TM 5-814-3/AFM 88-11, Volume III
CHAPTER 3
TREATMENT REQUIREMENTS
3-1. General considerations.
Before treatment plant design is begun, treatment requirements will be determined on the basis of meeting
stream and effluent requirements set by either U.S. or State governments or foreign governmental agencies.
Guidance for coordination with regulatory agencies in the establishment of treatment requirements for waste
streams generated at military installations is contained in Section 4 of TM 5-814-8 for Army projects, and
in AFR 19-1 and AFP 19-5 for Air Force projects.
a. Standards. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues effluent standards covering the
discharge of toxic and hazardous pollutants. Strict limitations on discharges of these pollutants should be
imposed. Particularly applicable to the military is the prohibition of release of chemical or biological warfare
materials and high-level radioactive wastes.
b. Pretreatment. Public Law 92-500, with subsequent amendments, requires pretreatment of pollutants
which may interfere with operation of a sewage treatment plant or pass through such a plant untreated.
Additionally, in many cases, pretreatment of industrial wastewater will be necessary to prevent adverse effects
on the sewage treatment plant processes. Some types of industrial waste may be admitted to wastewater
treatment plants, e.g., cooling tower discharges, boiler blowdown, vehicle washrack wastewater, swimming
pool filter discharges, and aircraft wash wastes using biodegradable detergents. Flow of industrial wastewater
may be reduced through process modification or wastewater recirculation. Adverse impacts on the treatment
plant can be mitigated by reducing the concentration of those compounds causing the problem. Table 3-1 is
a listing of compounds which inhibit biological treatment processes. In some cases, the adverse impact may
be caused by short-lived occurrences of either wastewater containing high concentrations of compounds or
a wastewater flow rate much higher than the average daily flow. This situation, which is commonly called
"slugs," may, in some cases, be managed by including an equalization basin upstream of the treatment plant.
(Barns, et al., 1981.)
3-1
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