Industrial Discharges & Potential Impact on WET Tests

What is WET? What is WET? Laboratory Test

Living Organisms– Vertebrate– Invertebrate

• Exposure to Effluent

C. dubia WET Test Set-UpC. dubia WET Test Set-Up

C. dubia WET Test Randomized BoardC. dubia WET Test Randomized Board

Counting Neonates and Counting Broods

Common Causes of WETTest Failures

Ammonia Dissolved Solids Pathogens Construction Contaminated Sampling Equipment Chlorine Nitrite?

Case 1 - Initial WET Analyses1993 — 1994

Case 1 - Initial WET Analyses1993 — 1994

- 12 Samples Tested- 8 Samples (67%) Exhibited

Lethal Effects

Testing Initiated May 1993 Between May 1993 and December

1994

Case 1 - InvestigationCase 1 - Investigation

Case 2 - TreatmentsCase 2 - TreatmentsNo Code Description1 AO Ambient pH (Control)2 Aa Ambient with aeration3 Af Ambient with filtration4 B0 pH 35 Ba pH3 with aeration6 Bf pH3 with filtration7 Bs pH3 with solid phase extraction8 C0 pH 109 Ca pH10 with aeration10 Cf pH10 with filtration11 Cs pH10 with solid phase extraction

No Code Description12 EO EDTA Control13 E1 EDTA – lowest concentration14 E2 EDTA [ 2 * E1]15 E3 EDTA [2 * E2]16 E4 EDTA [2 * E3]17 TO Sodium Thiosulfate (STS) Control18 T1 STS – lowest concentration19 T2 STS [2 * T1]20 T3 STS [2 * T2]21 T4 STS [2 * T3]

Case 2 - TreatmentsCase 2 - Treatments

Case 1 - Solid Phase ExtractionCase 1 - Solid Phase Extraction

Case 1 - Permit Diazinon No treatment possible Permit required

Public Education Program

Testing for Diazinon

Case 1Influent Diazinon Concentration

Trinity River AuthorityTen Mile Creek Regional Wastewater System

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004Year

% o

f Mea

sure

men

ts >

DL

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

Aver

age

Conc

entra

tion

( g/

L)

% greater than Detection Limit

- - - - - Average Concentration

Before PEP After PEP

Case 1 – WET Limit? In 2005 EPA directed TCEQ to add

WET limit to draft permit. Basis

- Not a precise correlation between Diazinon concentrations and test failures

- Sublethal failures

Single failure - permit violation.

Two failures - referral to enforcement.

No identified cause.

No identified treatment solution.

Case 1- WET Permit Limit Concerns

Case 1 – A Closer Look 1

Case 1 – A Closer Look 2

Case 1 – A Closer Look 3a

Case 1 – A Closer Look 3b

Case 1 – A Closer Look 4

Case 1 – Case Closed Treatment Plant Upgrades

New WET Test Lab

Case 2 – WET Limit Avoided3 Suspects Copper

Nickel

Zinc

Case 2 – Permit Limits

…annual average flow of effluent shall not exceed 2.0 MGD…

Total Copper Total NickelTotal Zinc

0.010 mg/L0.020 mg/L0.060 mg/L

Case 2 - Test HistoryCase 2 - Test HistoryYear Tests Results Studies2011 8 Tests 4 Failures 3 TIEs

2012 8 Tests 1 Failure Zinc Spiking Study

2013 5 Tests 0 Failures Trinary Metal Spiking Study

2014 5 Tests 0 Failures None

2015 4 Tests 0 Failures None

2016 4 Test 0 Failures None

Case 2 - The BeginningCase 2 - The Beginning

Case 2 - TreatmentsCase 2 - TreatmentsNo Code Description1 AO Ambient pH (Control)2 Aa Ambient with aeration3 Af Ambient with filtration4 B0 pH 35 Ba pH3 with aeration6 Bf pH3 with filtration7 Bs pH3 with solid phase extraction8 C0 pH 109 Ca pH10 with aeration10 Cf pH10 with filtration11 Cs pH10 with solid phase extraction

No Code Description12 EO EDTA Control13 E1 EDTA – lowest concentration14 E2 EDTA [ 2 * E1]15 E3 EDTA [2 * E2]16 E4 EDTA [2 * E3]17 TO Sodium Thiosulfate (STS) Control18 T1 STS – lowest concentration19 T2 STS [2 * T1]20 T3 STS [2 * T2]21 T4 STS [2 * T3]

