40 CFR 403.15 – Net/Gross calculation
(a) Application. Categorical Pretreatment Standards may be adjusted to reflect the presence of pollutants in the Industrial User’s intake water in accordance with this section. Any Industrial User wishing to obtain credit for intake pollutants must make application to the Control Authority. Upon request of the Industrial User, the applicable Standard will be calculated on a “net” basis (i.e., adjusted to reflect credit for pollutants in the intake water) if the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section are met.
(b) Criteria. (1) Either:
(i) The applicable categorical Pretreatment Standards contained in 40 CFR subchapter N specifically provide that they shall be applied on a net basis; or
(ii) The Industrial User demonstrates that the control system it proposes or uses to meet applicable categorical Pretreatment Standards would, if properly installed and operated, meet the Standards in the absence of pollutants in the intake waters.
(2) Credit for generic pollutants such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), and oil and grease should not be granted unless the Industrial User demonstrates that the constituents of the generic measure in the User’s effluent are substantially similar to the constituents of the generic measure in the intake water or unless appropriate additional limits are placed on process water pollutants either at the outfall or elsewhere.
(3) Credit shall be granted only to the extent necessary to meet the applicable categorical Pretreatment Standard(s), up to a maximum value equal to the influent value. Additional monitoring may be necessary to determine eligibility for credits and compliance with Standard(s) adjusted under this section.
(4) Credit shall be granted only if the User demonstrates that the intake water is drawn from the same body of water as that into which the POTW discharges. The Control Authority may waive this requirement if it finds that no environmental degradation will result.