The Environment Ministry has come up with revised standards for Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) operating at various industrial clusters in the country. This is aimed at improving the performance of effluent treatment plants through implementation of design inlet quality, addressing the problems of the coastal pollution due to industrial discharges and keeping vigil on the impact of discharge of industrial effluent on soil and ground water quality.
Accordingly, the State Pollution Control Boards are empowered to prescribe standards for inlet quality of effluent in respect of Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) based on CETP design, local needs and conditions. This provision will help in enforcing the norms for treated effluent quality for the CETP constituent industrial units.
A provision of soil and groundwater quality monitoring twice a year (pre- and post-monsoon) has been introduced in the standards. This would study the impact of disposal of treated effluent on land, in connection with mode of disposal as on land for irrigation. This monitoring will be carried out by the respective CETP management.
The mode of ‘Discharge into sea’ (marine outfalls) providing very high dilution will qualify for a relaxed maximum permissible concentration of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). The maximum permissible concentration of Fixed Dissolved Solids (FDS) by constituent units to CETP has been specified in terms of maximum allowable contribution value.
The draft standards had been uploaded on the Ministry website, inviting views and comments of stakeholders and general public. The standards were studied by an Expert Committee, consisting of representatives of the Ministries, environment and social scientists.