Pretreatment Program | Sewer Utility | Public Works and Utilities

Public Works & Utilities >> Sewer Utility >> Pretreatment Program

Industrial Pretreatment and Accidental Spill Prevention

Pierce County Sewer Utility operates an Industrial Pretreatment and Accidental Spill Prevention Program to control discharge of toxic, harmful, or untreatable wastes to the sewer system. Several aspects of these programs are innovative and help to significantly maintain Pierce County's high quality effluent and biosolids.

Who is Pretreatment For?

Pierce County's Pretreatment and Accidental Spill Prevention Program applies to Significant Industrial Users (SIUs) and all commercial dischargers.

Major industries can have a major impact on wastewater treatment plants, but with a strong pretreatment ordinance and support from the county, their discharge is relatively easy to control.

Six major industries discharge to the Chambers Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, but Pierce County also has over 1,600 commercial facilities including photo shops, medical facilities, auto body shops, dry cleaners, lawn services, and restaurants that, when combined, can have a significant impact on the sewer system.

Pretreatment Inspections

Pretreatment program staff routinely inspect all major and minor commercial facilities with potential to impact the sewer utility. All commercial dischargers are tracked in a comprehensive database. County staff help businesses identify hazardous waste stream components and appropriate ways for handling them.

Businesses with photographic processes, including x-ray development, learn about acceptable silver recovery options that range from on-site treatment units to having silver wastes hauled away by a reputable company.

Records of treatment unit maintenance or receipts from hauled wastes are expected to be made available during follow-up inspections.

Pretreatment staff also work closely with businesses to eliminate spill pathways.

Businesses are strongly encouraged to permanently seal all floor drains and utilize appropriate spill containment systems.

The Permitting Process

Pretreatment staff conduct careful review of all building permits issued to customers in the sewer service area. Pierce County wants facilities to meet pretreatment requirements before they are built or remodeled. This prevents inspectors from having to require modifications upon their first inspection of the facility.

Customers are asked to complete a pretreatment review form when they apply for a building permit, to identify potential pretreatment or spill prevention concerns. Applications with possible adverse impacts to the sewer system are routed to pretreatment staff who may impose additional requirements if necessary.

Engineering reports are required for all wastewater pretreatment systems connected to the sewer, to be reviewed by county engineers and pretreatment staff. Pierce County has also entered into an agreement with the Washington State Department of Ecology to perform state-required engineering reviews for businesses in the county's sewer service area.

Environmental Benefits

Due in part to the county's comprehensive pretreatment program, effluent from the Chambers Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant meets all of the state's stringent surface water quality standards.

Biosolids are well within 40 CFR 503 Table 3 criteria for biosolids regulations, and the treatment plant has never experienced a spill or contaminant load that affected plant performance.