Question 19 of 19: Information Required From a New Pharmaceutical Industry's Discharge Application

Question 19: Information Required From a New Pharmaceutical Industry's Discharge Application (7 marks)

Question text not reproduced: the examination questions are © Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Open the official past paper (linked at the top of this page) to read the question, then follow the worked solution below.

As the City Engineer reviewing a new industrial discharge application, the essential information to request from the applicant is:

1. Process description and production rate — the products, chemistry, and whether operation is batch or continuous, since this drives both flow pattern and pollutant characteristics.
2. Projected wastewater flow rate — average and peak (daily and hourly), including the discharge pattern (batch dumps vs. continuous).
3. Wastewater characteristics — BOD5, COD, TSS, TKN, TP, pH, temperature, and any specific priority/hazardous constituents expected (solvents, active pharmaceutical ingredients, heavy metals).
4. Proposed on-site pretreatment — what treatment, if any, the applicant intends to provide before connecting to the municipal sewer.
5. Compliance with the sewer-use bylaw — a demonstration that the proposed (pretreated) discharge will meet the bylaw's prohibited-discharge and concentration limits.
6. Presence of prohibited substances — flammable, corrosive or other substances that would damage sewer infrastructure or interfere with (e.g. inhibit) the municipal WWTP's biological treatment.
7. Hazardous waste generated that will NOT go to sewer — a description of any waste requiring separate manifested off-site hazardous-waste disposal, so the City understands what is (and is not) entering its system.
8. Spill prevention and contingency plan — on-site containment/response procedures in the event of an accidental release.
9. Proposed self-monitoring and sampling plan — sampling location, frequency, and parameters the applicant proposes to self-monitor and report.
10. Hydraulic capacity of the receiving sewer — confirmation from the applicant's engineering assessment (cross-checked by the City) that the connection point and downstream sewer/treatment plant have adequate capacity for the added flow and load.
11. Water source — whether the facility will draw from the municipal supply or a private well, since this affects both billing and independent verification of the flow estimate.
12. Surcharge/user-fee basis — the data needed to calculate any BOD5/TSS-above-threshold surcharge under the City's fee bylaw.