Wisconsin Legislature: NR 220.02(35)

NR 220.10 NR 220.10 Purpose. The purpose of this subchapter is to provide for the incorporation of effluent limitations into discharge permits required under s. 283.31, Stats., as soon as possible after the promulgation of regulations establishing effluent limitation guidelines.

NR 220.10 History History: Cr. Register, July, 1981, No. 307, eff. 8-1-81; renum. from NR 207.01 and am. Register, September, 1988, No. 393, eff. 10-1-88; CR 17-002: am. Register April 2018 No. 748, eff. 5-1-18.

NR 220.11 NR 220.11 Applicability. This subchapter is applicable to discharge permits issued for all categories and classes of point sources listed in s. NR 220.02.

NR 220.11 History History: Cr. Register, July, 1981, No. 307, eff. 8-1-81; am. Register, April, 1983, No. 328, eff. 5-1-83; renum. from NR 207.02 and am. Register, September, 1988, No. 393, eff. 10-1-88.

NR 220.12 NR 220.12 Definitions. Terms used in this subchapter are defined in s. NR 205.03. Abbreviations used in this chapter are defined in s. NR 205.04. Other terms for this chapter are defined as follows:

NR 220.12(1) (1) “Effluent Limitation Guidelines” or “ELGs” are federal or state technology based guidelines or standards that are used to establish effluent limitations for industrial categories or classes of dischargers. They include federal guidelines, standards, and limitations that are established under 33 USC 1311, 1314, 1316, 1318, 1342 and 1361 and state promulgated guidelines, standards, and limitations in chs. NR 221 to 297.

NR 220.12(2) (2) “Fundamentally different factors variance” or “FDFV” means a variance or an adjustment to an effluent limitation when data specific to a permittee indicates the presence of factors that are fundamentally different from the factors considered by EPA in development of the effluent limitation guidelines 33 USC 1311 and 1314.

NR 220.12 History History: Cr. Register, July, 1981, No. 307, eff. 8-1-81; renum. from NR 207.03 and am. Register, September, 1988, No. 393, eff. 10-1-88; CR17-002: renum. 220.12 to (intro.) and am., cr. (1), (2) Register April 2018 No. 748, eff. 5-1-18; correction in (1) under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register April 2018 No. 748.

NR 220.13 NR 220.13 Establishment of limitations based upon federal regulations.

NR 220.13(1)(1) Listed industrial categories. In the event that the EPA promulgates an effluent limitation guideline for a category or class of point sources listed in s. NR 220.02 that is more stringent than the promulgated effluent limitation guideline for that category or class, the department shall include an effluent limitation based on the EPA-promulgated effluent limitation guideline in an issued, reissued, or modified WPDES permit for a point source that belongs to the federal category or class of point sources in accordance with the federally required compliance date.

NR 220.13(2) (2) Industrial categories not specifically listed. In the event that the EPA promulgates an effluent limitation guideline for a category or class of point sources not listed in s. NR 220.02, the department shall include an effluent limitation based on the EPA-promulgated effluent limitation guideline in an issued, reissued, or modified WPDES permit for a point source that belongs to the federal category or class of point sources in accordance with the federally required compliance date.

NR 220.13(3) (3) Less stringent limitations. If a promulgated federal effluent limitation guideline results in an effluent limitation that is less stringent than an existing applicable technology based limitation contained in a WPDES permit, the department may only include the less stringent limitation if the antibacksliding requirements in ch. NR 207 are satisfied.

NR 220.13(4) (4) Compliance. Prior to any permit modification, revocation and reissuance, or reissuance to incorporate a limitation for a toxic substance based on a revised federal effluent guideline promulgated under 33 USC 1317, the permittee shall comply with the federally promulgated guideline by the required compliance date even if the permit has not yet been modified, revoked and reissued, or reissued to include a limitation based on the revised guideline.

NR 220.13 History History: Cr. Register, July, 1981, No. 307, eff. 8-1-81; am. Register, April, 1983, No. 328, eff. 5-1-83; renum. from NR 207.04, Register, September, 1988, No. 393, eff. 10-1-88; CR 17-002: r. and recr. Register April 2018 No. 748, eff. 5-1-18.

NR 220.14 NR 220.14 Establishment of effluent guideline limitations in the Wisconsin administrative code. The department shall, as soon as possible after the promulgation of any federal regulations establishing effluent guidelines for certain categories and classes of point sources, adopt appropriate effluent guideline limitations for such point sources in the Wisconsin administrative code.

NR 220.14 History History: Cr. Register, July, 1981, No. 307, eff. 8-1-81; am. Register, April, 1983, No. 328, eff. 5-1-83; renum. from NR 207.05, Register, September, 1988, No. 393, eff. 10-1-88.

NR 220.15 NR 220.15 Disposal of pollutants into publicly owned treatment works, land treatment systems, or land application of wastewater.

NR 220.15(1)(1) In this section, “surface waters” means waters of the state, excluding groundwater.

NR 220.15(2) (2) When part of a discharger's process wastewater is not being discharged into surface waters because it is disposed into a POTW, into a land treatment system, or via land application of wastewater, thereby reducing the flow or level of pollutants being discharged into surface waters, applicable effluent standards and limitations for the discharge in a WPDES permit shall be adjusted to reflect the reduced raw waste resulting from such disposal. Effluent limitations and standards in the permit shall be calculated by one of the following methods:

NR 220.15(2)(a) (a) If none of the waste from a particular process is discharged into surface waters, and effluent limitations guidelines provide separate allocation for wastes from that process, all allocations for the process shall be eliminated from calculation of permit effluent limitations or standards.

NR 220.15(2)(b) (b) In all cases other than those described in par. (a), effluent limitations shall be adjusted by multiplying the effluent limitation derived by applying effluent limitation guidelines to the total waste stream by the amount of wastewater flow to be treated and discharged into surface waters, and dividing the result by the total wastewater flow. This method is expressed algebraically as:

- See PDF for diagram

Where:

P is the final, adjusted permit effluent limitation,

E is the limitation derived by applying effluent guidelines to the total wastestream,

N is the wastewater flow to be treated and discharged to surface waters, and

T is the total wastewater flow.

NR 220.15(2)(c) (c) In addition to the adjustment in par. (b), effluent limitations and standards may be further adjusted under a fundamentally different factors variance under s. NR 220.20 to make them more or less stringent if discharges to POTWs or land treatment systems change the character or treatability of the pollutants being discharged.

NR 220.15 Note Note: “Land treatment system” is defined in s. NR 214.03 (24). Wells as defined in s. NR 812.05 (1) (b) are not land treatment systems. Disposal of pollutants into wells is prohibited by s. NR 812.05.

NR 220.15(3) (3) Sub. (2) does not apply to the extent that effluent limitations guidelines do any of the following:

NR 220.15(3)(a) (a) Control concentrations of pollutants discharged but not mass.

NR 220.15(3)(b) (b) Specify a different specific technique for adjusting effluent limitations to account for land application or disposal into POTWs.

NR 220.15(4) (4) This section does not alter a permittee's obligation to meet any more stringent limitations or requirements established under other WPDES permit program regulations, including those under chs. NR 204 and 214.