Best Management Practices Plans (BMPPs) for Persons Discharging Total Silver Halide Process Wastewater to the Public Sewer System

If you or your business sends total silver halide process wastewater to the public sewer system, you must follow the rules. These rules are in Title 15 of the Rules of the City of New York (RCNY) Section 19-07. This wastewater comes from any silver halide imaging process.

Businesses that need to follow these rules include:

• Photofinishers
• Printers
• Publishers
• Hospitals
• Dentists
• X-ray labs

You must make and follow a Best Management Practices Plan (BMPP). You also need to set up, use and take care of the right silver recovery unit(s) based on how much wastewater you send out. You must follow all testing and record-keeping rules. You do not need to send your BMPP for approval. If you send all silver-rich solutions off-site for recovery, reclamation or refinement, you must follow the record-keeping rules.

If you send out over 25,000 gallons of processed wastewater a day or are a Significant Industrial User, as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency:

• You need an Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit.
• Contact the Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Wastewater Treatment, for more information.

• Create a Best Management Practice Plan (BMPP) for managing silver wastewater for your business.

• Test the silver levels in the water before and after it goes through the silver recovery unit using:

  • Silver test paper
  • Wire
  • Test kits

• Measure the amount of silver wastewater you send to the public sewer each day.

• Keep written records of:

  • Maintenance of pretreatment technology
  • The date any new pretreatment technology starts being used

• Store records for at least three years. These records must be available for inspection and copying by the Department of Environmental Protection.

• If using outside contractors: Keep a certification from the vendor that the rules are being followed. This certification must be available for inspection and copying by the Department of Environmental Protection.

• Alternative compliance: Instead of recovering silver on-site, you can send all silver-rich solutions off-site for recovery, reclamation or refinement. Follow all City, state and federal rules. If you choose this option, keep the most recent manifest, a vendor certification or other documents about the disposal of silver-rich solutions. These documents should include:

  • The name of the transporter
  • The amount of silver-rich solutions removed from the facility
  • Where and how the silver-rich solutions were disposed of

Finding relevant rules

To find the relevant Rules of the City of New York, follow these steps:

• Go to the Rules of the City of New York (RCNY) site.
• Find Title 15 Department of Environmental Protection on the left-hand navigation.
• Select Chapter 19 Use of Public Sewers.
• Select 19-07 Best Management Practices Plans (BMPPs) for Persons Discharging Total Silver Halide Process Wastewater to the Public Sewer System.