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Industrial Water Pollution Controls
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Effluent guidelines

Effluent guidelines are national standards for wastewater discharges to surface waters and publicly owned treatment works (municipal sewage treatment plants). We issue effluent guidelines for categories of existing sources and new sources under Title III of the Clean Water Act. The standards are technology-based (i.e. they are based on the performance of treatment and control technologies); they are not based on risk or impacts upon receiving waters.

Proposed and final rules

Included on these pages are Federal Register notices of proposed and final rules, supplemental notices, pre-proposal documents, background information, draft industry questionnaires, public meeting notices, development documents and other supporting documents, and related documents. The date of the latest update to each guideline is shown in parentheses.

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Existing guidelines and older regulations

Existing effluent guidelines in the Code of Federal Regulations

Search for supporting documents for older regulations and projects using the Water Publications Database

Search for older documents using the National Environmental Publications Information System offering one stop shopping for over 9,000 full text, on line EPA documents.

Search the Federal Register notices from 1936 to 1989 exit EPA

Search the Federal Register notices 1994 - present

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Effluent guidelines planning, section 304(m) of the Clean Water Act

Draft Strategy for National Clean Water Industrial Regulations
In November 2003, we announced a draft Strategy that describes a process we may use to identify industries for which effluent guidelines need to be revised or developed, in compliance with Section 304(m) of the Clean Water Act.

Effluent Guidelines Plan
The Effluent Guidelines Plan is published biennially in the Federal Register. Recent editions provide an overview of the Effluent Guidelines Program, ongoing and future effluent guidelines projects, and preliminary studies.

Effluent Guidelines Task Force
A Federal Advisory Committee which meets periodically to recommend improvements to the Effluent Guidelines Program.

Preliminary Studies
Studies provide recent technical and economic information on a category of dischargers and are not used directly as a basis for rulemaking, but are used by our management to help select new rulemaking projects.

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Contacts

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