What We Do
Regulations & Discharge Standards
The implementation regulations for the Pretreatment Program can be found in Title 21 DC Municipal Regulations Chapter 15 - Discharges to Wastewater System (21 DCMR § 1501-1599). The legal authority for these regulations is in the statute found in DC Official Code § 8-105 et seq and Wastewater System Regulation Amendment Act of 2010 - Signed Published Version. The statute and regulations are periodically updated as new EPA regulations are promulgated or discharge standards are updated. For information on the status of updates, contact DC Water's Pretreatment Supervisor at 202-787-4177.
The pretreatment program has established discharge standards for industries that include federally mandated prohibited discharge (PDF 26 kb) standards and categorical discharge standards (detailed on the EPA's website), as well as local discharge standards (PDF 331 kb) that are specific to the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment facility. Discharge standards apply to all non-domestic sources and are reviewed at least every five years. Industries may be required to pretreat their wastewater discharge if the pollutants exceed or have the potential to exceed the allowable discharge concentrations.