About the Industrial Pretreatment Program

The Broward County North Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant's Industrial Pretreatment Program (BCIPP) is administered by the Compliance and Monitoring Section (C&M) of Environmental Standards & Technology (EST) Division of Water & Wastewater Services (WWS). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the Broward County North Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant's (BCNRWTP) Industrial Pretreatment Program in 1984. With this formal approval, the BCIPP established an industrial source control program with the following objectives: (1) to allow the BCIPP treatment plant to comply with effluent discharge requirements; (2) to protect the public, the environment, personnel, and NR System from potentially harmful industrial wastes; and (3) to ensure that industrial users pay their fair share of treatment operations and maintenance costs.

The BCIPP has been fully implemented for many years. The BCIPP now regulates a diverse industrial base consisting of over 900 facilities. These facilities include over 33 Significant Industrial Users (SIUs), among which 11 are included in the Federal categorical pretreatment program in 5 different categories. Due to the number of industrial users and the diversity of the industrial base, the BCIPP has been enhanced through the use of computer-automated permitting, inspection, and compliance programs that allow for tracking, assessment, notification, and enforcement of all applicable regulations.

Each of the BCIPP industrial users is required to obtain an Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit(pdf 24k). Permit applications are reviewed by the permitting staff to determine if the pretreatment equipment proposed is adequate to meet appropriate discharge limits and to determine compliance with the BCIPP spill containment, and flow monitoring policies. One of the major roles of permitting staff is to ensure that all Federal categorical, state, and local pretreatment standards are applied correctly. Industrial users discharging without a valid permit are issued a temporary operating permit (TOP), which serves as a control mechanism for the user until a full permit can be obtained. The TOP provides the discharger with notification of the BCIPP effluent limitations and the possible Federal categorical determination, and can be revoked at any time if the discharger fails to comply with the requirements. There are currently over 30 active TOP's under review.

The BCIPP maintains an active monitoring program to ensure continued compliance by its industrial users. Sampling for compliance purposes is conducted by both the industrial user and the BCIPP inspection/monitoring team. The Compliance Verification team devoted to sampling and on-site inspections of industrial equipment and wastewater sources; they obtain both grab and composite samples. The BCIPP also has a surveillance monitoring program aimed at facilitating the detection of actual and potential problems caused by the illegal discharge of prohibited materials. Under the surveillance program, members set up specialized sampling equipment in the public sewerage system at points upstream and downstream of industrial users suspected of illegal discharges.

Broward County also maintains an extensive field inspection program, which includes visiting industrial facilities to investigate their compliance status, identifying industrial sources responsible for treatment plant upsets or incidents, and disseminating information on the pretreatment program to industrial users.

The Broward County Compliance and Monitoring Section also operates and manages the Septage Receiving Facility (SRF). The SRF accepts septic tank waste, grease trap waste, portable toilet waste, and pre-approved industrial waste (with analysis report). Click here to obtain additional information on the SRF policy and procedures, or to obtain an application for a permit.

Industrial users that are found through inspection or monitoring to be out of compliance are subject to aggressive enforcement action by the BCIPP. Standardized enforcement procedures, Enforcement Response Plan (pdf 124k) (ERP), have been developed to achieve timely and effective compliance under the Sewer Use Ordinance.

For Pre-Treatment News and Frequently Asked Questions Click here