Chapter NR 273

NR 273.002 NR 273.002 Applicability.

NR 273.002(1) (1) Except as provided in sub. (2), this chapter applies to discharges of pollutants to waters of the state and to publicly owned treatment works from the forming of nonferrous metals and nonferrous metal alloys and the associated ancillary operations.

NR 273.002(2) (2) This chapter does not apply to the forming of:

NR 273.002(2)(a) (a) Beryllium, copper, aluminum, or their alloys; or

NR 273.002(2)(b) (b) Cadmium, chromium, gallium, germanium, indium, lithium, manganese, neodynum, or praseodymium.

NR 273.002(3) (3) This chapter applies to discharges to waters of the state and the introduction of pollutants into publicly owned treatment works from the mechanical production of metal powders from iron, copper, aluminum, nonferrous metals, and their alloys, the forming of parts from metal powders, and the associated ancillary operations. This chapter does not apply to the production of metal powders by chemical means such as precipitation. If the metal powder is produced as the final step in refining metal, the regulations for nonferrous metals manufacturing, ch. NR 274, apply.

NR 273.002(4) (4) This chapter applies to any chemical of electrochemical treatment applied to the surface of the metal whenever these surface treatments are performed at the plant site where the metals are formed. If surface treatment is performed at a site other than where the metals are formed, regulations for electroplating, ch. NR 260, or metal finishing, ch. NR 261, apply.

NR 273.002(5) (5) This chapter applies to casting when the casting is performed as an integral part of the metal forming process and takes place at the site where the metals are formed. When the casting does not take place where the metals are formed, the regulations for metal molding and casting, ch. NR 256, apply.

NR 273.002 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1990, No. 417, eff. 10-1-90.

NR 273.003 NR 273.003 General definitions. In addition to the definitions set forth in ss. NR 205.03, 205.04, and 211.03, the following definitions apply to the terms used in this chapter:

NR 273.003(1) (1) “Alkaline cleaning” means the removal of lard, oil, and other compounds from a metal surface by a solution bath, usually detergent, followed by a rinse or multiple stage rinsing.

NR 273.003(2) (2) “Aluminum alloy” means an alloy in which aluminum is the major constituent in percent by weight.

NR 273.003(3) (3) “Ancillary operation” means an operation performed as an integral part of the forming, such as casting for subsequent forming, heat treatment, surface treatment, alkaline cleaning, solvent degreasing, product testing, surface coating, sawing, grinding, tumbling, burnishing, and wet air pollution control.

NR 273.003(4) (4) “Atomization” means the process by which a stream of water or gas impinges upon a molten metal stream, breaking it into droplets which solidify as powder particles.

NR 273.003(5) (5) “Beryllium alloy” means an alloy in which beryllium is present at 0.1% or greater.

NR 273.003(6) (6) “Burnishing” means a surface finishing process in which minute surface irregularities are displaced rather than removed.

NR 273.003(7) (7) “Casting” means pouring molten metal into a mold to produce an object of the desired shape.

NR 273.003(8) (8) “Cladding” means the art of producing a composite metal containing 2 or more layers which have been metallurgically bonded together by roll bonding, solder application, or explosion bonding.

NR 273.003(9) (9) “Contact cooling water” means wastewater which contacts the metal workpiece or the raw materials used in forming metals for the purpose of removing heat from the metal.

NR 273.003(10) (10) “Continuous casting” means the production of sheet, rod, or other long shapes by solidifying the metal while it is being poured through an open ended mold.

NR 273.003(11) (11) “Copper alloy” means an alloy in which copper is the major constituent by weight, except any copper-precious metal alloy containing 30% by weight or greater precious metal is a precious metal alloy.

NR 273.003(12) (12) “Degreasing” means the removal of oils and greases from the surface of the metal workpiece by detergents as in alkaline cleaning or by the use of solvents.

NR 273.003(13) (13) “Direct chill casting” means an operation in which molten nonferrous metal is poured into a water cooled mold, contact cooling water is sprayed on the metal as it is dropped into the mold, and the metal ingot falls into a water bath at the end of the casting process.

NR 273.003(14) (14) “Forming” means a set of manufacturing operations in which metals and alloys are made into semifinished products by hot or cold working, such as hot and cold rolling, extruding, forging, drawing, swaging, cladding, and tube reducing.

NR 273.003(15) (15) “Drawing” means the process of pulling a metal through dies or succession of dies to reduce the metal’s diameter or alter its cross sectional shape.

