Pretreatment

San Leandro operates a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) for wastewater treatment.

The POTW, under the of the City's Water Pollution Control Division, includes an advanced biological wastewater treatment plant and over 120 miles of pipelines and pumping stations serving the northern two thirds of the city. The Environmental Services Section is responsible for protecting this system, as well as POTW workers and the environment, from discharges that may cause damage or create hazardous conditions.

The Pretreatment Program

Environmental Services manages an EPA-approved pretreatment program and implements federal, state, and local regulations. The program primarily regulates the discharge of industrial waste to the sanitary sewer through inspections, monitoring, and permits.   The City’s Uniform Wastewater Discharge Regulations, Chapter 3-14 regulates discharges that apply to all users of the wastewater system.

Required Permits

Non-household users of the sanitary sewer in the following "classes" must obtain a permit:

• Class A - Industrial users subject to Federal Categorical Standards (found in Code of Federal Regulations, Part 40).
• Class B - Users not covered by Federal Categorical Standards but have the potential to discharge toxic pollutants.
• Class C - Users discharging pollutants that are generally not toxic but could overload the POTW and cause it to violate its NPDES operating limits.
• Class D - Users with "special" discharges from sources not associated with routine industrial or commercial fixed processes.

Permit Applications

• Class A-C Facilities: Pretreatment Permit Application
  • Permit Application, PDF Document
  • Permit Application, Word Document
• Class D Discharges, such as those associated with groundwater remediation projects
  • Special Discharge Application, PDF Document
  • Special Discharge Application, Word Document
• One-Time Dental Certification Requirement Effective July 14, 2017, EPA promulgated pretreatment standards to reduce discharges of mercury from dental offices into publicly owned treatment works (POTWs).

Dental offices that do place or remove amalgam fillings must submit a one-time certification and additional information.  Use of amalgam separators is required to capture mercury and other metals before they are discharged to the POTW.  Dental offices that do not place or remove amalgam fillings must submit a one-time certification.    

Complete and submit the one-time compliance report to the City of San Leandro Environmental Services Section (Pretreatment Program Control Authority)

Dental Certification Form

Additional information on the rule is available on USEPA’s website at:  https://www.epa.gov/eg/dental-effluent-guidelines.