Navigating EPA’s effluent limitation guidelines

Watch this episode and earn a PDH:

Per- and poly­flu­o­roalkyl substances (PFAS) pose significant envi­ron­men­tal and health risks, leading to increased regulatory pressure on industries to limit the discharge of PFAS in their wastewater. In 2023, the U.S. Envi­ron­men­tal Protection Agency (EPA) initiated changes to the effluent limitation guidelines (ELG) under Plan 15 to evaluate and manage PFAS discharge to the environment through programs such as the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit process. ELGs are national standards that set the maximum allowable pollutant levels in wastewater discharges from industrial and commercial facilities.

The EPA is considering developing ELGs for each industry sector based on discharge monitoring reporting. Some states have also started imple­ment­ing their own PFAS discharge limits, creating variability for industrial dischargers. This webinar provides an overview of PFAS and ELGs and discusses the federal and state-level regulations, challenges, case studies, treatment tech­nolo­gies, costs and consid­er­a­tions for negotiating discharge limits with regulators.

As federal and state regulations regarding PFAS in wastewater continue to evolve, many industrial and municipal leaders are worried about how to best address current regulations while preparing for future regulations. 

Upon completing this course, you will:

• Develop a better under­stand­ing of EPA’s ELGs and timelines for developing ELGs for different industry sectors

• Understand how different states are imple­ment­ing changes to their permitting require­ments to manage PFAS

• Learn the difference between an industrial and public approach to estab­lish­ing and setting ELGs