Case 2 - TreatmentsCase 2 - Treatments

Lab Water Control Effluent

Case 2 – TreatmentsMarch 2011 SampleCase 2 – TreatmentsMarch 2011 Sample

Case 2 – TreatmentsMarch 2011 SampleCase 2 – TreatmentsMarch 2011 Sample

Lab Water Control Effluent

Case 2 – TreatmentsOctober 2011 SampleCase 2 – TreatmentsOctober 2011 Sample

Case 2 – TreatmentsNovember 2011 Sample

Case 2 – TreatmentsNovember 2011 Sample

Lab Water ControlEffluent

Lab Water - Nov

Lab Water - Oct

Lab Water - March

05

1015202530

Aver

age

No. N

eona

tes

Effluent spiked with zinc (ug/L)

Case 2 – Zinc SpikeCase 2 – Zinc Spike

Case 2 – Trinary Combinationsof Copper, Nickel, and Zinc

Case 2 – Trinary Combinationsof Copper, Nickel, and Zinc

Case 2 – Copper EffectCase 2 – Copper Effect

Case 2 – Nickel EffectCase 2 – Nickel Effect

Case 2 – Zinc EffectCase 2 – Zinc Effect

Case 2 – Lab ConclusionCase 2 – Lab Conclusion

Case 2 – What Are the Metal Effluent Concentrations?

Case 2 – What Are the Metal Effluent Concentrations?

TestDate

Max in Compliance Test (% Effluent)

TIE Study(% Effluent)

March 2011 53 100

October 2011 53 100November 2011 53 100

Case 2 – CopperCase 2 – Copper

Case 2 – NickelCase 2 – Nickel

Case 2 – ZincCase 2 – Zinc

Case 2 – Plant PerformanceCase 2 – Plant Performance

Case 2 – Permit AmendmentCase 2 – Permit Amendment Presented Results to TCEQ Agreed to Permit Amendment Removal of Metal Limits No WET limits because no more WET

failures

Case 3 – Disappearing ToxicityCase 3 – Disappearing Toxicity Strong lethal effects in Compliance Test Some retests retain toxicity Some retests lose some or all toxicity Ammonia concentrations high Ammonia typically stable during storage

Zeolite Removed Toxicity. Ammonia Re-addition duplicated

original results. Sea lettuce removed ammonia and

toxicity. Permit Received Ammonia Limit

Case 3 – Disappearing ToxicityCase 3 – Disappearing Toxicity

Case 4 - AlkalinityCase 4 - Alkalinity

Case 5Toxicity TaleBooks 1 - 5

Case 5 - Book 1Background Lethal failures in 1990s.

Invoked cessation of lethality in 2001 after passing 31 monthly tests.

Report of lethality test failure in November 2001, triggered EPA proposal for WET limit in permit.

Case 5 – Book1 Non-monotonic dose-response curves.

Control charts indicate organisms more sensitive than normal.

November 2001 test not terminated when controls had 3 broods.

Split samples in January 2002; one laboratory reported a pass.

Judge rules in favor of permittee.

TCEQ agrees – permit without WET limit.

EPA does not agree.

Case 5 – End of Book 1

Case 5 – Book 2Investigation of Sublethal Effects

Case 5 – Book 2Investigation of Sublethal Effects

EDTA Sodium Thiosulfate pH adjustment Filtration Aeration Solid Phase Extraction

Case 5 – Book 2Investigation of Sublethal Effects

Daphnia magna Colloidal Solids CO2 Blanket

Case 5 – Book 2 Investigation of Sublethal Effects

Source Water

Split Samples

Mock Effluent

Comparison WWTP#1 and #2

40% of Tests show sublethal effect in Mock Effluent and WWTPs.

Case 5 – Book 2The Cause Identified

Low Hardness (50 – 70 mg/L, as CaCO3)

High Alkalinity (190 – 210 mg/L, as CaCO3)

Case 5- Book 3 EPA Federalized Permit EPA issued permit with WET limit. Environmental Appeals Board EAB sent permit back to EPA to

reissue. EPA delegated permit back to State.

Case 5- Book 4 TCEQ issues permit without WET

limit.

CANCELEDCANCELED

Case 5- Book 5

Client changes Water Supply No more WET test failures

Case 6 - Toxic Golf BallsCase 6 - Toxic Golf Balls

Case X

Case Open

Nitrite

Case X

Case Open

Nitrite

Effluent - March

Lab Water Control - October

EDTA ControlSTSControl

15

Effluent - October

Lab Water Control-November

Effluent – November