Industrial Pretreatment

Pretreatment

The Pretreatment Program is designed to prevent the introduction of pollutants into a wastewater treatment plant that will interfere with its operation by inhibiting or disrupting the treatment processes or that will pass through the treatment plant into waters of the United States, thus negatively impacting water quality.

The NTMWD Pretreatment team, in partnership with city counterparts, manages seven TCEQ-approved pretreatment programs covering eight wastewater treatment plants and more than 20 cities. Additionally, we contract with the City of Terrell to manage its pretreatment program. 

As Part of This Program, NTMWD Manages:

• Compliance with federal pretreatment standards.
• Conducting technically based local limit studies to determine the maximum concentration of pollutants from industries that the receiving wastewater treatment plants can accommodate. The concentration limits are then included in the pretreatment permits for an industry.
• Development of industrial wastewater discharge permits. 
• Inspection and collection of samples from a wide range of industries.
• Review of self-monitoring data.
• Drafting enforcement actions for violations of permit limits or requirements.

The Pretreatment team investigates potential unauthorized discharges into the collection and interceptor systems. It also serves on-call to respond to operational emergencies that may impact the environment. Learn more about the EPA Pretreatment requirements. 

New industrial users in the NTMWD service area should contact our Pretreatment team for more information. A complete permit application will provide the necessary information to determine if a discharge permit will be required prior to operating. 

Important Information for Dental Offices

NTMWD Pretreatment Program is required to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dental Office Point Source Category Rule (“EPA Dental Rule”). This new regulation requires the installation of dental amalgam separators and the submission of a one-time report to NTMWD demonstrating compliance. Learn more about the EPA Dental Effluent Guidelines.

This requirement has been stipulated by the Dental Office Point Source Category Rule (EPA Dental Rule) and will help prevent certain metals from entering the sewer system and comply with two amalgam Best Management Practices. The compliance report requests general information, a description of the facility and amalgam separators, and a certification statement. All dental offices in the NTMWD service are must submit this one-time report.