Statement of Scope
Department of Natural Resources
Relating to: | Revisions to ch. NR 211 related to regulation of wastewater discharges from dental offices to sanitary sewers |
1. Finding/nature of emergency (Emergency Rule only):
The rule will be proposed as a permanent rule.
2. Detailed description of the objective of the proposed rule:
EPA published the proposed federal Dental Office rule – 40 CFR 441 – in October of 2014 and the final rule on June 14, 2017 (see: https://www.epa.gov/eg/dental-effluent-guidelines and its link to 40 CFR 441). This rule regulates certain wastewater discharges from dental offices to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs), also known as municipal wastewater treatment plants. The Department is required by s. 283.11 (1), Stat., to publish a rule with the same standards.
The rule’s pretreatment standards apply to dental offices that place or remove dental amalgam, i.e., metal dental fillings, from patients’ teeth and regulate the wastewater discharges from those activities. These standards require subject offices to install, operate and maintain rule-compliant solids separators to treat all amalgam process wastewater and to comply with two best management practices which will reduce the discharge of amalgam waste to a POTW. Existing dental offices in Wisconsin subject to the rule must comply with these requirements by July 14, 2020 and submit a One-Time Compliance Report to DNR or their local municipal pretreatment program if located in one, by October 12, 2020. The report must provide certain basic information about the facility along with a certification that it does or does not place or remove amalgam and, if applicable, that the facility will continue to operate and maintain a rule-compliant separator and implement the two best management practices. New dental offices subject to the rule, which began discharging to a POTW after July 14, 2017, must comply with the standards as of that date and submit a One-Time Compliance Report within 90 days of introducing wastewater to a POTW.
Though this new rule will not likely become effective before the federal final compliance date for dental offices of October 12, 2020, the Department is authorized to implement and enforce the federal dental rule, according to s. NR 211.34, Wis. Adm. Code, after it publishes a notice in the Wisconsin Administrative Register of the Department’s intent to adopt the federal rule’s standards into Wisconsin Administrative Code. Section NR 211.34 also requires the Department to adopt these standards and requirements into Wisconsin Administrative Code as soon as possible after promulgation of the related federal regulation. In addition to adopting the Dental Office rule, this rule also seeks to correct an issue relating to implementation of rules promulgated in ch. NR 211 Wis. Admin. Code which authorize use of facility-specific pretreatment requirements. EPA requires that facility-specific accommodations and requirements be implemented in a manner which is equivalent to a Permit. The Department recently determined that for industries which discharge to a POTW which does not have an approved program, the Department’s current mechanism for notifying a facility of the requirements may not meet all permit requirements With this rule, the Department will clarify that for industries which have discharges subject to facility-specific pretreatment requirements and which discharge to a POTW without an approved program, the Department may issue a permit for implementing these facility-specific pretreatment requirements. 3. Description of the existing policies relevant to the rule, new policies proposed to be included in the rule, and an analysis of policy alternatives:
Since November 1, 2002, the Department has required municipal wastewater treatment plants with alternative mercury effluent limits to implement a mercury pollutant minimization program (PMP), as defined in NR 106.04 (5), to reduce their discharges of mercury. Municipal PMPs for mercury require mercury source reduction activities from dental, medical, school and industrial facilities discharging to the POTW. Dental facilities must report to the municipality which best management practices (BMPs) they have implemented and which are scheduled. Many of these BMPs are required by the proposed rule.
The proposed rule would regulate discharges from dental offices in municipalities without mercury PMPs for the first time.
No policy alternatives are available as the Department is required by s. 283.11 (1), Stat., to publish a state rule that complies with and does not exceed the requirements in the corresponding federal rule. The Department’s additional proposed corrective language will clarify that it may issue permits for facilities with facility-specific pretreatment requirements in order to implement those requirements in an EPA-approved manner.
4. Detailed explanation of statutory authority for the rule (including the statutory citation and language):
The Department is required by s. 283.11 (1), Stat., to promulgate by rule pretreatment standards for any category of point sources established by the U.S. EPA and for which that agency has promulgated pretreatment standards for any pollutant. The federal dental office rule (40 CFR 441) contains pretreatment standards for the pollutants contained in dental amalgam wastewater discharged from dental offices. The Department’s corrective language allowing it to issue permits for facilities with facility-specific pretreatment requirements and which discharge to a POTW without an approved program is authorized under s. 283.31. The Department may issue a permit to a point source discharge under s. 283.31 “on condition that such discharges will meet … pretreatment standards.” s. 283.31(3) Wis. Stat. 5. Estimate of amount of time that state employees will spend developing the rule and of other resources necessary to develop the rule:
The Department estimates that up to 400 hours of state employee time will be needed to complete the promulgation of the proposed rule and additional rule language.
6. List with description of all entities that may be affected by the proposed rule:
Facilities where the practice of dentistry is performed, including, but not limited to, institutions, permanent or temporary offices, clinics, home offices, and facilities owned and operated by federal, state or local governments, that discharge wastewater to a publicly owned treatment works (POTW).
The proposed additional rule language would also affect 20 – 40 pretreatment facilities with facility-specific pretreatment requirements.
7. Summary and preliminary comparison with any existing or proposed federal regulation that is intended to address the activities to be regulated by the proposed rule:
As required by s. 283.11 (2), Stat., the new rule shall comply with and not exceed the requirements of the corresponding federal dental rule, 40 CFR 441.
