Permit Programs
EBMUD issues permits to customers to control discharges to the sewer to achieve the ultimate goal of protecting the San Francisco Bay. As environmental stewards, our staff ensures permit compliance to achieve that goal. The types of permits issued are based on the business type, volume and characteristics of the wastewater, potential risk or impact to the collection system and wastewater treatment plant as well as customer needs.
Permits are issued to regulate discharges from the facilities according to regulations in the EBMUD Wastewater Control Ordinance. Please review our annual Pretreatment and Pollution Prevention Report. All permit applications are provided as PDF files that can be viewed and printed with Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free software.
Discharge limits and fees and charges associated with these permits are available online. Please view the permit standard terms and conditions that establish severability, reporting requirements, definitions, etc., that are common to all permits. For determination of your permitting needs, please call (510) 287-1651.
Permit Types
- Industrial facilities
- Groundwater
- Short-term, limited volume discharges (Special Discharge)
- Resource Recovery (Trucked Waste)
- Commercial facilities
- Estimation of wastewater volume
Industrial Facilities
Wastewater discharge permits are issued to federally regulated categorical industries as well as industries that discharge pollutants of local concern, high flow and/or high strength wastewater.
Online Wastewater Discharge permit application.
Permits requiring "zero discharge" are issued to facilities that generate regulated wastewater but do not discharge the wastewater to the community sewer. All federal categorical facilities that do not discharge regulated wastewater must have a "zero discharge" permit.
The federal regulations can be viewed on the U.S. EPA website by scrolling down to “Subchapter N - Effluent Guidelines and Standards” and select “Parts 400 – 424” or “Parts 425 – 471”.
Groundwater
Wastewater discharge permits are issued for the long-term discharge of groundwater from soil and groundwater cleanup sites.
Short-Term, Limited Volume Discharge
Special discharge permits are issued for the short-term, limited volume discharge of many different types of wastewater or groundwater meeting special discharge criteria. The discharge criteria are listed in the application below.
Resource Recovery (Trucked Waste)
Non-hazardous waste may be accepted at the EBMUD wastewater treatment plant through a trucked waste permit. Additional trucked waste information can be found on the Resource Recovery Program page.
Commercial Facilities
EBMUD works with businesses to reduce the discharge of pollutants through permit requirements and education. Pollution prevention permits (no fee) are issued to selected commercial businesses as part of this effort. For more information, visit our Pollution Prevention Program page.
Estimation of Wastewater Volume
Customers may wish to apply for a permit if they do not discharge a significant amount (more than 20%) of their incoming water to the sewer. This type of permit estimates the wastewater volume, which would otherwise be based on the incoming water volume, and calculates the treatment charge. This permit can result in significant savings for the customer.