NR 273.003(16) (16) “Dye penetrant testing” means a nondestructive method for finding discontinuities that are open to the surface of the metal in which a dye is applied to the surface of the metal and the excess is rinsed off so that the dye which penetrates the surface is not rinsed off and thus marks the discontinuities.

NR 273.003(17) (17) “Emulsion” means a stable dispersion of 2 immiscible liquids, usually oil and water.

NR 273.003(18) (18) “Electrocoating” means the electrodeposition of a metallic or nonmetallic coating onto the surface of a workpiece.

NR 273.003(19) (19) “Existing source” means any point source from which pollutants may be discharged either directly into the waters of the state or into a POTW, except a new source as defined in sub. (30).

NR 273.003(20) (20) “Extrusion” means the application of pressure to a billet of metal which forces the metal to flow through a die orifice.

NR 273.003(21) (21) “Forging” means deforming a usually hot metal with compressive force into a desired shape, with or without dies, but where dies are used the metal is forced to take the shape of the die.

NR 273.003(22) (22) “Grinding” means processes, such as surface finishing, sanding and slicing, in which stock is removed from a workpiece by the use of a tool consisting of abrasive grains held by a rigid or semirigid grinder.

NR 273.003(23) (23) “Heat treatment” means the application of heat of a specified temperature and duration to change the physical properties of the metal.

NR 273.003(24) (24) “Hot pressing” means the forming of a powder metallurgy compact at a temperature high enough to effect concurrent sintering.

NR 273.003(25) (25) “Hydrotesting” means the testing of piping or tubing by filling with water and pressurizing to test for integrity.

NR 273.003(26) (26) “Impregnation” means the process of filling the pores of a formed powder part, usually with a liquid such as a lubricant, or mixing particles of a nonmetallic substance in a matrix of metal powder.

NR 273.003(27) (27) “Metal powder production” means mechanical process operations which convert metal to a finely divided form.

NR 273.003(28) (28) “Milling” means the mechanical treatment of a nonferrous metal to produce a powder or to coat one component of a powder mixture with another.

NR 273.003(29) (29) “Neat oil” means a pure oil, with no or few impurities added, used mostly as a lubricant.

NR 273.003(30) (30) “New source” means any point source for which construction commenced after March 4, 1984, and from which pollutants may be discharged either directly into waters of the state or into a POTW.

NR 273.003(31) (31) “Nonferrous metal” means any pure metal other than iron and any metal alloy for which a metal other than iron is the alloy’s major constituent in percent by weight.

NR 273.003(32) (32) “Off-kg” and “off-lb” mean the mass of metal or metal alloy removed from a forming operation at the end of a process cycle for transfer to a different machine or process.

NR 273.003(33) (33) “Powder forming” means forming and compressing powder into a fully dense finished shape, usually within closed dies.

NR 273.003(34) (34) “Precious metals” means gold, platinum, palladium, and silver and any alloy containing 30% or more by weight of these metals.

NR 273.003(35) (35) “Product testing” means operations such as dye penetrant testing, hydrotesting, and ultrasonic testing.

NR 273.003(36) (36) “Refractory metals” means the metals columbium, tantalum, molybdenum, rhenium, tungsten, and vanadium and their alloys.

NR 273.003(37) (37) “Rolling” means the reduction in thickness or diameter of a workpiece by passing it between lubricated steel rollers.

NR 273.003(38) (38) “Roll bonding” means the process by which a permanent bond is created between 2 metals by rolling under high pressure in a bonding mill.

NR 273.003(39) (39) “Sawing” means cutting a workpiece with a band, blade, or circular disc having teeth.

NR 273.003(40) (40) “Shot casting” means the production of shot by pouring molten metal in finely divided streams to form spherical particles.

NR 273.003(41) (41) “Stationary casting” means the pouring of molten metal into molds and allowing the metal to cool.

NR 273.003(42) (42) “Surface treatment” means a chemical or electrochemical treatment applied to the surface of a metal, such as pickling, etching, conversion coating, phosphating, and chromating, and any rinse or multiple stage rinsing which follows.

NR 273.003(43) (43) “Swaging” means a process in which a solid point is formed at the end of a tube, rod, or bar by the repeated blows of one or more pairs of opposing dies.

NR 273.003(44) (44) “Tube reducing” means an operation which reduces the diameter and wall thickness of tubing with a mandrel and a pair of rolls with tapered grooves.

