The term "chemical additive" means a chemical product (including products of disassociation and degradation, collectively "products") introduced into a waste stream that is used for cleaning, disinfecting, or maintenance and which may be detected in effluent discharged to waters of the Commonwealth. The term generally excludes chemicals used for neutralization of waste streams, the production of goods, and treatment of wastewater. In November 2012, DEP developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for chemical additives. If facilities are known to use chemical additives, then their industrial waste NPDES permits will include language that implements the following process:
- A permittee that desires to use a chemical additive will check DEP's Approved List of Chemical Additives ("Approved List"). Please see the Instructions for Using DEP's Approved List (PDF).
- If the name of the chemical the permittee wishes to use is identified on the Approved List, the permittee will complete and submit the Chemical Additives Notification Form (3800-FM-BCW0487) to the DEP regional office that issued the NPDES permit. The permittee will calculate the maximum safe usage rate for the chemical based on toxicity information contained in the Approved List.
- If the name of the chemical is not on the Approved List, the permittee may complete and submit the New Chemical Additives Request Form (3800-FM-BCW0486) with the MSDS sheet to DEP's Bureau of Clean Water at RA-EPNPDES_Permits@pa.gov for review.
- If the Bureau of Clean Water approves the request, the chemical additive will be added to the Approved List, and the permittee may then submit the Chemical Additives Notification Form to the DEP regional office.
- Permittees will record actual usage rates on the Chemical Additives Usage Form (3800-FM-BCW0439) and submit the form with the Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR).
NOTE: Permittees should always refer to their existing permit for the appropriate chemical additives requirements.
For those interested in the methods used by DEP to determine aquatic life and human health effect levels for the Approved List, please refer to the DEP Chemical Additives Aquatic Life Calculation Spreadsheet (Excel) and the DEP Chemical Additives Human Health Calculation Spreadsheet (Excel), respectively.
DEP has developed an online course and a Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ) document to provide additional information on the implementation process for chemical additives.
Permittees with questions on chemical additives should contact the DEP regional office that issued the permit or the Bureau of Clean Water at 717-787-5017 or RA-EPNPDES_Permits@pa.gov.