Industrial Users / Pretreatment

The Hobart Sanitary District’s (HSD) Industrial Pretreatment Program (IPP) is required by the Gary Sanitary District’s (GSD) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to comply with pretreatment standards to ensure the goals of the Clean Water Act (CWA) are implemented. The IPP helps control wastewater discharges from Industrial Users (IU) to the Hobart sanitary sewer system and on to the GSD WWTP to ensure that incompatible pollutants do not interfere with the treatment process and that untreatable pollutants do not pass through the WWTP to the environment. The HSD IPP implements the pretreatment requirements on behalf of GSD and monitors the wastewater discharge from local industries and other non-domestic wastewater sources for compliance with the pretreatment standards and local ordinance.

What is an Industrial User?

An industrial user (IU) is a nondomestic source of discharge into a WWTP; basically, if wastewater does not only contain normal residential wastewater, then the user is considered a non-domestic source. An IU must comply with all applicable federal, state, and local pretreatment standards and requirements. Some federal requirements apply to all IUs and other requirements apply only to specific business types of IUs. The federal requirements apply regardless of whether the IU has a permit or discharge authorization from the HSD.

As part of the agreement with the GSD, the HSD is to provide an Industrial User Survey to non-domestic wastewater discharges in their service area. This is to understand what each site is sending to the sewer system. Each user is required per the ordinance to complete and provide to the HSD.

Industrial Waste Survey Form

What is pretreatment?

Industrial facilities are only one of many sources of wastewater discharged into municipal sewers. As an IU, their wastewater may contain pollutants other than the normal domestic type of pollutants. If these pollutants were discharged to the WWTP in sufficient quantities, they could interfere with the treatment facility, pass through the treatment facility into the environment, or accumulate in the treatment facility’s sewage sludge. The undesirable effects resulting from the discharge of industrial wastewater into municipal sewers can be prevented. Industrial facilities can remove pollutants from their wastewater before discharging them into the HSD sanitary sewer system. This practice is known as "pretreatment.”

The federal government has developed national regulations or "standards" that restrict industrial pollutants discharged into sanitary sewage systems. The HSD must impose limitations (via the Sewer Use Ordinance) that may be more stringent than the national standards but cannot allow less stringent levels of control.

The major objectives of the industrial pretreatment program are:

1) To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the HSD's and the GSD's Wastewater Collection Systems which will interfere with the normal operation of the GSD Wastewater Treatment Plant or contaminate the resulting municipal sludge.

2) To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the HSD wastewater collection system which do not receive adequate treatment in the GSD WWTP, and which will pass through the plant into receiving waters or the atmosphere, or otherwise be incompatible with the WWTP.

3) To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewater and sludge from the system.

4) To protect both the public and city personnel who may be affected by wastewater and sludge in the course of their employment.

5) To provide for fees for the equitable distribution of the cost of operation, maintenance, and improvement of the WWTP.

6) To provide for the regulation of discharges into the HSD's and GSD's wastewater systems through the issuance of industrial discharge permits, the execution of inter-jurisdictional agreements, and the enforcement of administrative regulations.

HSD achieves these objectives through the implementation of the following:

Who does this apply to?

The HSD’s IPP applies to IUs that discharge non-domestic, process wastewater to the sanitary sewer system. The IPP may apply to an IU based on what is manufactured, the amount of wastewater discharged, or the type of pollutants in their discharge. IUs that are typically federally regulated are:

  • Electroplaters and metal finishing
  • Food manufacturers
  • Chemical manufacturers
  • Petroleum refining
  • Timber and paper products
  • Airports
  • Hospitals
  • Dental offices

Other IUs that may be included in the IPP on a local level include:

  • Machine shops
  • Car washes
  • Other IUs not federally regulated

Permits for Industries Discharging Wastewater

The HSD issues enforceable wastewater discharge permits, as required by the program, to industrial users that discharge wastewater to the sanitary sewer system. The permits specify regulated pollutants, discharge standards, monitoring and reporting requirements, and various standard conditions. Industrial Pretreatment requirements and information on wastewater effluent limitations may be found in City of Hobart Sewer Use Ordinance.

To apply for a pretreatment permit (new or renewal), complete and return a Non-Domestic Wastewater Discharge Application.

For new industrial users who are unsure if they are subject to the IPP, complete the Industrial Waste Survey Form and submit to the HSD requesting a review. Based on the information provided, the HSD will determine if the discharge is subject to the program, at which point a permit application must be completed. For more information regarding the HSD’s IPP, please see the following links or contact the program's coordinator at 219-942-3619.

Email submittals accepted at tkingsland@cityofhobart.org