United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
(WH-547)
EPA 832-F-8WH1
September 1993
&EPA
Toxics Minimization Task
Force
Case Studies
o
CO
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Greater Milwaukee Toxics Minimization Task
Force, sponsored by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewer
District (MMSD), is an independent advisory body that has
developed a strategy to eliminate excessive levels of toxics in
municipal wastewater. This strategy focuses on reducing the
discharge of regulated and unregulated toxics and on collecting
and organizing data necessary to assess progress. The Task
Force, having no legal or regulatory authority or responsibility,
acts as a representative body for all sectors of the community.
Its purpose is to protect the environment and encourage the
expression of many points of view as they relate to toxics
minimization. The Task Force includes close to 30 members
from private and public sectors and citizens groups, and hopes
to increase participation to at least 50 percent of the area's
toxics generators. The goal of the Task Force is to improve
the quality of Milwaukee's environment without hindering
its economic growth.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVE
The primary objective of the Task Force is to minimize
toxics in municipal wastewater by reducing pollution at the
source. To achieve this objective, the Task Force has identified
three goals.
Goall: Improve databases to maximize the
effectiveness of an ongoing toxics minimization program
and use these databases to assess progress in achieving
toxics minimization goals.
The Task Force h|s icfentified a need for a more
comprehensive inventory of toxics than maintained in its
current databases. To establish decision-making priorities, the
Task Force has identified pollutants and assigned them to one
of three levels of priority.
Q Priority 1 pollutants are those of immediate concern due to
state or federal regulations. They include seven metals,
cyanide, benzo(a)anthracene, and phenanthrene.
Q Priority 2 pollutants are those covered by effluent limits in
MMSD treatment plant industrial discharge permits.
Q Priority 3 pollutants are of general concern in the
environment but have not been identified as being a
specific problem in the MMSD system or the Milwaukee
area."
MMSD intends to increase monitoring throughout the
system to identify all Priority 1 and 2 discharges that are of
concern due to any characteristic, including volume, mass
loading, and toxicity. The Task Force realizes that these
additional data need to be integrated in a computer database to
facilitate the balancing of inputs and outputs of toxic
contaminants in the MMSD system. The Task Force has
identified several existing databases managed by MMSD and
the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to assist in this
task. However, even me combined input from these existing
databases remains inadequate to perform mass balance
calculations sufficient to assess progress in achieving toxics
minimization. The Task Force intends to encourage the
expansion of existing databases to create an integrated,
comprehensive database management system that is able to
support the toxics minimization program and document
progress in achieving toxics minimization.
GOAL 2: Reduce discharges of unregulated toxics.
Task Force recommendations for reducing discharges of
unregulated toxics include developing a technical assistance
unit One staff person at the University of Wisconsin is
working full time with MMSD to develop plans for the
technical assistance unit and to identify continued funding for
the unit The projected level of funding for the technical
assistance unit is $50,000 to $150,000 per year. The technical
assistance unit will aid industry and commercial businesses in:
a Reducing wastes that will be identified as "problem
wastes"; fi
a Encouraging and facilitating cooperation among industries
and businesses that generate similar pollutants or use
similar processes;
Q Promoting pollution prevention (PP) techniques, such as
replacing toxic chemicals with non-toxic or less toxic
alternatives; and
Q Developing a product labeling program that identifies
proper disposal practices.
Printed on Recycled Paper
-------
The Task Force will collect and disseminate information
on toxics and PP for all dischargers of toxic pollutants.
Educational activities for dischargers will include conducting
workshops for specific types of dischargers, implementing an
awards program to highlight and encourage outstanding PP
efforts among Milwaukee businesses and industries, developing
waste rninimizaiion software, and distributing newsletters that
include documented PP success stories. The University of
Wisconsin cooperative extension is taking the lead with these
educational activities.
Hie Task Force intends to:
a Participate in local and national research focusing on the
impacts of toxic materials;
Q Identify toxic materials present in local rivers and in Lake
Michigan;
a Monitor discharges from industries, treatment plants, sewer
overflows, and nonpoint sources; and
Q Make recommendations on legislation and create a forum
for industrial and regulatory representatives to get together
and discuss related concerns.
GOAL,3: Reduce discharges of regulated toxics.
The approaches used in "Goal 2" to reduce discharges of
unregulated toxics also will be applied to regulated toxics.
Similar to "Goal 2," this goal includes a technical assistance
unit, source reduction assessments, and educational activities
for all significant dischargers to MMSD. Wastes containing
heavy metals (i.e., Priority 1 pollutants) are of particular
concern to MMSD. These wastes are generated principally in
the process of cleaning and finishing metals and represent a
large percentage of the total volume of hazardous wastes
generated in Wisconsin.
The Task Force intends to evaluate the economic viability
of a centralized treatment and recovery facility (CTRF) for
Wisconsin by following the progress of CTRFs in other states
(e.g., U.S. Filter Recovery Systems, Inc. in SL Paul, MN). In
1990, a study showed that a GTRF could be economically
viable if it limited its scope and was tied to large-scale industrial
facilities to provide the necessary economies of scale for the
recovery of selected metals. This third goal also involves the
development of a formal MMSD toxics minimization policy to
identify, develop, and evaluate activities that encourage PP.
PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS
To date, the Task Force has produced three documents.
The first document is a report on environmental laws,
regulations, and local ordinances that affect waste generators
discharging to MMSD. The report will help generators comply
with regulations that affect toxic pollutant discharges. In
addition to describing current laws and regulations, this report
projects future legal and regulatory trends, and it provides
recommendations for addressing legal and regulatory issues in
the Task Force's Strategy.
The second document focuses on identifying toxic
pollutants of concern and locating databases that support a
toxics minimization strategy. In this document, the Task Force
provides information on over 130 toxic substances, including
pretreatment categories and uses. This report also includes
recommendations for increased monitoring of influent and
effluent for substances on the Task Force's priority lists.
The third document contains recommendations and a
program outline to prevent or minimize the discharge of toxic
substances into the sewer system, surface and ground'water,
air, and land. This document presents details on the Task
Force's three main goals as discussed above.
Future publications will educate homeowners, fanners,
and businesses about their roles in minimizing the use and
impact of toxic materials. These publications will be designed
to teach generators that prevention is cheaper and more
effective than treatment
Recently, the Task Force served as a catalyst in launching
a feasibility study for a household hazardous waste collection
facility. The Task Force made presentations to local
governments, urging the importance of a coordinated local
approach to managing household hazardous waste.
In response to a recommendation by the Task Force, the
MMSD has conducted a survey of PP activities at sewage
districts across the nation. The results of the survey were
compiled and a report has been disseminated throughout the
country.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For further information on the achievements of the Task
Force, contact Steven Skavroneck, Project Coordinator at (414)
272-5100 or write to:
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewer District
260 West Seeboth Street *
P.O. Box 3049
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-3049
CO
o
s
For additional information about the MWPP Program, contact the U.S. EPA Office of Wastewater Enforcement and
Compliance, (202) 260-5856.
------- |