Environmental Concerns 645 Chemical storage on site Are underground storage tanks used Number How long in service Material stored Material of construction Leak tested Above ground storage tank Number How long in service Material stored Material of construction Waste piles Size/volume How long used Material How contained Hazardous/toxic wastes generated on site How are wastes handled on site/off site treatment ership history Regulatory/environmental history Accident history Environmental problems
Environmental Concerns 645 Chemical storage on site Solid Liquid Gas Are underground storage tanks used Number How long in service Volume Material stored Material of construction Leak tested Above ground storage tanks Number How long in service Volume Material stored Material of construction Leak tested Waste piles Size/volume How long used Material How contained Hazardous/toxic wastes generated on site How are wastes handled on site/off site treatment Disposal-How Site ownership history Regulatory/environmental history Spills history Accident history Environmental problems
646 Fermentation and Biochemical Engineering Handbook List of permits Air emissions Solid wastes/hazardous wastes 2.6 National Environmental Policy Act Nato The purpose of the act as stated in a Congressional Declaration of nal environmental policy is To declare a National Policy which will encourage produc tive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environ- ment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding of the cological systems and natural resources to the Nation; and to establish a Council on Environmental quality Congress further agreed that to carry out the policy set forth in this Act; it is the continuing responsibility of the federal government to use all practicable means to improve and coordinate federal plans, function pro- grams, and resources that the nation may Fulfill the responsibilities ofeach generation as trustee of the environment for succeeding generations To assure for all Americans safe, healthful, productive area, aesthetically and culturally pleasing surroundings Attain the widest range of beneficial uses of the environment without degradation, risk to health or safety, or other undesirable and unintended consequences Preserve important historic cultural and natural aspects of our national heritage and maintain, whenever possible, an environment which supports diversity and variety of indi vidual choice Achieve a balance between population, and resource which will permithigh standards ofliving and a wide sharing of life’ s amenIties Enhance the quality of renewable resources and approach the maximum attainable recycling of depletable resources
646 Fermentation and Biochemical Engineering Handbook List of permits Air emissions Waste water Solid wastesihazardous wastes 2.6 National Environmental Policy Act The purpose of the Act as stated in a Congressional Declaration of National Environmental Policy is: To declare a National Policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources to the Nation; and to establish a Council on Environmental Quality. Congress further agreed that to carry out the policy set forth in this Act; it is the continuing responsibility of the federal government to use all practicable means to improve and coordinate federal plans, function programs, and resources that the nation may: Fulfill the responsibilities ofeach generation as trustee ofthe To assure for all Americans safe, healthful, productive area, Attain the widest range of beneficial uses ofthe environment . undesirable and unintended consequences. Preserve important historic cultural and natural aspects of our national heritage and maintain, whenever possible, an environment which supports diversity and variety of individual choice which will permit high standards of living and a wide sharing of life’s amenities Enhance the quality of renewable resources and approach the maximum attainable recycling of depletable resources environment for succeeding generations aesthetically and culturally pleasing surroundings without degradation, risk to health or safety, or other Achieve a balance between population, and resource use
Environmental Concerns 647 2.7 Storm Water Regulations An overview of storm water regulations is included in this section. As a result of the 1987 amendments to the Federal Clean Water Act, the United States Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)adopted rules in 1990 which require permit applications for a number of storm water discharges. The of s storm water. A primary approach is source reduction and pollution minimi zation. Anumber of different regulatory programs cover storm water, which may be treated as either a point or a non-point source discharge. The new federal storm water permitting regulations require permit applications to be submitted for all large and medium municipal separate storm sewer systems Storm water discharges from residential or commercial sites, except for construction activities, are not subject to current federal storm water permit applicationregulations; however, such storm water discharges may be subject to existing state regulations and may be subject to future federal The discharge of contaminated storm water to surface water or ground water, including discharges through separate storm sewers, requires an NJPDES permit in the State of New Jersey and other states. Traditionally discharges of storm water in ground water have not been controlled by the NPDES program 3.0 TECHNOLOGY (WASTE WATER) 3.1 NPDES Under the NPDES program, all industrial and municipal facilities that discharge waste water directly into Unites States waters must obtain a permit Specifically, the water act requires NPDES permits for discharges from point sources such as municipal waste water treatment plants, industries, animal feed lots, aquatic animal production facilities, and mining operations NPDES permits specify effluent limitations for each individual industrial and municipal discharge, a compliance schedule, monitoring and reporting requirements, and other terms and conditions necessary to protect water quality. NPDES permits are valid for five years, although EPA may issue them for shorter terms. NPDES permits may be revoked, transferred, or modified
