Effluent limitation

An effluent limitation is a United States Clean Water Act standard of performance reflecting a specified level of discharge reduction achievable by the best available technology or related standards for various sources of water pollution.^[1] ^[2] These sources include all industries, businesses, municipal sewage treatment plants and storm sewer systems, and other facilities that discharge to surface waters. Effluent limitations are implemented in discharge permits issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state agencies, through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).^[3]

References

^ United States (1972). "Effluent Limitations." Clean Water Act (CWA), section 301, 33 U.S.C. § 1311 et seq.
^ The other standards are: (a) Best Practicable Technology Currently Available (BPT) and Best Conventional Pollutant Control Technology (BCT); together with BAT, they are collectively referred to as "Effluent guidelines"; (b) New Source Performance Standards (NSPS); (c) Water quality-based effluent limitations (WQBEL); and (d) Best Professional Judgment of the permit-issuing agency (BPJ). See CWA sections 301, 306, 307 and 402(a).
^ NPDES Permit Writers' Manual (Report). EPA. September 2010. EPA-833-K-10-001.

This article incorporates public domain material from Jasper Womach. Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition (PDF). Congressional Research Service.