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ACC believes that the Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) process, the technology-based standard-setting process for industrial wastewater regulations, has accomplished its objectives of reducing industrial discharges to U.S. waters and is virtually complete. As EPA fulfills its statutory requirements to review existing ELGs, the Agency should carefully evaluate whether new or revised ELGs are likely to achieve real water quality gains and decreased risk to human health and the environment before beginning new ELG activities.

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Contact: Tiffany Harrington
Phone: 703-741-5583

EPA’s Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) program is the primary Clean Water Act program by which the Agency controls industrial, point-source discharges of pollutants to receiving waters in the U.S. EPA has established ELGs for more than 55 industries, including chemical manufacturing and all of the 34 major industry sectors identified in a 1979 Consent Decree with environmental groups. Congress envisioned that once ELGs were established and implemented for the primary industrial sectors, and a limited number of significant secondary industrial point source categories, water quality-based limitations were to be implemented as appropriate to address any additional water quality concerns. At this point the primary industries have taken the necessary actions to meet this baseline using BPT and BAT technologies. ACC believes that the technology-based standard-setting process mandated by Congress has accomplished its objective and is virtually complete. EPA is also required to periodically review, and, if appropriate, revise existing ELGs; however, the Agency’s recent experience with proposed new and revised ELGs indicates that EPA faces the prospect of diminishing returns in the ELG program. As EPA fulfills its statutory requirements to review existing ELGs, the Agency should carefully evaluate whether new or revised ELGs are likely to achieve real water quality gains and decreased risk to human health and the environment before beginning new ELG activities.

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Supporting Documents:

• Effluent Guidelines Position Paper
• ACC's Comments on the EPA's Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan

Resources:

• US EPA Effluent Guidelines