The Wooster Water Resource Recovery Facility manages an Industrial Pretreatment Program to meet state and federal regulatory requirements. In order to properly treat all wastewater in Wooster, it is imperative to understand potential quantities and compounds. Any discharge to the publicly owned facility is tested to ensure awareness and environmental stewardship. It is the goal of the program to be proactive in eliminating any potential treatment issues and subsequent discharge.
The City of Wooster’s Sewer Use Ordinance and Enforcement Response Guide provides the legal authority to enforce the Ohio EPA approved pretreatment program of the city as well as US EPA regulations. A conscious effort is made through training, continued education and Ohio EPA’s guidance to keep current with rule changes pertaining to pretreatment. Modification requests will be submitted for EPA approval when deemed necessary.
The goals and objectives of the Industrial Pretreatment Program serves to:
- Protect the environment and public health and safety.
- Protect the sewers and wastewater treatment plant from damage due to an accidental or deliberate discharge of pollutants.
- Provide safe working conditions for sewer utility workers.
- Locate all industrial users and identify the pollutants they discharge.
- Issue discharge permits to industrial users (IU’s) classified by the POTW (Publicly Owned Treatment Works) as a significant industrial user (SIU).
- Sample and analyze the wastewater discharge from IU’s and conduct yearly inspections.
- Investigate instances of noncompliance with pretreatment standards and permit requirements.
- Collect samples to assess surcharge fees for sewer users that discharge high-strength wastes.
- Monitor FOG (Fats, oils and grease) in establishments that prepare and serve food.
All industrial users that meet the criteria, as established by the EPA, of a Significant Industrial User (SIU) or Categorical Industrial User (CIU) are monitored for compliance with categorical and/or local limits for conservative and conventional pollutants. Additional sampling is done to ensure non-domestic wastewater dischargers are in compliance with local limits. Currently the city has seven permitted SIU’s, four of which are CIU’s, and monitors numerous other non-significant dischargers for compliance.
In addition to quarterly compliance sampling, several industrial users discharging higher than normal conventional pollutants are sampled weekly for Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS). The analytical results of those samples are averaged for each month and a sewer surcharge for high-strength waste is billed accordingly.