Wyoming Administrative Code › Agency 020 - Environmental Quality, Dept. of › Sub-Agency 0011 - Water Quality › Chapter 2 - DISCHARGES, PERMIT REGS › Appendix L - Criteria and Standards for Determining Fundamentally Different Factors

Current through July 13, 2024
(a) Purpose and scope.
(i) This appendix establishes the criteria and standards to
				  be used in determining whether effluent limitations alternative to those
				  required by promulgated EPA effluent limitations guidelines under sections 301
				  and 304 of the CWA (hereinafter referred to as "national limits") should be
				  imposed on a discharger because factors relating to the discharger's
				  facilities, equipment, processes or other factors related to the discharger are
				  fundamentally different from the factors considered by EPA in development of
				  the national limits. This subpart applies to all national limitations
				  promulgated under sections 301 and 304 of the CWA, except for the BPT limits
				  contained in
				  40
				  CFR 423.12 (steam electric generating point
				  source category).
(ii) In establishing national limits, EPA takes into account
				  all the information it can collect, develop and solicit regarding the factors
				  listed in section 304(b) of the CWA. In some cases, however, data which could
				  affect these national limits as they apply to a particular discharge may not be
				  available or may not be considered during their development. As a result, it
				  may be necessary on a case-by-case basis to adjust the national limits, and
				  make them either more or less stringent as they apply to certain dischargers
				  within an industrial category or subcategory. This will only be done if data
				  specific to that discharger indicates it presents factors fundamentally
				  different from those considered by EPA in developing the limit at issue. Any
				  interested person believing that factors relating to a discharger's facilities,
				  equipment, processes or other facilities related to the discharger are
				  fundamentally different from the factors considered during development of the
				  national limits may request a fundamentally different factors variance under
				  Section
				  8 of these regulations. In addition, such a
				  variance may be proposed by the director in the draft permit.
(b) Criteria.
(i) A request for the establishment of effluent limitations
				  under this appendix shall be forwarded to the Administrator of the EPA (or his
				  delegate) with a written concurrence only if:
(A) There is an applicable national limit which is applied in
				  the permit and specifically controls the pollutant for which alternative
				  effluent limitations or standards have been requested; and
(B) Factors relating to the discharge controlled by the
				  permit are fundamentally different from those considered by EPA in establishing
				  the national limits; and
(C) The request for alternative effluent limitations or
				  standards is made in accordance with the requirements of Section
				  8 of these regulations.
(ii) A request for the establishment of effluent limitations
				  less stringent than those required by national limits guidelines shall be
				  forwarded to the Administrator of the EPA (or his delegate) with a written
				  concurrence only if:
(A) The alternative effluent limitation or standard requested
				  is no less stringent than justified by the fundamental difference; and
(B) The alternative effluent limitation or standard will
				  ensure compliance with Sections 208(e) and 301(b) (1) (C) of the CWA;
				  and
(C) Compliance with the national limits (either by using the
				  technologies upon which the national limits are based or by other control
				  alternatives) would result in:
(I) A removal cost wholly out of proportion to the removal
				  cost considered during development of the national limits; or
(II) A non-water quality environmental impact (including
				  energy requirements) fundamentally more adverse than the impact considered
				  during development of the national limits.
(iii) Factors which may be considered fundamentally different
				  are:
(A) The nature of quality of pollutants contained in the raw
				  waste load of the applicant's process wastewater;
(B) The volume of the discharger's process wastewater and
				  effluent discharged;
(C) Non-water quality environmental impact of control and
				  treatment of the discharger's raw waste load;
(D) Energy requirements of the application of control and
				  treatment technology;
(E) Age, size, land availability, and configuration as they
				  relate to the discharger's equipment or facilities, processes employed, process
				  changes, and engineering aspects of the application of control
				  technology;
(F) Cost of compliance with required control
				  technology.
(iv) A variance request or portion of such a request under
				  this section shall not be forwarded to the Administrator of the EPA (or his
				  delegate) with a written concurrence on any of the following grounds:
(A) The infeasibility of installing the required waste
				  treatment equipment within the time the CWA allows.
(B) The assertion that the national limits cannot be achieved
				  with appropriate waste treatment facilities installed, if such assertion is not
				  based on factor(s) listed in Appendix L (iv);
(C) The discharger's ability to pay for the required waste
				  treatment; or
(D) The impact of a discharge on local receiving water
				  quality.
(v) Nothing in this appendix shall be construed to impair the
				  right of any locality under Section 510 of the CWA to impose more stringent
				  limitations than those required by federal law.
(c) Method of application.
(i) A written request for a variance under this appendix
				  shall be submitted in triplicate to the director in accordance with Section
				  8 of these regulations.
(ii) The burden is on the person requesting the variance to
				  explain that:
(A) Factor(s) listed in Appendix L (b) (ii) of these
				  regulations regarding the discharger's facility are fundamentally different
				  from the factors EPA considered in establishing the national limits. The
				  requester should refer to all relevant material and information, such as the
				  published guideline regulations development document, all associated technical
				  and economic data collected for use in developing each national limit, all
				  records of legal proceedings, and all written and printed documentation
				  including records of communication, etc., relevant to the regulations which are
				  kept on public file by the EPA;
(B) The alternative limitations requested are justified by
				  the fundamental difference alleged in Appendix L (c) (ii) (A) of these
				  regulations; and
(C) The appropriate requirements of Appendix L (b) of these
				  regulations have been met.