Industrial Waste Permit Enforcement

Metropolitan Council Environmental Services has been granted the authority to enforce its "Waste Discharge Rules" and the EPA pretreatment regulations in the Twin Cities seven county metropolitan service area. Contained below are a few subject areas of possible interest. For additional information please contact Pat Fonseth at 651-602-4703.

Legal Authority
Annual Summary of Enforcement Activities
Notice of Violation Information
Significant Noncompliance

Legal Authority

As required in the General Pretreatment Regulations (GPR), a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) must have appropriate legal authority to administer its industrial pretreatment program, which includes enforcement response activities. The MCES legal authority is based on Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 473.501 - 473.549. Specifically, Chapter 473.504, Subd. 4 empowers the MCES to carry out elements of the federally mandated pretreatment program. This statute provides that:

“
.... [Metropolitan] Council shall have the power to adopt rules relating to the operation of any interceptors or treatment works operated by it, and may provide penalties for the for the violation thereof....
”

In addition, Chapter 473.504, Subd. 5 provides that:

“
.... [Metropolitan] Council shall have all powers necessary to comply with the federal water pollution control act amendments...
”

Minnesota Statute Chapter 473.504, Subdivisions 1, 4, 5, & 6 all empower and authorize the MCES to implement its industrial pretreatment program. Chapter 473.515, Subd. 3 authorizes the MCES to regulate the discharge of sewage and connections into the Metropolitan Disposal System. Minnesota Statute Chapter 473.5755 establishes these authorities, and pursuant to 473.5755 MCES has adopted Waste Discharge Rules for the Metropolitan Disposal System.

Annual Summary of Enforcement Activities

MCES generates a list of enforcement activities in its annual Pretreatment Report published in March of each year. Below is a description of the main enforcement actions MCES uses, and a list of the actual numbers from 2001.

A Notice of Violation (NOV) is prepared by section staff for violations of the Waste Discharge Rules and/or Industrial Discharge Permits. Data indicating a violation may either be provided in routine self-monitoring reports submitted by industrial users or by the results of IWS field monitoring. Violations may also occur when a Permittee fails to abide by a Specific Permit Condition or Compliance Schedule provision, or fails to provide required documents such as a discharge report or permit application.

An Order to Appear (OTA) is a formal order to a specific Industrial User representative to appear before MCES staff for the purpose of showing cause why the MCES should not modify, revoke or suspend an Industrial Discharge Permit.

A Stipulation Agreement is a legal contract, signed by the parties involved, that specifies the actions that the Permittee will take to achieve compliance. Liquidated damages are included in Stipulation Agreements.

2005 Enforcement Activities

Notice of Violations Issued: 167
Orders to Appear: 2
Industrial Users Entered Into a Stipulation Agreement: 0

Notice of Violation Information

The Notice of Violation (NOV) is the enforcement action most commonly used by MCES. It is issued by registered mail to the Industrial User. All NOVs contain the following information. If a NOV is received please carefully review, and respond to the following:

A description of the violation and date it occurred
The specific Waste Discharge Rule(s) violated
An order to immediately correct the violation
A list of actions to take
A notice stating additional enforcement action may occur, including being published for Significant Noncompliance (see section below)

Significant Noncompliance

MCES is required to develop an annual list of Permittees who have been in significant noncompliance (SNC). The list will be published in the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press during March of each year. A Permittee is in significant noncompliance if violations of pretreatment standards or requirements have occurred which meet any of the following criteria:

EPA Criteria for Publishing Significant Noncompliance

Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which 66 percent or more of all of the measurements taken during a six month period exceed (by any magnitude) the daily maximum limit or the long term average limit for the same pollutant parameter.
Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which 33 percent or more of all of the measurements for each pollutant parameter taken during a six month period equal or exceed the product of the daily maximum limit or the long term average limit multiplied by 1.2.
Any other violation of a discharge limit (daily maximum or long term average) that the MCES determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, wastewater treatment plant interference or pass through.
Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare, or to the environment; or has resulted in the MCES exercising its emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge.
Failing to meet, within 90 days after the schedule date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a discharge permit or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance.
Failure to provide, within 30 days after the due date, required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, 90-day reports, periodic industrial waste discharge reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules.
Failure to accurately report noncompliance.
Any other violation or group of violations, which MCES determines, will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.

In order to avoid being published for SNC it is critical that the MCES is contacted immediately upon becoming aware of a discharge violation. Do not wait until an NOV is issued. In addition, if an NOV is received, immediately contact the engineer that handles your permit, and be sure to adhere to all the requirements and due dates listed in the NOV.

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