Summary

In response to a congressional request, GAO assessed key elements of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Industrial Pretreatment Program, focusing on whether: (1) industrial users of publicly owned treatment works (POTW) had discharges exceeding program discharge limitations; and (2) treatment plant enforcement over dischargers, and EPA and state enforcement over treatment plants, was sufficient to ensure that users met discharge limitations and other program requirements.

GAO found that: (1) 41 percent of the industrial users failed to comply with and violated one or more of their discharge limits; (2) 20 percent of the treatment plants also had one or more discharge limit violations; (3) the effects of the violations included the pass-through of untreated toxic pollutants to receiving waters, interference with treatment plant operations or damage to plant facilities, and exposure of treatment plant workers to health and safety problems; (4) treatment plants served about 60 percent of the industrial users with written notices of violations and levied administrative fines for only 5 percent; (5) approval authorities' enforcement against noncomplying treatment plants was also limited, since EPA concentrated its priorities on program start-up rather than on enforcement; and (6) although EPA took actions to address some enforcement problems, the effectiveness of the actions remained unclear.