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

Any person or business that discharges total silver halide process wastewater, the sum of all water like solutions used in any silver halide imaging process, to the public sewer system, must comply with Title 15 of the Rules of the City of New York (RCNY) Section 19-07.

Businesses that must comply with best management practices include, but are not limited to, photofinishers, printers, publishers, hospitals, dentists, and x-ray laboratories.

Businesses must prepare and implement a Best Management Practices Plan (BMPP) and install, operate, and maintain the appropriate silver recovery unit(s) (determined by the amount of wastewater discharged), and comply with all the applicable testing and record keeping requirements. Businesses do not need to submit their BMPP for approval. If transporting all silver-rich solutions off-site for recovery, reclamation, and / or refinement, a business must comply with applicable record keeping requirements.

If a business will discharge over 25,000 gallons of processed wastewater a day or is considered a Significant Industrial User as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency then an Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit is required. Please contact the DEP, Bureau of Wastewater Treatment, using the contact information below, for more information.