Effluent limitation

An effluent limitation is a United States Clean Water Act standard of performance reflecting a specified level of discharge reduction achievable by the best available technology or related standards^[1] for various sources of water pollution. These sources include all industries, businesses, municipal sewage plants and storm sewer systems, and other facilities that discharge to surface waters. Effluent limitations are implemented in discharge permits issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state agencies, through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).

References

↑ The other standards are Best Practicable Technology Currently Available (BPT), Best Conventional Pollutant Control Technology (BCT), New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), water quality-based effluent limitations (WQBEL), and Best Professional Judgment of the permit-issuing agency (BPJ). See CWA sections 301, 306, and 307.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Congressional Research Service document "Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition" by Jasper Womach.