The Water Pollution Control Department implements the City of Independence’s Industrial Pretreatment Program, which was approved by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The National Pretreatment Program was established under the Clean Water Act passed by the U.S. Congress. The National Pretreatment Program is a cooperative effort of federal, state, and local environmental agencies to protect water quality. The pretreatment program regulates discharges to the sanitary sewer system from industries.
The term "pretreatment" refers to the requirement that industries discharging wastewater to the sanitary sewer system must control their discharges and meet limits on the amount of pollutants allowed to be discharged. The control of pollutants may necessitate treatment prior to discharge to the sanitary sewer, or "pretreatment".
To protect the City’s sanitary sewer collection system and wastewater treatment plant from adverse impacts resulting from the discharge of untreated industrial wastewater, such as explosion, fire, or interference with the treatment process; to prevent pollutants from industry discharges from passing through the City’s wastewater treatment plant into receiving waters; and to improve the quality of sludge produced during the treatment process.
Identifying industries that need to be regulated
Issuing permits to Significant Industrial Users
Sampling and inspecting industries
Evaluating industrial user compliance with pretreatment requirements
Taking enforcement actions, as warranted
Six Significant Industrial Users (SIUs) have been identified that discharge to the City of Independence sanitary sewer system. SIUs are industries that are regulated by national categorical pretreatment standards or that discharge at least 25,000 gallons per day of industrial process wastewater. The Water Pollution Department can also designate other industries as SIUs if they have a reasonable potential to cause adverse impacts on the City’s wastewater treatment plant.
For additional information on the Independence Industrial Pretreatment Program, please contact the Water Pollution Control Department, Office of Environmental Compliance, at 325-7711.
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