Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 567 - Environmental Protection Commission › Title IV - Wastewater Treatment and Disposal › Chapter 63 - Monitoring, Analytical and Reporting Requirements › Rule 567-63.4 - Effluent Toxicity Testing Requirements in Permits

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
Effluent toxicity
				testing.
All major municipal and industrial dischargers shall be
				required to carry out effluent toxicity testing. Minor dischargers may be
				required to conduct effluent toxicity tests based on a case-by-case evaluation
				of the impact of the discharge on the receiving stream or industrial
				contribution to the system. All dischargers required to conduct effluent
				toxicity tests shall conduct, at a minimum, one valid effluent toxicity test
				annually. The testing requirements will be placed in the operation permit for
				each discharger required to conduct this testing. Additional monitoring may be
				specified in the operation permit based on a case-by-case evaluation of the
				impact of the discharge on the receiving stream, toxic or deleterious effects
				of wastewaters, industrial contribution to the system, complexities of the
				treatment process, history of noncompliance or any other factor which requires
				strict operational control to meet the effluent limitations of the permit. Any
				effluent toxicity test completed by the department or other agency and
				conducted according to procedures stated or referenced in this rule may be used
				to determine compliance with an operational permit.
(2)
Testing procedures.
Dischargers shall be required to conduct effluent toxicity tests in accordance
				with the following general requirements:
a.
				Effluent toxicity tests shall be performed using a 24-hour composite sample of
				the effluent collected at the location stated in the operation permit. All
				composite samples shall be delivered to the testing laboratory within a
				reasonable time (approximately 24 hours) after collection, and all tests must
				commence within 36 hours following sample collection. The results of all
				effluent toxicity tests, including any tests performed at a greater frequency
				than required in the operation permit, shall be submitted to the department
				within 30 days of completing the test.
b. All effluent toxicity tests shall be
				conducted using the test methods referenced in 40 CFR Part 136 and protocols
				described in the EPA document EPA-821-R-02-012, Methods for Measuring the Acute
				Toxicity of Effluents and Receiving Waters to Freshwater and Marine Organisms,
				5th edition, October 2002. All effluent toxicity tests shall be conducted by a
				laboratory certified in Iowa.
c.
				All effluent toxicity tests shall be performed using the water
				flea
(Ceriodaphnia dubia),
and the fathead
				minnow
(Pimephales promelas)
.
d. Effluent toxicity tests shall include, at
				a minimum, two different concentrations of effluent. One test shall consist of
				100 percent effluent, and a second test shall be a diluted effluent sample as
				defined. A control test, consisting of 100 percent culture water for each
				respective organism shall also be used. The test shall last for 48 hours at
				which time the mortality will be determined for all tests.
e. All effluent toxicity tests shall be of
				the pass/fail type.