Industrial waste group balances enforcement with assistance
Program helps keep the water blue and the economy green
In 1980, reducing the amount of industrial heavy metals discharged into the regional wastewater collection and treatment system by more than 90 percent would have seemed like a pipedream. Today, it’s reality.
The dramatic reduction is largely due to tougher government regulations and an aggressive pretreatment program implemented by the Metropolitan Council’s Environmental Services division (MCES), with cooperation from local industry.
“We are the regulators, but local industries are also our customers, so we have built a cooperative relationship over time,” said Leo Hermes, longtime manager of MCES’s Industrial Waste and Pollution Prevention section. “The majority of industries would rather work with us than against us. Their cooperation in achieving big reductions in pollutants cannot be overstated,” he said.
Cooperation yields big results
The collaboration is working. Between 1984 and 2005, the amount of industrial metals in the incoming wastewater at the Metro Treatment Plant in St. Paul dropped from 354,000 pounds to just over 21,000 pounds — a reduction of 94 percent.
Industrial waste staff not only monitor and regulate nearly 800 industries in the region, they also provide technical assistance to help industries comply with their discharge permits. It’s a balancing act between enforcement and assistance, between an iron fist and a helping hand. The numbers reveal success for industry, the public and the environment.
To protect the collection system and treatment facilities, Industrial Waste and Pollution Prevention staff track down the source of an illegal discharge.
“We’re firm in enforcing the permits we issue to industry to discharge into the Council’s system, but we’re fair and everyone knows the rules,” said Hermes. “Industry understands our role and they want our involvement. They want a level playing field, which we provide."
The program has earned several awards for effectiveness. In 2002, the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance gave MCES its MN GREAT! Award for its partnership with the Minnesota Dental Association, which has resulted in significant reductions in mercury discharges. In previous years, MCES won a Governor’s Award for Excellence in Pollution Prevention, and a U.S. EPA Region 5 Award of Excellence.
Another measure of the program’s effectiveness is that since its inception in the 1970s, the agency has never had to go to court to compel a violator to comply with permit requirements or the Council’s Waste Discharge Rules. This is not the case in many other areas of the country, Hermes said.
Industries change, but waste keeps coming
The main functions of the Industrial Waste section include permitting industries and enforcing regulations, field monitoring to check compliance and industrial waste strength, and responding to sewer-related spills. This ensures compliance with federal pretreatment requirements, protects the collection and treatment system, and safeguards operating personnel and the environment.
Routine MCES monitoring of a permitted industry involves a variety of monitoring equipment installed at the company’s sewer monitoring point.
The Council has 789 industrial discharge permits on file. That’s down from about 800 in 2003 and 850 a decade ago, due in part to decreases in specific industrial sectors such as printed-circuit-board manufacturing.
The most drastic reductions in heavy metals in wastewater occurred between 1984 and 1989, in part due to new EPA standards in 1984 and the opening of a privately-owned centralized waste recovery system in Roseville in 1988, which is still serving area industries. MCES assisted in the development of that facility, which is unique in the country.
MCES monitors industry compliance with permits, and enforcement action is sometimes required. Over the years, enforcement activities have decreased, which is a strong indication the program is successful.
Spills that require responses also are down — just 22 in 2005, compared with 100 or more per year in the 1980s. The decrease is mostly due to improvements in the way industries manage chemicals and wastes, and through implementation of spill prevention and control plans.
“I’ve worked in both industry and on the regulatory side, and I’ve seen a positive change in attitudes and approach since the 1970s,” said Council Member Russ Susag. “I think MCES and Minnesota industry both deserve credit for their successful efforts to meet environmental goals.”
Success in reducing mercury
Strict environmental regulation is essential to the successful handling of industrial waste in the Twin Cities. But for Council staff working on the front lines, another perspective is
just as important: assisting industry to meet standards.
This monitoring is being conducted just outside of a company, using specialized equipment placed in the sewer. These projects are unannounced, with no advance notice to the company.
A shining example is the Council’s partnership with the Minnesota Dental Association. Since 2003, the two entities have worked cooperatively to reduce mercury in the environment by trapping dental amalgam in dental offices and keeping it out of public sewers entirely.
So far, more than 84 percent of 764 eligible dental offices have voluntarily installed devices to reduce the mercury in their discharge. The effort has reduced mercury waste coming into the Metro Plant by 40 percent since 2003.
MCES and industry have worked together with beneficial results in many other cases. For example, MCES worked with industrial laundries to reduce solvent discharges from printers’ towels. The result is protection of the sewer system and operating personnel, as well as diminished odor complaints. Many cases have involved reductions in water use, for example, by the installation of closed-loop cooling water systems. This reduces clear water discharges to the MCES system and saves the industry money in the long run, a plus for both sides.
In addition to direct technical assistance, more communication also has helped, Hermes said. Since 1999, MCES has published “Open Channel News,” a quarterly news bulletin that provides industry with updates on regulatory, technical and pollution prevention news. Through better education, industry can prevent the generation of a waste at the source, rather than having to treat and discharge it later.
Pharmaceutical waste is an emerging challenge
After all the progress, future challenges loom large. One emerging issue, for example, is the impact from healthcare facilities like hospitals, medical clinics and laboratories. “These facilities use a wide variety of pharmaceutical products and other chemicals in their day-to-day operations, and we are just now starting to learn about some of their environmental impacts,” Hermes said.
As local limits become more stringent and technology more advanced in the future, the role of industrial waste pretreatment and monitoring will become more important than ever.