Environmental Concerns 647 2.7 Storm Water Regulations An overview of storm water regulations is included in this section. As a result of the 1987 amendments to the Federal Clean Water Act, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted rules in 1990 which require permit applications for a number of storm water discharges. The intent of storm water regulations is to reduce and prevent pollution due to storm water. A primary approach is source reduction and pollution minimization. A number of different regulatory programs cover storm water, which may be treated as either a point or a non-point source discharge. The new federal storm water permitting regulations require permit applications to be submitted for all large and medium municipal separate storm sewer systems. Storm water discharges from residential or commercial sites, except for construction activities, are not subject to current federal storm water permit application regulations; however, such storm water discharges may be subject to existing state regulations and may be subject to future federal regulations. The discharge of contaminated storm water to surface water or ground water, including discharges through separate storm sewers, requires an NJPDES permit in the State of New Jersey and other states. Traditionally, discharges of storm water in ground water have not been controlled by the NPDES program. 3.0 TECHNOLOGY (WASTE WATER) 3.1 NPDES Under the NPDES program, all industrial and municipal facilities that discharge waste water directly into Unites States waters must obtain a permit. Specifically, the water act requires NPDES permits for discharges from point sources such as municipal waste water treatment plants, industries, animal feed lots, aquatic animal production facilities, and mining operations. NPDES permits specifjl effluent limitations for each individual industrial and municipal discharge, a compliance schedule, monitoring and reporting requirements, and other terms and conditions necessary to protect water quality. NPDES permits are valid for five years, although EPA may issue them for shorter terms. NPDES permits may be revoked, transferred, or modified
648 Fermentation and Biochemical Engineering Handbook NPDES permits are available from the EPA or from a state authorized toissue NPDES permits. Upon authorization of a state NPDES program, the state is primarily responsible for issuing permits and administrating the NPDES permit program. State NPDES programs must be consistent with minimum federal requirements Under the Federal Clean Water Act's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System(NPDES) permitting program, two approaches exist for controlling pollutant discharges from individual and municipal waste treatment facilities: the technology-based approach and the water-quality based approach Technology-based controls consist of uniform EPA established stan dards of treatment that apply to direct industrial dischargers and publicly owned waste water treatment works. These uniform standards known as effluent limitations, generally are in the heart of npdeS permits and place numeric limits on the amount of effluent pollutant concentrations permitted at the point of discharge(end-of-pipe Industrial effluent limitations are derived from technologies that are available for treating the effluent and removing pollutants, and also are based on considerations of cost and economic achievability. The water quality based approach is used to develop stricter effluent limitations where technol ogy based controls will not be stringent enough to ensure that waters can support their intended uses 3. 2 Effluent Limitations EPa and the states issue waste water discharge permits to individual factories, power plants, refineries, and other private companies, based on nationaleffluent limitation guidelines. These are based on chemical, physical and biological characteristics of effluent that industry may dump into water ways. An effluent limitation guideline sets the degree of reduction of a pollutant that can be achieved through the application of various levels of technology, Aneffluent limitation is a restriction on the amount of a pollutant that can be released from a point source into a water body. The discharge of waste water containing metals has effluent limitations, standards, or prohi bitions, expressed in terms of the total metal, that is, the sum of the dissolved and suspended fractions of the metal
648 Fermentation and Biochemical Engineering Handbook NPDES permits are available from the EPA or from a state authorized to issueNPDES permits. Upon authorization of a state NPDES program, the state is primarily responsible for issuing permits and administrating the NPDES permit program. State NPDES programs must be consistent with minimum federal requirements. Under the Federal Clean Water Act’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program, two approaches exist for controlling pollutant discharges from individual and municipal waste water treatment facilities: the technology-based approach and the water-quality based approach Technology-based controls consist of uniform EPA established standards of treatment that apply to direct industrial dischargers and publicly owned waste water treatment works. These uniform standards, known as effluent limitations, generally are in the heart of NPDES permits and place numeric limits on the amount of effluent pollutant concentrations permitted at the point of discharge (end-of-pipe). Industrial effluent limitations are derived from technologies that are available for treating the effluent and removing pollutants, and also are based on considerations of cost and economic achievability. The water quality based approach is used to develop stricter effluent limitations where technology based controls will not be stringent enough to ensure that waters can support their intended uses. 3.2 Emuent Limitations EPA and the states issue waste water discharge permits to individual factories, power plants, refineries, and other private companies, based on national effluent limitation guidelines. These are based on chemical, physical and biological characteristics of effluent that industry may dump into water ways. An effluent limitation guideline sets the degree of reduction of a pollutant that can be achieved through the application of various levels of technology. An effluent limitation is a restriction on the amount of a pollutant that can be released from a point source into a water body. The discharge of waste water containing metals has effluent limitations, standards, or prohibitions, expressed in terms of the total metal, that is, the sum of the dissolved and suspended fractions of the metal