The City of Albany is required to establish discharge limitations for various pollutants of concern to the Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW). The City of Albany considers many factors when developing and revising its local limits, including the Albany-Millersburg Water Reclamation Facility (AMWRF) efficiency in treating wastes; NPDES requirements, the condition and status of the Willamette River that receives its treated effluent, the AMWRF retention, use, and disposal of sewage sludge and biosolids recycling as well as worker health and safety concerns. The regulatory basis for establishing these limits lies in 40 CFR Part 403.5(c), requiring the development of specific limits to implement prohibition of discharges harmful to the POTW, including sludges. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has required the submission of technically based local limits for approval, and DEQ has approved Albany's local limits. These limits apply only to Albany's permitted industrial users, but they may be applied to other pollutant sources through a permit in response to discharges.
The current local limits were approved by DEQ in August 2018 and adopted via council resolution on February 27, 2019.
City of Albany, Oregon: Local Limits as Approved by DEQ (August 2018)
| Pollutants | Unit of Measurement | Local Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenic | mg/L | 1.0 |
| Cadmium | mg/L | 0.44 |
| Chromium | mg/L | 2.8 |
| Copper | mg/L | 3.4 |
| Cyanide | mg/L | 1.2 |
| Lead | mg/L | 0.7 |
| Mercury | mg/L | 0.08 |
| Molybedenum | mg/L | 0.84 |
| Nickel | mg/L | 1.6 |
| Oil and Grease | mg/L | 300 |
| pH | s.u. range | 6.0-10.0 |
| Selenium | mg/L | 0.72 |
| Silver | mg/L | 1.1 |
| Zinc | mg/L | 1.5 |
