpose of removing ammonia-N.

Indicators of nitrification capability are:

(1) Biological monitoring for ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) to determine if the nitrification is occurring; and

(2) Analysis of the nitrogen balance to determine if nitrifying bacteria reduce the amount of ammonia and increase the amount of nitrite and nitrate.

(t) The term storm water from the immediate process area means storm water that comes into contact with process equipment located outdoors, storm water collected in process area and bulk storage tank secondary containment structures, and storm water from wastewater treatment systems located outdoors, provided that it has the potential to become contaminated with process wastewater pollutants for the particular subcategory. Storm water from building roofs, plant roadways, and other storm waters that do not have the potential to become contaminated with process wastewater pollutants are not storm water from the immediate process area.

(u) The term 2,3,7,8-TCDF means 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran.

(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (c) through (f) of this section, any existing or new direct discharging point source subject to this part may qualify for alternative effluent limitations to those specified in subparts A through M of this part, representing the degree of effluent reduction attainable by the application of best practicable control technology currently available (BPT), best available technology economically achievable (BAT), best conventional pollutant control technology (BCT), and best available demonstrated control technology (NSPS). The alternative effluent limitations for each pollutant are determined for a combination of outfalls by totaling the mass limitations allowed under subparts A through M of this part for each pollutant.

(b) The water bubble may be used to calculate alternative effluent limitations only for identical pollutants (e.g., lead for lead, not lead for zinc).

(c) [Reserved]

(d) A discharger cannot qualify for alternative effluent limitations if the application of such alternative effluent limitations would cause or contribute to an exceedance of any applicable water quality standards.

(e) Each outfall from which process wastewaters are discharged must have specific, fixed effluent limitations for each pollutant limited by the applicable subparts A through M of this part.

(f) Subcategory-specific restrictions: (1) There shall be no alternate effluent limitations for cokemaking process wastewater unless the alternative limitations are more stringent than the limitations in subpart A of this part.

(2) There shall be no alternate effluent limitations for 2,3,7,8-TCDF in sintering process wastewater.

(3) There shall be no alternate effluent limitations for O&G in sintering process wastewater unless the alternative limitations are more stringent than the otherwise applicable limitations in subpart B of this part.

(a) Pretreatment standards shall be calculated for each operation using the applicable average rate of production reported by the owner or operator of the facility to the Control Authority in accordance with 40 CFR 403.12(b)(3).

(b) The average rate of production reported by the owner or operator in accordance with 40 CFR 403.12(b)(3) shall be based not upon the design production capacity but rather upon a reasonable measure of actual production of the facility, such as the production during the high month of the previous year, or the monthly average for the highest of the previous 5 years. For new sources or new dischargers, actual production shall be estimated using projected production.

(c) If, due to a change of circumstances, the average rate of production for an operation reported by the owner or operator of the facility to the Control Authority in accordance with 40 CFR 403.12(b)(3) does not represent a reasonable measure of actual production of that operation, the owner or operator must submit to the Control Authority a modified average rate of production.

The final compliance date for the categorical pretreatment standards set forth in 40 CFR part 420 is July 10, 1985.

Removal allowances pursuant to 40 CFR 403.7(a)(1) may be granted for phenols (4AAP) limited in 40 CFR part 420 when used as an indicator or surrogate pollutant.

(a) The pH level in process wastewaters subject to a subpart within this part shall be within the range of 6.0 to 9.0.

(b) The pH level shall be monitored at the point of discharge to the receiving water or at the point at which the wastewater leaves the wastewater treatment facility operated to treat effluent subject to that subpart.

Permit and pretreatment control authorities may provide for increased loadings for non-process wastewaters defined at § 420.02 and for storm water from the immediate process area in NPDES permits and pretreatment control mechanisms using best professional judgment, but only to the extent such non-process wastewaters result in an increased flow.