NR 273.003(45) (45) “Tumbling” means an operation in which castings, forgings, or parts pressed from metal powder are rotated in a barrel with ceramic or metal slugs or abrasives to remove scale, fins, or burrs, either dry or with an aqueous solution.

NR 273.003(46) (46) “Ultrasonic testing” means a nondestructive test in which sound at a frequency above 20 Hz is applied to metal which has been immersed in a liquid, usually water, to locate inhomogeneities or structural discontinuities.

NR 273.003(47) (47) “Wet air pollution control scrubbers” means air pollution control devices used to remove particulates and fumes from the air by entraining the pollutants in water spray.

NR 273.003 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1990, No. 417, eff. 10-1-90.

NR 273.004 NR 273.004 Compliance dates.

NR 273.004(1) (1) Any existing source subject to this chapter which discharges to waters of the state shall achieve:

NR 273.004(1)(a) (a) The effluent limitations representing BPT by July 1, 1977; and

NR 273.004(1)(b) (b) The effluent limitations representing BAT by July 1, 1984.

NR 273.004(2) (2) Any new source subject to this chapter which discharges to waters of the state shall achieve NSPS at the commencement of discharge.

NR 273.004(3) (3) Any existing source subject to this chapter which discharges to a POTW shall achieve PSES by August 23, 1988.

NR 273.004(4) (4) Any new source subject to this chapter which discharges to a POTW shall achieve PSNS at the commencement of discharge.

NR 273.004 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1990, No. 417, eff. 10-1-90.

subch. I of ch. NR 273 Subchapter I — Lead-Tin-Bismuth

NR 273.01 NR 273.01 Applicability; description of the lead-tin-bismuth subcategory. This subchapter applies to the discharge of pollutants to waters of the state and the introduction of pollutants into POTWs from lead-tin-bismuth forming.

NR 273.01 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1990, No. 417, eff. 10-1-90.

NR 273.011 NR 273.011 Discharge prohibitions. Any facility subject to this subchapter may not discharge process wastewater pollutants from the following sources:

NR 273.011(1) (1) Drawing spent neat oils; and

NR 273.011(2) (2) Degreasing spent solvents.

NR 273.011 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1990, No. 417, eff. 10-1-90.

NR 273.012 NR 273.012 Effluent limitations representing the degree of effluent reduction attainable by the application of the best practicable control technology currently available. Except as provided in 40 CFR 125.30 to 125.32, any existing point source subject to this subchapter shall achieve the following effluent limitations representing the degree of effluent reduction attainable by application of BPT:

NR 273.012 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1990, No. 417, eff. 10-1-90.

NR 273.013 NR 273.013 Effluent limitations representing the degree of effluent reduction attainable by the application of the best available technology economically achievable. Except as provided in 40 CFR 125.30 to 125.32, any existing point source subject to this subchapter shall achieve the following effluent limitations representing the degree of effluent reduction attainable by application of BAT:

NR 273.013 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1990, No. 417, eff. 10-1-90.

NR 273.014 NR 273.014 New source performance standards. Any new source subject to this subchapter shall achieve the following standards:

NR 273.014 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1990, No. 417, eff. 10-1-90.

NR 273.015 NR 273.015 Pretreatment standards for existing sources. Except as provided in ss. NR 211.13 and 211.14, any existing source subject to this subchapter which introduces pollutants into a POTW shall comply with ch. NR 211 and achieve the limitations set forth in s. NR 273.013.

NR 273.015 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1990, No. 417, eff. 10-1-90.

NR 273.016 NR 273.016 Pretreatment standards for new sources. Except as provided in s. NR 211.13, any new source subject to this subchapter which introduces pollutants into a POTW shall comply with ch. NR 211 and achieve the limitations set forth in s. NR 273.013.

NR 273.016 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1990, No. 417, eff. 10-1-90.

subch. II of ch. NR 273 Subchapter II — Magnesium

NR 273.02 NR 273.02 Applicability; description of the magnesium subcategory. This subchapter applies to the discharge of pollutants to waters of the state and the introduction of pollutants into POTWs from magnesium forming.

NR 273.02 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1990, No. 417, eff. 10-1-90.

NR 273.021 NR 273.021 Discharge prohibitions. Any facility subject to this subchapter may not discharge process wastewater pollutants from the following sources:

NR 273.021(1) (1) Forging spent lubricants; and

NR 273.021(2) (2) Degreasing spent solvents.